The Moral and Emotional Range of The Great Gatsby Throughout Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, there is a broad spectrum of moral and social views demonstrated by various characters. At one end, is Tom, a man who attacks Gatsby's sense of propriety and legitimacy, while thinking nothing of running roughshod over the lives of those around him. A direct opposite of Tom's nature is Gatsby, who displays great generosity and caring, yet will stop at nothing to achieve his dream of running off with Daisy. The moral and emotional characteristics of Gastby and Tom are juxtaposed, Tom, the immoral character and Gastby, the moral character while the other characters' moral and emotional developments appear between these two. At first glance, The Great Gatsby is merely a classic American tragedy, portraying the story of a man's obsession with a fantasy, and his resulting downfall. However, Fitzgerald seems to weave much more than that into the intricate web of emotional interactions he creates for the reader. One interesting element is the concepts of greatness each has. For Daisy, it lies in material wealth, and in the comfort and security associated with it. Daisy seems to be easily impressed by material success, as when she is touring Gatsby's mansion and seems deeply moved by his collection of fine, tailored shirts. It would seem that Tom's relative wealth, also, had at one time impressed her enough to win her in marriage. In contrast to that, Gatsby seems to not care a bit about money itself, but rather only about the possibility that it can win over Daisy. In fact, Gatsby's extreme generosity gives the reader the impression that Gatsby would otherwise have never even worked at attaining wealth had it not been for Daisy. For Gatsby, the only thing of real importance was his pursuit of Daisy. It would seem that these elements are combined, too in the character Myrtle. Myrtle is, as Daisy, impressed with Tom's wealth and appearance, but, like Jay Gatsby, is stuck in a fantastic, idealized perception of her object of affection. Even when abused and trampled over by Tom, Myrtle continues to adore him, just as Gatsby continues to dote upon Daisy after being obviously rejected by her. As far as ethical considerations, Gatsby tends to prove himself a sincere and caring person, while Daisy and Tom just destroy the lives of two people and then leave town to escape the consequences of their actions.
Pak, Eudie, Leanne French, and Laura Grimm. "Kurt Vonnegut Biography." Bio.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
He never wanted to give up on her, so he tried to recreate their past in hopes of rekindling a love they once had. “Gatsby's gospel of hedonism is reflected in his house, wild parties, clothing, roadster, and particularly in his blatant wooing of another man's wife. Daisy, a rather soiled and cheapened figure, is Gatsby's ultimate goal in his concept of the American dream. However, he falls victim to his own preaching. He comes to believe himself omniscient-above the restrictions of society and morality. His presumption extends to a belief that he can even transcend the natural boundaries placed upon human beings. He will win back Daisy by recapturing the past” (Pearson). Gatsby lies about his lifestyle including the parties, clothing, and almost all of the other aspects he reveals about himself, to impress his teenage love, Daisy, who also happens to be Tom’s wife. He believes he can win Daisy back from her husband by throwing lavish parties, and putting on a deceitful lifestyle in an attempt to lead her in believing he qualified to be one of the elite. “The book's chief characters are blind, and they behave blindly. Gatsby does not see Daisy's vicious emptiness, and Daisy, deluded, thinks she will reward her gold-hatted lover until he tries to force from her an affirmation she is too weak to make. Tom is blind to his hypocrisy; with "a short deft movement" he breaks Myrtle's nose for daring to mention the
Nick Carroway was a great narrator for The Great Gatsby because he was so unbiased and open-minded to the world. He was tolerant and an attentive listener to whoever was speaking. He represented a quiet, tolerant, and reflective man from the Midwest during the 1920’s. "I was conscious of wanting to look squarely at every one, and yet to avoid all eyes." (15), this quote expresses Tom’s quiet feature and how he wants to avoid all unnecessary attention. Jordan Baker is a prime example for the changes that women are going through during the 1920’s. She embraces a carefree lifestyle and expresses herself as a young woman that is just trying to have fun. Daisy represented complete perfection in a woman and constant success that she strived for. She was charming, sophisticated, and graceful. “Her face was sad and lovely…bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth” (9). She was completely beautiful and lovely in so many ways. All she ever dreamed of was wealth and that is what Jay Gatsby had. Gatsby even made the comment about her that “her voice was full of money” (120). George represents a hard-working, God fearing man that doesn’t have many flaws. He seems to be very loyal to his wife and undeserving of her actions with Tom. Gatsby represents wealth, success, and the American Dream. He had a huge house, many servants that helped him, and an abundance of money. Nick compared his house to Gatsby’s, “My own house was an eyesore…so I had the view of the water…and the consoling proximity of millionaires” (5). Tom displayed power and had money to back up his opinions and mistakes. He had very much authority in the way he talked to people. Myrtle was a good example for showing the unhappiness in many women during this time. It portrayed u...
... defeat the German Army, the French had to create strategies on how they were going to accomplish a victory over the German Army. World War I also brought new technology that would assist the men involved in the battle. A variety of new weapons were introduced to the French and German armies during the Battle of Verdun. One of the newest weapons was Diphosgene gas. Diphosgene was used to harm a large amount of people at once. It is a poisonous gas first introduced in World War I because of the effects. Henri Philippe-Petain possessed a huge quantity of supplies. Being prepared for the war was vital to the troops. They had to be aware of their surroundings while in combat and always have weapons handy because of the fear of a surprise attack. In addition, the strategies and new technology used by French were significant in the victory over the Germans in world war I.
Gottfried, Ted. Deniers of the Holocaust: who they are, what they do, and why they do it. Brookfield , Connecticut : Twenty-First Century Books, 2001. Print.
