In most literature assigned to young adults for academic reading, there exists major ideas students are taught to dissect and take away from their reading. In reference to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the major moral interpretations of the tale are widely known and accepted by teens due to the variety of shared interests between the characters and their young readers. Fitzgerald encompasses several concepts from infidelity, to gender roles, to economic class, to the importance of hope; all of which he covers with exuberance. In the case of economic class, Fitzgerald creates a social structure that parallels reality whilst placing emphasis on the more desirable attributes of high class life, allowing the text to remain prevalent and relatable throughout time and cultural shifts. The similarities between reality and the world of Gatsby preserve its story and the principles that follow and the romanticism keeps young readers engaged, lending the text the timelessness necessary to grant academic attention. In spite of the fact that the novel exudes a fantastical heat, the plot does require a firmly rooted backbone in order to become well established. Fitzgerald deeply explores the idea of old money versus new money, placing the very hopeful, assimilated, Mr. Gatsby among the children of invested families creating a dynamic that boasts the segregation of the two stereotypes within high class. By affirming this differentiation, Fitzgerald spoon-feeds his readers the notion that mobility between social classes is possible but does not necessarily lead to acceptance, debunking a common misconception among teens that wealth will buy them true companionship. So is the nature of Myrtle’s character who so desperately wishes to cli... ... middle of paper ... ... pg. 52. Fitzgerald idealizes the character of Gatsby--a man who has climbed the social ladder as incorrupt, despite the illegitimate source of his wealth--in contrast with the corrupt old money characters to instill Gatsby’s idea that hope can be achieved. Students are then capable of walking away from this book with an ignited hope for success wherever they may be directed; this inspiration can be regarded as a positive or negative affect. The desire for sophisticated social class represented in The Great Gatsby can either destroy or build character and potential in a young person. Due to the fact Fitzgerald’s novel is flexible, the realistic and romanticized attributes can be interpreted in different ways. However, Fitzgerald’s technique utilized when building his social structure plays a major role in the novel’s penetration in high school academic literature.
To conclude, by creating distinct class structures between the traditional upper class, new wealth, and the poor in The Great Gatsby, it is shown that the desire to maintain or change socio-economic status leads to immoral behaviours and corruption. The competing desires of the emerging class structure in The Great Gatsby cause destruction and loss of vitality to ensue. This eventually leads to immoral activities such as Gatsby’s bootlegging and murder, Wilson’s suicide, and the death of Myrtle. Fitzgerald warns with the emergence of punitive class structures and roles, unethical behaviour will fester which could lead to a polarized society if left unbalanced.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby provides the reader with a unique outlook on the life of the newly rich. Gatsby is an enigma and a subject of great curiosity, furthermore, he is content with a lot in life until he strives too hard. His obsession with wealth, his lonely life and his delusion allow the reader to sympathize with him. Initially, Gatsby stirs up sympathetic feelings because of his obsession with wealth.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby many characters are not as they seem. The one character that intrigues me the most is James Gatsby. In the story Gatsby is always thought of as rich, confident, and very popular. However, when I paint a picture of him in my mind I see someone very different. In fact, I see the opposite of what everyone portrays him to be. I see someone who has very little confidence and who tries to fit in the best he can. There are several scenes in which this observation is very obvious to me. It is clear that Gatsby is not the man that everyone claims he is.
In his novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald contrasts the loving conditions and lifestyles of the wealthy and poor through the Buchanan’s and the Wilson’s. In the heart of the first chapter, Fitzgerald describes the home of the Buchanan’s, and in the beginning of the second chapter, he describes the home of the Wilson’s. The contrasting lifestyles are apparent in Fitzgerald’s descriptions due to his use of diction, details, and imagery. This dichotomy in social status holds major importance throughout the plot structure of the novel.
Sometimes literature can be used for pleasure, but more often than not, literature is used to reveal the evils in society. The 1920’s marked a time of economic growth in America’s, post World War 1. A new generation flocked from small towns to big cities in search of exhilaration, opportunity, and a modern way of living. People lived lavishly and had no need to be concerned about others. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald presents a harsh picture of this world, which he sees around him. It is fraudulent and devoid of any morality. He presents society in the story to be headed towards disaster. Society has assumed twisted worldviews, mistakenly believing their lives revolve around social boundaries. This in turn causes the demise of humanity. Therefore, in the Great Gatsby the disintegration of modern society and culture can be seen through the deficiency of religion, commitment, and honesty.
