Illusion and Reality in The Great Gatsby

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Illusion and Reality in The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a novel about one man's disenchantment with the American dream. In the story we get a glimpse into the life of Jay Gatsby, a man who aspired to achieve a position among the American rich to win the heart of his true love, Daisy Fay. Gatsby's downfall was in the fact that he was unable to determine that concealed boundary between reality and illusion in his life. The Great Gatsby is a tightly structured, symbolically compressed novel whose predominant images and symbols reinforce the idea that Gatsby's dream exists on borrowed time. Fitzgerald perfectly understood the inadequacy of Gatsby's romantic view of wealth. At a young age he met and fell in love with Ginevra King, a Chicago girl who enjoyed the wealth and social position to which Fitzgerald was always drawn. After being rejected by Ginevra because of his lower social standing, Fitzgerald came away with a sense of social inadequacy, a deep hurt, and a longing for the girl beyond attainment. This disappointment grew into distrust and envy of the American rich and their lifestyle. These personal feelings are expressed in Gatsby. The rich symbolize the failure of a civilization and the way of life and this flaw becomes apparent in the characters of Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Nick Carraway, the narrator of the story, quickly became disillusioned with the upper social class after having dinner at their home on the fashionable East Egg Island. "Nick is forced unwillingly to observe the violent contrast between their opportunities- what is implied by the gracious surface of their existence- and the seamy underside which is its’ reality" (Way 93). In the Buchanans, and in Nick... ... middle of paper ... ...'s eyes are God-like symbol. IV. America the continent of lost innocence and illusions. A. Gatsby's experience compared to Dutch sailors. B. Gatsby's tragedy was triviality of Daisy. Conclusion: Symbolism and artistry paint a vivid picture of a dream destined to fail. Works Cited Bewley, Marius. "Scott Fitzgerald and the Collapse of the American Dream." Modern Critical Views F. Scott Fitzgerald. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. 1985. p. 41. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1925 Lehan, Richard D. "The Great Gatsby." F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Craft of Fiction. Chicago: Southern Illinois University Press. 1966. p. 121. Way, Brian. "The Great Gatsby." Modern Critical Interpretations F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. 1986. p. 93.

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