Celia Allison Hahn, the director of publications, states that, “People both inside and outside the church declare in many ways that religion is a private matter between individuals and God; it does not belong to any church” Hahn). In one way or another, religion influences everyone, even when people do not directly profess a faith in God. Spiritual influences are visible in nearly every aspect of a person’s life when attention is called to it. The influences of religion are clear throughout the novel without the author needing to say anything about the characters belief in a greater power. By using the undertone of religion, Fitzgerald shows the connection of Gatsby to Jesus, the significance of sin, and the idea of rebirth.
By taking a closer look at Gatsby, it is clear that there is a connection between him and Jesus. From a young age, Gatsby tended to be an outcast among those living in his area. He was constantly striving to be greater than just a farmer. He wanted a luxurious life, and he was not going to settle. Looking back, his father started recognizing the ambitious traits his son had. He told Nick, “Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some great resolves like this or something” (Fitzgerald 182). James Gatz did not want to be like the other people living in his area. Similarly, Jesus was also very different from anyone else that had walked the earth. According to the Bible, Jesus was a saint living among sinners. He did not fall into the temptations as everyone else was doing. Instead of giving in to the terrible things that were happening around him, he became an example how to
…show more content…
Sin affects the results of the situations the characters involved in. One of the sins exemplified is judgement. The guests at Gatsby’s parties showed judgement constantly. While standing around the guest spread rumors such as, “One time he killed a man who had found out that he was nephew to
Uma Kocherlakota Mrs. Cristen Cassler AP English Literature and Composition 16 September 2015 The Imperfection of Being Human There is only one thing which every philosopher who speculates about the human condition can agree on, and that is the idea that humans are complex, imperfect beings who may not always understand themselves. F. Scott Fitzgerald, in his novel The Great Gatsby, attempts to reveal this idea about human character by fashioning the narrator, Nick Carraway, into a complex character. He does this by highlighting Nick’s contrasting opinions of and interactions with life amongst the rich, and showing that Nick’s character is not as infallible as he himself would like to believe. Through his contrasting judgements and actions, along with honesty and dishonesty, Fitzgerald paints Nick as the quintessential third party and shows that one’s appraisal of one’s own traits can often be incorrect. It is clear, throughout the novel, that Nick thinks highly of his own tolerance and conduct, his “sense of fundamental decencies,” believing that his are superior to those around him (Fitzgerald 2).
In order to understand the religious imagery in The Great Gatsby, one must first understand Fitzgerald's own ideas on religion. Fitzgerald was a troubled man much of his life, and was a victim of psychological and emotional turmoil. Fitzgerald's friend, John Peale Bishop once remarked he had "the rare faculty...
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby around the 1920s. During the time period of the 1920s, it was considered the “Jazz Age”. This time period dealt with the issue of prohibition, many people attended parties and clubs. Religion did not affect the 1920s social dance very much. During the 1920s people had a sense of freedom, and were not bound by what their religion guided. Many people like flappers went against the standard and did not listen or go by the rule. Written during the Jazz Age period, Fitzgerald wrote the novel The Great Gatsby, and ironically, it is one that explores the concept of an omnipresent God which readers can guess come from the author’s knowledge of catholicism and christianity.
Characters in books can reveal the author feeling toward the world. In The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald suggested the moral decline of the period in America history through the interpersonal relationships among his characters. The book indicates the worthlessness of materialism, the futile quest of Myrtle and Gatsby, and how America's moral values had diminished. Despite his newly acquired fortune, Gatsby's monitory means could not afford his only true wish, therefore he cannot buy everything which is important to Daisy. (Fitzgerald, -page 42) What you wish for is not always what you want or not all that glitters is gold.
Materialism has a negative influence on the characters in the novel, The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. “The most terrible thing about materialism even more terrible than its proneness to violence, is its boredom, from which sex, alcohol, drugs, all devices for putting out the accusing light of reason and suppressing the unrealizable aspirations of love, offers a prospect of deliverance.” This quote, stated by Malcolm Muggeridge, says that people get bored with the things that they have when they get new things all of the time. When they get bored with these things, they turn to stuff like sex, alcohol, and drugs. In The Great Gatsby, Myrtle, Daisy, and Gatsby are greatly influenced by money, and material things. The negative influence that materialism has on these characters is shown throughout the entire novel.
