Category: Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby published in 1925 explores the setting of the 1920’s to comment and reflect upon his context. He does this by critiquing his era through the ideas of unfulfillment and superficial values caused by the American dream. He reviews the Jazz Age through his portrayal of celebrations after World War I, the industrial developments and corruption. He also comments on changes in social and moral values due to world war one disillusionment. Through these settings of the 1920’s, Fitzgerald comments and reflects upon his era.

The main goal of the American dream was achieving material, spiritual and emotional fulfilment equally for all people. During this time the material aspect was achieved easily leaving spiritual and emotional ideas behind. This left many people adopting superficial values and constant feelings of unfulfillment. Throughout the book Jay Gatsby symbolises the attainment of the American dream. The first time Nick Carraway sees Gatsby, “He stretched out his arms toward the dark water…I…distinguished nothing except a single green light…”(p.22) This illustrates the irony of how he is reaching for something that physically cannot be grasped, similar to the positive aspects of the American Dream such as fulfillment, emotional and spiritual improvement. He is reaching for the light at the end of Daisy’s dock. He hasn’t grasped his relationship with Daisy due to the materialism she pursues which Gatsby doesn’t. His inability to reach these emotional aspects for so long leads to feelings of unfulfillment. Similar to people during the 1920’s, the lack of emotional values of the American dream resulted in feelings of unfulfillment. Furthermore the symbolism of the setting of The Valley of Ashes highlight the inequality for achieving this dream, “The valley of ashes is bounded on one side by a small foul river…the passengers on waiting trains can stare at the dismal scene.” This emphasises the decaying land and the place of the working class. It represents the flaws of the American Dream by showing that not everyone lives in extravagant households. These inhabitants have not achieved the dream; showing that not everyone has equal opportunities. This was common for many people during the 1920’s. Jordan Baker’s character reflects continuous dissatisfaction; desire for more as a consequence of the American Dream, “At her first big gold tournament … suggestion that she had moved her ball from a bad lie in the semi-final round.” (p.58).This flashback connotes her dishonest and arrogant nature, which symbolises her materialistic aspirations at all costs. This shows the lengths people would go to achieve wealth and the American Dream. This gives context as during the 1920’s there was an increase in corruption which led to change in social and moral values. Therefore, the different characters and settings reflect the different attitudes towards caused by the American dream during the 1920’s.

Fitzgerald reflects aspects of the Jazz age which celebrate the end of the Great war to comment upon his context. It was a time where young Americans felt they could reinvent themselves. This is seen through the many parties held by Gatsby, “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.”(p.39) The simile of ‘like moths’ highlights the attraction of people to Gatsby’s wealth. The use of tricolon further reflects the appealing qualities of the party. This allows the audience to understand the excitement of the party which was much the same as party’s during the Jazz Age. The blue gardens represent the sorrowful mood caused by the people coming and going to escape their non luxurious lives by indulging themselves with champagne and parties to reinvent themselves. People of both upper and working class in the 1920’s were found at these celebrations. The industrial development during the 1920’s was also a celebration during the Jazz Age. This is displayed through the key role automobiles have in the book. This is conveyed through Nick’s narration of Gatsby’s car, “I’d seen it. Everybody had seen it. It was a rich cream colour, bright with nickel, swollen here and there in its monstrous length with triumphant hat-boxes and supper-boxes and tool-boxes, and terraced with a labyrinth of wind-shields that mirrored a dozen suns.” (p.64) This imagery highlights the luxurious nature of the car and Gatsby’s belongings. The specific details provided suggest its importance. Thus, the automobile’s superiority emphasise the sign of wealth and power the automobile had on the 1920’s society.The Jazz age was also when ‘flapper girls’ were introduced to society. They were often seen at Gatsby’s parties “Suddenly one of these gypsies, in trembling opal, seizes a cocktail out of the air… dances out alone on the canvas floor.” (p.41) This illustrates the description of a young women during the 1920’s, drinking alcohol, wearing short dresses/skirts, with bob cuts and dancing. This connotes a lack of inhibition and promiscuity. It reflects the permissive society of the Jazz Age. This displays the shift in mentality due to the lack of inhibition during the Jazz Age. Therefore, the Jazz Age setting enables Fitzgerald to critique Gatsby’s parties, automobiles and flapper girls during the 1920’s.

The 1920s was a period of dramatic change in American society. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald uses various techniques to highlight the re-evaluation of social and moral values during this era. The billboard of Doctor Eckleburg’s eyes is displayed throughout the book as an ‘observer’ of the American society. “But his eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days under sun and rain, brood on over the solemn dumping ground.”(p.23) This symbolism displays the change in social values as the billboard reflects the degrading society. This is seen through the negative connotation in the words ‘dimmed’, ‘brood’ and ‘solemn’. These words may also indicate God’s disappoint and shame with the American society due to the change in values. Therefore, Fitzgerald uses the billboard to comment and judge the changes to the values of society. Additionally in Chapter One, the audience is introduced to the change in social and moral values of marriage. This is seen through the dialogue between Jordan Baker and Nick “‘I thought everybody knew.’… ‘Tom’s got some women in New York.’” (p.16). This conversation displays the normality of Tom having a mistress. Previously, this behaviour would have been frowned upon, however due to the conversion of values this is no longer uncommon. Resulting in the lack of trust and commitment between people. This shows the disregard and the decayed moral values during 1920s in relation to marriages. A result of this change was the hollowness and carelessness of the upper class. This is seen at the end of book after Daisy kills Myrtle, “He(Tom) was talking intently across the table at her(Daisy), and in his earnestness his hand had fallen upon and covered her own…”(p.146) This imagery shows the change in social values as Daisy and Tom go from having affairs with other people to planning their getaway, with no consideration to other people. This also connotes Tom’s superficiality as he is not seen as an intent or earnest character. This illustrates the negligence of the upper class which was common in the 1920s. Therefore the change in values had dramatic effects on the society in 1920’s. Conclusively, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby critiques the setting of the 1920’s through the aspects of the American dream, The Jazz Age and the changes to social and moral values.

The novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is centred around Jay Gatsby and his pursuit to obtain his long-lived goal that is Daisy Buchannan. It follows the path of his life, showing the sheer dedication and effort he applies to his plan towards his final purpose. Written in the 1920s, The Great Gatsby mirrors it’s society and exposes popular ideals of the time. The novel challenges the central beliefs of the American Dream, hedonism and classism in the society of the 1920s and critiques the ideologies within. By use of characterisation, The Great Gatsby exposes the values of those who have become subservient to these ideologies and reminds us how truly flawed these ways of thinking are, especially the American Dream.

People who belonged to elitist classes in the 1920s held a lack of responsibility over their own actions and simply lived hedonistically without concern of the future. A self-indulgent way of living took over the early 20th century, especially for women as the ‘flapper movement’ was born. Young women challenged traditional gender roles and obligations as they acted brass and outspoken. This life of partying was most commonly found amoung higher classes as money was a necessity in order to participate. Through the use of characterisation, Daisy especially represents the epitome of a ‘flapper’, as well as endorsing the pleasure-seeking, affluent lifestyle that her social class dwelled in. Daisy spends her days lounging pathetically around her mansion and wondering what her purpose is. “What’ll we do with ourselves this afternoon? cried Daisy, and the day after that, and the next thirty years?” She shows a prominent lack of direction, while reinforcing the ‘living in the moment’ way of life adopted by a typical high-class flapper. Before leaving for town on the same afternoon she calls out to Tom, “Shall we take anything to drink?” Here, Daisy is a representation for the rest of her class in regard to their attitudes towards alcoholism. The Great Gatsby as a novel downplays the prohibition of alcohol from the point of view of higher classes, which was enforced in January 1920. The fact that they interpret the law this way, showcases their carelessness and how they live solely for pleasure, disregarding any potential consequences for their decisions. Another moment when Daisy’s, as well as the elite as a whole’s, lack of accountability is made clear is during the climax of the plot. Daisy is driving a car back to West Egg, when Myrtle Wilson, the woman her husband is having an affair with, runs in front of the car and gets hit. After this, to avoid any consequence, she proceeds to leave the state with her husband and in the process, leaves Gatsby to suffer because of her cowardly retreat. Through Nick, the narrator, we are encouraged to reject Tom and Daisy. At the end of the book, they are characterised as spoiled, entitled, and indifferent rich people, who according to Nick, had ‘smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they made.’ Here, the word creatures can be interpreted as referring to people of lower society. The word smashed involves heavy connotations of irreversible damage which is exactly what the upper class and specifically Daisy’s actions lead to. Nick literally states that Daisy and Tom while acting as symbols for the entire elitist class, disregard their bad decisions and expect others to clean up after them. He also mentions how their money saves them and allowed them to act as irresponsibly as they do. Hedonistic living was adopted strongly by the upper class, causing them to indulge in everything available as well as acting without fear of consequence and to assume that the results of their actions and decisions would not harm anyone, or if they did, they showed no care towards those affected by them.

