Overview: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

1108 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The great gatsby and the prohibition

The Great Gatsby

In The Great Gatsby, the main character, Jay Gatsby, dedicates his life towards becoming a man based on materialistic objects and money to get together with the larger than life Daisy Buchanan years after their departure from each other. Gatsby throws away his hard working morals and turns to bootlegging during prohibition for “easy money” to get to the social standard for Daisy. All was going well until daisy accidentally killed Tom Buchanan’s mistress, Myrtle. Myrtles husband is led to believe Gatsby killed her. In response to this, myrtles husband kills Gatsby and then himself, ending any possible future relations between Daisy and Gatsby. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald highlights the concept of gaining relationships from material objects; this thematic structure of the text parallels the concept of the American dream in current popular culture and for this reason the text is studied today.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life is a back and forth motion between fortune and misfortune.

Throughout his childhood, Fitzgerald wanted to be a rich and famous writer. He was born on September 24, 1896. His father Edward Fitzgerald lost his job, and became a failure. Luckily there was a good deal of wealth in his mother’s side of his family continuing his life in prep schools. During this time he wrote many poems, short stories, and plays. This was his way of gaining social acceptance (A&E).

In 1913, Fitzgerald was accepted into Princeton. He had a great time there but he was already developing a drinking problem. His grades started to suffer after he was spending most of his time writing plays. He then met 16 year old Ginevra King at a dance. They began a relationship and this ended up playing a role in Fitzgerald’s...

... middle of paper ...

...920’s by means of prohibition and bootlegging.

Works Cited

F,.Scott Fitzgerald: The Great American Dreamer. Prod.. History Television Network

Productions A&E. 1997. Videocassette.

Giles, Paul1. “A Good Gatsby.” Commonweal 140.12 (2013): 12-15. OmniFile Full Text

Select (H.W. Wilson). Webn. 16 Jan. 2014

Roberts, Marilyn. “Scarface,” “The Great Gatsby,” And the American Dream.” Literature Film

Quarterlty 34.1 (2006): 71-78. OmniFile Full Text Select (H.W. Wilson). Web. 16 Jan.

2014.

Froehlich, Maggie Gordon. “Gatsby’s Mentors: Queer relations Between Love And Money In

The Great Gatsby,” Journal Of Men;s Stdies 19.3 (200=11): 209-226. OmnFile Full Text

Select (H.W. Wilson). Web. 16 Jan 2014

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1925.

The Great Gatsby. Jack Clayton. Paramount Pictures. 1974. Film.

Show More
Related

  • The Golden Girl: F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

    1050 Words  | 3 Pages

    F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby introduces the roaring twenties with a series of golden prosperity and riches beyond belief. With his eccentric chraracters, Daisy Buchanan, Tom Buchanan, and Jay Gatsby, Fitzgerald shapes the perception of 1920’s New York and shows the unique social aspect of life in the east. The Buchanans are initially portrayed as the power couple. Both desirable in their own way, Tom is INSERT QUOTE OF WHAT HE’S LIKE CAUSE IDK HE’S AN ASSHOLE and Daisy is utterly beautiful

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby Essay

    1138 Words  | 3 Pages

    Literary Research Paper: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald is known as America’s great novel, “The Great Gatsby is a classic piece of American fiction. It is a novel of triumph and tragedy, noted for the remarkable way Fitzgerald captured a cross-section of American society.”(Cliffsnotes Editor) The novel is set in New York City, more specifically in long island; East Egg and West Egg, during the prohibition era in the 1920’s and was then published

    Read More

  • Textual Analysis Of The Great Gatsby

    947 Words  | 2 Pages

    F. Scott Fitzgerald was one of the most compelling twentieth century writers, (Curnutt, 2004). The year 1925 marks the year of the publication of Fitzgerald’s most credited novel, The Great Gatsby (Bruccoli, 1985). With its critiques of materialism, love and the American Dream (Berman, 1996), this dramatic idyllic novel, (Harvey, 1957), although poorly received at first, is now highly regarded as Fitzgerald’s finest work (Rohrkemper, 1985) and is his publisher, Scribner 's most popular title, (Donahue

    Read More

  • The Impact of Nick Carraway's Point of View in The Great Gatsby

    559 Words  | 2 Pages

    everyone. He knows Gatsby more than anyone else does. He is said to be the reader’s access to Gatsby’s life. However, he is clueless as to the lies and rumors going around about Gatsby and some of the other things that are going on (Doreski). Nick tries to stay out of other people’s business but is always finding himself caught in the middle of it anyways (Hermanson). Nick is not considered the perfect and innocent character in this book. He is a manipulator and excellent liar (“Great”, Scott). Nick thinks

    Read More

  • F. Scott Fitzgerald

    1431 Words  | 3 Pages

    like F. Scott Fitzgerald who had many issues dealing with alcohol and other problems throughout the course of his life. Some of these obstacles were difficult to deal with, so F. Scott Fitzgerald found inspiration through his wife Zelda Sayre, who was reason behind many books. As proof by his willingness to his wife and dedication to his work, leads to conclude F. Scott Fitzgerald was ambitious and goal driven by not only outer surroundings but his ever so important American Dream. Fitzgerald was

