Bruccoli, Matthew J. "Introduction." New Essay on The Great Gatsby. New York: Cambridge UP, 1985. 1-14. Bruccoli consistently compliments Fitzgerald’s work in The Great Gatsby as an “intricately patterned” masterpiece. He discusses cultural themes including disillusionment, success, time, excess, and hedonism using the context of 1920’s culture that Fitzgerald was immersed in while crafting the novel. Bruccoli recognizes Fitzgerald’s legacy as an author and admires the immense revisions and diligence required for him to craft his masterpiece. This article is useful to provide background and context when discussing the setting and themes in The Great Gatsby, and also when characterizing culture during The Jazz Age.
Christensen, Bryce J. “The …show more content…
“Compensating Visions: The Great Gatsby.” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Ed. Harold Bloom, 59-67. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2004. Print. Irwin begins his interpretation praising The Great Gatsby as his favorite American novel from when he read it in college. Although one might think the “emotional impact” Fitzgerald’s work had on him would hinder his analysis, Irwin still provides an abundance of insight. By comparing the death of Gatsby with Sydney Carton’s death in The Tale of Two Cities, Irwin characterizes them both as heroes and as romantics from different eras. He consistently discusses Gatsby’s illusions as “compensatory prefiguration” throughout his analysis, but fails to first properly define his terms and scope of context. Irwin compares Gatsby’s desire and illusions for Daisy to Nick’s metaphor of Dutch sailors’ unattainable desires at Gatsby’s death. He then explains Nick’s admiration for Gatsby’s “extraordinary hope” and how Gatsby’s beliefs and obsessions transfer to Nick through his narrative perspective. He compares Gatsby’s “pursuit of that limited, perishable incarnation” to narration, because both attempt to repeat and modify the immutable past. Although this text was dense and repeated unfamiliar terms, it is useful when discussing Gatsby’s death, illusions, and Nick’s biased …show more content…
“Color-Symbolism in The Great Gatsby.” Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby: The Novel, The Critics, The Background. Ed. Henry Dan Piper, 145-50. New York: Scribner’s, 1970. Print. Schneider explains the layout of color symbolism patterns that Fitzgerald implements throughout every stage of the action, as well as color symbolism for character traits. He starts by discussing the simpler symbols of light and dark using textual evidence to illustrate the contrast between Gatsby’s dream and true reality. He discusses how the color white representing purity, bliss, and dream-like qualities, but also how white will always be corrupted by the yellow stain of wealth. Nick, for example, is initially enchanted by Jordan’s “ostensible purity”, but later rejects her as “incurably dishonest”. This article is useful when contrasting ideals against reality and when characterizing aspects of the book using subtle color
Christensen, Bryce J. “The …show more content…
“Compensating Visions: The Great Gatsby.” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Ed. Harold Bloom, 59-67. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2004. Print. Irwin begins his interpretation praising The Great Gatsby as his favorite American novel from when he read it in college. Although one might think the “emotional impact” Fitzgerald’s work had on him would hinder his analysis, Irwin still provides an abundance of insight. By comparing the death of Gatsby with Sydney Carton’s death in The Tale of Two Cities, Irwin characterizes them both as heroes and as romantics from different eras. He consistently discusses Gatsby’s illusions as “compensatory prefiguration” throughout his analysis, but fails to first properly define his terms and scope of context. Irwin compares Gatsby’s desire and illusions for Daisy to Nick’s metaphor of Dutch sailors’ unattainable desires at Gatsby’s death. He then explains Nick’s admiration for Gatsby’s “extraordinary hope” and how Gatsby’s beliefs and obsessions transfer to Nick through his narrative perspective. He compares Gatsby’s “pursuit of that limited, perishable incarnation” to narration, because both attempt to repeat and modify the immutable past. Although this text was dense and repeated unfamiliar terms, it is useful when discussing Gatsby’s death, illusions, and Nick’s biased …show more content…
“Color-Symbolism in The Great Gatsby.” Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby: The Novel, The Critics, The Background. Ed. Henry Dan Piper, 145-50. New York: Scribner’s, 1970. Print. Schneider explains the layout of color symbolism patterns that Fitzgerald implements throughout every stage of the action, as well as color symbolism for character traits. He starts by discussing the simpler symbols of light and dark using textual evidence to illustrate the contrast between Gatsby’s dream and true reality. He discusses how the color white representing purity, bliss, and dream-like qualities, but also how white will always be corrupted by the yellow stain of wealth. Nick, for example, is initially enchanted by Jordan’s “ostensible purity”, but later rejects her as “incurably dishonest”. This article is useful when contrasting ideals against reality and when characterizing aspects of the book using subtle color