Jay Gatsby as the Magician in The Great Gatsby
Magicians are known for the tricks that they play on the eyes. What often seems like magic, turns out to be just a careful flick of the wrist. In the book The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzerald, the magician is compared to the character of Jay Gatsby. The magician motif is used among other tools to prove that appearance is not always reality. The higher class throws sophisticated and glamorous parties that include many interesting people. They have fun and show off their fortunes with the grand affairs. Jay Gatsby is described as a rich, powerful man, and mysterious man, but all his fortune is made for a simple cause, the love of the beautiful Daisy Fay Buchanan. He is compared to a magician because he gives an appearance of being in a higher class than he really belongs to. Gatsby strives to appear to be high class, but reality ends up hurting him hard in the end. Gatsby's money was not earned legally or inherited as a fortune from his great uncle, but was made through illegal schemes. Gatsby's goal is to try to seem to be in a higher social class than the class where his birthright put him. He creates the illusion of a higher stature. He does not care about the money or any other material wealth. He cares about the love of a woman. Gatsby makes many illusions in hopes of showing his Daisy that he is in a class as high as hers and that they do belong together. What a magician does is deceive his audience. Jay Gatsby has to do that to make his audience believe that he belongs to a higher class than he was really born into.
The word "great" is often used to announce a magician. The title of the book is the introduction of the character of Jay Gatsby. He is the great magician that can create magic and fool all the spectators around him. Jay Gatsby throws wonderful parties to give the mirage of great wealth and high class. Only the most interesting people are invited. The thing is that he does not care for the people, but only of what they think of him. He does not show his own face, but gives the impression of someone really lavish by the parties and the guests.
As a young man, Jay Gatsby was poor with nothing but his love for Daisy. He had attempted to woe her, but a stronger attraction to money led her to marry another man. This did not stop Gatsby’s goal of winning this woman for himself though, and he decided to improve his life anyway he could until he could measure up to Daisy’s standards. He eventually gained connections in what would seem to be the wrong places, but these gave him the opportunity he needed to "get rich quick." Gatsby’s enormous desire for Daisy controlled his life to the point that he did not even question the immorality of the dealings that he involved himself in to acquire wealth. Eventually though, he was able to afford a "castle" in a location where he could pursue Daisy effectively. His life ambition had successfully moved him to the top of the "new money" class of society, but he lacked the education of how to promote his wealth properly. Despite the way that Gatsby flaunted his money, he did catch Daisy’s attention. A chaotic affair followed for a while until Daisy was overcome by pressures from Gatsby to leave her husband and by the realization that she belonged to "old money" and a more proper society.
The paternalistic employers were also exploiting the girls of their time. Girls are lured to wo...
In The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald analyzes three main characters, Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, and Nick Carraway. The Great Gatsby is a story about finding out who people really are and how far they will go to protect their secrets from spilling to everyone. The Great Gatsby is like a story of our time, we have the rich and the poor towns, we have people who cheat on their spouses, and lastly, we have racism towards different cultures and races (Schreier). Many ironic events take place throughout the book. For example, Gatsby and Nick become friends, Tom and Myrtle being secret lovers, also, Daisy and Gatsby carrying on an affair, and lastly Daisy running over Myrtle in Gatsby’s car (Coleman). Fitzgerald purposely wrote the book to tell about lovers that were not supposed to be together and how they overcame that and fell in love with one another (Shain). He also wrote the book to relate to American society (Tolmatchoff).
...th and early 20th centuries entwined a power struggle between Great Britain and Russia, which only intensified after the discovery of oil in Iran in 1901. Following this discovery, western nations systematically exploited Iran for its natural resources, and fought to install sympathetic governments in the hopes of acquiring better oil deals, culminating in 1953 with the overthrow of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh by a combination of US and UK forces (Yergin). The continual fighting left Iran a political mess that was only rectified by Khomeini’s strong, Islamic government. Though he severely limited the power of the Iranian citizens, he increased the power of Iran within the Middle East, and world at large, as its strong military presence and large oil reserves empower the country to resist interference from countries that wish to take advantage of them.
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.
