Composers express their disparate concerns, such as one’s perception of love, and opinions on society through the manipulation of their respective textual forms. This is observed in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), where through the manipulation of the novel form, the author directs the audience’s attention to the progression of the characters’ transformations by using techniques such as contrast, motif and extended metaphors in order to establish the distinction between the differing perspectives of the characters. Through the exploration of post- WWI America as an ebullient world overcome by hedonism and materialism, the author emphasises a character’s transformation, characterised by a change in perceptions, judgements …show more content…
and world view. Fitzgerald examines the influence of such lifestyles and the demise of family-centred ideals such as love and hope by presenting the American Dream’s transformation from that of a spiritual journey to the corrupt and individual-driven mindset of the Jazz Age.
Likewise, Elizabeth Barret Browning’s amatory sequence of sonnets, Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850), charts the progress of the author’s journey within a newfound romantic relationship as the author espouses the revitalisation of joy and love in her life. Browning presents her transformation through the contrast of the sonnets against her time period, being the Victorian era. In doing so, Browning rejects the Petrarchan sonnet form for a feminine-lead style; engaging in a role reversal which abandons the conservative societal values of the Victorian era. Therefore, it is examined that through the relevant contexts and textual forms of their respective texts, Browning and Fitzgerald highlight the various transformations in character, allowing the audience to further understand the transformative power of societal influences, such as reputation, wealth and status and personal interests such as love and …show more content…
desire. The personal interests of an individual, such as love and hope as well as the intensifying demand to fit into society’s dynamic norms and ideal lifestyle play a significant role in their transformation. Authors reflect these social forces through their compositions as free expressions of their concerns, for instance, the demise of the American Dream through the change in social discourse. This is pertinent to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, whereby through the characters of Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchannan, he is able to parallel his own relationship. Along with these characters he uses Nick Carraway to mirror the relevant issues and paradigms of the 1920’s. By using Nick as the narrator of the novel, Fitzgerald highlights the development of the characters through the contrast of Nick’s moral values and the alluring influence of the social forces at play. This is epitomized in the novel where Nick is appalled by the lavish and extravagant nature of Tom’s party, yet is drawn towards their way of life in the same instance; ‘The bottle of whiskey- a second one- was now in constant demand by all present…Tom sent for more celebrated sandwiches…I wanted to go out…but each time I tried to go I became entangled in some wild argument which pulled me back…I was within and without simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life” The quote embodies the mass materialism that post world war I America was beginning to experience as a result of a rise in the stock market; leading to a consumer driven society in which wealth held more influence than morality. This shift in values epitomises the transformation of the American dream, from the spiritual journey that once celebrated success and moral, to that of materialism, consumerism and the individual. It depicts how even the most conservative and restraint individual can transform under the glowing influence of the Roaring Twenties, as it does for Nick. Therefore, it is seen that societal pressure and an individual’s desires in life greatly impact their transformations. The intensifying need for emotional connections such as love and hope as well as the increasing desire to follow society’s way of life influences an individual’s transformation. This is seen when Fitzgerald uses Nick and Gatsby as extensions of certain aspects of his personality; Nick being the rational, realistic and traditional aspects whereas Gatsby represents the romantic and idealistic. By contrasting the two characters, Fitzgerald draws out their differences to highlight Gatsby’s delusional image of Daisy, ultimately being his downfall as a tragic character. Gatsby ironically searches for a romanticised and idealistic form of love in a world where wealth and status held more value than emotions or character, as seen when a drunken Daisy lets her true emotions get the best of her, and reveals that she does not love Tom and does not wish to marry him, " She…pulled out the string of pearls. "Give 'em back to whoever they belong to. Tell 'em all Daisy's change' her mind. Say: 'Daisy's