Those born into the middle-class encounter class barriers and inevitably obtain an inability to transcend class structure regardless of the wealth and materialistic means that they work hard to achieve. The Great Gatsby exploits classism, an ideology that wasn’t even recognisable in the 1920s as the society of the time became so subservient to the ruling power system. It critiques the belief that individual effort and ingenuity can lead to success, status and entry into the upper class which the novel portrays as impossible because of certain qualities endowed to characters that allow them to act as blockages. We are clearly able to see the work Gatsby has put into his persona since a very young age and are invited to support him in his pursuit for success that, being Daisy. An obvious obstacle in the way of Daisy is her higher ranking, more impressive husband, Tom. Despite Gatsby’s clear material wealth, as represented by his mansion, Tom still refers to him as “Mr nobody from nowhere”. Even though Gatsby obtained the same tangible affluence as Tom, he was still turned down by the upper class because he had to work to accomplish what he did. This so strongly exposes the ideology of classism and portrays it as extremely strict. Throughout the novel, present are many other degrading comments directed towards Gatsby’s material possessions. Gatsby’s extravagant 1929 Rolls Royce, a symbol of his enormous wealth, is referred to by Tom’s as a “circus wagon” as well as his highly regarded and attended parties, “menageries”. Both comments are made in the presence of Daisy as an attempt to deter her from Gatsby as Tom has just learnt of the possibility of their affair. Tom also makes an allusion to the criminal means in which Gatsby has earned his money, “you can buy anything at a drug-store nowadays.” This causes Daisy to frown showing that she now holds suspicion over Gatsby’s wealth which from later actions, evidently is the only reason she ‘loves’ him. These pieces of dialogue from Tom showcase his prominent character traits of envy and power. As he dismisses entirely Gatsby’s wealth, his jealous attitudes shine through along with his clear lack of ability to accept anyone from a lower class, presenting him as utterly contemptuous and condescending. Through the use of blockage characters and their personas, The Great Gatsby makes a comment on classism and challenges the idea that through hard work and dedication, one can transcend rigid and unwavering class barriers.

People who belonged to the working class in the 1920s are characterised as sympathetic as readers are invited to pity their never faltering belief in the American Dream ideology. They are seen diligently working constantly and yet, still remain within the same lower socioeconomic class with no possibility of entrance into higher economic power or success. The novel challenges the American Dream and presents it as unattainable. The working class are the detritus and are often exploited by those belonging to higher classes. Tom is a significant exploiter of George, a character we are invited to pity heavily. Constantly throughout the novel, Tom is hanging a car over George’s head like bait. The car is a symbol of opportunity and George’s eagerness to obtain this vehicle shows his desire to work hard and get ahead. Tom stops to fill up Gatsby’s car in which he is driving into town. “With an effort Wilson left the shade and support of the doorway and, breathing hard, unscrewed the cap of the tank.” This quotation emphasises how hard George works as well as the entirety of the working class of which he represents. The fact that he is sick and extremely run down and still proceeds to work to earn money, shows how industrious and enterprising he is. Although pity is invited towards George because of the disrespect he endures from higher class characters, he still obtains a quiet strength and resilience towards his life. His relentless commitment to the American Dream and the idea that America is a land of opportunity is shown towards the end of the novel, he says, “I want to go west …. I’m going to get her away.” George’s ambition to move away and start over is firm as well as his yearning for triumph. He has confidence in The American Dream ideology and still persists, believing that he will eventually succeed if he works hard enough. Another example of where the American Dream is criticised occurs in Jay Gatsby’s death which mirrors its demise, reflecting the pessimism of modern-day Americans. Gatsby, after an enormous effort, still having not achieved his life-long goal and ending up deceased, despite all of his hard work, completely scrutinises and condemns The American Dream as truly impossible to achieve. Through these characters, the novel exposes the ideology of The American Dream and within that, with hard work you can succeed and achieve goals.

There were many unrecognisable ideologies present in society in the 1920s. These included the American Dream, classism and Hedonism. The Great Gatsby manages to challenge all of these and presents them as either unattainable, frowned upon or fixed in position. It provides a significant criticism of the upper class and their way of living, as well as scrutinising them for their lack of willingness to accept anyone from lower socioeconomic upbringings. Through the use of characterisation, it is made clear the effects these ideologies have on various people from different backgrounds and social standings.

In this essay, I will be discussing the stylistic techniques used by F. Scott Fitzgerald in the novel The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald, 1925). The Great Gatsby is a novel that follows the story of Jay Gatsby`s unrequited love for Daisy Buchanan, narrated by Daisy`s cousin, Nick Carraway. Nick acts as the focaliser as well as the narrator in this novel as he retells the story of Gatsby to us, using stylistic features to create a sense of nostalgia and loss. I plan to observe how stylistic features such as speech and thought representation, poetic language, and point of view are used to craft characters’ descriptions and depict mood throughout the novel.

Fitzgerald skillfully creates a sense of nostalgia and loss through the poetic language used throughout the novel. We can see many similes being used in this extract pale as death plunged like weights as if he were on a wire as well as a vast amount of descriptive language through adverbs light dignified knockingâ increasing rain and post-modifying adjectives the living room was deserted. Almost every verb in this extract is paired with at least one adverb, sometimes even multiple I certainly am awfully glad to see you. The use of this figurative language makes the novel extremely descriptive and allows the reader to picture the story in their heads in great detail, almost feeling as if they were there in the immediate action. This allows them to relive Gatsby’s story, through Nick, due to the elaborate imagery created by Fitzgerald. Poetic language can also be used to create an essence of elegance and grace which in this case may be to capture Gatsby`s lavish lifestyle and portray the American dream which is a key theme in this novel. This may also symbolize Gatsby`s sophisticated character and emphasize to the reader that this is how he attempts to present himself. Although, it could be argued that he actually has an insecure nature and is hiding behind his wealth through this extravagant, stylish persona. This can be seen when Gatsby is described as pale as death which does not fit in with the persona Gatsby is attempting to be perceived as. Furthermore, this simile may have also been used as foreshadowing for the later events in the novel and therefore Fitzgerald may have purposely used poetic language so that the novel could be read as a poetic lament for Gatsby, further building on the sense of nostalgia and loss. The use of verbal sentences throughout the novel Surprise Glad frightened trembling highlights this, provoking an emotional response from the reader as they hear about Gatsby`s story.

This sense of nostalgia is further emphasized through Fitzgerald`s use of tense throughout the novel. Since this is Nick`s account of previous events, we would expect to see past indefinite tense used throughout the story-telling and that is the case in this extract ‘We went in. To my overwhelming surprise, the living room was deserted. However, Fitzgerald has paired many of these past tense verbs with adverbs connoting the events happening in the present tense the clock took this moment to tilt dangerously my own face now assumed a deep tropical burn. The use of proximal deixis this makes us feel as though we are being thrown directly into the action and experiencing this story first-hand with Nick. This creates a more personal, immediate account for the reader which is further emphasized through the personal pronouns used throughout the novel I had nothing to do in the hall I told them idiotically. This allows the reader to experience the narrator`s thoughts and feelings, building a relationship between Nick and the reader. A final way Fitzgerald cleverly crafts this personal relationship between the narrator and the reader is through the use of direct speech What`s funny? I`m sorry about the clock which places us in a more intimate position with the characters in this story, particularly Nick as Fitzgerald also includes direct thought it wasn`t a bit funny, giving us an insight into Nick`s consciousness. Furthermore, Fitzgerald’s stylistic choices with tense are further emphasized as time is a significant theme in this novel with many references to it half a minute and many years set us all back at least another minute. This further contributes to the sense of nostalgia that Fitzgerald is attempting to create throughout this novel since this is Nick retelling his recollection of Gatsby`s story.

This internal perspective from a first-person narration fits into Fowler`s type A category in his Model of Psychological Point of View (Fowler, 1986). This is apparent through the personal pronoun usage my overwhelming surprise I think we all believed being paired with mental verb processes surprise think which does give us an insight into Nick`s consciousness, as suggested by Fowler in this model. There are also lots of verba sentient in this novel which we would expect to see following Fowler`s model surprise glad frightened which also builds on the personal rapport Fitzgerald is creating between the reader and Nick. Although all of these features fit in well with Fowler’s Model of Psychological Point of View, Fowler suggests that type A narration includes lots of modalities, however, this extract does not contain many modal verbs despite the fact that it is a personal account of previous events. This suggests that Fowler’s model can be used as a guideline to group different types of narration, but the texts may not always follow Fowler`s rules completely.

