There are countless symbols in The Great Gatsby
There are countless symbols in The Great Gatsby
‘The Great Gatsby’ is a novel published in 1925 by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. Midwest-born Nick Carraway details Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire obsessed with the notion of being reunited with Daisy Buchanan, a woman he lost five years earlier. The novel particularly focuses on describing the disintegration of the American dream; the view that all people are created equal, and have equal opportunity in the pursuit for happiness. This definition of the American dream, however, is challenged by Fitzgerald; suggesting that the American dream became nothing but the pursuit for happiness through materialism (having a big house, car, etc.). This paper will explore and analyse the techniques that Fitzgerald used to undermine the American…
F. Scott Fitzgerald sends a clear message across throughout The Great Gatsby regarding materialism. If you strive for material possessions throughout your life, the only thing you will get in return is disappointment. The Great Gatsby is littered with evidence of this as such, fFrom Gatsby and Daisy's internal struggle, to the overlaying theme of the novel, and the vivid symbolism throughout it. All of the relationships made in the Great Gatsby only existed due to wealth. Daisy’s entire marriage is based upon securing her wealth status with Tom, despite loving Gatsby.…
Humans are weak. Although one may try acting tough and intimidating, everyone has a weakness. In The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, one of the main problems of human beings is mentioned to the readers. This great flaw that humans hold deep in their hearts is the greed for materials, fame, and glory. The main character, Jay Gatsby, is very materialistic and values riches and fame over everything else.…
Fitzgerald, like all authors, wrote The Great Gatsby for a reason more than to just document the 1920s life in its splendor. Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s as an era for the decay of moral and social values. In the 1920s, people were wealthier due to the war, and they had excess where their ancestors had had not enough. People became impartial to one another, and Fitzgerald highlights this in his novel. The characters are so obsessed with glitz and glam that they do not care for…
In The Great Gatsby, by F, Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is a native Midwesterner who dedicates his life to earning enough money to live in the affluent West Egg. Gatsby does not grow up wealthy, but becomes intrigued by the superficial lifestyle of the elite. He surrounds himself with luxurious belongings, upscale people, and even changes his name, all to win back the lost love of his life, Daisy. Gatsby attempts to attain the American Dream, but in the process, his temperament transforms into one of an elite: materialistic and superficial. The friendships and decisions that Gatsby makes while obtaining the American Dream, however, are unethical and prove to be detrimental.…
Contrary to what the surface of the book reveals, there’s more behind the story than being a tragic tale of romance. Fitzgerald shown throughout the ‘20s being the era of declination of the American dream, and through symbolism and exploring the story with drama, comedy, and various personalities had shown how materialism and greed of a lost generation. F. Scott Fitzgerald begins the story with a young man of the name Nick Carraway, who is considered the “author” of the story. Through the eyes of a new man, being Mr. Carraway, who lived by a rich neighbor, Jay Gatsby, has shown the amazement and astonishment of how wealth from the beginning to end leads the downfall of the lives of the characters throughout the story. It first reveals of cowardice…
The Great Gatsby illustrate a division in social class based on the characters’ family backgrounds. Several characters have their own goals and dreams, the American Dream. The American Dream is to be born to a world of equality, to have the same equal opportunity, and to achieve goals through hard work. The Great Gatsby present characters who tries to get more than they already have. Jay Gatsby, the protagonist in The Great Gatsby, wants more than being a janitor and a rich man; he throws parties every Saturdays to attract Daisy’s attention, but lost everything in the end.…
The roaring 20s was all about celebrating great prosperity and having fun with big, wild parties. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the story is taken place in the 1920s where people are constantly surrounded by greed and wealth. Though it appears that Jay Gatsby is the most materialistic character in the novel because of his obsession with becoming wealthy and his flashy parties, it is really Daisy Buchanan who is the most materialistic because her wealth exemplifies her lifestyle, superiority and her happiness. One might argue that Jay Gatsby is the most materialistic character in the novel. Gatsby has always admired the upper class and has aspired to become wealthy from a young age.…
Even though he is initially shown as a god-like character, Gatsby ends up vulnerable and mortal. As the namesake and arguably the protagonist of the book, his death is unanticipated, so when he is murdered, irony is present. This instance of irony connects with one of the major themes of the novel, the destruction of the American Dream. Gatsby, who worked so hard to move up in society, meets his downfall, all of his dreams demolished. Another irony of Gatsby’s death is the setting in which it takes place.…
The Great Gatsby is a sad story about the unattainable American Dream. A story about love, sadness, and destruction. Which if you ask me that's what all great stories have in common. And what they all have in common with the American dream. Destruction is a common theme it seems by trying to get more of something they want they must destroy something else.…
The 1920s were a time of great post-war economic growth, and Fitzgerald accurately expresses that during the time in this novel. The world he presents in The Great Gatsby clearly seems to be headed for disaster. They solely strive for money and materialistic items. They invest all of their efforts focusing on the American Dream. Because of that, they failed to find what really produces happiness, and that happiness is not found in their…
Gatsby Synthesis Essay The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, represents the theme that the American dream is no longer achievable. Happiness eludes those who only want more because as new things arise the temptation is always there, to be one step ahead of everyone else and have it all. Jay Gatsby represents the constant striving to capture something that a person believes will finally make them happy. He wants Daisy, his love from long ago that was supposed to wait for him.…
The Great Gatsby revolves a lot around the American Dream. “During the 1920s, the perception of the American Dream was that an individual can achieve success in life regardless of family history or social status if they only work hard enough” (The Demise of the 1920’s). During the story Gatsby represents the American dream, he rises above his father and becomes the rich man he wanted to be. The novel also shows the condition of the American Dream in the 1920s. The topics of dreams, wealth, and time relate to each other in the novel’s exploration of the idea of America.…
The sales effort and conspicuous consumption defined the “American Dream” in the 1920s. The sales effort and conspicuous consumption cannot survive about one another. The Great Gatsby shows how the sales effort and conspicuous consumption represent the American Dream. Sales effort is a firm’s “marketing as a whole” (Holleman, "The Sales Effort and Monopoly Capital"). Conspicuous consumption is consuming for prestige.…
On the surface of the novel written by Scott F. Fitzgerald, one may say that "The Great Gatsby" illustrates a classic American story with a plot twist, having one of the preeminent characters pass in an abrupt and unforeseen way. However, underneath that very surface lies the resounding theme of the novel—The American Dream. "The Great Gatsby" is a pure symbolic reflection of America in the 1920s, depicting the effects of the sudden boom in the marketplace and the intensified materialistic views people gained. The American Dream in the novel is stripped of its ambition and gaiety once Fitzgerald spun a mordant critique of that particular decaying illusion in the society of the '20s, where people 's ethical significance was splintering, and their giddy greed for wealth and superfluous material items resulted in hedonism—which very well still happens today.…