Wealth and economic success struck the lives of the Americans living during the 1920s. Lavish lifestyles, overindulgence, and gaudy apparel were the rage of this decade. At this time, “America [had become] the wealthiest country in the world with no obvious rival” (America in the 1920s). Francis Scott Fitzgerald, an American writer of that time, employed the events of his life and the realities of the world around him in order to create one of the most influential works in the history of America: The Great Gatsby. Through his work, Fitzgerald was capable of portraying the truth behind the luxurious scenes of the 1920s. Fitzgerald’s unveiling of veracities produced a strong reaction from those of his time and has left a lasting impression on the centuries that have followed.
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald exemplified literary talent from an impressively young age. At the age of thirteen, F. Scott Fitzgerald began pursuing his skill as a writer. When his parents noticed this remarkable talent of the young Fitzgerald, they “sent him to the Newman School, a prestigious Catholic preparatory school in New Jersey” at the age of fifteen. While at Newman School, Fitzgerald met a priest named Father Sigourney Fay. Father Fay “noticed his incipient talent with the written word and encouraged him to pursue his literary ambitions” (F. Scott Fitzgerald Bio).
Fitzgerald graduated from Newman School in 1913 and continued to pursue his literary development at Princeton University. While at Princeton, Fitzgerald continued to develop his artistic ability as a writer by “writing scripts for Princeton 's famous Triangle Club musicals as well as frequent articles for the Princeton Tiger humor magazine and stories for the Nassau Lite...
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Fitzgerald successfully reached out to readers his time through the hidden morals within many of his works. In his most influential work, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald portrayed “the way in which we love the promise of the glittering and the shiny and the powerful, but how even to dream of it, let alone to seek it, also corrupts us and destroys us.” Fitzgerald dedicated himself in assisting the readers of his time, and after, in recognizing this failure in humanity. While constructing his works, Fitzgerald made an effort to accomplish the goal of literature, which is to “notice and point at previously little-noticed things in our experience, and help us experience life more fully -- sometimes even more wisely” (Quora). Fitzgerald artistically portrayed the truths behind the extravagance of his time in hopes of assisting those in future generations.
F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “I am not a great man, but sometimes I think the impersonal and objective quality of my talent, and the sacrifices of it, in pieces, to preserve its essential value has some sort of epic grandeur” (“F. Scott Fitzgerald” St. James). Fitzgerald had heavy drinking problems and faced many financial failures throughout his life of writing but has proved to be gifted in many ways of writing. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was a short story writer, an essayist, and a novelist that was most famous during the Jazz Age of the 1920s and the Great Depression of the 1930s.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby, the pursuit of the American dream in a corrupt period is a central theme. This theme exemplifies itself in the downfall of Gatsby. In a time of disillusionment the ideals of the American dream are lost. The classic American dream is one of materialism and when Gatsby incorporates Daisy, a human being, into the dream he is doomed to fail.
“Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Timothy 6:9-10). “The Great Gatsby” by F.Scott Fitzgerald tells a tragic tale of materialistic wealth, and uses the colors green, yellow, and blue to convey wealth, hope and unhappiness, respectively, in this classic tale; hope being Gatsby’s saving grace and his ruination.
Back in the roaring twenties America was seeing such world-changing phenomenons such as The Great Gatsby, and penicillin, but what took the world by surprise was none other than Walt Disney and his lovable creation, Mickey Mouse. Walt Disney, throughout his entire lifetime and career, always had an idea, a spark, and a way to make things better. Even in the face of tough times, he never failed to keep his optimistic attitude and kind faith in humanity from infecting those around him. A major part of his success was due to the technological innovations that revolutionized the film industry.
The Value of Jay Gatsby Jay Gatsby, who is one of the main characters of the Great Gatsby, is a man with a mysterious background and an unknown personality. He doesn't mention too much about his past except certain fabricated highlights of his life which were designed to impress others. The strange and humorous thing is that he carries articles of evidence that back up most of his lies to prove that he isn't lying. Gatsby is also the kind of man that is used to getting what he wants no matter what the consequences are, causing him to be a very determined man that once has an idea in his mind won't let it go until he accomplishes it. The things that Jay Gatsby values the most is money, to impress others and gain acceptance and most of all, having things his own way.
Lust is a desire that can drive an individual to go to all extents, just to get what they wish for. Literature is very broad in the way that it is available to everyone and can help us gain knowledge in many different aspects. In my opinion, I believe that literature is about gaining knowledge about a certain event and being able to connect with the story and relate the situations to what is actually happening in reality. I also think that literature can cause people to form different opinions that can end up being very eye opening when things are looked at from a different perspective. As a class, we read a variety of stories, all with different types of knowledge and opinions associated with them. The two stories that stood out to me were The Great Gatsby and “The Cask of Amontillado.” In these two stories the general message is lust and how lust can take over one’s body and the way they live their life.