Fitzgerald skilfully crafts the mood throughout the novel to express to the reader how the characters are feeling in each scene. This is particularly apparent in the opening of this extract. The beginning of this extract starts with a fairly slow pace, created by the post-modifier deserted, the mental perception verb process glaring, and the pre-modifying adverbs light dignified knocking. These stylistic choices create a quiet, slow-paced environment, almost acting as a build-up before Gatsby and Daisy are reunited. This slow pace is quickly contrasted as soon as Gatsby enters the house, further contributing to the build-up prior to Gatsby and Daisy`s reunion. The use of the post-modifying adverb turned sharply, the material action verb disappeared, and the pre-modifying adverb’s loud beating quicken the pace of the extract and may mirror the chaotic thoughts occurring in Nick’s head due to this high-stress situation for him. This once again builds the relationship between the narrator and the reader as the reader is able to experience the nervous emotions Nick is experiencing through Fitzgerald`s stylistic choices building the mood. The direct contrast between sounds light dignified knocking loud beating particularly emphasizes this swift switch in pace. This quick pace is once again contrasted as Fitzgerald brings the pace back down when Gatsby and Daisy at long last meet again, but this time to create an awkward, uncomfortable mood. He creates this mood through the use of pauses and silence for half a minute there wasn`t a sound a pause; it endured horribly. By being so specific about how long this pause was, this emphasizes to the reader that Nick could feel time dragging on, and the reader is able to experience the uncomfortable atmosphere creeping in. This may also emphasize the shock upon reunion, implying the characters may have been left speechless as they process what is occurring. Furthermore, Fitzgerald continues this uncomfortable, awkward mood towards the end of the extract, when Gatsby, Daisy, and Nick all finally engage in conversation. The use of short, simple sentences in all of the direct speech illustrates to the reader that the characters are having difficulty conversating with each other we`ve met before I`m sorry about the clock it’s an old clock we haven`t met for many years five years November. This stiff, rigid turn-taking creates an uneasy environment, indicating that the conversation is unwelcoming, and the characters don`t actually want to be interacting with each other. Although this is a reunion of two people that used to be in love, the environment seems to majorly lack emotion further promoting this discomforted atmosphere. A final way Fitzgerald crafts this awkward atmosphere is through the use of conversational maxim breaking (Grice, 1975). Firstly, the relation maxim has been broken by Nick when he explains It`s an old clock, acting as if Gatsby had broken it when in actual fact he had not. This information is therefore not relevant to the conversation and did not need to be said. Secondly, the quantity maxim is then broken by Gatsby five years next November as this contribution was more informative than required. Gatsby may have come across as overly obsessive over Daisy in this utterance which would make all the characters feel uneasy, therefore contributing to the awkward mood Fitzgerald is attempting to create.

Fitzgerald manages to clearly capture Nick`s thoughts, feelings, and emotions throughout this novel through his stylistic choices. The high frequency of simple sentences in this extract we went in It wasn`t a bit funny creates a choppy narrative structure suggesting to the reader that Nick may be nervous and on edge. These sentences may have also been used to create an uneasy environment, mirroring Nick`s feelings in this situation, allowing the reader to experience, first-hand, the localizer’s emotions. This is also achieved by Fitzgerald allowing the reader access to Nick`s actual thoughts, through direct thought it wasn`t a bit funny luckily. This means the reader feels they have a direct insight into exactly what Nick is thinking, feeling, and wishing, and therefore may be easier for the reader to sympathize with Nick and feel as though they are really a part of this story. This is further crafted through the use of mental verb processes throughout the novel I think to my overwhelming surprise which also contributes to allowing the reader access to the narrator`s thoughts, building on the relationship Fitzgerald has created between Nick and the reader. Fitzgerald continues this intimacy by giving the reader an insight into how Nick is physically reacting to the situation present aware of the loud beating of his own heartâ my own face had now assumed a deep tropical burn. This is another example of elaborate imagery used by Fitzgerald in order for the reader to be able to picture this story in great detail in their heads, once again meaning they feel as though they were really there at the time of the events, and reliving it through Nick`s focal point. Additionally, the repetition of the personal pronoun my own further builds this relationship between the reader and the narrator, creating a very personal account of the events.

Where You Are is Who You Are: Importance of Location in The Great Gatsby

Wherever we are from plays a major role in how we act, live, and think. Although we may not think of geography as shaping our personality, it correlates a lot with our identity. From social values and political views to even how we are seen by society, geography can determine it all (Jokela et al 1). In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, it is evident that location influences the characters and their ideology. Fitzgerald uses the setting’s tradition and roots to directly affect how the characters act. Where the characters are from also gives them a higher status in society, as some places are more respectable than others. In addition to this, it also helps the reader understand why the characters’ personalities may be unlikeable or unique from what is seen today. In the novel, geographic locations such as East Egg, West Egg, and the Valley of Ashes epitomize the residents’ social status, lifestyle, and personality.

The residents of East Egg, an exclusive and luxurious community, exhibit aristocratic views while also living an arrogant lifestyle. These traits stem from their extreme wealth passed down through generations. As Nick Carraway, the narrator of the text, reunites with his friend, Tom Buchanan, he recalls that “[Tom’s] family was enormously wealthy—even in college his freedom with money was a matter for reproach” (Fitzgerald 10). The money accumulated by the East Egg residents is something Nick finds displeasing, as he explains. This fortune is the root cause of the residents’ tendency to act imperiously over others. East Eggers, such as Tom, use their money to sit comfortably in a higher social status above the rest to continue their great affluence and live life without worry, just as Nick describes his financial freedom. Furthermore, East Egg locals also display reckless and apathetic behavior with the help of their money. After the summer of 1922, Nick coincidentally meets Tom who argues with him about why he had told George Wilson that Jay Gatsby had run over his wife. Nick refuses his excuse and hesitates to forgive him stating that “[t]hey were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made” (187). Throughout the novel, Tom and Daisy seem to not care for anyone below them. Their actions are all made with the thought of knowing they can hide and recover using their money, regardless of the outcome. More specifically, after the death and murder of both Myrtle and Gatsby, Tom and Daisy leave town hastily with the aid of their money. Almost all decisions made by East Eggers are made in a brash and audacious manner only for their benefit or enjoyment. In conclusion, both high status and great opulence inherited from their ancestors, are the source of the East Egg residents’ aristocratic beliefs and reckless behavior. As a result, East Eggers attain condescending and arrogant beliefs while being aware that they can fall back on their wealth.

Moreover, Fitzgerald portrays West Egg as an informal counterpart to East Egg. Residents of East Egg have made their income recently, leading to prodigal spending, elaborate flaunting of their riches and not being accustomed to ‘old money’ formalities. Before Nick’s first visit to Gatsby’s parties, Nick describes how “in [Gatsby’s] blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whispering and the champagne and the stars… On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city” (43). Nick draws attention to Gatsby’s lavish parties, which attract people “like moths” from all ends of the city. His unruly spending on extravagant parties and living a more modern, contemporary lifestyle is how most of the newly rich West Egg residents act since they are not used to such wealth. Gatsby threw his parties to impress Daisy and win her back, showcasing how West Eggers are eager to boast about their newly gained money. Similar to their inexperience with great wealth, West Egg residents are not acquainted with East Egg’s standards, although they reside in the same social position. During Gatsby’s first meeting with Mr. Sloane, Mr. Sloane invites him for dinner which “[Gatsby] want[s] to go [but] he didn’t see that Mr. Sloane had determined he shouldn’t… ‘My God, I believe the man’s coming,’ said Tom. ‘Doesn’t he know she doesn’t want him?’” (109). Gatsby, like most other West Egg residents, is not used to East Egg’s traditions and formalities, so he eagerly accepts the invitation. However, this gesture was out of politeness that Tom, an East Egger, picks up on since it is an act he is familiar with. People of West Egg try to mimic the aristocracy of East Egg to fit in or appear as if they are in the same class; however, old customs established by East Eggers limit them from doing so. They only get so far with the ‘old money’ residents looking down on their flashy, modern lifestyle in disdain. In summary, West Egg locals may seem to be similar to East Egg residents, but with their newly acquired wealth and lavish spending, they are unaccustomed to the traditions of East Egg, leaving them left out of the extremely high class.

