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The great gatsby themes thesis
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Young Love In the book, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses Nick Carraway’s point of view throughout the book. As the reader, you are seeing things through Nick’s eyes, thus, you are seeing other people through his point of view and reading about his opinions about the people he encounters. The person Nick becomes most involved with is Jay Gatsby, who has the most impact on Nick. The author uses foreshadowing in the book to expose that what Gatsby feels for Daisy is not love, but a fascination of the past and actions that are not backed up by his motivations. Although Gatsby’s character is very motivated in the things he does throughout the book, his actions are not entirely believable due to his infatuation with Daisy, as he invests his time spending mass amounts of money in hopes that Daisy will one day, show up to one of these extravagant parties. While James was out on Lake Superior, he runs into Dan Cody, a self made rich man, who takes Gatz under his wing because he was grateful about a warning of an incoming storm. And while Gatz uses Cody as an inspiration for his self imagined future, and pronounces himself “Jay Gatsby”, there is more to this passage. James uses the knowledge he gained from being involved with a person of wealth, to reinvent himself to being a person of wealth to try and be a part of a higher social class. This passage is an example of foreshadowing from Fitzgerald, that Gatsby’s relationship with Daisy will not work out, even before they get together. Dan Cody dies a week after being visited by Ella Kaye, who also winds up receiving the inheritance that was supposed to go to Gatsby. From this passage, the reader can interpret that something of the same nature will also happen to
“ Its attitude is one of disillusionment and detachment; Fitzgerald is still able to evoke the glitter of the 1920s but he is no longer dazzled by it; he sees its underlying emptiness and impoverishment” (Trendell 23)The story is narrated from the point of view of Nick, one of Gatsby’s friends. The problematic and hopeless romantic, Gatsby, sets out to fulfill his dream in acquiring Daisy, his lifelong love, through his many tactics and ideas. Gatsby is introduced extending his arms mysteriously toward a green light in the direction of the water. Later, Gatsby is shown to be the host of many parties for the rich and Nick is invited to one of these parties where Gatsby and Nick meet. When Gatsby later confesses his love for Daisy he explains she was a loved one who was separated from him and hopes to get her again explained when he says, “I hope she'll be a fool -- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool”(Fitzgerald 56). There are several obstacles that Gatsby must overcome and the biggest one that is Daisy’s current fiancé but that still does not get in the way of him trying to recover Daisy’s old feelings. His attempts are made through money and wealth because he tries to buy her love back instead of letting it happen naturally.
How they treat each other shows how selfish both of them are and how they only care about themselves. Gatsby finds himself falling in love with Daisy, and the idea of her, when he returns to Long Island and discovers the lavish lifestyles that are being led. Jay Gatsby is a man who has been obsessed with the idea of being wealthy ever since the age of seventeen, when he met an older gentleman named Dan Cody. Gatsby was supposed to inherit all of Cody’s money but was cheated out of it at the last minute. Ever since then, Gatsby has been obsessed with the idea of being wealthy and he would do whatever it would take for him to be wealthy. Once Gatsby and Daisy begin a relationship, Bloom points out that, “Gatsby, with his boundless capacity for love, a capacity unique in the sterile world he inhabits, sees that the pursuit of money is a substitute for love. He knows himself well enough to see that his own attraction toward wealth is tied to his love for Daisy.”. It is hard for Gatsby to admit, but it becomes evident to the reader that Gatsby values wealth and status over human love and affection. Gatsby had an obsession with money that unfortunately he was never able to shake, and ultimately led to a lonely life and eventually to his
James Gatz despised poverty and longed for wealth and sophistication. His parents were farmers so he could never accept them as parents. He was craving to move up from the middle class and achieve “all the beauty and glamour in the world” (Fitzgerald 100). After meeting Dan Cody on his yacht, he fell in love with wealth and luxury that he created a new persona of himself as Jay Gatsby, his ideal self. Starting a poor life, he chose the illegal road leading to upper class and was able to make a fortunate that made him able to live the life of a millionaire, which is a representation of the America in 1920s. Gatsby’s perception of the lives of people from upper class is very superficial; he was blinded by all the glam that comes with it. He was only attracted to the appeal of wealth and showed this by throwing over the top parties in his mansion. These parties represent a portrait of the Jazz Age in 1920’s America, rise of the materialism and the decline of the moral values. Nick indicates, "I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby's house I was one of the fe...
