Throughout the pantheon of American literature, few novels capture the Roaring Twenties as vividly as The Great Gatsby. Published in 1925 by Scott Fitzgerald, this work continues to be praised for its exploration of ambition, love, and the American dream. The books’ steadfast depiction of American society shows both the restraints and the opportunities granted to the upper class in the 1920’s. The novel also tackles the idea of change, showing the reader how change for the wrong reasons, lacks substance. In contrast, the 1861 novella “Life in the Iron Mills” by Rebecca Harding Davis is a stark depiction of the working class in the nineteenth century. Davis’s work was revolutionary at the time, shedding light upon the grim realities faced by …show more content…
Despite his labor intensive job, Hugh is an aspiring artist who hopes that his love for sculpting will one day relive him from his unfulfilling life. One day, while working in the mills, Hugh spots three men, Doctor, Mitchell, and Kirby, who seem to be unfit in the groggy mills, observing his sculpture. Doctor decides to give Hugh some needed guidance, saying, “Do you know, boy, you have it in you to be a great sculptor, a great man? —do you understand?” (Davis 213). While Doctor is giving confidence and guidance to the young artist, he is also talking down upon him. The novella states this, saying that he is belittling him through the quote, “talking down to the capacity of his hearer: it is a way people have with children, and men like Wolfe (Hugh)” (Davis 213). This disparaging statement by Doctor further exemplifies the difference in societal circumstances between the two characters. Later in this interaction, Hugh asks the Doctor for help escaping his loathsome life. Upon hearing this, Mitchell burst out laughing. This jarring reaction to a cry for help is a critical moment that encapsulates the central themes of class disparity and the indifference of the upper class to sympathize with the lower. Furthermore, it shows the blatant disregard that the privileged class has for the struggles of the laborers. Hugh realizes that …show more content…
Throughout the novel, Gatsby puts up a front of a lavish and rich life, attempting to accumulate a revered reputation. He believes that by accumulating wealth and status, he could win back the love of Daisy and relive his past. His understanding of love, nonetheless, is built on materialism and the appearance of success, rather than emotional substance. Gatsby’s obsession with these materialistic ideals caused him to change, not for personal growth, but for the illusion of status. Gatsby’s superficial change is encapsulated by the quote, “He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way. No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart” (Fitzgerald 74). This quote reflects on Gatsby’s relentless pursuit of an appealing identity that he believes is necessary to win the love of Daisy. Gatsby’s change is rooted in status and wealth, rather than genuine personal growth. Furthermore, “ghostly heart” refers to the lack of substance behind the transformation, and the emptiness at the core of his endeavors. Gatsby’s superficial transformation is a lesson that change without intentions of personal growth results in a lack of substance. Comparatively, “Life In the Iron Mills”
Gatsby’s explanation of this dream focused on money and social status. He has always yearned for this, even when he was a child. Fitzgerald frequently emphasises Gatsby’s desire, throughout the entirety of this novel. Though, Fitzgerald accentuates this desire when Nick discovers the truth of Gatsby’s past. During this elucidation, Nick explains that “his [Gatsby’s] parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people-his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all.” (Fitzgerald, 98) This shows the reader Gatsby’s lifelong determination for wealth and power. Even in his adult life, he strives for more than what he has. In John Steinbeck’s essay, he explains that “we [Americans] go mad with dissatisfaction in the face of success” (Steinbeck, 1) This is exactly how Gatsby feels, he is not content with his success, the amount of money he has, or the height of his social status and is constantly wishing for more than he has. Though, once he meets Daisy he no longer strives for wealth, but rather for her. As shown in this novel, even though Gatsby has achieved all he had wanted when he was growing up, he will not be content until he is able to call Daisy his
The Great Gatsby is an emotional tale of hope of love and “romantic readiness”(1.2) that is both admirable and meritorious .Yet, the question of Daisy ever being able to measure up to Gatsby’s expectations is one that reverberates throughout the course of the novel. Be that as it may, Daisy is never truly able to measure up to Gatsby’s expectations because the image of Daisy in Gatsby’s mind is entirely different from who she actually is. Even during his younger years, Gatsby had always had a vision of himself “as a son of God”(6.98) and that “he must be about his fathers business, the service of a vast, vulgar and meretricious beauty”(6.98). Gatsby’s desire for aristocracy, wealth, and luxury is exactly what drives him to pursue Daisy who embodies everything that that Gatsby desires and worked towards achieving. Therefore, Gatsby sees Daisy as the final piece to his puzzle in order realize his vision. Gatsby’s hyperbolized expectation of Daisy throws light on the notion if our dreams as individuals are actually limited by reality. Since our dreams as human beings are never truly realized, because they may be lacking a specific element. Daisy proves to be that element that lingers in Gatsby’s dreams but eludes his reality.
