The Great Gatsby: Realism F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby has been labelled a masterpiece, and perhaps even one of the greatest novels of all time. In order to be revered as a classic, a novel must have one or more qualities that place it above the rest. One of The Great Gatsby's best qualities is Fitzgerald's incredible use of realism. This realism is evident in the development of plot, setting, and characters throughout the novel. The Great Gatsby is well known for its deeply entangled plots and sub-plots. At first Fitzgerald used realism to develop these plots by choosing plots that would be beleivable to readers. For example, the main plot of "The American Dream" (Jay Gatsby's dream of becoming rich and succesfull in order to impress Daisy) is easily believable and is still a quite common dream today. Smaller plots, such as Tom Buchanans affair with Myrtle, are also very realistic and are a common occurrence in every day life. From here Fitzerald deepened the story by using realism to entangle these plots. Fitzgerald then grew apon these plots by making them all have realistic outcomes (such as Gatsby's demise), rather than your typical story book endings. It is mostly thanks to Fitzgerald's descriptive, poetic style of writing that allows him to realistically portray the many plots of The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald's realistic construction and development of plot is extremely dependant apon the setting of the novel in which it take place. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses realism to clearly depict the setting of the Great Gatsby. This incredible use of realism could be mostly due to the fact that Fitzgerald lived during the time of the novel, and by using great detail, he was able to reproduce his interpretation of the 1920's. At this time the Great War (WW1) had just ended and the United States was becoming as dominant world power. The novel takes place during the summer in New York as Nick Carraway has just moved to persue a career in the bond business. This is a very realistic setting because just after World War 1 the eastern United States were flourishing with people and business. As depicted in The Great Gatsby, during the 1920's jazz music was all the rage. Large, fancy homes and big parties (such as Gatsby's) were also quite popular. Fitzgerald realistically demonstrates the inexistence of the middle class at that time. For example the contrast between Tom Buchanan and Mr. Wilson shows vast difference between the upper and lower classes. The exact geographical location of the novel does not exist, but Fitzgerald does a
Jay Gatsby’s funeral is a small service, not because that 's what was intended, but because no one bothered to show up. Nick wanted to give Gatsby the popularity he desired, even in death, but only three people were present in the end. Gatsby’s father, Henry C. Gatz, shows up unexpectedly from Minnesota because he heard about the news in the papers. He believes that the man who shot his son must 've been mad, that no one in their right mind could commit such a horrible act. Daisy and Wolfsheim, the people closest to Gatsby in the book, do not attend. This exemplifies that it was always about wealth and social status for them, including Tom, and they never genuinely cared for Gatsby. Nick held up hope,
Rudd’s (2009) essay evaluates Enid Blyton’s work offering a different perspective to account for the appeal and popularity of the author. This essay looks at the aspects raised by Rudd. How Blyton, Pullman and Ransom illustrate the different aspects of a good or a bad book. The way critics confer prestige on a book or author and the arising criticism. How the agenda of the committees affects the selection of prize-winners. Finally, looking at the factors involved in success.
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
The strive for perfection and reaching for the impossible are the driving factors in the lives of Gatsby, and Hamlet. In both The Great Gatsby, by F.Scott Fitzgerald, and Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the theme of idealism is demonstrated as the main contributing factor into the evident downfall of both Gatsby, and Hamlet. Although each respectable character is faced with dissimilar scenarios, it is the similarities of Gatsby and Hamlet 's character traits that allow them both to be victims of their own idealism. Gatsby and Hamlet both lose their lover, leaving them to live heartbroken and lonesome lives. The tendency to masquerade their true personalities, weather it be to escape the past; or to plot the perfect revenge, displays the idealistic attitude of the two characters. Lastly, the obsession with perfection allows each character to bypass an opportunity to achieve their ultimate goal.
Fitzgerald’s work brought inspiration to many authors after him. Although he wrote and published many of his works. Many people believe now that The Great Gatsby was a flawless novel and the best of his works. As an author he gave us an epic story and millions of copies have been sold worldwide. His life and intelligence formed an amazing writer that we all know today. His legacy has continued and will continue in years to come through many authors.