Gatsby throws parties. He hosts flamboyant galas with classy music and entertains thousands. He seems to enjoy the festivities, because his guests always return and he always welcomes his guests. On the surface he seems to be an outgoing fellow, appreciative of all the people in his life. But under this facade there is a more sinister aspect to Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is manipulating his milieu for the satisfaction of himself and does not care about others---in other words a narcissist. Jay Gatsby is a narcissist because of his relationship with Daisy, his manipulation of his milieu at his parties, his manner of speaking, and the little respect other people have for him.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald discusses many themes of the 1920s, with a specific focus on the rich and idle class, the “old money,” those whose wealth allows them to be careless and destructive without consequences. In the novel, this group of people is characterized by Tom and Daisy- a couple who moves leisurely through life, destroying relationships and lives without knowing or caring. Tom’s privileged upbringing has made the concepts of morality and responsibility completely foreign to him, and he is the driving force in this mutually corrupt relationship: his disregard for everything except his own personal pleasure shapes the interactions between him and Daisy. Daisy on the other hand is a blank slate, a mirror of her surroundings, an empty-headed, whimsical girl who just wants to have fun. The carelessness afforded to her by Tom’s money and influence, and, by extension, Tom’s own habits of carelessness, molds Daisy into a sad shell of a person. Daisy is not inherently corrupt and destructive, as Tom is, but it makes no difference as Tom has already passed the worst of his characteristics onto her. Indeed, it is Daisy, not Tom, who performs the ultimate sin at the end of the novel, and it is Daisy, not Tom, who shirks away from taking responsibility for this terrible deed and instead allows innocent lives to be destroyed for her actions. Daisy and Tom are the perfect couple. Neither cares the slightest bit about the other and so both live absurd, dreary lives, thinking they have found happiness, while instead both have become disinterested with the ease of living they enjoy. This disinterest makes Tom and Daisy the victims of the wealth and influence that are so commonly seen as desira...
With his charismatic nature that allowed him to connect with all the groups of the opposition, Khomeini led the revolution and overthrew the Shah. For the religious and traditional masses of Iranians, he represented authentic Shi’a Iranian culture. For the idealistic students who were the leaders of the revolution, he represented unconventional defiance against the Shah’s regime. Khomeini understood the pain and alienation of all of his followers, who felt separated from their own Islamic culture as a result of the Shah’s westernization, and his charisma allowed him to unify the opposition against the Shah. With mass demonstrations all throughout Iran that immobilized the country, the Shah had no choice but to abdicate his position as monarch
Field, C. (Producer), Field, C., & Reed, C. (Directors). (2006). Salud! [Motion Picture]. Cuba: Decatur, Ga: Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba.
During Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, it is apparent to be an absurd time for the wealthy. The shallowness of money, riches, and a place in a higher social class were probably the most important components in most lives at that period of time. This is expressed clearly by Fitzgerald, especially through his characters, which include Myrtle Wilson, Tom and Daisy Buchanan, and of course, Jay Gatsby. This novel was obviously written to criticize and condemn the ethics of the rich.
In the 1970’s Iran, under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was a very centralized military state that maintained a close relationship with the USA. The Shah was notoriously out of touch with working class Iranians as he implemented many controversial economic policies against small business owners that he suspected involved profiteering. Also unrestricted economic expansions in Iran lead to huge government expenditure that became a serious problem when oil prices dropped in the mid 1970’s. This caused many huge government construction projects to halt and the economy to stall after many years of massive profit. Following this was high rates of inflation that affected Iranians buying power and living standards. (Afary, 2012) Under the Shah, political participation was not widely available for all Iranians and it was common for political opposition to be met with harassment, illegal detention, and even torture. These measures were implemented by the Iranian secret police knows as ‘SAVAK’. This totalitarian regime combined with the increasing modernisation of the country paved the way for revolution.
Unlike those cheesy romantic heroes from soap operas and films, Gatsby believes that by attempting to be someone he is not and by faking his identity, he will be able to win Daisy`s heart . Nick Caraway, the narrator of the novel, informs readers about Gatsby`s past and his first reaction to Daisy. He tells readers, “…he let her believe that he was a person from the same stratum as herself…that he was fully capable to take care of her. As a matter of fact, he had no such facilities…” (Fitzgerald 149). Gatsby basically lies about his social status to win Daisy`s heart, which shows how his relationship is based on dishonesty and lies rather than trust. Gatsby changes himself in order to make room for Daisy in his life. A romantic hero never lies beca...
Starting at a young age Gatsby strives to become someone of wealth and power, leading him to create a façade of success built by lies in order to reach his unrealistic dream. The way Gatsby’s perceives himself is made clear as Nick explains: “The truth was Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God… he must be about His Father’s business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty” (Fitzgerald 98). From the beginning Gatsby puts himself beside God, believing he is capable of achieving the impossible and being what he sees as great. Gatsby blinds himself of reality by idolizing this valueless way of life, ultimately guiding him to a corrupt lifestyle. While driving, Nick observes Gatsby curiously: “He hurried the phrase ‘educated at Oxford,’ or swallowed it, or choked on it, as though it had bothered him before. And with this doubt, his whole statement fell to pieces…” (Fitzgerald 65). To fulfill his aspirations Gatsby desires to be seen an admirable and affluent man in society wh...
...nian students took 66 Americans hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979, marking the beginning of the Iranian Hostage Crisis. The Iranian government refused to comply with the Carter Administration in releasing the hostages. This event lasted for 444 days into the Reagan Administration in 1981. The crisis might not have ended if it were not for the sanctions and oil embargoes.
As we continue, the Underground Man makes a very clear point of expressing his acute consciousness. He is not no...