Plot and Structure: 1) What hardships did the main character have to deal with? Jay Gatsby, faced a myriad of hardships, including social rejection due to his humble origins, unrequited love for Daisy, and a haunted past that filled his desire to reinvent himself. His struggle between illusion and reality, epitomized by his pursuit of the American Dream and the idealized vision of the past, led to his despair. Despite his wealth and success, Gatsby’s life was marked by inner turmoil and a sense of isolation, highlighting the novel’s theme of longing, unattainable dreams, and the fleeting nature of happiness. 2) What parts of the book move slowly, and what parts move quickly? In “The Great Gatsby,” the pacing varies, with slow-moving sections …show more content…
F. Scott Fitzgerald crafts a compelling portrait of Gatsby through a blend of direct and indirect characterization, dialogue, and symbolism. Direct characterization outlines Gatsby’s enigmatic yet charming persona, while indirect cues reveal his complexities and inner struggles. Through dialogue, Gatsby’s charm and vulnerability shine, adding depth to his character. Symbolism, such as the green light and Gatsby’s mansion, offers insight into these aspirations and …show more content…
Does your understanding of the title change throughout the book? As I said, the title fits the book because it describes what Gatsby wanted to be. My understanding changed because at first, I thought the title was talking about how everyone thought about Gatsby, and he was just such a great person and as I read the book I came to understand the title more and why it was called The Great Gatsby. Narrator: 15) Who is the narrator in this story, and why do you think the author chose this narrator? In the story the narrator is Nick, chosen by the author for his outsider status, moral integrity, and his personal connections to the characters. Nick’s impartial perspective allows him to observe and comment on the events of the story objectively, providing insights into the characters’ motivations and relationships. His moral decency serves as a contrast to the superficiality and moral decay of the other characters. 16) Is the book written in first or third person? Share an example from the text to show how you know. The text is written in first person, with Nick serving as the narrator. An example from the text that demonstrates this is the opening lines of the novel. “In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. ‘Whenever you feel like criticizing any once; he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve
4. Describe and explain why you would/would not like to have lived in the time or place of the story.
Nick is the narrator and observer of the story. The only information about him is that he is Mels best friend, Laura...
The New York Times article, Editorial Observer; Jay Gatsby, Dreamer, Criminal, Jazz Age Rogue, Is a Man for Our Times, highlights the actions of characters such as Jay Gatsby, Atticus Finch, and Holden Caulfield to the 21st Century. The article discusses how all three characters were listed by Book magazine to be names the Top 100 fictional characters since 1900. The character, Gatsby, was selected because of his trait to be the “cynical idealist, who embodies America in all of its messy glory.” The article continues on by stating how Gatsby would relate to a current American in today’s day in age. Many believe that Gatsby would be able to survive, and thrive, in today’s age knowing what readers know of his life in the 1920s. The author begins by
Nick compares himself to a “casual watcher in the darkening streets” (Fitzgerald 35), reminding the reader that he is impersonal, and, “I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known” (Fitzgerald 59). Although Nick persistently defends his character as a spectator, it’s clear Nick is desperate to demonstrate the outlook of events based on his point-of-view.
As the narrator, readers expect certain qualities in the character to provide an unbiased, non-judgmental, straightforward, and confident point of view of the story. The issues noted above can take away from the story and his narrative abilities. By following the self-improvement plan and advices, Nick Carraway can present himself as an upstanding character as all readers wish to see him to
Among the first indicators of Nick’s unreliability as a narrator is shown through his extreme misunderstanding of his father’s advice. When Nick’s father told him that “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages you’ve had” (1) he most likely meant not all people have the same opportunities in life. However, Nick perverted his father’s meaning and understood it as “a sense of the fundamental decencies us parceled out unequally at birth” (2). Nick’s interpretation of his father’s advice provides insight into his conceited, somewhat supercilious attitude, as he believes that not all people are born with the same sense of manners and morality.
Its theme is far more complex than a simple love story. It tells about the corruption of the American dream, the broken promise of “equality for all” and the fact that you can’t be “whatever you want”. The novel is concerned with Jay Gatsby’s life, who is the protagonist of the story and perhaps American’s literature most powerful character.Gatsby lives a luxurious life in west Egg, we learn about his glamorous parties full of drinks and people from everywhere! But all this is just a facade that hides what Gatsby really is- a simple man in love. It seems that years ago Gatsby had fallen in love with a golden-haired girl named daisy. However, he wasn’t always rich and wealthy there was a time when he was poor and had nothing. This was the reason he lost the love of his life, and now does everything only to gain it back.
The maturation of Nick begins with his description of his time leading to his arrival in West Egg, “I graduated from New Haven in 1915, just a quarter of a century after my father, and a little later I participated in that delayed Teutonic migration known as the Great War” (Fitzgerald, 3). The protagonist comes into the story having not lived much of his life in the normal world that he desires to successfully conquer. He goes directly from schooling into the war, where he found heroic satisfaction. Yet, somehow, Nick is able to keep part of himself innocent and pure despite being in the horrors of war. It is not long after attending his first party at Gatsby’s that Nick confesses that “Every one suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known’ (Fitzgerald, 59). The level of Nick’s idealism and virtuousness begins at such an innocent pl...
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a tragic tale of love distorted by obsession. Finding himself in the city of New York, Jay Gatsby is a loyal and devoted man who is willing to cross oceans and build mansions for his one true love. His belief in realistic ideals and his perseverance greatly influence all the decisions he makes and ultimately direct the course of his life. Gatsby has made a total commitment to a dream, and he does not realize that his dream is hollow. Although his intentions are true, he sometimes has a crude way of getting his point across. When he makes his ideals heard, his actions are wasted on a thoughtless and shallow society. Jay Gatsby effectively embodies a romantic idealism that is sustained and destroyed by the intensity of his own dream. It is also Gatsby’s ideals that blind him to reality.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is an absurd story, whether considered as romance, melodrama, or plain record of New York high life. The occasional insights into character stand out as very green oases on an arid desert of waste paper. Throughout the first half of the book the author shadows his leading character in mystery, but when in the latter part he unfolds his life story it is difficult to find the brains, the cleverness, and the glamour that one might expect of a main character.
Bruccoli, Matthew J. Preface. The Great Gatsby. By F. Scott Fitzgerald. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. vii-xvi.
Before considering the "gap" between author and narrator, we should remember how, as readers, we respond to the narrator's perspective, especially when that voice belongs to a character who, like Nick, is an active participant in the story. When we read any work of fiction, no matter how realistic or fabulous, as readers, we undergo a "suspension of disbelief". The fictional world creates a new set of boundaries, making possible or credible events and reactions that might not commonly occur in the "real world", but which have a logic or a plausibility to them in that fictional world. In order for this to be convincing, we trust the narrator. We take his perspective, if not totally, then substantially.
Trilling, Lionel. "F. Scott Fitzgerald." Critical Essays on Scott Fitzgerald's "Great Gatsby." Ed. Scott Donaldson. Boston: Hall, 1984. 13-20.
This passage shows Nick making his way through New York at night, seeing the sights and narrating the way this external stimuli makes him feel. It exemplifies the manner in which Nick interacts with the world around him, often as an observer, rather than participant, and is integral to the development of his character. Fitzgerald utilizes vivid imagery throughout the paragraph, paired with a strong narrative regarding Nick’s experience in New York; furthermore provoking the audience to ponder a theme central to the novel.
In a subjective manner, his thought is a lens through which the themes of illusions versus reality and the decay of the American Dream are laid. However, the reader has to see through Nick’s personal judgments in arriving at the essence of the story, so his trustworthiness becomes an interpretation rather than a