The novel 《The Great Gatsby》written by Scott Fitzgerald is often classified as a masterpiece about American dream，and it is believed to be written in 1925. It is a time that the entire America was under the strong influence of the Roaring twenties，and as we know， Scott Fitzgerald is a distinguished representative of the Lost generation in America. As a result, this novel is influenced by the thoughts of the lost generation.The essential thought of the lost generation is loneliness and disillusion in spirt, is to emphasize its own set of values rather than their elders. It strongly stresses the importance of personal characteristic and freedom or personal liberation, or in other words, hedonism and self-indulgent spree. In the novel,Scott Fitzgerald …show more content…
He believes that the future can return him to his past and to his love, Daisy, but time blocks Gatsby’s dream, for Daisy has made Gatsby a only memory by marrying Tom. Gatsby was designed as a vivid symbol of idealism, and made the roaring twenties of materialism more romantic.However, Scott Fitzgerald also showed that the biggest reason for Gatsby’s unavoidable destruction is his romanticism. Gatsby fell in love with Daisy’s aura of luxury, grace and charm, and lied to her about his own background in order to convince her that he was good enough for her. As his relentless quest for Daisy demonstrates, Gatsby has an extraordinary ability to transform his hopes and dreams into reality. Since he has succeeded in this reality, he gradually entered a state of self－hypnosis, and in his romantic fantasy, he believed that money could make or break everything.In my personal opinion, in this novel, Gatsby can also be seen as the symbol of the crumbling American dream in the …show more content…
They used to think that their dream are within reach, and their lives will be consumed by the passion and dignity of life. As mentioned before, Nick and Gatsby are the apathy and fantasy of Scott Fitzgerald, so that their way of chasing dreams are different definitely. Gatsby’s greatness came from his passion to his American dream, or in another word, Daisy. Gatsby made almost all of his decisions out of a desire to relive his love with Daisy; while Nick would rather watch the game. Gatsby showed a romantic hopefulness that is lastly tragic, and he prefers to escape from the present and selectively relive the past. In the end, however, he died for his unrealistic fantasy of Daisy since he had lost touch with present and himself. Nick stood on the moral high ground in the novel. And for Nick, as mentioned before,Nick’s apathy and tolerance due to his father’s advice was ultimately changed since the death of Gatsby. I think maybe Scott Fitzgerald wanted us to understand that it is this thing that made Nick a real person than just a moral
In the beginning, Gatsby was a poor army boy who fell in love with a rich girl named Daisy. Knowing from their different circumstances, he could not marry her. So Gatsby left to accumulate a lot of money. Daisy, not being able to wait for Gatsby, marries a rich man named Tom. Tom believes that it is okay for a man to be unfaithful but it is not okay for the woman to be. This caused a lot of conflict in their marriage and caused Daisy to be very unhappy. Gatsby’s dream is to be with Daisy, and since he has accumulated a lot of money, he had his mind set on getting her back. Throughout the novel, Gatsby shows his need to attain The American Dream of love and shows his determination to achieve it. You can tell that Gatsby has a clear vision of what he wants when Nick says, “..he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I gla...
Book Analysis F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of "The Great Gatsby," reveals many principles about today's society and the "American dream. " One of the biggest fears in today's world is the fear of not fitting into society. People of all age groups and backgrounds share this fear. Many individuals believe that to receive somebody's affection, they must assimilate into that person's society. In the story, Jay Gatsby pursues the American dream and his passion for being happy only to come to a tragedy and total loss.
The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, perfectly symbolizes many emerging trends of the 1920’s. More importantly, the character of Jay Gatsby is depicted as a man amongst his American dreams and the trials he faces in the pursuit of its complete achievement. His drive to acquire the girl of his dreams, Daisy Buchanan, through gaining status and wealth shows many aspects of the author's view on the American dream. Through this, one can hope to disassemble the complex picture that is Fitzgerald’s view of this through the novel. Fitzgerald believes, through his experiences during the 1920’s, that only fractions of the American Dream are attainable, and he demonstrates this through three distinct images in The Great Gastby.