...s motivation to reach into Daisy’s heart is the downfall that lead to Gatsby’s persistent nature which concentrate solely the past, Also, emptiness of existence with realization to taint ideal, Gatsby’s heart fill with illusions. As a great man his death overflows with generosity and kindness that people did not notice. The good man Gatsby’s death is a tragic, but in the end it’s another meaningless loss that buried as a lonely hero.
After finally reconnecting with the now married Daisy years after they were separated by the war, Jay Gatsby is determined to win her back and continue their relationship where they left off years before. Despite all the odds clearly against him, as he is of poor blood and low social status compared to Tom, Gatsby “had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way. No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart” (Fitzgerald 95-6). Ga...
Even after Gatsby does achieve his dream of prosperity, he is left unsatisfied always wanting something more. “He talked about the past, and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy” (110). Gatsby remains dissatisfied with what his life has become; instead of attempting to change it, he tries to relive the past through Daisy. In addition, earning his money untruthfully leaves Gatsby with a feeling of discontent since he cannot pride himself in hard work by means of earning it. The material possessions in Gatsby’s life bring him temporary happiness and satisfaction unaware that Daisy will fulfill the void of eternal longing for love. Humanity views material possessions as a symbol of wealth despite the many other ways an individual can be wealthy. This corrupted view reveals why Gatsby could not be content and accept his past as a part of him. In the passage of time, Gatsby continuously strives for his dream unaware that it has already passed, symbolic for the realization that one can’t relive the past. “‘You can’t relive the past.’ ‘Can’t relive the past?’ he cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can!’” (110). Despite the fact that he was poor in Louisville, Gatsby was rich in love and experienced genuine contentment. For the duration of his life, Gatsby
When Gatsby was young he was not rich, he is just a major military officer. He fell in love with a girl called Daisy, Daisy also loved him. After the First World War broke out, Gatsby was transferred to Europe. Whether it is accidental or inevitable, Daisy so break up with him, and with a dude come high-rolling families was married to Tom. Daisy married life is not happy, because Tom have another mistress. The satisfaction of material does not fill the Daisy spiritual emptiness. Gatsby in agony, he believes that money let Daisy betrayed the purity of mind, so determined to become a millionaire. After a few years, Gatsby finally succeeded. He built a building near the Daisy's house. Gatsby wished to attract the attention of Daisy, to redeem the lost love. Under Tom's play, the cause of his mistress's husband shot and killed Gatsby. Gatsby finally became the victim. He had failed to see Daisy. Gatsby died for Daisy. Gatsby's tragedy is that he put everything to his beautiful dream weaving. Daisy, as the embodiment of his ideal, but only has a beautiful body. His ideal is materialism, but beyond material itself, is a pure ideal. Daisy for Gatsby is not just a dream lover, but the source of his dream. Although Gatsby clearly recognized "her voice was full of money", but still not change
Considered as the defining work of the 1920s, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was published in 1925, when America was just coming out of one of the most violent wars in the nation’s history. World War 1 had taken the lives of many young people who fought and sacrificed for our country on another continent. The war left many families without fathers, sons, and husbands. The 1920s is an era filled with rich and dazzling history, where Americans experienced changes in lifestyle from music to rebellion against the United States government. Those that are born into that era grew up in a more carefree, extravagant environment that would affect their interactions with others as well as their attitudes about themselves and societal expectations. In this novel, symbols are used to represent the changing times and create a picture of this era for generations to come. The history, settings, characters, and symbols embedded in The Great Gatsby exemplify life in America during the 1920s.
For five years, Gatsby was denied the one thing that he desired more than anything in the world: Daisy. While she was willing to wait for him until after the war, he did not want to return to her a poor man who would, in his eyes, be unworthy of her love. Gatsby did not want to force Daisy to choose between the comfortable lifestyle she was used to and his love. Before he would return to her, he was determined to make something of himself so that Daisy would not lose the affluence that she was accustomed to possessing. His desire for Daisy made Gatsby willing to do whatever was necessary to earn the money that would in turn lead to Daisy’s love, even if it meant participating in actions...