Lastly, the Valley of Ashes, a place sitting in between the Eggs and New York City, symbolizes the disregarded side of society. The setting is a run-down city filled with misery and immorality as the neglected, hopeless people of society who reside in the valley of ashes suffer from the consequences of the rest of society. During Nick’s first visit to the Valley of Ashes in the novel he illustrates how “[it] is bounded on one side by a small foul river, and, when the drawbridge is up to let barges through, the passengers on waiting trains can stare at the dismal scene for as long as half an hour. There is always a halt there of at least a minute, and it was because of this that I first met Tom Buchanan’s mistress” (28). After this bleak description of the valley, Nick explains a significant halt on the train which Tom uses to meet with his mistress, Myrtle Wilson, and introduce her to Nick. This halt in the valley foreshadows the rest of the night, which is fueled by alcohol, infidelity, and violence. It is because of this stop in the valley of ashes, a place already filled with despair, that the night is met with immorality, just as how most of the residents are already engaging in such activities. It is also significant that Tom’s mistress, who is also indulging in infidelity, is from the Valley of Ashes, which depicts the moral corruption of the valley. Furthermore, locals of the Valley of Ashes are abandoned by society as their failed dreams descended them into desperation to get out of there. While Tom introduces George Wilson to Nick, Nick notices “he was a blonde, spiritless man, anæmic, and faintly handsome. When he saw us a damp gleam of hope sprang into his light blue eyes” (29). Nick’s description of George Wilson’s desperation and fatigue is in stark contrast to other characters in the novel. Like many other valley residents, George works a laborious job not tended to by the rich, deeming his status in society low. The faint light of hope as he sees Tom and Nick symbolizes his desire to leave the valley and how wealthy people from the Eggs are his ticket out. George also repeatedly inquires about Tom’s car throughout the novel, so that Tom could sell it to him, demonstrating how George knows the only way out is through the wealthy residents. To sum up, desperation and hopelessness are exhibited by the Valley of Ashes’ residents, who are already neglected by the rest of society. Misery and discontent with their situation tempt them to immorality and to seek ways out.

Works Cited

1. Jokela, Markus, et al. “Geographically Varying Associations between … – PNAS.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 12 Jan. 2015, https:www.pnas.orgdoi10.1073pnas.1415800112.

“The Great Gatsby” is a novel by Scott Fitzgerald that outlines the impossibility of recapturing the past and altering one’s future. It further emphasizes the unachievable ideology of the American Dream during the 1920s through a man named Jay Gatsby, from the viewpoint of salesman Nick Carraway. Besides this, the novel depicts a significant disparity in the representation of female figures throughout history up until contemporary society. There is the evident assumption of gender roles in the social, economic and political setting which will be discussed throughout this text from a feminist critical perspective.

In this novel, Scott Fitzgerald addresses gender as a determining factor for one’s lifestyle including their values, power and roles in society. The ‘Roaring Twenties’ was the era of a female breakthrough in which women were granted more freedom and life opportunities. This came about due to the changing attitudes towards women in society, opening doors for such possibilities. Over time, there has been an evident progression in the expectations of a woman such that they gradually draw closer to those of the men in society. In the 1920s, such changes occurred due to the concept of the American Dream, which was a set of ideals in which freedom, equality and prosperity were believed to be possible in America. Despite this, women were still portrayed as subsidiary to men, who were often presented as the predominant gender in society. Throughout this novel, there is a strong aspect of traditional gender stereotype based on the portrayal of both men and women. While men are seen as strong, dominant and powerful characters, the women are characterized as weak objects simply enjoying their newly granted freedoms. Based on the novel, characters such as Daisy and Myrtle are portrayed as jealous, swindling and naive females, fully dependent on their husband’s resources.

The roaring twenties was an era for the drastic leap in the fixed expectations of a woman. During this time, women learnt to value their individuality above the needs of others which later encouraged their personal freedom. However, a woman in power was rarely seen during this period as such duties were still entirely dependent on the men in society. There remained the existence of gender roles which limited the idea of women in power, as they were expected to enjoy their newly granted freedoms in silence. According to the novel, there was still unequal distribution of economics and labour whereby the women were heavily reliant on the efforts and resources provided by the men. However, Jordan Baker is considered a strong woman in literature as she was entirely self-sufficient and was not reliant on any man including Nick Carraway. Based on the novel, she was the only female character that was close to any sort of power due to her independence and self-confidence. Fitzgerald further portrays most male and female interactions as romantic rather than professional relationships. This conveys that unfortunately, women were disregarded and underestimated in the professional field and instead expected to accessorise the men.

Throughout history, women have encountered different experiences during different periods in time. In some societies, women were warriors, some were powerful priestesses while others were strong political leaders. However, they have faced perpetual expectations that automatically represent them as inferior to men. Surprisingly, women in ancient times have been recorded as strong female figures such as Cleopatra and Boudicca who are admired in the present day. Moreover, a priestess from the Sumerian civilisation composed the first-ever poem – a prayer to a female deity named Innana, making her the first known author of all history. However, during the late 1500s, a woman’s role became more defined as a homemaker and subject to her husband. Later on after World War II, most women were reluctant to return to their previous lifestyles as they discovered a new era of purpose and productivity due to labour in the factories. The twentieth century has been recorded as the period of a great revolution in gender equality which lowered certain expectations and eradicated the idea of the fixed roles of a female. This proves that over time, women have finally had the chance to make a choice on who they would want to be which has undoubtedly continued to encourage equality of the genders.

Introduction: The Multifaceted Genius of F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the most renowned writers of the 20th century that his heritage and the public fascination of his lifestyle have significant roles in the context of world literature. The realistic effort of the late 19th century writers—especially in this case F. Scott Fitzgerald—who accurately shows life and its problems attempted to give a comprehensive picture of modern life by presenting the entire world picture. He did not try to give one view of life but instead attempted to show the different manners, classes, and stratification of life in America and he created this picture by combining a wide variety of details derived from observation and documentation to approach the norm of his experience. Along with this technique, he compared the objective or absolute existence in America to that of the universal truths, or observed facts of life. Thus, the Realistic elements are obvious in all Fitzgerald’s works. The main objective of this paper is conducting a scientific study of unique style and writing techniques of Fitzgerald in the field of literature and creating an updated perspective of the reflection of three literary movements Realism, Modernism and Existentialism in his works. F. Scott Fitzgerald occupied an outstanding place in the annuals of American Literary history in the arena of twentieth century American fiction. He best represented the Roaring Twenties with his evocative works. The importance of this study and the necessity of awareness of literature and Fitzgerald’s life and environment at that time seems useful according to the study of literature. The fact that there is a perennial interest in Fitzgerald that has resulted in dozens of books and hundreds of articles also the variety of opinions about Fitzgerald’s works has been expressed by several of the most famous writers. One of the primary and valuable sources we paid attention to, is Judith S. Baughman and Mathew J. Bruccoli, The Literary Masters; F. Scott Fitzgerald, 2000. These series provide educators and researchers a source featuring not only literary movements and biographical data but also discussions of significant cultural and historical aspects of literature.

Literary Influences and Key Sources

The Literary Masters Series lights up biographical details of an author’s life, providing a point of reference that gives insight into experiences that may have influenced the author’s subject matter and writing style. The next literary source is The Cambridge Companion to F. Scott Fitzgerald, Cambridge university press, 2002. This particular volume has a great amount of information both in terms of analysis of Fitzgerald’s works, and the ramifications their receptions had on Fitzgerald himself and on his careered. It takes note of Fitzgerald’s career in terms of both his writing and his life, and presents the reader with a full and accessible picture of each, against the background of American social and cultural change in the early decades of the twentieth century. The Far Side of Paradise, a biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald by Arthur Mizener and a new introduction by Mathew J. Bruccoli, 2006, was the first biography about Fitzgerald to be published and is ascribed with renewing public interest in the subject. Mizener believed that there are three concentric areas of interest in a study of Scott Fitzgerald. At the heart of it is his work, One area of interest in this book is the time and place in which he lived. His time and place haunted him every minute of his life and the effect of his preoccupation is what most obviously distinguishes his work from that of the good sociological novelists like Doss Passos on the one hand and, on the other, from that of the emotional and self-regarding novelists. Autumn Fontenot in an article by the name of The Writing Style of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Prezi, 2013, mentioned that F. Scott Fitzgerald is known as one of the most brilliant writers of his time.

Fitzgerald’s Writing Techniques: A Deep Dive

His wonderful writing style is The most obvious feature he is known for. Though Fitzgerald took a few techniques from his idol authors, he created strategies that captured a deep and meaningful message. Fitzgerald uses many writing techniques to draw the reader in and create his unique style. He uses diction, similes, syntax, and rhetorical strategies to convey his message and understanding of his novels’ qualities. 2. Method The methodology and technique to be used in writing this paper will be such that will make it a comprehensive, insightful and stimulating one. Different kinds of resources has been used such as printed and digital library books, academic journal articles about Fitzgerald’s life and works and found background information on Fitzgerald in order to establish uniqueness of Fitzgerald’s literary writing style and techniques. 3. Discussion Many authors after the First World War created a new literature of long-term merit that shattered conservative taboos in their expression of physical and psychological reality. This was the beginning of Modernism, which although, influenced by Realism and often mentioned to as postponement of naturalistic values, was the answer to America’s new-found problems. Fitzgerald was a non-expatriate who developed a modernist literature that was connected to American traditions but, what all the modernists shared was a belief in literature’s significance in the contemporary world, and the need for it to be repeatedly vital. Like realists, the modernists and naturalists focused on changes on society and used symbolism, to attack society’s problems and make their own judgments of the basic foundations of American life. Indeed both attacked the different moral dilemmas in the society. The only difference was that these dilemmas were different. So, author like Fitzgerald directed the modernistic renaissance by using realistic and naturalistic techniques. He is thought of as a romantic writer, but he combined these qualities with Realism, meaning accuracy of observation and characterization. This Side of Paradise was read as a realistic account of Princeton undergraduate experience and the next novel Tender is the Night provides a convincing account of expatriate life and a profound examination of character deterioration.

