World War I brought new views on religion to the United States, it ended just before the 1920s so these views were carried over. Some turned to god, while others turned away. Morals were changing in that people spent their time and money on completely different things now. Religion had been the basis of many people’s lives before this, making this way of thinking and acting brand new. In The Great Gatsby, Doctor T. J. Eckleburg’s eyes symbolize god and how traditional religion and morality are sinking away from everyday life. Eckleburg’s eyes first appear at the beginning of chapter two. These eyes “dimmed a little by many paintless days under the sun and rain,” (28) watch over the valley of ashes. In this valley, the grey men work all day and do not pay as much attention to god and religion. Therefore, god is set aside in people’s lives and fades instead of being the focus, like an old favorite toy that has grown boring, set aside to collect dust. The eyes which symbolize god, a higher power, show up on a billboard. Advertisements are the primary use of billboards, telling us that...
Jay Gatsby’s funeral is a small service, not because that 's what was intended, but because no one bothered to show up. Nick wanted to give Gatsby the popularity he desired, even in death, but only three people were present in the end. Gatsby’s father, Henry C. Gatz, shows up unexpectedly from Minnesota because he heard about the news in the papers. He believes that the man who shot his son must 've been mad, that no one in their right mind could commit such a horrible act. Daisy and Wolfsheim, the people closest to Gatsby in the book, do not attend. This exemplifies that it was always about wealth and social status for them, including Tom, and they never genuinely cared for Gatsby. Nick held up hope,
Reading through the novel The Great Gatsby, it becomes evident that Dr. Eckelberg symbolizes God and oversees events that occur. The characters in the novel refer to "the eyes of Dr. Eckelberg" often. Doctor T.J. Eckleburg symbolizes three things. He symbolizes the corruption of society; his eyes represent the eyes of an omnipotent God, and he implies carelessness and mistreatment.
Near the beginning of George Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara, Mr. Undershaft exclaims in retort of another's question, "well, I am a millionaire, and that is my religion" (Shaw 103). Many people look toward the heavens in search of the power to enable them to live in the world. Others, like Shaw's Mr. Undershaft, look toward more earthly subjects to obtain their power and symbolize their status. Often these subjects, such as money, wealth, or physical beauty and ability, give their owners an overbearing sense of power and ability in all of that they do. Some people become so obsessed with their materialistic power that it becomes their religion and leads them in everything that they do. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, the character of Tom Buchanan is introduced and portrayed as someone who has allowed his physical abilities, money, and wealth, become his religion and lead him in his actions, perceived thoughts and beliefs, and speech.
Try to imagine living life during the infamous roaring 20’s. This time was filled with lavish parties, illegal alcohol, bad morals, and really vibrant jazz music. A person living during this time would most likely be a person who deeply cared about their social status and what other people thought of them. Due to the ending of the Great War, economic prosperity for the upper class, and rapid social changes, many people throughout America began to throw away their beliefs and values for the exciting and exuberant life the 1920’s offered. There is no doubt that many people during this time were doing horrible, unmoral things and its clear to see that they believed no one was watching over them as they constantly “sinned.” In the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author shows us the loss of spiritual values throughout America, the emptiness of the American Dream, and the corruption that filled the hearts of many Americans by the use of the motif of eyes.
Throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses an ensemble of characters to portray different aspects of the 1920s. The characters’ occupations and lifestyles represent the corruption, carefreeness, and prosperity of the Roaring Twenties. Perhaps most striking of this ensemble is the pompous bigot Tom Buchanan and the novel’s namesake Jay Gatsby. Set in the fictional towns of West Egg and East Egg on Long Island, New York, in the summer of 1922, the novel revolves around the protagonist Nick Carraway when he moves to West Egg. Upon arriving, he reconnects with his cousin Daisy Buchanan, and her husband Tom. He also encounters his mysterious neighbor Jay Gatsby, and eventually learns that Gatsby is an admirer of Daisy who tries at all costs to win over from her husband. Both of Daisy’s love interests are dimensional characters whose personalities are seemingly opposite; while Tom and Gatsby are contrastive, Daisy is one of the few common interests of the two men.
The word visually stunning could be used to describe the 2013 Baz Luhrman directed adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s timeless novel The Great Gatsby. Speaking of the director, I enjoyed his portrayal of the lavish lifestyle and carefree party like attitude in such a beautiful visual experience. The way in which the party scenes were filmed in the movie made perfect sense compared to the source material and were something I have never seen done by any other directors in a live action film. Another positive for me about this film was the soundtrack. When I first started watching the film I expected to hear old time music prevalent in the 20s. I however was pleasantly surprised when I learned the soundtrack was compiled by Jay-Z and featured many tracks I enjoyed featuring him either alone or accompanied by another musical guest. While Jay-Z is not exactly an accurate representation of the music of the 20s, the soundtrack adds a modern flavour over the previously mentioned beautiful backgrounds and architecture. The story however is where the movie at times falls flat. When stripped down to basics it is nothing more than a generic love story with a few twists added in for extra kick. The characters in the same vain can be very bland and not make you care much for them due to their backstories not being deeply explored. The only character that I found to be interesting was Jay Gatsby because of the mystical aura that surrounds his character at the beginning of the movie that leads you to want to uncover more of this ever mysterious man. All in all the visuals clearly outpace
When it came time where he published The Great Gatsby and got his wife, Zelda,
Think about being separated from the one you love. You thought this person would be in your life forever and always. You may have spent days and weeks thinking and planning your future together, but then one day they disappear from your life. That person has moved on, and chose to live a life that no longer including you. It would be assumed in most cases that the love of your life is no longer the person they were before, so should you stick around and try to win them back? In the case of Gatsby and Daisy, Gatsby did not realize Daisy would be different, and although he still thinks he is in love with Daisy, is he in love with her for who she is now, or the idea of everything she used to be the answer may shock you, and this is all due to the unreal expectations he has for her to fill. Because Gatsby is not in love with who she is at the time they are reunited. Instead, he is caught up in the idea of who she used to be. The actions of Gatsby, how he talks about her, and the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy once they are back together again show who Gatsby is really in love with, and that is the old Daisy.