Texts can be valued and appreciated for numerous reasons, and this is particularly apparent in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby. The novel is a great part of 20th century literature and is valued for the themes and ideas which Fitzgerald presents, such as the importance of dreams in peoples’ lives, the myth that is the ‘American Dream’, Fitzgerald’s perspective of 1920’s life, and the style in which he portrays his ideas. It is also valued simply as a love story – as an entertaining narrative.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald offers a commentary on variety of themes- justice, power, greed, betrayal, the American dream and more. Of all the themes, social commentary of the different classes in the 1920s is most the developed throughout the book. Fitzgerald set up his novel into different groups, each portraying a different class during the 1920s. Each social group has its own problem to cope with, revealing the instability of the society. In the end each group has its own issues that it needs to deal with, showing the instability of the society. By creating the different social classes-old money, new money, and no money, Fitzgerald sends a message about the superiority running through every society. By reading The Great Gatsby through a historical lens, the novel becomes a commentary on the elitism of the 1920s society rather than a man’s desire for a previous love.
The Great Gatsby “The Great Gatsby”, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, depicts the vast social difference between the old aristocrats, the new self-made rich and the poor. He vividly interprets the social stratification during the roaring twenties as each group has their own problems to deal with. Old Money, who have fortunes dating from the 19th century, have built up powerful and influential social connections, and tend to hide their wealth and superiority behind a veneer of civility. The New Money made their fortunes in the 1920s boom and therefore have no social connections and tend to overcompensate for this lack with lavish displays of wealth. As usual, the No Money gets overlooked by the struggle at the top, leaving them forgotten or ignored.
In his novel, Fitzgerald emphasizes that the upper class is corrupt by the fake personas the people us that are just for show or to social climb with the ultimate goal of gaining wealth in mind. In The Great Gatsby, everything is hollow; the people, their values, their promises, and their dreams. Gatsby fails to make real connections with people because of his feigned personality and his desire to move up in society through money and Daisy’s affections. Through this story, Fitzgerald indicates that this hollow state of artificial facades and manipulation will end in isolation, either physically, emotionally, or
The Great Gatsby is an American novel of hope and longing, and is one of the very few novels in which “American history finds its figurative form (Churchwell 292).” Gatsby’s “greatness” involves his idealism and optimism for the world, making him a dreamer of sorts. Yet, although the foreground of Fitzgerald’s novel is packed with the sophisticated lives of the rich and the vibrant colors of the Jazz Age, the background consists of the Meyer Wolfsheims, the Rosy Rosenthals, the Al Capones, and others in the vicious hunt for money and the easy life. Both worlds share the universal desire for the right “business gonnegtion,” and where the two worlds meet at the borders, these “gonnegtions” are continually negotiated and followed (James E. Miller). Gatsby was a character meant to fall at the hands of the man meant to be a reality check to the disillusions of the era.
Novels and stories are often written by an author with the intent on leaving the reader with some important piece of advice or a message. In several stories, readers can find hints and underlying themes about social problems and solutions to such problems. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s style of writing drips with underlying themes and symbols. His most popular work, The Great Gatsby, focuses on social classes in the 1920’s. The social divides between different classes cause many problems and people get mentally and physically hurt. Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway are two characters in this novel that get caught up in their social classes and are living in the past.
In conclusion, The Great Gatsby reveals the carelessness and shallowness of the characters in the upper class. Society is totally corrupted and the character’s lives revolve around the money and extravagant lifestyles. All of the characters are surrounded with expensive and unnecessary itms, which in turn, dulls their dream of actual success. Scott F. Fitzgerald provides a powerful and everlasting message of a corrupt, materialistic society and the effects that it has on the idea of the American dream.
In The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald explores the idea of the American Dream as well as the portrayal of social classes. Fitzgerald carefully sets up his novel into distinct social groups but, in the end, each group has its own problems to contend with, leaving a powerful reminder of what a precarious place the world really is. By creating two distinct social classes ‘old money’ and ‘new money’, Fitzgerald sends strong messages about the elitism underlying and moral corruption society. The idea of the American dream is the ideal that opportunity is available to any American, allowing their highest aspirations and goals to be achieved. In the case of The Great Gatsby it centres on the attainment of wealth and status to reach certain positions in life,
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is an American Literature classic, and F. Scott Fitzgerald is considered to be one of the greatest American novelists of all time. His novels and short stories leave impacts on all who read them. One of his most influential novels is The Great Gatsby. This novel covers key issues the people faced during the 1920s, when a person’s worth was determined by their wealth, who they married, and how they fit into society. This novel has many conflicts, but the most important conflict has to be that of man versus society. No matter where a person comes from, there is always a tendency for that person to always want more than he has. This is never more apparent than in the life of Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby epitomizes this conflict of man versus society by his fixation with
Fitzgerald was all about fame and fortune in the 1920’s and all about rebelling against his elders. This book singles out a certain group of people from the early 1900’s, “Fitzgerald’s social insight in The Great Gatsby focuses on a select group: privileged young people between the ages of 20 and 30. In doing so, Fitzgerald provides a vision of the ‘youth and mystery that wealth imprisons and preserves.’” (novelguide) All of these young people believe that they are living “The American Dream”, but they are just wasting time and money.