Besides, the effects of Fitzgerald’s exposure to naturalism are evident in his novelette May Day and the novel The Beautiful and Damned. What is significant about this author is the influence of European Existentialisms on his canon of works and the depth of the cultural moments he capture in his art. For example in The Great Gatsby the dominant strain of cultural discourse, which focused on the applicability of Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophies of modern civilization and the modern individual to American interests and concerns is reflected. Like the existentialists, Fitzgerald recognizes the inadequacy of American democracy in an increasingly commercial and consumer culture and rejects the capitalistic values, identities and norms prescribed by and reinforced through the increasingly oppressive social and political structures of American culture. For Fitzgerald what are at stake are the individual, the inventive spirit, and the life of the nation and they echoes all the way through his early works, a sentiment manifest in their portraits of incapable, lost, aimless, and emotionally unfulfilled characters. Extensively, he expatriated himself since he felt America no longer provided an environment for the real growth of the individual or for the cultivation of the resourceful spirit, something particularly Europe, and Paris, not only offered, but encouraged and held in high esteem. Indeed he presents his readers with art of living for his time, for his readers’ personal, unquestionably biased lives.

Throughout his twenty-year career as a professional writer, Fitzgerald was often regarded as a not-quite-serious literary figure. This assessment was fueled by his image as a free-spending, heavy-drinking playboy and by the material he often exploited: the romantic interests of young people; the pursuit of wealth, success, and happiness by ambitious poor boys; the concerns of affluent, upper-middle-class men and women. Fitzgerald’s material seemed, in short, the stuff of popular, escapist fiction rather than of enduring literature.

Writers’ material—the subjects, experiences, ideas that they examine and re-examine—makes them the authors they are. As Fitzgerald explained in his 1933 essay One Hundred False Starts, writers and material are inseparable: “Mostly, we authors must repeat ourselves—that’s the truth. We have two or three great and moving experiences in our lives—experiences so great and moving that it doesn’t seem at the time that anyone else has been so caught up and pounded and dazzled and astonished and beaten and broken and rescued and illuminated and rewarded and humbled in just that that way ever before. Then we learn our trade, well or less well, and we tell our two or three stories—each time in a new disguise- maybe ten times, may be a hundred, as long as people will listen.”

The American Dream: A Recurring Theme in Fitzgerald’s Work

Fitzgerald’s experiences include his growing up with a sense of being a poor boy in a rich man’s world but also with a sense of his own special destiny: both perceptions led him to believe in and pursue the American Dream of success, personal fulfillment, and wealth. Another of his formative experiences was his dramatic early success as a writer and celebrity, which was followed by his later collapse into Emotional Bankruptcy and anonymity: his greatest work from the late 1920s through the mid of 1930s examines the decline of potential heroes, a decline colored by their own and their creator’s sense of regret. Another of his life- and work-shaping experiences was the intense romance and devastating misfortune of his relationship with Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald: virtually all of his important female characters reflect some facet of Zelda and his involvement with her. 3.1 Subjects and Themes Theme is most dramatically expressed through character, and Fitzgerald used the people he created to convey his personal vision of the world. He portrayed a wide range of characters in his five novels and 160 stories.

Though he may be most closely identified with his debutantes, college boys, and ambitious young men seeking the fulfillments promised by wealth, social standing, and personal happiness, he also provided memorable portraits of the other kinds of people. Because they are drawn from his own experience, many of Fitzgerald’s characters manifest recognizably Fitzgeraldian qualities. His men often combine ambition for early success with the desire for romantic love and the achievement of an ideal life. They often lack the hardness to fulfill their dreams. Certain of Fitzgerald’s male characters are actually weak, but the majority of the men portrayed by Fitzgerald fail because the objects of their pursuit do not and cannot measure up to the men’s conceptions of them. Because the quests of Fitzgerald’s best male characters usually are played out in the real world, their objects, their dreams, are assailed by inevitable change and loss, so that youthful beauty fades; innocence hardens into cynicism; and aspiration fade when tested against harsh experience. “Can’t repeat the past?’ [Gatsby] cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can!” Gatsby is wrong, but his faith makes him unforgettable.

Women like Fitzgerald’s female characters scarcely existed in American fiction before 1920. The best of his heroines are brave, determined, beautiful or attractive, intelligent (but not educated), and chaste. These young women, many of them still in their teens, also understand that their lives depend upon their marital choices. Fitzgerald clearly admired attractive, independent, unconventional women, but he also tended to treat his most fully developed women characters rather critically. Many of his most complex female characters are incapable of sharing the lofty dreams and aspirations of the men who love them. Fitzgerald was not a purely objective reporter or chronicler of the Jazz Age and the 1930s but instead brought a strong moral perspective to his work. His central characters undergo self-assessment processes (Amory Blaine, for example), or they judge others (Nick Carraway), or they are judged by Fitzgerald himself, who constantly measured characters’ behavior against implicit standards of responsibility, honor, and courage. One of this writer’s main methods was his adaption of a standpoint that the critique Malcolm Cowley labeled Double Vision, the discernment of events both as an outsider and as an insider. One of the paramount and mainly recognizable embodiments of double vision in Fitzgerald’s work is the narrator of The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway, who both takes part in and explains the action of the novel. In the second chapter Nick describes himself as “an entangled” in as well as a “watcher” over the events and his position as both insider and outsider remains intact throughout the novel.

For many of the young expatriate writers, the American Dream—the belief that aspiration could be fulfilled through imagination and hard work—seemed dead or at least terribly corrupted. They thus moved to Europe, which appeared to offer a freer, more stimulating, and perhaps less hypocritical environment. Although Fitzgerald lived abroad for nearly six years and was one of the major American writers to emerge during 1920s, he did not share the disillusionment with or contempt for their country of certain expatriate Americans. Instead, he was unabashedly patriotic, believing that America remained the land of opportunity of idealism, of great potentialities and possibilities. For Fitzgerald the American Dream was inextricably connected with the country’s history, which he called in a note accompanying material for The Love of the Last Tycoon “the most beautiful history in the world.” In his novels and stories, Fitzgerald revealed not only the fulfillment of the American Dream but also the many ways it could be debased and distorted. His most evocative protagonists—among them Jay Gatsby and Dick Diver —share that quality of the idea and willingness of the heart defined by Fitzgerald as quintessentially American. Although they are frequently disappointed in their quests, it is not finally the dream that fails them but instead something else: some weakness or corruption in themselves or others. In The Great Gatsby, for example, Gatsby’s dreams are noble, even incorruptible; but as Nick Carraway says, it is “what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams” that destroys him: his own purity about the differences between the new and old wealth, and the solidity and negligence of the Buchanans. In Tender is the Night Dick Diver’s pursuit of the American Dream of success and fulfillment is defeated by weakness in himself, and in his final unfinished novel, The Love of the Last Tycoon, Fitzgerald develops a protagonist who has achieved the American Dream of success and fulfillment and then makes explicit both the imaginative and historical validity of his twenty-year investigation of the American Dream. In 1940 Fitzgerald wrote in a letter to his daughter: “Life is essentially a cheat and its conditions are those of defeat … the redeeming things are not ‘happiness and pleasure’ but the deeper satisfactions that come out of struggle.’