Throughout the novel The Great Gatsby, there is a constant theme present: social class. Fitzgerald makes a connection between the theme of social class, and the settings in the novel for example The Valley of Ashes which is described as a “desolate area of land” (p.21) and a “solemn dumping ground” (p.21) which is where the poor people live. The Valley of Ashes is situated between West Egg and New York, West Egg being the place where the aspiring classes are situated, which is the “less fashionable of the two” (p.8), this is where Gatsby lives. West Egg is the place of ‘new money’, Fitzgerald shows this by the idea of the main character Jay Gatsby, rumoured to be selling illegal alcohol (prohibition) which means he is quickly making vast amounts of money.” Who is this Gatsby anyhow? Some big bootlegger?”(p.86) Gatsby shows off the amount of wealth he has by his fabulous parties and oversized mansion. “There was music from my neighbour's house through those summer nights. In his enchanted gardens, men and girls came and went like moths, among the whispering and the champagne and the stars.”(p.33) Fitzgerald uses the word ‘enchanted’ to paint a visual picture of what the house and the scene looks like, a magical and enchanted castle, with elegant furniture. This is in comparison to East Egg where Tom and Daisy Buchanan live, in a house where “The windows were ajar and gleaming white against the fresh grass outside” (p.10). East Egg being the place of ‘old money’ which is made from the inheritance of their past generations, the people who live it East Egg are mainly well educated, historically wealthy and live quite elegantly, but they are also quite ‘snobbish’. Gatsby’s background does not fit into the social standards of East Egg...
I must have read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby from cover to cover about a half dozen times since it was first assigned in my Junior AP English class, and I still uncover new motifs and themes with each new bout. There are many, from Fitzgerald’s use of colors to provide foreshadowing to the geography and how it depicts various aspects of the 1920s society. But one thing continues to pop up with upmost consistency, and that is the constant appearance of Christianity. The Christian religion plays a role in small, though numerous, sections of The Great Gatsby, and is one of the primary themes in the novel.
Materialism has a negative influence on the characters in the novel, The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. “The most terrible thing about materialism even more terrible than its proneness to violence, is its boredom, from which sex, alcohol, drugs, all devices for putting out the accusing light of reason and suppressing the unrealizable aspirations of love, offers a prospect of deliverance.” This quote, stated by Malcolm Muggeridge, says that people get bored with the things that they have when they get new things all of the time. When they get bored with these things, they turn to stuff like sex, alcohol, and drugs. In The Great Gatsby, Myrtle, Daisy, and Gatsby are greatly influenced by money, and material things. The negative influence that materialism has on these characters is shown throughout the entire novel.
Most self respecting people have ethics and morals they try to abide by. They create standards that they live life by and construct their own philosophy with. In the novel The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, morals and ethics are a scarce practice. Jay Gatsby lives his life by the over bearing morals and values of devotion, corruption, and his will to control.
In American society, love, social class, and ambition are in the present life of Americans. Both books "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald and "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Hurston, are examples of Gatsby and Janie and their strive to reach the American dream. Both Gatsby and Janie are searching for love. Gatsby has found his love for Daisy, but he can’t have her because of there differences between social classes. On the other hand, Janie spends her journey searching for sense of herself and someone who treats her as equal. Despite the beginning of their past life they both reach the appearance of wealth and fortune. For Gatsby, his character is a delusion created by those who spread rumors just by seeing him throw the lavish parties. Gatsby's wealth is only a front because he was given the house from wealth and illegal dealings with Meyer Wolfsheim. Janie's character changes throughout the story in search of her identity. Janie inherited money from the death of her second husband. But the money doesn’t mean much to her ever since she met Tea Cake but still uses her money to provide for the both of them. Gatsby and Janie faced challenges on the search for their American Dream. In
distinction (Bennett & Royle 221). Gatsby knew who he was, and his homosexual relations was a means to an end. In Rivkin and Ryan article, Freud claims “a sense of something strange coexists with what is more familiar inside ourselves. It’s why we repeat gestures, and have desires, and we cannot control them because they are in our unconscious mind. The unconscious is repressed dir3ees, feelings, memories, and instinctual drives which have to do with sexuality and violence” (389). These unconscious wishes can be expressed in dreams and in fixations. Gatsby has a fixation on Daisy where his “life’s longings are defined by its schema” in other words he constructs a fantasy that he can repeat the past if only Daisy will tell Tom she never loved him (Fitzgerald 132).
The moral decay of society during the 1920’s was represented through the characters in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. People became selfish as their wealth increased, and they didn’t care at all what they did to other people, as long as they ended up okay in the end. Dishonesty became accepted, and that led to a downfall of society. Because of the character’s lack of morals and responsibility, Gatsby, an innocent man, died.