At seventeen, James Gatz already hated the life he was leading. When he saw the riches of the east, he despised that he had to live in rags while others went to parties each night. And so he changed his identity, to break the bond he had with his past life, and created a new life for himself, with a new name and a new sense of hope. The boy that he was before was gone replaced by the confident and charismatic Jay Gatsby. This man was the one who won over the beautiful Daisy. When she ran away to Tom for he did not have the money she desired to live a lavish and comfortable lifestyle, he made it his aim to win Daisy back. With this determination, Gatsby made it his only goal to climb up the social ladder. He even stooped down to the level of organized crime, but it was so that he could achieve his dream of climbing his way to the top of the social ladder. For people with inherited money, they have no true dedication to any work he or she did. For a man like Gatsby, unhappy with his situation, and who started out at the bottom, it took full determination for him to achieve his goal. " 'He bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay.' (Fitzgerald 78)" To Gatsby, the money would buy back the love that Daisy once had for him. Although his pursuit of Daisy is blind, everything he does, from all the books he buys to every party he throws shows his resolve to win Daisy back
In Fitzgerald’s timeless novel The Great Gatsby, the writing. techniques of foreshadowing and flashbacks are carefully used to enhance and strengthen the story. Suppose you met somebody just as careless as yourself. I hope I never will,' she [Jordan] answered. I hate careless people.
Does The Great Gatsby merit the praise that it has received for many decades? “Why I despise The Great Gatsby” is an essay by Kathryn Schulz at New York Magazine in which Schulz states that she has read it five times without obtaining any pleasure from it. Long viewed as Fitzgerald’s masterpiece and placed at or near the uppermost section of the English literary list, The Great Gatsby has been used as a teaching source in high schools and universities across the United States. The novel is narrated by Nick Carraway, a Midwesterner who moved to Long Island, next door to an elegant mansion owned by a mysterious and affluent Jay Gatsby. The story follows Gatsby and Nick’s unusual friendship and Gatsby’s pursuit of a married woman named Daisy.
The Great Gatsby, is a classic American novel about an obsessed man named Jay Gatsby who will do anything to be reunited with the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan. The book is told through the point of view of Nick Caraway, Daisy's cousin once removed, who rented a little cottage in West Egg, Long Island across the bay from Daisy's home. Nick was Jay Gatsby's neighbor. Tom Buchanan is Daisy's abusive, rich husband and their friend, Jordan Baker, has caught the eye of Nick and Nick is rather smitten by her. Gatsby himself is a very ostentatious man and carries a rather mysterious aura about himself which leads to the question: Is Gatsby's fortune a house of cards built to win the love of his life or has Daisy entranced him enough to give him the motivation to be so successful? While from a distance Jay Gatsby appears to be a well-educated man of integrity, in reality he is a corrupt, naive fool.
When reflecting on his memories of the man he knew as Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway recalls the unique individual’s finest quality: “It was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again” (Fitzgerald 2). Although Gatsby occasionally stepped off the straight and narrow, he never lost sight of his ultimate goal: Daisy’s love. Even when it seemed as though everything was working against him and that he would never regain his lost love, Gatsby kept going, knowing that the strength of his hope would see him through. His childlike determination, while ultimately his downfall, was what made Gatsby truly “great.”
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is about Nick Caraway, a man who moved into New York in West Egg. He soon finds out that his house borders a mansion of a wealthy man, named Jay Gatsby, who is in love with Nick’s cousin Daisy Buchannan. Nick describes his past experiences with Gatsby. He is an unreliable first person narrator, for he is extremely subjective being biased towards Gatsby and he is deceptive, with his lying and past actions. His evaluation of Gatsby is not entirely just, due to his close friendship with Gatsby.
