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During the 1900’s a radical new movement was born - modernism. This newly found movement was built on the loss of traditional values and, the idea of self reliance. Through this, the “America Dream” was born, which valued money, romance and happiness above all else. Author F. Scott Fitzgerald lived and wrote during the 1920’s, a time known for extraordinary parties and high levels of entertainment. In The Great Gatsby, he tells a story which includes aspects of his own life and experiences that fall under the extraordinary category. Within the book, the idea of the American Dream is prevalent and analyzed. Ernest Hemingway on the other hand, is a renowned author focusing on adventure and life in the 1900’s. In his short story, “Hills like White …show more content…
Firstly, Fitzgerald demonstrates how corrupt Gatsby actually is. While Nick, Tom, Daisy, Jordan and Gatsby are downtown hanging out in an apartment, Tom starts taunting Gatsby with his newly acquired knowledge about Gatsby 's wealth. Tom says he’s “found out what [Gatsbys] ‘drug-stores’ were”, and that he “picked [Gatsby] for a bootlegger the first time [he] saw him” (133). Since Tom has confronted Gatsby in front of a rather large crowd (essentially all of Gatsbys closest acquaintances), it is evident that Tom is trying to humiliate Gatsby and show how fake he truly is. In revealing the corruption of Gatsby 's wealth, Tom has also demonstrated a large hole in Gatsby 's story, diminishing people 's faith in him and his wealth. Before this, Daisy, Nick and Jordan thought of Gatsby as an honorable man, but now have seen the true Gatsby, someone who will gladly partake in illegal things in order to gain a profit. Furthermore, a larger hole in Gatsby 's story comes when he’s willing to bend the law again to protect someone he’s infatuated with. When Daisy kills Myrtle in the car crash, Gatsby is willing to take blame, as learned in Nicks and Gastys conversation after the crash once Nick asked if Daisy was driving, Gatsby response is “Yes, but of course I’ll say I was” (143) and goes on worrying about Daisy for the rest of the night. Gatsby, not thinking about the potential consequences but rather focusing on Daisy shows how skewed his priorities are. Not caring about what will happen to himself, either due to the law or an angry and recently widowed husband, shows a dangerous attribute of Gatsby. With Gatsby symbolizing the American Dream, and with him bootlegging and responding to the car crash the way he did exposes that corruption and lack of morals lays within the goals of the great
Tom dives into a series of investigations diverging into Gatsby’s background in an attempt to destroy Daisy’s impression of Gatsby, and in the process discovers that Gatsby was running liquor shops during the Prohibition (123). However, it was not Tom’s concern for Daisy that drove him to carry out the investigation, but rather Tom’s desire to tarnish Gatsby’s character and exert his superiority over him. Tom demonstrates his true intentions when he unleashes this fact onto Daisy while he argues with Gatsby, and this fact causes Daisy to contemplate if Gatsby really is the great man he claims himself to be (123). Tom could have told Daisy any time, but he needed both Gatsby and Daisy to be present in order to destroy Gatsby’s image. Tom Buchanan feels threatened by Gatsby’s superiority, and instinctively responds selfishly by finding a way to eliminate Gatsby’s dominance while asserting his
At the hotel gathering, Gatsby struggles to persuade Daisy to confront her husband and she responds with “Oh, you want too much! . . . I did love him once--but I loved you too” (Fitzgerald 132). Daisy desperately tries to satisfy Gatsby but his imagination blocks his mind to such a degree that it eliminates his chances of learning how to comprehend reality. After Myrtle’s murder, Nick advises Gatsby to leave town but instead he realizes that “[Gatsby] wouldn’t consider it. He couldn’t possibly leave Daisy until he knew what she was going to do. He was clutching at some last hope and I couldn’t bear to shake him free” (Fitzgerald 148). No matter how hard Nick attempts to help him make the better choice, Gatsby continues to skew his priorities like a juvenile. Unfortunately for Gatsby, Daisy stays with Tom, a more secure and experienced adult, leaving Gatsby alone. As Gatsby’s life loses his vitality, he obviously needs learn how to act like an adult and survive in the world; but unable to accomplish this, Wilson kills him soon
The 1920’s was a time of great change to both the country lived in as well as the goals and ambitions that were sought after by the average person. During this time, priorities shifted from family and religion to success and spontaneous living. The American dream, itself, changed into a self centered and ongoing personal goal that was the leading priority in most people’s lives. This new age of carelessness and naivety encompasses much of what this earlier period is remembered for. In addition, this revolution transformed many of the great writers and authors of the time as well as their various works. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, perfectly symbolizes many emergent trends of the 1920’s. More importantly the character of Jay Gatsby is depicted as a man amongst his American dream and the trials he faces in the pursuit of its complete achievement. His drive for acquiring the girl of his dreams, Daisy Buchanan, through gaining status and wealth shows many aspects of the authors view on the American dream. Through this, one can hope to disassemble the complex picture that is Fitzgerald’s view of this through the novel. Fitzgerald believes, through his experiences during the 1920’s, that only fractions of the American Dream are attainable, and he demonstrates this through three distinct images in The Great Gastby.
