Allusions In The Great Gatsby

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If someone mentions the word “prodigal” today, it most likely pertains to The Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32, in which after a son wastes his inheritance on lavish possessions and hiring prostitutes, his father forgives him and accepts him back into the father’s house. One could compare the wastefulness of the son to the attitude of the affluent in the Roaring Twenties who, much like Jay Gatsby, threw opulent parties oblivious to the world’s growing problems.
In his reflective Roaring Twenties Novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald displays his society’s tendencies towards living elaborately in order to warn the younger generations that an extravagant lifestyle tends to lead to destruction.
Extravagance can cause people to fill their lives with meaningless things. On summer afternoons, Nick watches Gatsby’s guests making use of his raft, beach, motorboats, hydroplanes, and vehicles (Fitzgerald 43). The repetition of “his” constructs the generous use of parallel structure and implies emphasis, as the focus lies on Gatsby’s possessions and not the people. The people certainly do not matter to Gatsby, as Nick and many other people acknowledge that most of the partygoers do not need to be invited. However, Lucille describes the lengths that …show more content…

y goes to in order to ensure his guests’ happiness: “When I was here last I tore my gown on a chair, and he asked me my name and address—inside of a week I got a package from Croirier’s with a new evening

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