“Gatsby turned out alright in the end.” Yes, because someone who ends up murdered in their own swimming pool, shot by a lackluster man, taking the blame for a crime he never committed for someone who quickly turned her back on him, is defined as “alright.” I never understood why Gatsby was the one to die. I thought he was the hero of the novel. Fitzgerald was a romantic; he was the American Dreamer. The novel was the epitome of the American Dream. The hero never fails; the underdog always wins. Isn’t that what we have always been taught? How could such a great man die? And why was Gatsby the only one pointed out as “alright?” I mean after all, most of the characters’ lives remained unchanged. Daisy and Tom resumed their marriage. Nick returned to the Midwest. Jordan continued her career. Gatsby was one of the only people who portrayed the repercussions of the events. How could someone that readers are supposed to root for die tragically, and on a false claim, nonetheless? Why did Fitzgerald murder Gatsby? But, after some research I realized Fitzgerald NEEDED Gatsby to die.
The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald that follows a cast of characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on prosperous Long Island in the summer of 1922. The story primarily concerns the young and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his quixotic passion for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. Considered to be Fitzgerald's magnum opus, The Great Gatsby explores themes of decadence, idealism, resistance to change, social upheaval, and excess, creating a portrait of the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties that has been described as a cautionary tale regarding the American Dream.
Book became the greatest crime seller at the time and is almost universally acknowledged as one of the best books of its type ever written.
Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby is one of the most carefully structured stories of all time. The narrator, Nick, is a very clever and well spoken storyteller. Nick confides with the reader in the first pages of the novel. He says that he needs to tell the story of a man called Gatsby. It is as if Nick has to overcome disappointment and frustration with a man who has left him with painful memories. Nick says that, even though Gatsby did alright in the end, “it was the foul dust that collected in his wake” that disgusts him now. Nick, thus, begins the novel with uncomfortable memories. Time is a meaningful concept in this story. It is evident that dreams and memories are central to the overall plot and meaning. Secondly, the American Dream is a “green light” of desire that Gatsby never stops yearning for and something he will not forget over time, even as he is dying. This is so, even though no one cares about Gatsby or his dreams after he died, except maybe Nick. Finally, the fact that Fitzgerald uses flashback; that Nick is telling us about a main character after he has already died and before the story begins, is ultimate proof. The Great Gatsby is structured by Nick’s memory. Fitzgerald’s clever use of flashback throughout and within the novel is the greatest evidence that he intended his novel to be centered on memory and going back in time, which will be sort of a focus as we go further into this essay.
The literary element characterization played a major role in this novel. In the story there
Parties, alcohol, and the desire to change from “rags to riches”. These things are not only represented in the movie The Great Gatsby, but also represent the time of the Roaring Twenties. The Great Gatsby depicts an accurate depiction of the time when America ended World War I in 1918, and entered in a period of wealth and materialism. Although The Great Gatsby exemplifies United States with accurate representations, there are few inaccurate details regarding the American Dream, flapper girls, and Prohibition.
Ultimately, if a work possesses excellent formal coherence and asserts universal truths, these qualities alone may be sufficient to render the work meaningful to those who exist beyond the time period and cultural context that the work addresses. The work may still prove unable to be deemed a classic, a term reserved for the few works that achieve coherence and the expression of universal themes to a high degree, but that outcome is a possibility. On the other hand, a work that breaks from convention in a unique way and shows proper coherence cannot be readily accessible or significant to readers if its content is significantly confined to one subject.
In society, many people mistakably blind themselves from the truth of reality in order to achieve the materialistic things life offers. They become intrigued by these ideas and dreams of another life and turn it into an obsession, unable to understand the consequences. In the novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Jay Gatsby’s perception of life exemplifies this by allowing his dreams to overpower reality. His belief happiness can be found through wealth, love and possessions causes him to think everything should and will be capable of his reach. Motivated by obsession with love and success, Gatsby creates an impractical dream for himself and Daisy.
In the novel The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald explores the themes of dreams, illusion versus reality, poverty versus wealth, having your highlight in your youth, waste, east versus west, creating a cautionary tale regarding the American Dream. In this oral presentation the ideas and techniques that show illusion versus reality within the novel will be explored and discussed.
...ese reviews, the fact that so much criticism has come from The Great Gatsby shows just how influential it is.