Youth In The Great Gatsby

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The Great Gatsby is a story of a young man who falls in love with a pretty girl who is out of his reach economically. They are separated by his participation in “The Great War” and so he spends the next decade amassing wealth in the hopes of regaining the love of his youth. The tragedy is that no one can ever regain their youth. This theme is repeated through various forms including books, songs, and movies. Juan Ponce de Leon is a famous example as he tried to find the fabled fountain of youth. Bruce Springsteen and his song “Glory Days” emphasizes the nostalgia of our past, something we all wish we could all return to. Back to the Future’s Marty McFly goes back in time to alter Biff from a bully to a sub-servant.
At night, Gatsby likes to …show more content…

West Egg contains the new rich, people who are still adjusting to the upper-class life and still lack social credentials but remain more honest. Nick takes notice to the fact that everything in the east, New York, was very different from the Midwest, his home. Nick, the narrator of the story is just starting his new job as a bond salesman. He is a citizen of West Egg and is neighbors with Jay Gatsby. Gatsby, the character which this book is named after was a newly wealthy Midwesterner who moved to the East just like Nick. Gatsby focuses his life on restoring his youth. He lives with the hope that he might reunite with his old sweetheart, Daisy. Gatsby constantly has an internal conflict with himself over this. Gatsby tries to reunite with Daisy by throwing parties and having people over, hoping that someday Daisy will attend. Most people come to his parties uninvited, and unconcerned about who Gatsby really is. But one lone visitor, Owl Eyes attempts to discover his true identity. Perhaps the image of a wise owl represents the search for the …show more content…

After realizing he has a chance to see Daisy again, Gatsby orders Nick to create a situation for him to meet up with her. Gatsby sees this reunion as a fulfillment of his dreams when in reality; it is just the start of a slew of trouble for him. Gatsby isn’t the only one being set up with a girl however. Nick himself has been dating Jordan, a top level golfer who is somewhat notorious for stealing the hearts of young men, sort of a younger Daisy. Nick tends to overlook this dishonorable trait similarly to how he ignores New York’s corruption and tries to focus on the positivity of the city. While Jordan and Daisy are two wealthy and alluring women, Myrtle represents the lower class. She sees an entryway to the good life through Tom. She has had enough of her poor and unappealing husband, George, and decides to cheat on him. Daisy resents Myrtle and fails to realize that she is a reflection of Daisy’s past self, a pretty girl who just wants to have a fun and the easy life. She doesn’t care who she has to hurt to get there. Daisy ditched her old boyfriend Gatsby and true love just as Myrtle got rid of George. Both women got rid of those who loved them because of greed and the desire for a wealthy lifestyle which their lovers couldn’t provide. Fitsgerald appears to view women very negatively. They are the source of almost all conflict in the novel. Nick left the Mid-west because his

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