This short sentence sums up Fitzgerald’s point about the American Dream. More than any other author of his era, with the probable exception of Theodore Dreiser, Fitzgerald was conscious about the influence of money on American life and character. As he wrote solemnly about money, ambition, and love, which were generally undividable in his work, he has been labeled a materialist by his critics. He has been considered as an uncritical venerator of the wealthy, a view disseminated by Ernest Hemingway at 1936. It will be of conspicuous importance to see what was in money that a resourceful man of Fitzgerald’s personality and mentality was so earnestly after. Fitzgerald wrote about the rich, but his understanding of the effects of money on character was complex. His works reflect his ambivalence of attitude: his attraction to and his distrust of the rich. For Fitzgerald, money was an important part of the American Dream because it provided not just luxuries but also opportunities unavailable to less affluent people. Money therefore had its obligation. As once Fitzgerald told Hemingway in his 16 July, 1936 letter of reply to The Snows of Kilimanjaro: “Riches have never fascinated me, unless combined with the greatest charm or distinction.” (Fitzgerald, 1994, p. 302) Wealthy people who wasted or perverted the opportunities that their money gave them were objects of Fitzgerald’s disappointment or disapproval. In The Beautiful and Damned Anthony Patch’s expectations of an inheritance cause him to waste his talents and life. In The Great Gatsby “the Buchanan’s money makes them careless, hard and directionless.” (Fitzgerald, 1951, p. 10) In Tender is the Night “Dick Diver has been swallowed up like a gigolo, and somehow permitted his arsenal to be locked up in the warren safety-deposit vaults.” (Fitzgerald, 1996, p. 209) Fitzgerald clearly understood that money had the power to corrupt its possessors, just as it had the potential to increase their fulfillment. Fitzgerald’s reaction to money was wrought by his family’s vague social status in St. Paul and by his contact to the sons and daughters of the wealthy at prep school and Princeton. In a 4 March, 1938 letter to Anne Ober about Scottie Fitzgerald’s forthcoming private-school graduation ceremony, Fitzgerald wrote: “… we will watch all the other little girls get diamond bracelets and Cord roadsters. I am going to costumers in New York and buy Scotty some phony jewelry so she can pretend they are graduations presents. Otherwise, she will have to suffer the shame of being a poor girl in a rich girl’s school that was always my experience- a poor boy in a rich town; a poor boy in a rich boy’s school; a poor boy in a rich man’s club at Princeton. So I guess she can stand it. However, I have never been able to forgive the rich for being rich, and it has colored my entire life and works.” Fitzgerald’s sense of being excluded from the freedom and opportunities provided by money had been further intensified by his inability to marry Zelda right away because of his failures in New York following his army discharge. Because Fitzgerald’s response to wealth was complex, mixing resentment and strong attraction, his fictional treatment of his material is both profound and extensive. Beside, Fitzgerald with his great sense of pattern was trying to find a way through which he could impose order on the chaotic world he was living in. Therefore, he might have assumed in the safe and proud world of the rich above the hot struggles of the poor he could get what he had always been seeking.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, like other late 19th century Realist writers, tried to show the diverse manners, classes, and stratification of life in America and he created this picture by combining a broad variety of details derived from surveillance and documentation to approach the norm of his experience. Along with this technique, he compared the objective or absolute existence in America to that of the universal truths, or observed facts of life. As a result, the Realistic elements are apparent in all his works.

Fitzgerald directed the modernistic renaissance by using realistic and naturalistic techniques. He is considered as a romantic writer, but he combined these qualities with Realism, meaning precision of observation and characterization. Moreover, what is noteworthy about this author is the influence of European Existentialisms on his canon of works and the depth of the cultural moments he capture in his art. All the way through his literary life, Fitzgerald was often regarded as a not-quite-serious literary figure. This assessment was fueled by his image as a free-spending, heavy-drinking playboy and by the material he frequently exploited and became famous for rather than because of his technical innovations: the pursuit of wealth, success, and happiness by ambitious poor boys; the romantic interests of young people; the concerns of affluent, upper-middle-class men and women. He provided memorable portraits of the other kinds of people who manifest recognizably Fitzgeraldian qualities as well. His central characters undertake processes of self-assessment, or they judge others, or they are judged by Fitzgerald himself. Many of his most complex female characters are incompetent of sharing the arrogant dreams and aspirations of the men who love them.

One of the best and the most familiar personifications of double vision in Fitzgerald’s work is Nick Carraway, who either participates in and comments on the action of the novel. For Fitzgerald the American Dream was bound up inevitably with the country’s history. He wrote about the rich, but his perception of the influence of money on character was complex. His works reflect his appeal to and his mistrust of the rich. Fitzgerald used a fiscal metaphor, Emotional Bankruptcy to label a theme that permeates his work. Fitzgerald expanded this idea from his individual struggles with money, personal affiliation, and internal and external obstructions to his work.

Conclusion: The Lasting Impact of Fitzgerald’s Literary Style

To sum up, the foremost themes of Fitzgerald’s novels derive from the declaration of tension when one idea (usually personified in a character) triumphs over another. The main denominators are the topics with which Fitzgerald deals with in all of his novels: youth, bodily attractiveness, wealth, and potential or romantic willingness—all of which are ideals to Fitzgerald. Next to these subjects are their polar opposites: wasted potential, poverty, ugliness, age. Such conflict and consequential tension is, certainly, the stuff of which all fiction is made. Symbolism in Fitzgerald’s novels and short fiction is given much attention to. Fitzgerald in his mature work employed the Saturation method, mixing a diversity of styles and forms With The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald truthfully became the novelist of selection, disciplining his wealth of literary sources and his creative imagination. His writing style is impressionistic and his details evoke sensory responses in the reader. He, nevertheless, was not in essence a modernist or an experimental writer, as were many of his contemporaries. Fitzgerald’s techniques and writing style were traditional because his vision of the world was at least in part drawn from pre-World War I assumption. He was beyond all, a story teller who achieved a close relationship with the reader by the voice of his fiction, which was warm, intimate, and witty. Fitzgerald has been mostly praised for his handling of point of view and structure, particularly in The Great Gatsby. In the first half of the 20th century, Fitzgerald became the most famous American writer in the world. His unique style differs distinctively from that of writers before him, and his work helped shape both the British and American literature that followed it. He was the self-styled spokesman of the Lost Generation, clearly a master of stylistic and technical devices that are often identified with great writing.

All in all, Fitzgerald’s style is utterly his own and perhaps the most unique aspect of his prose. Many writers have acknowledged their respect of his style, but no writer has productively imitated him. He was undoubtedly a master of stylistic and technical devices that are often identified with great writing.

Everyone has seen and experienced things that they have questioned and needed to talk about. Well In the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald the author starts the story with Nick Carraway the narrator in a mental institution. The story takes place around New York in a place called Long Island. It consists of 3 different parts the area East Egg, West Egg, and the Valley of Ashes where the rich live in West and East Egg while the poor live in the Valley of Ashes Nick lived in West Egg with his friend Jay Gatsby. Throughout the story, Nick has seen and experienced a lot and by the end was driven to the midwest to go to a mental institution for what he has seen and experienced with the events, conflicts, and characters in the story.

Nick Carraway was driven to a mental institution from the events he has seen and experienced. Gatsby and Nick did not only just live near each other they were really good friends and Nick treated Gatsby-like family so “ it was after we started with Gatsby toward the house that the gardener saw Wilson’s body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete” (Fitzgerald 162). This shows that Gatsby was killed by George Wilson’s hand and then Wilson killed himself and to have a friend that is killed like that is a terrible thing for someone to experience. Nick might have needed to go to a mental institution for this because losing a friend is something that people need to talk about and telling someone what happened is a good thing to do and he this is why the author started him in a mental institution. There is also more than one event that could have made Nick want to go to a place like this, it is when Myrtle “Rushed out into the dusk, waving her hands and shouting-before he could move his door the business was over”(Fitzgerald 137). When Daisy was driving and he hit and killed Myrtle Nick saw it and Daisy never stopped when seeing someone die it could change the way you see things. This is an event that Nick might have needed to go to a mental institution for because Nick witnessed his cousin kill someone and not even stop to see what happened and he could have felt many emotions during this time to where he needed to see someone and tell them what had happened without putting Daisy in jail. Throughout the story, there were these events that could have made Nick want to go to this place but there are other things that could have contributed like the conflicts that happened

Nick Carraway was driven to a mental institution from the conflicts he had seen and experienced throughout the novel. When Gatsby was invited to Daisy and Tom’s house they wanted to go to the city to get their mind off things. When they were in the city there was a big conflict about “ Daisy, who was staring terrified between Gatsby and her husband, and at Jordan”(Fitzgerald 134). Nick was there when this conflict happened and it showed him how Daisy and Tom’s marriage turned out and that one did not love the other and it could have made him question what he could be like if he stayed there. Nick might have wanted to go to the midwest to a mental institution because he might have thought if he would stay at long island he might end up like everyone there and if he did not tell that to someone he could have been scared about it his whole life. This was not the only conflict that might have driven Nick to go to a mental institution when he met Tom on the street. They had an argument and Tom showed Nick that Willson “ was crazy enough to kill me if I hadn’t told him who owned that car” (Fitzgerald 178). This talk showed Nick that he could not trust anyone there even if he thought he could they will turn on him to save themselves like Tom did to Gatsby and got him killed. Nick could have wanted to go to a mental institution in the midwest to escape what long island is and to tell someone how his friend died from someone he trusted because that could leave a person confused and not knowing what happened if they did not talk to someone. These events and conflicts drove Nick to a mental institution in the Midwest but there was one more factor of it and it was a person a character.