Trouble emerges when the wrong people and the wrong time collide, but a tragedy is not always necessarily the solution of that collision. However, in The Great Gatsby, Gatsby got murdered in the end of the novel. Despite the cause of it, his death itself is tragic. This novel leads the way to the fateful end of such a collision between the wrong man and the wrong time.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald focuses on the lifestyle of a group of people who will do anything to accomplish their goals. The characters go through different changes that come to affect their life decisions and will cause them to lie, sacrifice and feel lonely in their lives. They live the American dream and have power but chase a dream that would affect and change their lifestyles. They judge and discriminate against one another not knowing they have a certain symbol in common in their lives. Their desire to accomplish their goals became a type of new life to the characters.
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul Minnesota on September 24, 1896. His parents were Mary McQuillan and Edward Fitzgerald. Francis was the lone son of the couple however they had a daughter named Annabel who was five years younger than Francis. The Fitzgerald’s, who were Catholics, lived an upper-middle class lifestyle (Merriman). Francis attended St. Paul Academy where his writing career began. He penned “The Mystery of the Raymond Mortgage” which was a short story that was printed in the school newspaper when he was thirteen. When he was fifteen, his parents sent him to a prestigious catholic school known as Newman School. Incidentally, he met Father Sigourney Fay, who encouraged Fitzgerald to pursue a writing career (Biography.com Staff).
According to the dictionary, the definition of dissatisfaction is the quality or state of being unhappy or discontent. Dissatisfaction is a disease that theoretically knows no prejudices, has no cure, and almost everyone has it. This is a global epidemic, that can destroy a man in the time it takes to snap your fingers. Physically most people will be alright but discontent will rot you to the core on the inside. Unfortunately, not being content seems to be a very common part of society today and in the past. The theme of not be satiated by life is especially seen in the famous novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. All the characters in this novel seemingly have achieved the american dream but they are all unhappy and never get what they really want in the end. Also, no character is satisfied with their marriage, with love, and with life in general. They are all unhappy with their lives and they destroy the lives of others in order to satisfy themselves. The Great Gatsby teaches us that even being wealthy and powerful, people can still be dissatisfied and will do anything in order to be happy. Therefore, despite believing that we have it all, dissatisfaction still plagues the human spirit.
Fitzgerald was a bright, handsome, and successful young boy, who would always make his parents become proud of him, especially his mother. When he was thirteen, he went to St. Paul Academy and saw his first piece of writing on a newspaper.
Fitzgerald illustrates with artful tact his view of the United States in the 1920’s. He shows lawlessness, surrealism, and vibrancy throughout his novel, utilizing literary techniques such as imagery, indirect characterization, ambiguity, and the lexicon used. F. Scott Fitzgerald leaves the reader blown away by the events that transpired over the course of the short one-hundred and eighty pages of The Great Gatsby. The 1920’s are embodied by Mr. Scott’s novel; he gives an incredible story while handing over a valuable glimpse into the age through his eyes.
Scott Fitzgerald was his ability to cultivate his own image in the media” (Zeitz). He connected with the people of the time by doing more than just observing the normal American life but by living the normal life, a life of both ups and downs. He wrote about the flashy things and the wealthy people in many of his books. (Zeitz). “His clear, lyrical, colorfully witty style evoked the emotions associated with time and place” (“F. Scott Fitzgerald”)
At the tender age of thirteen, Fitzgerald attended the St. Paul Academy. The boring aspects of academics, perhaps, could be the reason Fitzgerald got so into his writing hobby. The academy saw his potential and mistakenly encouraged his passion for writing over his schoolwork. His writing was also strongly encouraged by his mentor, Father Sigourney Fay, at the catholic prep school he began attending at the age of fifteen.
In 1897, consequently to the collapse of Edwards business, the family moved to New York, in order for Edward to take up a job as a salesman for Proctor and Gamble. Be that as it may, their moved was brief after Edward was let go from his employment in 1908, inciting a move back the St. Paul where the Fitzgerald’s lived off the McQuillan family fortune, (Fitzgerald, Bruccoli and Baughman, 1995). For the next 14 years, Scott invested the larger part of his time at boarding school, at Princeton University, in the army, and in New York City (Ibid, 1995). Fitzgerald’s writing career began to take off in 1920 after the publication of his first novel, This Side of Paradise (Bruccoli and Smith, 1981). The novel received glowing reviews (Ibid, 1981) and secured Fitzgerald’s place as one of the country’s most promising young