The Not So Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby is considered as one of the greatest novels in American literature. Written by F. Scott. Fitzgerald in 1924, this story takes place in a fictional place on Long Island, in between the East Egg, where Tom and Daisy Buchanan live, and the West Egg, where the narrator, Nick Carraway, and Jay Gatsby the title character, reside. Set in the Roaring Twenties, this story depicts the very nature of how the wealthy lived and showed how lavish their lives were. Major influences in this decade were the economic boom after World War I and the growing independence of women from traditional values. The new ideologies that were evolving were new hairstyles, shorter dresses, dancing freely, drinking and smoking for …show more content…
The “American Dream” was replacing the traditional role of God and country. However, this lavish lifestyle did not last long. In 1929, the stock market crashed, sending America to join the rest of the world in an economic depression, since many of the world’s superpowers were still trying to recover from World War I. In the 1920’s, all was going well for the wealthy Americans. They enjoyed spending the money that they earned on colossal, Victorian mansions, and new cars that had replaced a horse and carriage as the new form of transportation. The mansions were the setting for lavish parties, and hundreds of people would attend to enjoy the fruits of what they had earned. In this environment, the protagonist Jay Gatsby, who had become part of the new wealthy generation, spent the fruits of his fortune on such parties. He later admits that hosting these parties was his way of attracting his love interest, Daisy Buchanan. As the story progresses, we learn how Gatsby made his fortune, and how he developed an interest in Daisy, but first, let's look first at the story’s narrator, Nick Carraway. He is a very complex …show more content…
As Daisy becomes less interested in the parties, Gatsby arranges Nick to set up a meeting between himself and Daisy. The meeting proves to be very awkward for Daisy at first. However, both of them decide they are still in love and start an affair. Unknown to Daisy, her husband, Tom, had already engaged in a secret relationship with a poor woman named Myrtle. For this reason, Tom does not condemn the affair between Daisy and Jay but rather seeks to destroy Jay by using his past and his current occupation to destroy him. Jay’s past remains a mystery for much of the story. Many people speculate at his parties that he is a German spy while some think he is the nephew of the former German chancellor, Kaiser Wilhelm. Others further speculate that he murders people for money. After hearing all these rumors, Nick doesn't know what to believe. In a car ride with Tom, Gatsby “explains” his past with him. Gatsby claims to be the son of wealthy parents, fought in the Great War as an officer, received numerous medals, and studied at Oxford. While Nick is skeptical of these claims, Gatsby seems to prove his story by showing Nick his medals and a picture of him at Oxford. While Gatsby seemed to be proving his story, his secret is safe until Tom becomes suspicious of Gatsby’s wealth. While he does claim that he was born into a very wealthy family, this seems to contradict the fact
The Great Gatsby is considered as one of the greatest novels in American literature. Written by F. Scott. Fitzgerald in 1924, this story takes place in a fictional place on Long Island, in between the East Egg, where Tom and Daisy Buchanan live, and the West Egg, where the narrator, Nick Carraway, and Jay Gatsby the title character, reside. Set in the Roaring Twenties, this story depicts the very nature of how the wealthy lived and showed how lavish their lives were. Major influences in this decade were the economic boom after World War I and the growing independence of women from traditional values. The new ideologies that were evolving were new hairstyles, shorter dresses, dancing freely, drinking and smoking for …show more content…
The “American Dream” was replacing the traditional role of God and country. However, this lavish lifestyle did not last long. In 1929, the stock market crashed, sending America to join the rest of the world in an economic depression, since many of the world’s superpowers were still trying to recover from World War I. In the 1920’s, all was going well for the wealthy Americans. They enjoyed spending the money that they earned on colossal, Victorian mansions, and new cars that had replaced a horse and carriage as the new form of transportation. The mansions were the setting for lavish parties, and hundreds of people would attend to enjoy the fruits of what they had earned. In this environment, the protagonist Jay Gatsby, who had become part of the new wealthy generation, spent the fruits of his fortune on such parties. He later admits that hosting these parties was his way of attracting his love interest, Daisy Buchanan. As the story progresses, we learn how Gatsby made his fortune, and how he developed an interest in Daisy, but first, let's look first at the story’s narrator, Nick Carraway. He is a very complex …show more content…
As Daisy becomes less interested in the parties, Gatsby arranges Nick to set up a meeting between himself and Daisy. The meeting proves to be very awkward for Daisy at first. However, both of them decide they are still in love and start an affair. Unknown to Daisy, her husband, Tom, had already engaged in a secret relationship with a poor woman named Myrtle. For this reason, Tom does not condemn the affair between Daisy and Jay but rather seeks to destroy Jay by using his past and his current occupation to destroy him. Jay’s past remains a mystery for much of the story. Many people speculate at his parties that he is a German spy while some think he is the nephew of the former German chancellor, Kaiser Wilhelm. Others further speculate that he murders people for money. After hearing all these rumors, Nick doesn't know what to believe. In a car ride with Tom, Gatsby “explains” his past with him. Gatsby claims to be the son of wealthy parents, fought in the Great War as an officer, received numerous medals, and studied at Oxford. While Nick is skeptical of these claims, Gatsby seems to prove his story by showing Nick his medals and a picture of him at Oxford. While Gatsby seemed to be proving his story, his secret is safe until Tom becomes suspicious of Gatsby’s wealth. While he does claim that he was born into a very wealthy family, this seems to contradict the fact