Great Gatsby Research Paper

Throughout history it becomes apparent that all the great stories: The Odyssey, Great Expectations, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are all founded on a similar theme. The same plot line, a hero, most often the protagonist, faces danger and adversity to the highest extreme but always comes out on top. He is depicted as the pinnacle of human triumph and in essence, demonstrates a fundamental strength that all men should strive to achieve. These stories were, “ full of darkness and danger. And sometimes one did not want to know the end; How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? In the end, it is only a passing thing. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out even clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with us, even if one was too small to understand why. But I think I do understand.” Individuals in these stories had numerous chances to turn back, only they didn't. They kept going. The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald attempted not to emulate the same plot line structure, rather he drastically altered it. That is one of the primary reasons the Great Gatsby was not widely accepted as a great novel during the life of the author. It was an alien concept, to have the main characters die or show a lacking sense of morality. It simply was not understood by the people of the day, where men who demonstrated valor in the face of adversity were still the highly regarded norm. The reason The Great Gatsby was, at a time, considered controversial and is now considered a great classic is partially due to the fact that Jay Gatsby, a potential protagonist, was radically different from the common hero of the age, was flawed and did not succeed to accomplish his goals by the e...

... middle of paper ...

...s truly is what is “Great” about the Great Gatsby, its ability to inspire, and portray the complications with everything good and show how everything is interrelated. It profoundly teaches us that nothing at all in this world is simple.

Works Cited

Palladino, Jennifer Banach. "Gatsby in Context." Critical Insights: The Great Gatsby. Ed. Dickstein Morris. Salem Press, 2009. Salem Literature Web. 05 Jan. 2014.

Csicsila, Joseph. "“Delivered from the Womb of His Purposeless Splendor”: Jay Gatsby and the Hope of Spiritual Salvation in The Great Gatsby." Critical Insights: Crisis of Faith. Ed. C. Evans Robert. Salem Press, 2013. Salem Literature Web. 05 Jan. 2014.

Roulston, Robert and Helen H. "The Great Gatsby: Fitzgerald’s Opulent Synthesis (1925)." Critical Insights: The Great Gatsby. Ed. Dickstein Morris. Salem Press, 2009. Salem Literature Web. 05 Jan. 2014.