Fitzgerald’s characters and his own personal beliefs seem to suggest that he is mocking the weakness of American family life during the 1920’s. Throughout the novel, the most prominent of Fitzgerald’s characters are involved in extra marital relationships. The fact that these relationships are seen so often, clearly suggests that Fitzgerald is attempting to portray a weak bond between married couples. The weak relationship between the Buchanan couple as well as the Wilson couple are proof that. In addition, it should also be noted that Fitzgerald’s relationship with his own wife, Zelda, who The Great Gatsby is dedicated to, was highly romantic and severely strong. Fitzgerald had endured to attain his love for Zelda, and was faithful to her for much of his life. However, the fact that Fitzgerald creates characters who seem to contradict his own beliefs, seem to suggest that he is making a mockery of the weak marital bond common in American society during the 1920’s.
...s between his life and his writings. Jeffery Meyers states that, "It discusses the meaning as well as the events of his life," and, "seeks to illuminate the recurrent patterns that reveal his inner self."(Scott Fitzgerald Biography pg164). This quote explains how Meyers views Fitzgerald’s life through The Great Gatsby and notices the same situations in the book as in Fitzgerald’s own life, which comes to show how F. Scott Fitzgerald really pours his life experiences into his writings and incorporates his own beliefs into his work.
In the book, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there were a few crimes being committed in the story but the main crime that created problem in the plot and caused three deaths is the sinful nature of adultery. The characters that were involved in the matter were Tom & Myrtle and Daisy & Gatsby having the secret affairs. The victims being involved in the crime is only George Wilson that is the husband of Myrtle but he later finds out about her affair being behind his back and decides to take drastic measures to get revenge which causes a great plot development in the story. Adultery is the most horrific crime in the book because the numerous times of dishonesty being taken place and the feeling of jealous. For example, during the conversation
The recurring themes of society, class, and self identity can be seen throughout many different writings of the 20th century. Two of these writings include, “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald and, “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston. Both novels focus on the protagonist's goal of achieving equal rights in their own environment while at the same time trying to figure out who they are in the world. In the early 1900s, when “Their Eyes Were Watching God” takes place, slavery had very recently been abolished (relatively speaking) and the lasting effects of segregation take a toll on Janie, the protagonist. In the Great Gatsby, although Jay Gatsby is white, and thus does not have to deal with the factor of race, he struggles with many different aspects of American Society, mainly the class system and the American Dream. The American dream depicted by F.Scott Fitzgerald is a desire to gain wealth and prosperity. However, at the same time the book does not suggest that wealth equates to success. Even though Gatsby does have material wealth, he is not successful in gaining what he wants to be happy. Despite his material wealth, Gatsby is never united with the love of his life, Daisy. This shows that even though Gatsby has achieved the dream of wealth and prosperity, he has not achieved his final goal. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie too believes in the American Dream, and similarly to Gatsby, it is not a dream of wealth and prosperity. For her, it’s a dream of Freedom in all aspects of life. Both characters however, spend much of their time trying to conform to the rest of the world and essentially be like “everyone” else instead of trying to be distinct individuals. Societal norms of the early 1900s tak...
MoreOver, being that Gatsby was chasing after the American Dream shows a little bit about him. People seen him as hardworking to get where he was because he was very poor at first. That did not seem to be so great about him. Although despite that, many others were envious of him because of how popular and high demand he was and also how much money and wealthy he was. He seemed to be the main attraction but made very poor decisions while living and many people tended to see who he really was and view that he was not that “great” or great at all.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a tragedy filled with love, loss, and betrayal. Fitzgerald paints us a beautiful picture of the events in this tale through complex wording. While his story and word usage may be complex, his character are not as complex as they appear. Their outward appearance may fool a reader because deep down they fit many popular archetypes. From the narcissistic jock type to the outsider, each one of Fitzgerald’s main characters can fit a certain archetype.
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
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...
The 1920’s were a time of social and technological change. After World War II, the Victorian values were disregarded, there was an increase in alcohol consumption, and the Modernist Era was brought about. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a perfect presentation of the decaying morals of the Roaring Twenties. Fitzgerald uses the characters in the novel--specifically the Buchanans, Jordan Baker, and Gatsby’s partygoers--to represent the theme of the moral decay of society.
Most self respecting people have ethics and morals they try to abide by. They create standards that they live life by and construct their own philosophy with. In the novel The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, morals and ethics are a scarce practice. Jay Gatsby lives his life by the over bearing morals and values of devotion, corruption, and his will to control.