Nick Carraway was driven to a mental institution because of his character and what he has experienced with them. Nick loved Jordan and he did not want to leave her but in everything that happened he did not show her his true self and she “made a wrong guess. I thought you were rather an honest, straightforward person, I thought it was your secret pride”(Fitzgerald 177). Nick lost the person he loved because of what he did and what he did was infused with what happened with his friend dying and all the arguments and conflicts that happened he lost Jorden. Nick could have been driven to a mental institution because of this because when you lose someone you love it could leave you sad and alone and sometimes you need to tell someone and talk about it. Throughout the story, Nick has experienced all this and he needs to talk to someone and move away or someone could have happened.

Nick was driven to a mental institution because of what he experienced and saw through the story he needed someone to tell this to. Nick has seen a lot and without what he did at the end to go to this place and tell his story it would have been wrong to do everyone needs to talk to someone. So this story could have told us that bad things happen and everyone needs to talk to someone about it.

Throughout time, The Great Gatsby has been recognized for accurately representing the Roaring Twenties society in the United States, a point in history when the economy grew, and the culture began to focus on spending lavishly to enter a new-found social hierarchy. Styles, cultures, and tastes of high-class society change and a divide is formed between modern wealth and aristocratic wealth with the aim of exemplifying two contrasting lifestyles. Particularly, F. Scott Fitzgerald utilizes the archetypes of Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby to represent the polarization between the “nouveau riche” and the Mayflower descendants affects the ethos of a character. On one side, the author uses the character of Jay Gatsby to represent how the corruption of finance and ethos can lead to satisfaction, even if this means losing authenticity along the way.

In the novel, Gatsby represents new money, where he is seen as inferior because he wasn’t born into the aristocracy and employs the taste of a nouveau riche lifestyle. Thus, Gatsby constructs a new elite identity based on the aristocracy by saying he inherited his wealth and attended Oxford, when, in reality, he sells illegal alcohol with mafia personalities in order to hide his poor background. Moreover, Gatsby uses his loved one, Daisy Buchanan, and her materialistic needs as the justification as to why he changes his identity to become a rich and corrupt man. This can be illustrated towards the end of the book:

“He might have despised himself, for he had certainly taken her under false pretenses. I don’t mean that he had traded on his phantom millions, but he had deliberately given Daisy a sense of security; he let her believe that he was a person from much the same stratum as herself – that he was fully able to take care of her.” (Fitzgerald, Page 159)

Here, it is seen Gatsby may have disdain towards his new identity, yet he has accomplished being in the same stratum as Daisy, allowing potential reunification. Particularly, the author uses different punctuation marks to divide his ideas, creating a reflective and sincere tone that allows the reader to understand Gatsby’s perspective and his relevance in the situation. Overall, Fitzgerald uses Gatsby to show the extremes people would take in order to assimilate into the social scene, such as breaking the law and losing their authenticity; however, ultimately, by accomplishing pleasing others, Gatsby finds success in himself.

On the other side, Fitzgerald uses Daisy Buchanan to portray how greed and superficiality can lead to success, even if this means downgrading one’s human value. Daisy represents old money, as well as all the social benefits and materialistic luxuries his status had. Nonetheless, the character lives in a state of unfulfillment because the man who provides her with this lifestyle in the lap of luxury doesn’t value her true self. Daisy’s mentality can be illustrated towards the beginning of the book: “‘I’m glad she’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool – that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.’” (Fitzgerald, Page 20) Although she is discussing her daughter, Daisy is implying, in her own life, in order to be happy, a woman needs to be beautiful and a fool. Because her husband, Tom Buchanan, is far from faithful, Daisy believes if she acted as a fool, she wouldn’t be aware of the infidelity and would joyously continue to enjoy her opulent and carefree experience. Likewise, her beauty is what Tom found attractive, allowing her to thrive in the controlled environment the wealth provides. With the preciseness Fitzgerald uses, the reader understands Daisy’s mindset is indifferent towards change, implicitly stating she would rather superficially live in a high social status where she’s looked up to than have a life where her feelings, opinions, and values are taken into consideration.

Despite the contrast given between both socioeconomic groups, Fitzgerald uses the characters of Gatsby and Daisy to illustrate the overall moral failings of a society driven by wealth in the 1920s. Both protagonists certainly represent distinctive values due to their background variations. Nevertheless, they share predominant values of betrayal influence a majority of their actions, as seen in the dinner party’s public displays of affection “As he left the room again, she got up and went over to Gatsby and pulled his face down kissing him on the mouth. ‘You know I love you,’ she murmured” (Fitzgerald, Page 123). Daisy and Gatsby’s most prominent disloyalty occurred during the affair while she was still married to Tom, where their selfish desires clouded moral reason. Neither Gatsby nor Daisy feels somewhat guilty about the infidelity, representing their lack of interest in the consequences their actions may bring. In Daisy’s case, she coerced Gatsby into believing she loved only him, and they would be together, despite the fact she was married and had no plans to leave Tom Buchanan. Nonetheless, she decided to turn her back on Gatsby and return to her blue-blooded husband, and once Gatsby died, she didn’t even care to attend his funeral. Gatsby didn’t only betray his ethical standards but also himself. He could’ve reached new heights with his casual demeanor and love for the theatrical. However, he lost all of his potential, and even his life, by following Daisy’s caprices rather than his.

After thoroughly analyzing and understanding the social stratification and its implications within The Great Gatsby, it can be concluded Daisy’s high-class society is motivated by wealth, while low-class descendants such as Gatsby are driven by emotion and human value due to their lack of capital stimulus. As a result, none of the characters accomplished to be neither successful nor satisfied, contributing to Fitzgerald’s overall message: an immoral lifestyle will lead you to an unhappy and tragic ending.

The novel The Great Gatsby written by author F. Scott Fitzgerald, explores the idea of the American Dream that may be interpreted from a Marxist critical theory lens. The American Dream is the idea that anyone regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into can achieve their own idea of success through sacrifice, risk-taking, and hard work, not by chance. Each individual in the United States, regardless of their background has the right and freedom to seek happiness as well as prosperity and to pursue success. The novel explores this idea through characters of various social classes and backgrounds.

The theme of the American Dream is explored through the characterization of Tom and Daisy. Tom and Daisy are antagonists of the American Dream, they have “old money” meaning that they have wealth that was inherited from their families thus they don’t need the American Dream to help them. Unlike characters such as Gatsby, Myrtle, and George who are actively dreaming and hoping for a better life. Through personification, Daisy and Tom are described as “careless” and bored. “They had spent a year in France, for no particular reason, and then drifted here and there unrestfully wherever people played polo and were rich together.” This introduction to Daisy and Tom describes them as rich, bored, and privileged. Their character traits lead them to cause a large amount of misery in the story. This happens through Daisy refusing Gatsby and Tom dragging the Wilsons into tragedy. Income inequality in the story has caused each character to have vastly different beginnings in their lives which has affected their outcomes and futures greatly. The way they set to go about their lives and their lack of morality goes against all the ideas of the American Dream, which states that class shouldn’t play a role in someone’s success and that anyone can become wealthy. Daisy herself can also be seen as the personification of the American Dream, evidenced by the quote by Gatsby “Her voice is full of money”.

In this way, George and Myrtle Wilson could almost be seen as a direct parallel to the lives of Tom and Daisy. This couple in The Great Gatsby represents the typical american couple that is trying hard to succeed. George owns his own shop and is doing his best to get business, although the struggles of everyday life seem to weigh him down. Myrtle tries to become wealthy and attain a higher social status by pursuing a relationship with the wealthy Tom. “’That dog? That dog’s a boy.’, ‘It’s a bitch,’ said Tom decisively. ‘Here’s your money. Go and buy ten more dogs with it.’

This discussion between Tom and Myrtle shows their developing relationship, and how to Tom, money isn’t a big deal, as he offers her more money to buy more dogs. The Wilson’s lack of money from the beginning, unlike Tom and Daisy who were fortunate to have wealth passed down to them through inheritance, means that both George and Myrtle have a harder time succeeding in the world. While Myrtle sometimes gains access to “finer things” through her relationship with Tom, she has to deal with getting abused by him as evidenced by the quote “Making a short deft movement Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand”. George also aiming to become successful wants to move West and leave his current but is unable to due to not having enough funds. Therefore neither character is having an easy time or becoming wealthy, despite the promises of the American Dream. Everything ends up going tragically wrong for both George and Myrtle who meet a deadly fate even though they were trying very hard to improve their positions in society Tom who dragged Myrtle into a dangerous situation and Daisy who ended up killing Myrtle don’t end up with any consequences. This all goes against the American Dream as it shows people shouldn’t hope or try for more than they are given.

Jordan Baker lives out a kind of dream by playing golf and being relatively independent however she is still tied to her family’s inheritance money therefore which makes her a poor example of the American Dream. Nick Carraway makes a comment in chapter 9 saying ‘I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all–Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life’. The narrator’s observation suggests to readers that American identity is determined by birthplace and within this identity there are parts that the individual cannot escape. For those that are not born into wealth, the American identity becomes more about trying to end up with more status. The novel presents an aristocratic segment of American society with Daisy, Tom, and Jordan all characters with “old money”. Lives in this society are determined by how much money they were born into, not how much they strive for success.