“Gatsby turned out alright in the end.” Yes, because someone who ends up murdered in their own swimming pool, shot by a lackluster man, taking the blame for a crime he never committed for someone who quickly turned her back on him, is defined as “alright.” I never understood why Gatsby was the one to die. I thought he was the hero of the novel. Fitzgerald was a romantic; he was the American Dreamer. The novel was the epitome of the American Dream. The hero never fails; the underdog always wins. Isn’t that what we have always been taught? How could such a great man die? And why was Gatsby the only one pointed out as “alright?” I mean after all, most of the characters’ lives remained unchanged. Daisy and Tom resumed their marriage. Nick returned to the Midwest. Jordan continued her career. Gatsby was one of the only people who portrayed the repercussions of the events. How could someone that readers are supposed to root for die tragically, and on a false claim, nonetheless? Why did Fitzgerald murder Gatsby? But, after some research I realized Fitzgerald NEEDED Gatsby to die.
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald presents three women in an especially bad light. Daisy Fay Buchanan, the narrator's cousin, is the most obvious. Daisy is selfish and materialistic. She married her husband, Tom, because he was wealthy when he proposed to her. She ignored her true love, Jay Gatsby, because he was poor; this fact is evident when the two meet again after years apart and Daisy sees that Gatsby is rich now. Gatsby bought the house right across the bay from Daisy so he could be near her (Fitzgerald 83). Daisy admires all of his possessions and even considers leaving her husband for him, but in the end remains with Tom. This action is evidence of Daisy's selfishness; the moment of their reunion means everything to Gatsby and nothing to Daisy, except for a game to help Daisy pass the time during her idle days (Magill 1144). The selfishness of Daisy is a detail that thrusts her into the role of a villain in the novel.
Great literary characters are immortalized and perpetually discussed not because they are individually so grand and majestic, but because they exist as more than themselves. A great literary character truly exists in the external and symbolic associations that the author and audience apply. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald reveals social and emotional elements of his character Daisy Buchanan through the symbols of white dresses and a pearl necklaces in order to convey a message concerning detrimental class values, a theme that can be better understood by comparing Daisy to a diamond.
Daisy knows very well that tom is cheating on her, but doesn’t care because it's more convenient to stay in her unhappy marriage. Even though she wants to be with Gatsby, she wants to keep her social status and being with Tom makes this all the easier. Now, this is quite the opposite of Myrtle. She has a loving husband who would do anything for her, but her social status is all she cares about. Myrtle is willing to hurt George and ruin their marriage in order to climb up the social ladder. Neither of these women have respect for themselves. Both Daisy and Myrtle allow Tom to treat them
Rowe Karen. “Feminism and Fairy Tales.” Folk & Fairy Tales. Matin Hallett and Barbrar Karasek. Canada: Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication, 2009. 342-358. Print.
There is no doubt that there is a prevalence of substance abuse throughout several age groups. To a certain extent, a society is faced with the reality of controlling substance abuse. Or allow it run rampant throughout the community. Often times, we hear and read about the level of substance abuse among teen, young adults and mid-aged adults. Alcohol, medications, illegal drugs, and over-the-counter medicines can be both abused and misused. It is a widespread belief that age plays a role in the level of influence that drugs and alcohol diminishes. As a person becomes older, drugs and alcohol is not as influential in their loves. This widespread belief has truth. However, it is important to understand that substance abuse is still prevalent in the elderly community.
According to the FBI statistics, Identity Theft is the fastest growing crime in the U.S.’s (Tribune Business News, 2003). Identity theft thieves have perfected the art of collecting information of unsuspecting victims and now all the law enforcement agencies, as well as affected companies, are working hard to find ways to combat these issues.
The word visually stunning could be used to describe the 2013 Baz Luhrman directed adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s timeless novel The Great Gatsby. Speaking of the director, I enjoyed his portrayal of the lavish lifestyle and carefree party like attitude in such a beautiful visual experience. The way in which the party scenes were filmed in the movie made perfect sense compared to the source material and were something I have never seen done by any other directors in a live action film. Another positive for me about this film was the soundtrack. When I first started watching the film I expected to hear old time music prevalent in the 20s. I however was pleasantly surprised when I learned the soundtrack was compiled by Jay-Z and featured many tracks I enjoyed featuring him either alone or accompanied by another musical guest. While Jay-Z is not exactly an accurate representation of the music of the 20s, the soundtrack adds a modern flavour over the previously mentioned beautiful backgrounds and architecture. The story however is where the movie at times falls flat. When stripped down to basics it is nothing more than a generic love story with a few twists added in for extra kick. The characters in the same vain can be very bland and not make you care much for them due to their backstories not being deeply explored. The only character that I found to be interesting was Jay Gatsby because of the mystical aura that surrounds his character at the beginning of the movie that leads you to want to uncover more of this ever mysterious man. All in all the visuals clearly outpace
Gatsby was the main character in the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This novel was mainly about the effort he put to rewrite his life to become higher class person, and the love of Gatsby to Daisy. They did love each other before, but they can’t be together. He did not get any payback from her when they met after a long period. She played around with his love, and even when he dead, she still not cares much about him. Some people may have thought that he was so weak and insane when doing all of that, but in my opinion, Gatsby was a person who willing to strive higher and be positive in life. My judgment about Gatsby was clearly proved by his background, his positive life attitude, and his love for Daisy.
“The film adaptation of The Great Gatsby directed by Baz Luhrmann in 2013 is almost as ingenious as the novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925. It is easily understood, and keeps the audience attentive up until the very end. The sceneries, in most cases are very close to the description given in the novel and are very pleasing to the eye. Even the actors are well cast in most instances. The costuming fits the description of the 1920s perfectly, the computer generated imagery technology enhances the themes of the film and the music is appeals to the audiences’ auditory senses among other things which are to be explained below. Another aspect that makes a great contribution to the film’s greatness is the narration.