His love for Daisy is driven by an idea he has of her, not the reality of her. When Gatsby and Daisy rekindled their love, he realized that “his count of enchanted objects had diminished by one” (93). In this quote, Fitzgerald candidly addresses Daisy as an object to Gatsby. Before Gatsby and Daisy meet reconnect, the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock symbolizes her and his dreams for the future. The green light is Gatsby’s motivation to win Daisy over but once he has done that, the green light is no longer symbolic of hope or Daisy. It’s deeper meaning to Gatsby goes away. Through this, Fitzgerald is making a social commentary on the idea of “you only want something you can not have” and Gatsby is exhibiting this idea perfectly because once Gatsby achieves Daisy, she is no longer enchanted to him. A big conception Gatsby has of Daisy is that she is money. She represents all that he wants in life and he believes that by achieving Daisy, he will have achieved his ambitious life goals. Gatsby is aware that “her voice is full of money” (120) and this captivates him and keeps him coming back to her. The thought of Daisy being money makes Gatsby think that once he’s obtained Daisy, he’s attained it all. Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s need for Daisy to epitomize the materialistic culture of the 1920s and society’s need for excess materials. Gatsby’s American Dream is to obtain wealth and status and because Daisy is “the golden girl” (120), Gatsby views her as access to the top 1% of America. Although it may seem like Gatsby loves Daisy and wants what is best for her, his motivation to get her is driven by his need to achieve his dreams. Fitzgerald enhances Daisy’s symbolism of the upper class by describing her in a whimsical manner. In the scene before Gatsby, Tom, Nick, Daisy, and Jordan drive up to the city, she is described as having
The development of American Literature, much like the development of the nation, began in earnest, springing from a Romantic ideology that honored individualism and visionary idealism. As the nation broke away from the traditions of European Romanticism, America forged its own unique romantic style that would resonate through future generations of literary works. Through periods of momentous change, the fundamentally Romantic nature of American literature held fast, a fact clearly demonstrated in the fiction of F. Scott Fitzgerald. In an era of post-war disillusionment, when idealism succumbed to hedonistic materialism, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s romantically charged novel, The Great Gatsby, emerged in direct counterpoint to the disorder and apathy of Modernism. In his depiction of the idealist, Jay Gatsby, Fitzgerald created a link with America’s literary past and the romantic yearnings of a nation struggling to re-define itself. If Romanticism exemplifies individualism, idealism, and transcendence, then Jay Gatsby, as a romantic protagonist, testifies to the legacy of Romanticism in American literature.
In “The Great Gatsby”, F. Scott Fitzgerald brings a view of the American society in the 1920’s. The 1920’s were a time of drinking, parties, and having a good time. Many people strove for success, so they could be apart of the upper class. It was very difficult for people to be self-made in the twenties, because most Americans who were in the upper class were born rich. Fitzgerald denounces the American Dream because the characters were from old money, new money, and working class.
The period between the First World War and the Second World War brought dramatic change to the values, lifestyles, norms and culture of the American way of life. It also brought a new kind of literary philosophy known as Modernism. Modernism was a movement which portrayed the world of men as a harsh and hostile environment in which life had lost its meaning and the American dream had disappeared completely from reach because of the corrupt world. Many of these modernist revealed their discontent with this new way of life with books and paintings that uncovered the ugliness of the society they lived in. One of the most famous books was the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald which follows a young American man named Nick Caraway in his experience at Long Island and New York during the roaring twenties. The author explores many modernist themes including decadence, resistance to change, social upheaval and excess. Through the chosen quote, Fitzgerald reveals the lousy and careless lifestyles that the wealthy had during the Modern period in order to criticize the morally corrupt and untraditional life’s that many were living because their existence was losing its meaning.
