The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

1021 Words3 Pages

Quantity over Quality The Great Gatsby is a short novel written by Scott Fitzgerald. It is set in the 1920’s, and like Fitzgerald, the novel is fervently identified with the Jazz age. The Jazz age was a time of self- indulgence squeezed between World War I and the Great Depression. The theme throughout the novel is recognized as the prestigious “American Dream” which holds a strong and honored place in American history. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s parties, the valley of ashes, and love to show that the ideals of the American dream are deteriorating. In the West Egg, Gatsby threw huge and extravagant parties hoping one day the love of his life, Daisy from East Egg, would come strolling through the door. Fitzgerald satirizes these parties in order to create a larger picture about the “roaring twenties” (Slater 54). The large parties were a place that was teeming with contradictions displayed. These huge parties were contained with people who were never officially invited and stayed until they were kicked out. The people who showed up were all examples of moral corruption and cared for nothing but the material of goods. People came, trashed Gatsby’s home and then left. The guest treated each other as if they were disposable, just like the money they spent so vigorously. This is the complete opposite of what the American Dream is supposed to be, people were just partying their lives away. Fitzgerald deliberately contributed to the God-like image of Gatsby by withholding him from the novel, which surrounds him with a mythical aura. Rumors would spread about Gatsby because no one has actually seen him." 'I'll tell you a family secret . . . . he used to be the silver polisher . . . in New York that had a si... ... middle of paper ... ...f others to reach their own personal goals. Works Cited Baker, Robert J. “Maecenas and Horace ‘Satires II.8.’” The Classical Journal 83.3 (1988): 212-232. JSTOR. Web. Feb. 17 May. 2014. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 1925. Print. Fraser, John. “Dust and Dreams and the Great Gatsby.” The John Hopkins University Press 32.4 (1965): 554-564. JSTOR. Web. Dec. 17 May. 2014. McAdams, Tony. “The Great Gatsby as Business Ethics Inquiry.” Journal of Business Ethics 12.8 (1993): 653-660. JSTOR. Web. 20 May. 2014. Pearson, Roger L. “Gatsby: False Prophet of the American Dream.” The English Journal 59.5 (1970): 638-645. JSTOR. Web. 17 May. 2014 Slater, Gregg P. “Ethnicity in the Great Gatsby” Twentieth Century Literature 19.1 (1973): 53-62. JSTOR. Web. Jan. 18 May. 2014. "Trimalchio." Princeton University. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2014.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
377 Words | 1 Pages
In F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby, the pursuit of the American dream in a corrupt period is a central theme. This theme exemplifies itself in the downfall of Gatsby. In a time of disillusionment the ideals of the American dream are lost. The classic American dream is one of materialism and when Gatsby incorporates Daisy, a human being, into the dream he is doomed to fail.
Read More
F.Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby
1667 Words | 4 Pages
In The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald analyzes three main characters, Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, and Nick Carraway. The Great Gatsby is a story about finding out who people really are and how far they will go to protect their secrets from spilling to everyone. The Great Gatsby is like a story of our time, we have the rich and the poor towns, we have people who cheat on their spouses, and lastly, we have racism towards different cultures and races (Schreier). Many ironic events take place throughout the book. For example, Gatsby and Nick become friends, Tom and Myrtle being secret lovers, also, Daisy and Gatsby carrying on an affair, and lastly Daisy running over Myrtle in Gatsby’s car (Coleman). Fitzgerald purposely wrote the book to tell about lovers that were not supposed to be together and how they overcame that and fell in love with one another (Shain). He also wrote the book to relate to American society (Tolmatchoff).
Read More
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
969 Words | 2 Pages
“When it comes to cars, only two varieties of people are possible - cowards and fools.” This quote by Russel Baker perfectly exemplifies the meaning of cars in the novel The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Careless driving is a common symbol throughout the book representing the aloofness of the wealthy characters and their inability to establish control in their lives. The characters in this story are constantly “driving”, trying to convince the world that wealth is all that it’s cracked up to be. Cars are, in this situation, both the figurative and literal driving force of life. When the characters climb into the wrong seat of the car, they are surely headed for trouble By comparing those born into money and power and those that had to work for their status, Fitzgerald shows us the carelessness and the inability to establish control in life that comes along with predetermined wealth.
Read More
The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald.
1327 Words | 3 Pages
curious way, and as far as I [Nick Carraway] was from him I could have
Read More
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
1154 Words | 3 Pages
Through out history, laws have been established with the intentions of making societies better. Instead of following these laws in fear of government punishment, the citizens followed them because they saw how they made improvements to their society. However, there have been times when laws did not have enough input from the citizens and were passed quickly. When this occurred the laws backfired on the government and the citizens went against them. That is what happened in the 1920’s when the 18th amendment passed to end sales, production, and distribution of alcohol. During WWI, the government came quickly to pass prohibition to decrease the alcohol consumption, but with little enforcement there were higher organized crimes for wealth, as portrayed by Jay Gatsby in Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby.