The world is filled with cheapskates, phonies, and two-faced people. Many use others for their own benefits. In The Great Gatsby, through the motif of superficiality, Fitzgerald critiques the theme that displaying materialism and superficiality can ruin true love and a chance at true love. Objects cannot define a relationship; it should be the feelings developed that defines the relationship of two people. The characteristic of materialism is a barrier for true love between two people. Nick Carraway has just moved to a West Egg, and his mysterious neighbor is Jay Gatsby. Gatsby’s long living dream is to rekindle his love and relationship with Daisy Buchanan, who is currently married to Tom Buchanan. He attempts to pursue his relationship with Daisy through his unexplained wealth. However, their love couldn’t be true because of their focus on “things” rather than each other.
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, tells the story of a man of meager wealth who chases after his dreams, only to find them crumble before him once he finally reaches them. Young James Gatz had always had dreams of being upper class, he didn't only want to have wealth, but he wanted to live the way the wealthy lived. At a young age he ran away from home; on the way he met Dan Cody, a rich sailor who taught him much of what he would later use to give the world an impression that he was wealthy. After becoming a soldier, Gatsby met an upper class girl named Daisy - the two fell in love. When he came back from the war Daisy had grown impatient of waiting for him and married a man named Tom Buchanan. Gatsby now has two coinciding dreams to chase after - wealth and love. Symbols in the story, such as the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock, the contrast between the East Egg and West Egg, and the death of Myrtle, Gatsby, and Wilson work together to expose a larger theme in the story. Gatsby develops this idea that wealth can bring anything - status, love, and even the past; but what Gatsby doesn't realize is that wealth can only bring so much, and it’s this fatal mistake that leads to the death of his dreams.
Gatsby hasn’t just lost his morals but also his sense of family because he has created such an elaborate illusion. Catherine scrutinizes the couples of the story, "Neither of them can stand the person they're married to" (Fitzgerald pg 37). The marriage had become very weak when Daisy "had told [Gatsby] that she loved him, and Tom Buchanan saw. He was astounded" (Fitzgerald, pg 125). More than his morals, Gatsby loses all sense of family, his wealth has metaphorically become it. He relies on his money rather than a family to bring comfort and security to his life. Gatsby takes advantage of his wealth to replace his deteriorated spirit and emotions. As a result of shallow family relationships, all love for that matter becomes based on social status.
The obsession with wealth often blinds people from the potential crisis. The crisis of having everything they worked and struggled for redefined if the reality fails them. Just like strivers who chase the American dream, Gatsby also spend his whole life in persue of his American dream, which Daisy was a major component of it. Gatsby’s “American dream” seems actualized when Daisy comments him “resemble the advertisement of the man(Ch7).” But Daisy eventually betrays Gatsby and went back to the arms of Tom. This is the final nail in the coffin, with Gatsby’s dr...
When he first meets Daisy Buchanan, Gatsby has “committed himself to the following of a grail” (156). With extreme dedication, he stops at nothing to win her love back, after years of separation. Gatsby’s idealized conception of Daisy is the motivating force that underlies his compulsion to become successful. Everything he has done, up to this point, has been directed toward winning Daisy’s favor and having her back in his life. The greatest example of this dedication is the mansion he has constructed, “a colossal affair by any standard...with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden” (9). Once a “penniless young man without a past” (156), he transforms himself into a self-made millionaire and builds an extravagant mansion, all for the love of Daisy Buchanan. He also strategically places the mansion across the lake from Daisy’s house. From his window, Gatsby can see the blue colored lights of her house. Gatsby seems to be caught in a conflict between materialism and idealism that created and still defines the American character.
Similarly to the theme of loneliness, the disintegration of Gatsby's world unfolds both physically and metaphorically, portraying the unavoidable decay of Gatsby’s aspirations. Gatsby attempts to make every facet of his world perfect, down to the most minute details, yet such endeavors prove futile, as “the grass on his lawn had grown as long as mine” (179). This call back to the earlier chapter, where Gatsby insists Nick gets his grass cut in preparation for Daisy, provides a somewhat obvious representation of the unavoidable deterioration and change ingrained in all aspects of life. Yet, beneath the surface, the gradual decline of Gatsby's once pristine lawn mirrors the inexorable erosion of the most profound fantasies. Moreover, consumed by the pursuit of an unattainable dream, Gatsby remained oblivious to the reality of his situation until his world was irreparably crumbling around him.
Gatsby’s theme is deeply connected to the theme of the American Dream. He embodies the idea of self-made success and the relentless pursuit of wealth and love as symbols of achieving the ideal life. Gatsby’s background as a poor young man who transforms himself into a wealthy and influential figure emphasizes hard work, ambition, and the belief that anyone can rise to greatness regardless of their origins. Daisy Buchanan represents the tension between appearance vs. reality. On the surface, she seems to embody the ideal of wealth and beauty, but as the story unfolds, we see the contradictions within her