Throughout the history of literature, a great deal of authors has tried to reveal a clear understanding of the American Dream. Whether it is possible to achieve lies all in the character the author portrays. The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye stand as prime examples of this. F. Scott Fitzgerald and J.D. Salinger, the authors of these titles, respectively, fashion flawed characters, Jay Gatsby and Holden Caulfield, with one vital desire: the longing to gain what they can’t have; acceptance and the feeling of belonging. Each retaining characteristics that shows their differences and similarities in opinion of the world around them.
“"I found out what your drug-stores were." [Tom] turned to us and spoke rapidly. "[Gatsby] and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That's one of his little stunts. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him, and I wasn't far wrong"” (Fitzgerald 133). This proves how Tom is quick to pass judgment and how Tom thinks he is the only perfect person. Tom can drink alcohol during the prohibition, but it is wrong for Gatsby to produce liquor. It is obvious to infer that Tom has to put people down to feel good about himself. “"You're crazy!" [Tom] exploded. "I can't speak about what happened five years ago, because I didn't know Daisy then—and I'll be damned if I see how you got within a mile of her unless you brought the groceries to the back door. But all the rest of that's a God damned lie. Daisy loved me when she married me and she loves me now"” (Fitzgerald 131). Tom sees Daisy’s love as a possession; Tom sees marriage as a system of ownership, and he wants to be the only who can Daisy. Tom will let Daisy ride around with Gatsby, but not much else. In “The Great Gatsby”, Tom has shown his true personality, narcissistic, through these
When telling Nick the history of Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship, Jordan explains that “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay” (Fitzgerald 78). Since Gatsby wanted to be around Daisy all of the time he let this make the decision of where he lived. He was always throwing big parties, “I think he half expected her to wander into one of his parties, some night” (Fitzgerald 79). Looking at this see how desperate Gatsby is trying to get Daisy over to his house. He spends heaps of money for Daisy without even thinking. Even though Daisy was driving, “[He’ll] say [He] was” (Fitzgerald 143). Gatsby is so in love with Daisy that he takes the blame for driving and hitting Myrtle. He knows that doing this will cause problems for him down the road but he doesn’t think twice about claiming responsibility anyway. In conclusion do not let the desires for other people control the decisions in
A multitude of characters in the book are corrupted by a number of things, including money and other materialistic items. Beginning with Gatsby, who became who he is through criminal activities and lying. Discovered within the book, “that 's one of his little stunts. [Tom] picked him for a bootlegger the first time [he] saw him, and [he] wasn 't far wrong." (Fitzgerald 143) He lied to Nick about his identity and his family to enlist his help with Daisy. Daisy herself is corrupted by wealth and the need for a high social class, considering she cried when entering Gatsby’s home for the first time because she had never seen such beautiful shirts. The superficial people who attend Gatsby 's parties to gawk at his home surround him with more corruption and bring light to another central theme of the corrupt American Dream. Tom and Myrtle are also corrupt in that they participate in adultery, along with Daisy and Gatsby. Corruption is clear and evident throughout the book, encompassing the worlds of West Egg, East Egg, and the Valley of Ashes as they
Gatsby realizes that life of the high class demands wealth to become priority; wealth becomes his superficial goal overshadowing his quest for love. He establishes his necessity to acquire wealth, which allows him to be with Daisy. The social elite of Gatsby's time sacrifice morality in order to attain wealth. Tom Buchanan, a man from an "enormously wealthy" family, seems to Nick to have lost all sense of being kind (Fitzgerald 10). Nick describes Tom's physical attributes as a metaphor for his true character when remarking that Tom had a "hard mouth and a supercilious manner...arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face...always leaning aggressively forward...a cruel body...[h]is speaking voice...added to the impression of fractiousness he conveyed" (Fitzgerald 11). The wealth Tom has inherited causes him to become arrogant and condescending to others, while losing his morals. Rather than becoming immoral from wealth as Tom has, Gatsby engages in criminal activity as his only path to being rich. His need for money had become so great that he "was in the drug business" (Fitzgerald 95). Furthermore, he lies to Nick about his past in order to cover up his criminal activity. Gatsby claims to others that he has inherited his wealth, but Nick discovers "[h]is parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people" (Fitzgerald 104). Gatsby enters a world where money takes precedence over moral integrity. Materialism has already overshadowed a portion of his spiritual side. A quest for true love is doomed for failure in the presence of immorality. Once wealth has taken priority over integrity, members of the high social class focus on immediate indulgences, rather than on long-term pleasures of life such as love.
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
What is real? In a modernist point of view the world shouldn't be called reality. But if the world isn't reality what is it then? What is reality in modernism? Modernism is a rejection of realism, which believed that science will save the world and where notion of science and social determinism is idealized. In modernism, science explains everything, which took away all the power of God, He became useless. In a way, life had lost its mystery, man, not God, could rule the world. Irving Howe, a literary critic, once talked about modernism as an "unyielding rage against the existing order". (Van Dusen, 1998) Nevertheless, modernism is also an era of disappointment; people are preoccupied with the meaning and the purpose of existence. They are in search of new values and in something new. Modernism first took place in the Jazz age and/or the roaring twenties; this period was all about prohibition and intolerance, flappers, gangsters, and crime. In 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment made it illegal to manufacture or sell alcohol. This helped to create a network of criminal organization in the trade of illegal alcohol. Moreover, in 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment gave the women the right to vote, which is what probably helped alter the traditional moral and social standards dramatically; women began to assert new freedoms such as going out with no chaperon, wearing less constrictive clothing, and smoking in public. During that time, a circle of writers was formed "The lost generation". They moved to more culturally vibrant cities of Europe, especially Paris, after World War I. "These writers, looking for freedom of thought and action, changed the face of modern writing. Realistic and rebellious, they wrote what they wanted and fought censorship for profanity and sexuality. They incorporated Freudian ideas into their characters and styles." (Whitley, 2002) These authors wrote about what they wanted and talk openly about sexuality. They created a type of literature appropriate to what they thought was the modern life, after World War I. They used new techniques and addressed new subjects in reaction to the changes of the early twentieth century.
The novel The Great Gatsby displays deceitfulness in many of its characters. The deceit brings many of the characters to their downfall. Gatsby had the greatest downfall of them all due to the fact it took his life. In The Great Gatsby , “ Gatsby goes to spectacular lengths to try to achieve what Nick calls ‘his incorruptible dream’ to recapture the past by getting Daisy Buchannan love” (Sutton). Gatsby always had an infatuation with Daisy, Jordan Baker said,”Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay” (Fitzgerald 83). Gatsby and Daisy did have a past together. While Jordan was golfing, “The Officer looked at Daisy while she was speaking in a way that every young girl wants to be looked at sometime[…]His name was Jay Gatsby and I didn’t lay eyes on him for over four years-even after I’d met him in long island I didn’t realize it was the same man” (Fitzgerald 80). Daisy is now in an abusive relationship with Tom Buchannan, “Nick Carraway attends a small publicly blames Tom for the bruise on her knuckle” (Sutton). When they meet again Gatsby showers Daisy with love and affection, wanting her to leave her husband Tom, but she does not want to in their society. Tom and Gatsby get into an argument and tom tells Daisy about Gatsby’s bootlegging that brought him to his riches. Tom yelled, “He a...
‘The Great Gatsby’ is social satire commentary of America which reveals its collapse from a nation of infinite hope and opportunity to a place of moral destitution and corruption during the Jazz Age. It concentrates on people of a certain class, time and place, the individual attitudes of those people and their inner desires which cause conflict to the conventional values, defined by the society they live in. Gatsby is unwilling to combine his desires with the moral values of society and instead made his money in underhanded schemes, illegal activities, and by hurting many people to achieve the illusion of his perfect dream.
Throughout Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, there is a broad spectrum of moral and social views demonstrated by various characters. At one end, is Tom, a man who attacks Gatsby's sense of propriety and legitimacy, while thinking nothing of running roughshod over the lives of those around him. A direct opposite of Tom's nature is Gatsby, who displays great generosity and caring, yet will stop at nothing to achieve his dream of running off with Daisy. The moral and emotional characteristics of Gastby and Tom are juxtaposed, Tom, the immoral character and Gastby, the moral character while the other characters' moral and emotional developments appear between these two.
The American Dream and the decay of American values has been one of the most popular topics in American fiction in the 20th century. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises create a full picture of American failure and pursue its ideals after the end of World War I by portraying the main characters as outsiders and describing the transportation in a symbolic way. Putting the aimless journeys for material life foreground, Fitzgerald and Hemingway skillfully link West and men and associate East to not only money but women. As American modernists, Hemingway utilizes his simple and dialog-oriented writing to appeal to readers and Fitzgerald ambiguously portrays Gatsby through a narrator, Nick, to cynically describe American virtue and corruption, which substantially contribute to modernism in literature.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald shows many examples of modernism. Fitzgerald shows many modernism techniques like loss of control, alienation, corruption of the American Dream, breaking society’s rules and feeling restless. Fitzgerald also shows modernism through the fragmented writing.