Read More
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
928 Words | 2 Pages
Scott Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota. He attended Princeton University, but flunked out and joined the US army. While in the army, he met the love of his life Zelda. Zelda refused to commit to him without him having a steady job. After being discharged, he moved to New York City to pursue a career of advertising. After only a few months, he returned to St. Paul to continue his writing career. His first novel's success made him famous and let him marry the woman he loved. His recently found fame gave him a bad reputation that made some people see him as less than a serious literary genius. The Fitzgeralds enjoyed fame and fortune, and the characters in The Great Gatsby closely resemble these characteristics. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is very wealthy and successful, which is what Fitzgerald strived for his entire life. The life Fitzgerald led and the life he wished to lead is reflected in the extravagant life of Jay Gatsby. Gatsby and Fitzgerald were also similar in their devotion to their lovers. Although Zelda spent her final years in an asylum, Fitzgerald continued to be loyal to her. Gatsby spent his entire trying to win back the love of his life, even when things seemed hopeless.
Read More
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
910 Words | 2 Pages
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 1996. Print.
Read More
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
1304 Words | 3 Pages
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald ‘He paid a high price for living too long with a single dream’.
Read More
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
885 Words | 2 Pages
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is the unbelievable story of a man who was forsaken by his one true love, and his ongoing struggle to reclaim her heart. Fitzgerald does a outstanding job of capturing the idea of the true American dream. The novel highlights the concept of the affluent spending without consequence; this thematic structure of the text parallels the concept of the American dream in current popular culture and for this reason this story is a classic novel shared all over the world.
Read More
The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald
438 Words | 1 Pages
The Roaring 20's was a time of celebration, but to many the 20's were instead
Read More
Irony of The Great Gatsby
1011 Words | 3 Pages
Gatsby displays his new money by throwing large, extravagant parties. The old money establishment of East Egg think Gatsby does this to show off his new money, but his motif is different. Jordan states, “I think he half expected her to wander into one of his parties” (Fitzgerald 64). This shows that even Daisy’s friends know what the parties are centered around. Gatsby waits for Daisy to walk in one night, wanting her to see everything he has become, but she never does. He does it all for her: the money, the house, the cars, the criminal activities, everything. It takes Gatsby finding Daisy, to get her there. Gatsby tells Nick in a panic, “She didn’t like it,” he insisted. “She didn’t have a good time” (Fitzgerald 87). Ironically, Daisy does not enjoy the parties as much as Gatsby wants her too. She loves his new found wealth, but that still is not enough for her. Gatsby’s lack of understanding concerning the attraction of his money is described as follows:
Read More
The American Dream in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
1085 Words | 3 Pages
The image of parties throughout The Great Gastby represents Fitzgerald’s belief that the American dream is only attainable in parts. These parties represent Gatsby’s grasp of superior status, which was part of his original goal to get Daisy back. To do this, however, he could not just hold a simple get-together. Gatsby had to throw the most outlandish and lavish party in town in hopes that Dai...
Read More
F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby
655 Words | 2 Pages
During Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, it is apparent to be an absurd time for the wealthy. The shallowness of money, riches, and a place in a higher social class were probably the most important components in most lives at that period of time. This is expressed clearly by Fitzgerald, especially through his characters, which include Myrtle Wilson, Tom and Daisy Buchanan, and of course, Jay Gatsby. This novel was obviously written to criticize and condemn the ethics of the rich.
Read More
F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby
705 Words | 2 Pages
In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Daisy Miller by Henry James, most of the characters are under illusions during the majority of the plot. The plots are carried out with the characters living under these illusions, which are mainly overcome by the ends of the stories. The disillusionment of most of the characters completely diminishes the foundation in which the plots were built upon, leading to the downfall of some of the main characters and the altering of the other characters.
Read More
Nick Carraway's Epiphany in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby
2875 Words | 6 Pages
Trask, David F. "The End of the American Dream," Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby: The Novel, The Critics, The Background. Ed. Henry D. Piper. Charles Schribner's Sons, New York: 1970.
Read More

Open Document

Wait a second!

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald