Transformation In The Great Gatsby

Composers express their disparate concerns, such as one’s perception of love, and point of views through the manipulation of their respective textual forms. This is observed in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), where through the manipulation of the novel form, the author directs the audience’s attention to the progression of the characters’ transformations by using techniques such as contrast, motif and extended metaphors in order to establish distinction between the differing perspectives of the characters. Through the exploration of post- WWI America as an ebullient world overcome by hedonism and materialism, Fitzgerald emphasises a character’s change in perceptions and gradual transformation. Fitzgerald examines the influence

A shift in societal norms such as from a conservative to a progressive focus and personal interests driven by desires for sentimental ideals like love and hope play significant roles in the transformation of an individual, relevant to their era. Authors reflect these social forces through their compositions as free expressions of their concerns, the demise of the American Dream through the change in social discourse. This is pertinent to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, where through the characters of Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchannan, he is able to parallel his own relationship. Along with these characters he uses Nick Carraway to mirror the relevant issues and paradigms of the 1920’s. By using Nick as the narrator of the novel, Fitzgerald highlights the development of the characters through the contrast of Nick’s moral values and the alluring influence of the social forces at play. This

This shift in values epitomises the transformation of the american dream, from the spiritual journey that once celebrated success and moral, to that of materialism, consumerism and the individual. It depicts how even the most conservative and restraint individual can transform under the glowing influence of the Roaring Twenties, as it does for Nick. Fitzgerald uses Nick and Gatsby as extensions of certain aspects of his personality; Nick being the rational, realistic and traditional aspects whereas Gatsby represents the romantic and idealistic. By contrasting the two characters, Fitzgerald draws out their differences to highlight Gatsby’s delusional image of Daisy, ultimately being his downfall as a tragic character. Gatsby ironically searches for a romanticised and idealistic form of love in a world where wealth and status held more value than emotions or character, as seen when a drunken Daisy lets her true emotions get the best of her, and reveals that she does not love Tom and does not wish to marry him, " She…pulled out the