Introduction
“The Great Gatsby” and its eponymous protagonist offers a poignant portrait of NY in the Roaring 20’s where the narrator, Nick Carraway is seduced by the idealized society and the American dream for more. Fitzgerald explores the uniquely American tragedy of Jay Gatsby, whose thirst for love and wealth eventually becomes obsessive and illegal, and his downfall parallels that of a society who were corrupted by their desires. Fitzgerald depicts universal and classical themes, relating to issues still relevant today, making this classical novel inspire readers of any era.
Love
Fitzgerald presents the initially pure, but subsequently impure love between Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchannan, highlighting the significance of unconditional …show more content…
Fitzgerald initially presents Gatsby as the aspirational, mythic figure shown through the geographic imagery in, “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay………I think he half expected her to wander into one of his parties some night” indicating Gatsby’s ambition whilst making it clear the social distinctions present. Fitzgerald introduces Gatsby’s American dream through the imagery and simile in, “There was music from my neighbour’s house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars” referring to the wild parties indicative of Gatsby’s extreme and ultimately harmful efforts to gain status. However, Fitzgerald also symbolises Gatsby as the corruption of the American dream through the historical references in, “Meyer Wolfsheim? No he’s a gambler.” Gatsby hesitated, then added coolly: “He’s the man who fixed the World’s series back in 1919”, demonstrating how the ethic of rapid wealth and the attempt to achieve high social status has started to corrupt Gatsby, just as it has the American pastime, baseball and thus America in general. This idea is further explored in the simile in, “I stared at…Gatsby’s enormous house, like Kant at his church steeple” demonstrating again that, as Kant critiqued religion and its truths, so too has the edifice of the American Dream become corrupted and hollow. Hence, Fitzgerald imposes an idea that the American dream becomes corrupted and hollow due to one’s desire for more in terms of social class. Hence, the universal and classic theme of conflict between social classes is still relevant today, relating to readers of any era allowing us to be
“The Great Gatsby” and its eponymous protagonist offers a poignant portrait of NY in the Roaring 20’s where the narrator, Nick Carraway is seduced by the idealized society and the American dream for more. Fitzgerald explores the uniquely American tragedy of Jay Gatsby, whose thirst for love and wealth eventually becomes obsessive and illegal, and his downfall parallels that of a society who were corrupted by their desires. Fitzgerald depicts universal and classical themes, relating to issues still relevant today, making this classical novel inspire readers of any era.
Love
Fitzgerald presents the initially pure, but subsequently impure love between Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchannan, highlighting the significance of unconditional …show more content…
Fitzgerald initially presents Gatsby as the aspirational, mythic figure shown through the geographic imagery in, “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay………I think he half expected her to wander into one of his parties some night” indicating Gatsby’s ambition whilst making it clear the social distinctions present. Fitzgerald introduces Gatsby’s American dream through the imagery and simile in, “There was music from my neighbour’s house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars” referring to the wild parties indicative of Gatsby’s extreme and ultimately harmful efforts to gain status. However, Fitzgerald also symbolises Gatsby as the corruption of the American dream through the historical references in, “Meyer Wolfsheim? No he’s a gambler.” Gatsby hesitated, then added coolly: “He’s the man who fixed the World’s series back in 1919”, demonstrating how the ethic of rapid wealth and the attempt to achieve high social status has started to corrupt Gatsby, just as it has the American pastime, baseball and thus America in general. This idea is further explored in the simile in, “I stared at…Gatsby’s enormous house, like Kant at his church steeple” demonstrating again that, as Kant critiqued religion and its truths, so too has the edifice of the American Dream become corrupted and hollow. Hence, Fitzgerald imposes an idea that the American dream becomes corrupted and hollow due to one’s desire for more in terms of social class. Hence, the universal and classic theme of conflict between social classes is still relevant today, relating to readers of any era allowing us to be