    Read More

  • Tricks and Lies in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    1704 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Great Gatsby is a book written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in the year 1925. It is set in a fictional town of West Egg, in the summer of 1922. Throughout the book, Fitzgerald describes Gatsby, Nick, Tom, and Daisy. He describes Gatsby in a sense of being mysterious because of a shady past. Then there is Nick who plays the most important role of the book, and is the narrator of the story. Fitzgerald also describes Tom and Daisy as the couple who just cannot seem to get it right. The Great Gatsby is

    Read More

  • New Historicism In The Great Gatsby Essay

    1135 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gatsby and the Roaring Twenties: A New Historicist Interpretation F. Scott Fitzgerald created a timeless novel about love and wealth when he wrote The Great Gatsby. However, when one closely analyzes the work, it is apparent that he also crafted a social commentary about the state of society and the world during the decade of the 1920’s. Many literary critics and intellectuals have commented on Fitzgerald’s talent in regards to crafting a response to civilization during a specific time period, as

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby: Is Gatsby Moral?

    1284 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Great Gatsby is a story written by Scott Fitzgerald. It is a story about a twisted love affair among the main characters, daisy and Gatsby. The author though his characters shows how striving for wealth defined individuals dreams. Moreover, the story revolves around a pursuit of happiness for the protagonist. This story represents characters who fail to learn from their past experiences and mistakes. The characters in this book are static, starting with Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, Daisy Buchanan

    Read More

  • F. Scott Fitzgerald

    1595 Words  | 4 Pages

    19 December 2013 Author Report on F. Scott Fitzgerald F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the greatest American authors. Many of Fitzgerald’s novels are considered classics and will forever be read. Fitzgerald is most known for his novels detailing the youth of America in the 1920s to the 1930s. Many of these books that Fitzgerald wrote are based of his life experiences. Fitzgerald is considered a literary genius and also lived a very interesting life. Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896 and died

    Read More

  • Tender is the Night

    1132 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gerald Murphy…breakdown of car…tight at Eddie Poe’s…sick again…first borrowing from mother…sick… ‘The Fire’…Zelda weakens and goes to Hopkins…one servant and eating out.” (Mayfield 207) A short excerpt from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Ledger provides a small sample of the many hurdles Fitzgerald struggled to overcome while slaving away nine years with Tender is the Night. The labor which accompanied Fitzgerald’s fourth novel was not anticipated by the author. He had first envisioned Tender is the Night

    Read More

  • The American Dream in Of Mice and Men, The Great Gatsby, Two Kinds, and Sophistication

    1545 Words  | 4 Pages

    Steinbeck, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Two Kinds writer by Amy Tan, and in “Sophistication” by Sherwood Anderson. Working hard is the key to success. This struggle for success is most commonly called the “American Dream.” The aspect of the American Dream has been around forever and is often the underlying theme in many pieces of American literature. The theme of the American is especially presented in Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Two Kinds

    Read More

  • Symbols of The Great Gatsby

    1239 Words  | 3 Pages

    hope afloat. F. Scott Fitzgerald captured this era in his book, The Great Gatsby. Through his many symbols he illustrates the hopes, the forgotten God, and the oppressed Americans of the Twenties. The symbols in The Great Gatsby help convey several different themes, from wealth to loss of morals, to poverty. The green light in The Great Gatsby is an ambiguous symbol. The green light is deceiving at first, tricking the reader into thinking it is merely a symbol of hope. “Gatsby believed in the

    Read More

  • What Does Money Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    Symbolism In The Great Gatsby In novels, the use of symbols add flavor and meaning to those who care to look for them, and thus makes them near-essential to understanding an author’s purpose. Symbols are hidden messages in the form of objects or dialogue within the story that the author uses to communicate with the reader a deeper understanding, even if deep analyzation is not uncommon in such communication. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, better known as F. Scott Fitzgerald, connects the different

    Read More

  • Dishonesty in The Great Gatsby

    1501 Words  | 4 Pages

    example, F. Scott Fitzgerald makes dishonesty a major theme in his novel The Great Gatsby. The falsehoods told by the characters in this novel leads to inevitable tragedy when the truth is revealed. Jay Gatsby, one of the main characters in the novel, fails to realize that when one tells a lie, it comes back to bite you. For example, he initially tells his neighbor, and potential friend Nick, that he had inherited his redundant sums of money from his family. One night, the night Gatsby reunites

    Read More

  • How Is Money Corrupt In The Great Gatsby

    773 Words  | 2 Pages

    they say is the root of all evil today.” - Pink Floyd, “Money” Money rules the world. Sometimes money’s influence can be damaging. Without responsibility, the power of money can be abused, and this abuse may lead to corruption. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the character Tom Buchanan is a good example of how money corrupts, since he never has to face the consequences of his bad decisions and actions since his money lets him get away with everything. Throughout the book, we see Tom getting

    Read More

More about Overview: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Open Document