From a young age, James Gatz has plans to change his social status; he plans his days hour by hour; forfeits his given name for a new one; deserts his home, family and friends; and most importantly picks up a job as a bootlegger to make his desired sum of money. The schedule taken from an old book of James' shows his plan for an entire day and includes a list of "GENERAL RESOLVES (Fitzgerald, 173)," both of which show a general urge for success. James' resolve to, save $3.00 per week (Fitzgerald, 173), displays an early understanding of the American dream and the necessity of money. His further understanding of the way life works is expressed through the action of changing his name from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby, a name that seems to flow easier and deserve a greater deal of respect than his previous, harsh name of James Gatz. His new name, in essence, opens up a new life for Gatsby, and allows him to start over the way he wants to. Gatsby's next choice, to abandon his home, family, and friends in order to sail aboard a yacht for years with a near stranger, displays Gatsby's belief that living a fanciful life aboard a yacht will enable him to lead a fantastic lifestyle in all aspects of his living. Finally, it is at this point where Gatsby makes the biggest decision of his life, solely on the belief that a high income will bring him happiness, and ultimately the love of his life; Gatsby chooses to accept partnership with a man working as a bootlegger of grain alcohol.
But his sympathy towards Gatsby is exaggerated, not so much in actions, but in the much praised language of the novel. Fitzgerald's book at first overwhelms the reader with poetic descriptions of human feelings, of landscapes, buildings and colors. Everything seems to have a symbolic meaning, but it seems to be so strong that no one really tries to see what's happening behind those beautiful words. If you dig deeper you will discover that hidden beneath those near lyrics are blatants, at best. In Nick's "perceptions" of the events in the last four chapters, this symbolism is overdone, especially in the scene where Gatsby kisses Daisy and in the scene where Gatsby dies.
At the end of the book, it is revealed that all of Tom, Daisy, and Nick are extremely careless. Nick’s carelessness detriments his reliability as a narrator. Because of Nick’s deep and familiar connection with Gatsby, Gatsby is “the exception” and Nick cannot be a reliable narrator towards him. Nick really admires and appreciates Gatsby as a friend, although it seems that Gatsby may not feel nth same way ads Nick. Gatsby may have befriended Nick solely because of his connection with Daisy. Nicks obsession with Gatsby and Gatsby’s obsession with
“For over a year,” as a young man, “he had been beating his way along Lake Superior as a clam digger and a salmon fisher or in any other capacity that brought him food or bed,” (98) before meeting Dan Cody and getting his first taste of real wealth. When Gatsby meets Daisy, he sees the same carefree lifestyle of Dan Cody that only the rich can achieve and is soon seduced by it. Daisy comes to love Gatsby, for the poor soldier he is, instilling him with the idea that wealth plays no part in love.
Jay Gatsby is the epitome of a tragic hero; his greatest attribute of enterprise and ambition contributes to his ultimate demise, but his tragic story inspires fear amongst the audience and showcases the dangers of allowing money to consume one’s life. To qualify as a tragic hero, the character must first occupy a "high" status position and also embody virtue as part of his innate character. In Fitzgerald’s novel, the tragic hero Jay Gatsby was not born into wealth but later acquired social status through bootlegging, or selling illegal alcohol during Prohibition. When he was a child, James “Jimmy” Gatz was a nave boy from North Dakota without any family connections, money, or education who was determined to escape his family’s poverty through hard work and determination. Once he enrolls in the army, however, Gatsby gets “’way off my ambitions, getting deeper in love every minute, and all of a sudden I didn’t care” (151) when he meets who he believes to be the girl of his dreams—Daisy.
The novel, The Great Gatsby focuses on one of the focal characters, James Gatz, also known as Jay Gatsby. He grew up in North Dakota to a family of poor farm people and as he matured, eventually worked for a wealthy man named Dan Cody. As Gatsby is taken under Cody’s wing, he gains more than even he bargained for. He comes across a large sum of money, however ends up getting tricked out of ‘inheriting’ it. After these obstacles, he finds a new way to earn his money, even though it means bending the law to obtain it. Some people will go to a lot of trouble in order to achieve things at all costs. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, conveys the numerous traits of Jay Gatsby through the incidents he faces, how he voices himself and the alterations he undergoes through the progression of the novel. Gatsby possesses many traits that help him develop as a key character in the novel: ambitious, kind-hearted and deceitful all of which is proven through various incidents that arise in the novel.