F. Scott Fitzgerald explores the idea of the American Dream in the novel The Great Gatsby which can be interpreted through a Marxist critical lens. Tom and Daisy although being wealthy as they were born into a rich family, the way they go about things and their lack of morality goes against ideas set in the American Dream. Myrtle and George Wilson contrast this by not being wealthy and still trying so hard to succeed but they end up going nowhere. The lives in the novel are determined by how much they were born into and not how they try to set out their lives to succeed which is in stark contrast to what the American Dream is actually about.

With immense wealth and power, tremendous influence is generated within the surrounding society. However, these factors may also create a facade to cover how they do not always lead to greatness. This idea is explored in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1920s American Fiction novel, The Great Gatsby, through the leading character, Jay Gatsby. Gatsby, an incredibly wealthy bootlegger, is widely known to hold extravagant parties with his tremendous amount of money. However, he is also described as having a heavy reliance on hope with the notion that money can buy happiness – an idea that ultimately paints his fame and success as insignificant as he is plagued with undesirable consequences. While Gatsby can be considered great due to his popularity and drive to succeed in his society, Fitzgerald argues against Gatsby’s supposed prominence. He surrounds it with infamy, mocking Gatsby through the use of “great” in the novel’s title to convey the idea that being great does not stem from one’s money and power.

The author builds Gatsby to be disillusioned by his money regarding what he can and cannot do, believing that he can change history. His over-the-top parties are intended to attract Daisy towards him, and at one, Gatsby invites Daisy and Tom Buchanan in hopes that Daisy acknowledges his wealth. After the married couple leave, Gatsby, who contains feelings for Daisy, “wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you’” (109). Gatsby dreams of Daisy ending her marriage with Tom, not only by saying that she does not love him anymore but by declaring that she never held true feelings for him. Gatsby’s disillusioned state is seen when Fitzgerald incorporates the word “never” to make the character feel that his significance can alter Daisy’s mind and rewrite her history with Tom. He moves into and hosts grand parties in his house across the bay from the Buchanans all for the sole purpose of impressing Daisy with his wealth and encouraging her to leave Tom. However, his accumulation of this wealth, a factor that paints him as a character deemed “great,” prevents him from accepting that he will never be able to change what occurred in the past. Gatsby is disenchanted over this fact, and the author builds the notion that riches do not grant everything a person may ask for. It instead leaves them, like Gatsby, feeling that they can do anything through prosperity.

Due to this, Gatsby’s character cannot uphold his deemed greatness with his desperate reality, displaying that Fitzgerald’s inclusion of “great” in The Great Gatsby is in place to criticize the protagonist’s unrealistic mentality and show how it deprives him of truly holding the title.

Similarly, when Nick and Gatsby are invited to the Buchanan home, they meet Daisy and Tom’s child, Pammy. After Pammy’s initial introduction, Nick notices that “[Gatsby] kept looking at the child with surprise” (117). Gatsby is written to be in disbelief as he is introduced to the fact that Daisy has a child. The idea that she and Tom possess a daughter does not fit into Gatsby’s fantasy with her in it. Although Daisy is a married woman who lives a life apart from Gatsby, the man’s surprise toward Pammy reveals his disillusionment. He cannot accept a reality where the child will be a constant reminder of the relationship Daisy held with Tom. While Pammy is present, Gatsby realizes that he cannot live a life with Daisy all for himself, depicting him to stray from greatness as he lacks acceptance when he comes to face this idea and that he could not use any amount of wealth to remove the child from the picture. His described emotions in the scene reveal how Fitzgerald utilizes “great” to show the deemed almighty Gatsby in a vulnerable and desperate position where he is blinded by believing that his riches should bring him greatness, a behavior contrasting from the modesty commonly displayed by people considered to be “great”. Gatsby is often seen as disillusioned from reality as he constantly faces obstacles that he believes he can immediately solve with his wealth. This image of his character shows how he fails to live up to greatness, and the word is used by Fitzgerald to mock how he fails to identify and grow past his shortcomings.

Continuing, Gatsby is only popular for the riches he obtained, so his death leaves little impact on those around him. By the end of the novel, after Gatsby is killed, Nick attempts to call anyone close to the man to stay with Gatsby’s body. However, his attempts fail as people are unreachable or decline the offer. Finally, Nick is able to contact one of Gatsby’s closest friends, Meyer Wolfsheim, who writes a letter to Nick, concluding that he “cannot come down now” because he was “tied up in some very important business” and did not want to “get mixed up in [Gatsby’s death]” (166). Wolfshiem refuses to visit Gatsby, deeming he has more vital matters to attend to. His closest friend has passed, yet he feels that the death is too insignificant to acknowledge. Fitzgerald’s description of Wolfshiem’s business as “very important” paints Gatsby to be of lesser concern. If Gatsby had indeed been great, he would have left an impact on the people in his life instead of simply being a background character in Wolfshiem’s life.

Therefore, it can be concluded that Wolfshiem’s refusal to see Gatsby after his passing encourages the idea that while Gatsby may have been a prominent figure in his society, he failed to personally influence other people to where they would honor him through a simple task, such as visitation. Because of this, Gatsby cannot be considered a great individual, as Fitzgerald mocks the insignificant and lonely protagonist’s greatness. Likewise, as Nick desperately begins to invite people to Gatsby’s funeral, he receives a call from Ewing Klipspringer, a party guest who is often welcome to stay inside Gatsby’s home. At the mention of a funeral, Klipspringer refuses the invitation, revealing that he only “called up about…a pair of shoes [he] left [at Gatsby’s house]” (169). Despite the death of Gatsby, Klipspringer feels the need to collect his belongings from the deceased man’s house rather than attend his funeral. Through Klipspringer’s character, it can be noted that people valued Gatsby for what he could offer them, whether it be his parties or his accommodations, and when he could no longer provide these in death, they cease to appreciate him. Gatsby’s “great” characteristics stem only from his money rather than his legacy, becoming irrelevant as this money can no longer serve any purpose to the deceased man or the people who admire the wealth. Gatsby’s influence is ingenuine as it is his money that brings people close to him. This prevents him from achieving greatness as he is suppressed beneath the exploitation of his wealth for others’ own benefit, like Klipspringer, who utilizes Gatsby’s hospitality to reside in the luxurious mansion. Though Gatsby is seen to be acknowledged well during his life for his riches, the negligible impact he holds in other people’s lives prevents him from receiving respect in death, failing to be considered “great.”

Even after Gatsby’s demise, some may still believe him to be great, having been recognized as an influential figure for his extravagant lifestyle, and thus, the inclusion of the word in the title is used to glorify his fame. Gatsby and his parties are the subjects of widespread rumors, especially regarding the man’s wealth and how he acquired it. Talk about Gatsby grows, and “[his] notoriety, spread about by the hundreds who had accepted his hospitality…had increased all summer until he fell just short of being news” (97). Gatsby’s popularity rapidly grows with every party he organizes, to the point where he is almost considered to be newsworthy. With “hundreds” of people, as Fitzgerald writes, attending the parties and spreading the word about Gatsby, he is seen to be an important figure in the society around him. Gatsby holds an important quality of a person who is considered “great,” which is the ability to awe his party guests, living up to his title given by the novel’s name. But while Gatsby is very popular in his life, the same cannot be said about him in death. Nick invites numerous people to Gatsby’s funeral, with little success in securing attendees other than Gatsby’s own father. At the start of the ceremony, “[Nick] began to look involuntarily out the windows for other cars…[but] nobody came” (174). The only two people to show up to Gatsby’s funeral are his father and Nick – not even his friends. Nick expecting guests to arrive but only having himself and Gatsby’s father present displays that only the two value Gatsby for who he is instead of his money. The other people who associate with him did so due to his immense wealth and fame. However, now that this could no longer be an advantage to them, they do not feel the urge to express their respect to their late friend. Had Gatsby truly been “great,” his friends and party guests would have been impacted by him as an individual, putting an effort to attend the funeral, proving how he fails to uphold his title? Fitzgerald utilizes Gatsby’s shortcomings to identify how one’s greatness derives from their ability to affect the society around them rather than their fame, notoriety, or riches.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald reveals that greatness derives from acceptance of reality and influence among others. The author drives this point through the disillusionment of Jay Gatsby and his popularity from his wealth rather than his disposition. From believing that money could buy his happiness to ultimately having no effect on his society, Gatsby failed to meet the factors of “greatness.” As people race to grasp their portion of power through riches in hopes of achieving success as an individual in the modern world, they are blinded by the fact that greatness in society can be acquired by character, which they, like Gatsby, fail to understand.