F. Scott Fitzgerald concludes his novel, The Great Gatsby, by claiming that the constant hope for the recreation of the past is an American Dream destined for failure. Many years after Gatsby’s death, Nick finds himself reminiscing over his friend’s struggle to fulfill his American Dream. Gatsby, an idealist character, believed in the “orgastic future” and was overly hopeful while setting high expectations for his life (Fitzgerald, 180). Gatsby’s “orgastic future” was to be completed when he married Daisy, and their love became mutual again. His American Dream had always been set up for failure because Daisy’s love was in the past, and recreating the past is impossible. Nick claims, “[Gatsby's] dream must have seemed so close that he could
Gatsby’s obsession of his love for Daisy and wealth prove his dream as unattainable. Throughout the novel, he consumes himself into lies to cheat his way into people’s minds convincing them he is this wealthy and prosperous man. Gatsby tries to win Daisy’s love through his illusion of success and relive the past, but fails to comprehend his mind as too hopeful for something impossible. In the end, Nick is the only one to truly understand Gatsby’s hopeful aspirations he set out for himself but ultimately could not obtain. In the novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald is able to parallel many themes of the roaring twenties to current society. The ideas of high expectations and obsession of the material world are noticeable throughout the history and is evident in many lives of people today.
In the exposition of the novel, Nick speaks from his perspective about the outlook and the reputation of the largely popular party host. He speaks highly of Gatsby and continues on to explain that “it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men” (1 Fitzgerald). Gatsby was a huge dreamer, ever since he was a child who discovered the luxury of living at a richer status. Originally, Gatsby was from a
F. Scott Fitzgerald was one of the most compelling twentieth century writers, (Curnutt, 2004). The year 1925 marks the year of the publication of Fitzgerald’s most credited novel, The Great Gatsby (Bruccoli, 1985). With its critiques of materialism, love and the American Dream (Berman, 1996), this dramatic idyllic novel, (Harvey, 1957), although poorly received at first, is now highly regarded as Fitzgerald’s finest work (Rohrkemper, 1985) and is his publisher, Scribner 's most popular title, (Donahue, 2013). The novel achieved it’s status as one of the most influential novels in American history around the nineteen fifties and sixties, over ten years after Fitzgerald 's passing, (Ibid, 1985)
In conclusion, The Great Gatsby reveals the carelessness and shallowness of the characters in the upper class. Society is totally corrupted and the character’s lives revolve around the money and extravagant lifestyles. All of the characters are surrounded with expensive and unnecessary itms, which in turn, dulls their dream of actual success. Scott F. Fitzgerald provides a powerful and everlasting message of a corrupt, materialistic society and the effects that it has on the idea of the American dream.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a work of literature synonymous with American culture. The Great Gatsby is a novel that portrays major societal changes, while touching on the human condition of love. Fitzgerald’s characters all go through an apparent metamorphosis and learn more about themselves and the culture that they live in. Fitzgerald has created a work of literature that shall continue to teach readers of the values of Americans during the early 20th century. The Great Gatsby uses symbolism, the absence of values, and a quest for love to create a snapshot of American culture, that continues to reflect positively throughout American literature.
He starts out by “[trying] to go east and learn the bond business” (Fitzgerald 3). Nick’s hope of becoming rich through the bond business drives him east towards new opportunities, but also away from his family and everything he’s ever known. Despite the thousands upon thousands of people who travel to make their dreams a reality and don’t succeed, Nick continues to forge ahead, hoping against all odds that he will be the one to achieve his dream. By the end of The Great Gatsby, Nick has become jaded, and sees the world around him for what it is, and not what others hope it will be. Tom doesn’t seem to understand Nick’s dislike of him, asking, “‘What’s the matter, Nick? Do you object to shaking hands with me?’ ‘Yes. You know what I think of you’” (Fitzgerald 178). The post-Gatsby Nick has come to the conclusion that once hope is gone, or even just pushed too far past the breaking point, people are left empty shells in the wake of dreams. His journey starts out hopeful, and ends with Nick becoming a misanthrope, detesting humanity for all its false hopes and broken dreams. Nick’s time with Gatsby gives him insight on the effects of hope on others, giving the reader a sense of relatability that the other characters fail to convey as they’re all wrapped up in their own
Romanticism is the idealized view of reality or an optimistic view of reality. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the main character named Gatsby has an romantic view of the world and he shared this view with his friend and neighbor Nick Carraway. In short. Gatsby’s trait of romanticism led him to believe that he could achieve the “American Dream” ever since he was a poor child growing up in North Dakota, consequently, he met a rich man named Dan Cody and a beautiful rich girl named Daisy on his journey, and he had his first taste of money, but his ambition eventually got him killed when had to risk it all for the girl.