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Quentin Hardy of the Huffington Post comments that “Much of American Literature is a consideration of our ability to head to the frontier, reinvent ourselves, make a shining city on a hill, be the last best hope for mankind, free ourselves of the shackles of the past, the tragic fate of birth in a particular place” (Hardy). The 1920’s was a time in which the everyday person could transform himself into anything he desired. Filled with promise, this period gave birth to what is known as “modernistic literature” where authors would unveil the true fragmentation of the modern world through inner revelation. F. Scott Fitzgerald was a key figure in this movement as his novel The Great Gatsby exposed human weakness in its ambition to dream of objects, …show more content…
Both men experienced a deep yearning to achieve more than they already had: the woman of their dreams and the wealth that would enable them to live with ease. This parallel created between the two men reveals a deeper connection than just a simple resemblance. Fitzgerald was able to fit himself (as Gatsby) into a novel that describes his inner struggle with his ambition. Nick Carraway, seen as the narrator, stands for Fitzgerald’s conscience, the careful and reserved observer that quietly judges Gatsby’s actions as well as the behaviors of the characters around him. Both Nick and Gatsby describe two sides of Fitzgerald’s personality. Nick is the quiet, reflective mid-Western man who is mesmerized by the glitter and glam that the East seems to uphold. Gatsby, on the other hand, represents Fitzgerald’s ambition in the way that he will stop at nothing to achieve his dreams and fulfill the image that he made for himself earlier on in life. Throughout the novel, the readers can tell that Gatsby’s hopeful ambition eventually causes his downfall. In this sense, his death signifies the death of one of Fitzgerald’s personalities. Gatsby symbolizes the epitome of the American dream: a self-made man who’s life was always climbing higher and higher. Gatsby’s death is the death of that dream; it was Fitzgerald’s realization that the American Dream had been …show more content…
The time period following World War I was booming with activity due to the post-war economy. Wall Street was buzzing with promising business and many of the heads of major stock firms were involved in “under-the-table-investments”. The federal income tax system had also just been initiated in the country and wealthy families such as the Rockefellers were protecting their enormous fortunes through loopholes in the 21st Amendment. The alcohol market was shut down because of prohibition, but then opened up a whole new form of market (the black market) where it was sold in secrecy instead. The most iniquitous of all the criminal activity, however, were the gangs. These influential groups controlled black market trade and commerce and head members collected some of the highest salaries in the entire
Gatsby’s explanation of this dream focused on money and social status. He has always yearned for this, even when he was a child. Fitzgerald frequently emphasises Gatsby’s desire, throughout the entirety of this novel. Though, Fitzgerald accentuates this desire when Nick discovers the truth of Gatsby’s past. During this elucidation, Nick explains that “his [Gatsby’s] parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people-his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all.” (Fitzgerald, 98) This shows the reader Gatsby’s lifelong determination for wealth and power. Even in his adult life, he strives for more than what he has. In John Steinbeck’s essay, he explains that “we [Americans] go mad with dissatisfaction in the face of success” (Steinbeck, 1) This is exactly how Gatsby feels, he is not content with his success, the amount of money he has, or the height of his social status and is constantly wishing for more than he has. Though, once he meets Daisy he no longer strives for wealth, but rather for her. As shown in this novel, even though Gatsby has achieved all he had wanted when he was growing up, he will not be content until he is able to call Daisy his
The character of Gatsby and Fitzgerald’s commentary on the logical fallacies of the American Dream are closely intertwined, which is why Fitzgerald goes to such great lengths to separate the two. By distinguishing Gatsby from the flaws he possesses allows the reader to care for Gatsby, and the impact of his death all the more powerful when it finally occurs. By making Gatsby a victim of the American Dream rather than just the embodiment of it, Fitzgerald is able to convince his audience of the iniquity of the American Dream by making them mourn the life of the poor son-of-a-bitch
F. Scott Fitzgerald inquires about the American Dream through the characters in his publication. Jay Gatsby was born into a meager family, but he does not allow that to cease his hard work towards success in life. He addresses many personal goals for himself that he meets throughout his life. Nick Caraway, Gatsby’s neighbor and the man of which the story is told through his eyes, explains Gatsby’s determination as “an extraordinary gift for hope”. One goal is to gain Daisy Buchanan’s attention once again. When Gatsby goes off to war, Daisy marries a man of similar abundance. Gatsby’s plan is to purch...
Certain authors, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, wanted to reflect the horrors that the world had experienced not a decade ago. In 1914, one of the most destructive and pointless wars in history plagued the world: World War I. This war destroyed a whole generation of young men, something one would refer to as the “Lost Generation”. Modernism was a time that allowed the barbarity of the war to simmer down and eventually, disappear altogether. One such author that thrived in this period was F. Scott Fitzgerald, a young poet and author who considered himself the best of his time. One could say that this self-absorption was what fueled his drive to be the most famous modernist the world had seen. As The New Yorker staff writer Susan Orlean mentions in her literary summary of Fitzgerald’s works, “I didn’t know till fifteen that there was anyone in the world except me, and it cost me plenty” (Orlean xi). One of the key factors that influenced and shaped Fitzgerald’s writing was World War I, with one of his most famous novels, This Side Of Paradise, being published directly after the war in 1920. Yet his most famous writing was the book, The Great Gatsby, a novel about striving to achieve the American dream, except finding out when succeeding that this dream was not a desire at all. Fitzgerald himself lived a life full of partying and traveling the world. According to the Norton Anthology of American Literature, “In the 1920’s and 1930’s F. Scott Fitzgerald was equally equally famous as a writer and as a celebrity author whose lifestyle seemed to symbolize the two decades; in the 1920’s he stood for all-night partying, drinking, and the pursuit of pleasure while in the 1930’s he stood for the gloomy aftermath of excess” (Baym 2124). A fur...
The novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald relates the story of the mysterious Jay Gatsby through the eyes of an idealistic man that moves in next door to the eccentric millionaire. Nick Carraway comes to the east coast with dreams of wealth, high society, and success on his mind. It is not long before Gatsby becomes one of his closest friends who offers him the very lifestyle and status that Nick came looking for. As the story unfolds, it is easy to see that the focus on Jay Gatsby creates a false sense of what the story truly is. The Great Gatsby is not the tragic tale of James Gatz (Jay Gatsby), but rather the coming of age story of Nick Carraway. In many ways the journeys of Gatsby and Nick are parallel to one another, but in the end it’s Nick’s initiation into the real world that wins out.
By eulogizing the tragic fate of dreamers, Fitzgerald thereby denounces 1920s America as an age of blindness and greed an age hostile to the work of dreaming. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald heralds the ruin of his own generation.
F. Scott Fitzgerald was an unknown author who only received great acclaim for his book The Great Gatsby after his passing. He was always a keen believer that the pursuit of a dream was much more rewarding than the achievement. In this novel, Nick Carraway recounts the tale of James Gatz’s a poor farmer’s son’s transition to Jay Gatsby an affluent grandiose man. Gatz unlike the other central characters is new money. He overcame the conditions that he was born into. His parents were mere farmers but he has been able to reinvent himself both figuratively and literally. His achievements cannot be dismissed because of such factors as luck or wealth. The medal of honor Gatsby earns from serving in the war and the mansion he owns on West Egg are a consequence of his enduring persistence. Although Gatsby’s objectification of women is displeasing, this novel is considered a great American novel because it convinces its readers, at least briefly, of Niccolò Machiavelli’s ideal that "the ends justify the means." Gatsby transcendes the wealth gap through dealings with alcohol, gains fame, buys a mansion across from his Daisy’s house all in aggregate to be with Daisy Buchanan once again. His perseverance and his rise to fame and riches from nothing are the keystone of the American Dream.
The picture is trying to prove F. Scott Fitzgerald discontent for the moral decay that occurred in the 1920s by the face with the appearance of wealth, the colorful, inviting, and bright city, and the variety of colors used throughout the picture.
“The Great Gatsby”, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, portrays a world filled with rich societal happenings, love affairs, and corruption. Nick Carraway is the engaged narrator of the book, a curious choice considering that he is in a different class and almost in a different world than Gatsby and the other characters. Nick relates the plot of the story to the reader as a member of Gatsby’s circle. He has ambivalent feelings towards Gatsby, despising his personality and corrupted dream but feeling drawn to Gatsby’s magnificent capacity to hope. Using Nick as a moral guide, Fitzgerald attempts to guide readers on a journey through the novel to illustrate the corruption and failure of the American Dream. To achieve this, Nick’s credentials as a reliable narrator are carefully established and reinforced throughout the story.
In the Great Gatsby, by F Scott Fitzgerald the novel does not reflect an autobiography, but several of Fitzgerald’s personal experiences are reflected in it. Similarities can be drawn between the novel and Scott Fitzgeralds own life. Similarities include Gatsby and Fitzgerald 's want for success through continuous failure, dreams of success, strong feelings towards alcohol, and their love life. Nick’s qualities that relate to Fitzgerald include his honesty as a man in relation to the liars surrounding him. Also his mid western values to not be judgemental makes him a perfect observer, but also makes him the perfect outsider, which is how Fitzgerald always felt in the company of rich people. The relation between Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby
Fitzgerald uses Gatsby to symbolize the American dream, and uses his rags to riches journey to convey to his readers that the American dream is an extremely dangerous thing to pursue and ultimately impossible to achieve. After having dinner with his second cousin Daisy Buchanan and her husband Tom, Nick returns home to find his neighbor Mr. Gatsby in his yard. Nick says “ [about Gatsby] he stretched out his arms towards the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could’ve sworn he was trembling” (21). Nick see’s Gatsby reaching out towards the water, actually at what is right across the sound; the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock.
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,
In the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the protagonist, Jay Gatsby, attempts to create the illusion of having successfully achieved the American Dream. Yet his relationship with various characters throughout the novel unravels his facade and portrays the ultimate falsity of the American Dream. Despite creating an elaborate veneer of the perfect American life, Nick, the objective narrator, is able to see through Gatsby’s facade and recognize that his life of charm and success is merely a ruse. From nearly the moment he meets Gatsby, Nick is able to see past the false exterior and behold the true reality. Additionally, a mysterious figure, whom Nick coins Owl Eyes, is able to see through the sham of Gatsby's extravagant persona.
Gatsby’s obsession of his love for Daisy and wealth prove his dream as unattainable. Throughout the novel, he consumes himself into lies to cheat his way into people’s minds convincing them he is this wealthy and prosperous man. Gatsby tries to win Daisy’s love through his illusion of success and relive the past, but fails to comprehend his mind as too hopeful for something impossible. In the end, Nick is the only one to truly understand Gatsby’s hopeful aspirations he set out for himself but ultimately could not obtain. In the novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald is able to parallel many themes of the roaring twenties to current society. The ideas of high expectations and obsession of the material world are noticeable throughout the history and is evident in many lives of people today.
Through Fitzgerald's use of symbolism, expectations, and relationships, he explores the American dream, and how it is an illusion that corrupts and destroys lives. Through Fitzgerald’s symbolic description of Gatsby, he explores the extent of the American Dream’s deceptive nature that slowly destroys a person and his/her morals. During the Roaring 20s it was very common for people to project illusions to mask who they truly were; to fit in, it was almost essential to have one to survive in the highly materialistic and deceitful society. Nick is introduced as the objective narrator of the novel.... ...