change' her mine!... She wouldn’t let go of the letter…she watched it crumble like snow Next day at five o’clock she married Tom Buchanan without so much as a shiver”. The quote captures the moment Gatsby’s illusion of love and idealistic vision of Daisy are destroyed due to the impact of the rising value of materialistic objects over sentimental ideals through the use of metaphor to represent Gatsby’s letter crumbling into the water as his failed relationship with Daisy. Through this, Fitzgerald depicts Gatsby’s transformation into a tragic character; as he searches endlessly for a non- existent love. This is also seen in the quote “(Nick) You can’t repeat the past.” (Gatsby) “Can’t repeat the past?” he cried incredulously. “Why of course you can! “I’m going to fix everything just the way it was before,” he said, nodding determinedly. “She’ll see.” Here Fitzgerald illustrates Gatsby’s insistent desire to have Daisy in order to emphasise the notion that during the 1920’s, the transformative power of love and hope is only present as a material which one may possess. In pursuit of this possession, Gatsby turns to illegal means in order to become his own idealised version of love for Daisy, shown through "He…bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here…and sold grain alcohol over the counter. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him. "What about it?" said Gatsby politely. The quote also demonstrates the intensity of his desire to be wealthy, as Gatsby is unremorseful and indifferent towards his wrong doings, portrayed in the expression “What about it?”. Consequently, this illustrates how powerful the hold of society’s viewpoint had over him; that in order to capture Daisy’s eye, he would commit a crime to fit into society’s mould of ‘perfection’, characterised by wealth, status and reputation. It is thereby seen that societal influences such as affluence and status and personal interests such as desire and idealised love play a significant role in the transformation of an individual. Through the introduction of love and hope in one’s life, an individual experiences a shift in their perceptions of themselves and the world around them, as seen in Elizabeth Barret Browning’s Sonnets from The Portuguese.
Written during the Victorian era, the author presents an amatory sequence of sonnets cast against her time to highlight the appreciation of the revitalisation of love and female expression of a male literary form amid an era synonymous with conservatism, repression and rigid moral behaviour and how she overcomes these obstacles. Browning explores the notion of finding such love in a world surrounded by obstacles and disappointment in Sonnet 1, as seen in “I once heard Theocritus had sung/ Of the sweet years, the dear and wished for years/Who each one in a gracious hand appears/ TO bear a gift for mortals, old or young/I mused in his antique tongue...” The quote depicts the author’s search for emotional connection and inner peace as she calls on the muse of Theocritus, whose poetry surrounded that of love and sentiment. It also portrays her initial perception of herself, as it presents Browning as not having the confidence to pursue love, and thereby straying from reality to enter the realm of the imaginative, so as to evade the possible risk of rejection. The quote introduces a sense of hope yet simultaneously as sense of despondency as she calls on a muse of love and emotional connection, yet is unable to perceive one of her own, as seen in “I saw, in
gradual vision through my tears, The sweet, sad years, the melancholy years” Likewise, this is recognized in The Great Gatsby through the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. The light represents the slither of hope that remained for Gatsby to relive the past, and reignite his relationship with Daisy, yet the distance between him and light on the other side of the lake embodies the improbability of his dreams coming to fruition, and the demise of love and hope, as seen through ‘he (Gatsby) stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward—and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of (Daisy’s) dock.’ However, in Sonnet 1, the author is left with hope, not despair as seen in “The silver answer rang…’Not death, but Love’”. The quote portrays the renewed love in her life that she was searching for. Sonnet 13 goes on to depict that she is still unable to embrace love and joy in her life, as she falls short of her contemporaries to describe and express her emotions to her husband, Robert Browning who acts as the interlocutor throughout the series. This is shown through “The love I bear thee, if words enough/…hold the torch out when winds are rough/ Between our faces…I drop it at thy feet” whereby her dropping the torch represents her inability to espouse love and her relationship with Robert. The poem also reflects a slight transformation in her state of mind, as she rises from a melancholy and depressed state of mind to a loved yet, somewhat doubtful one, as seen through “The love I bear thee, if words are enough”. However, contrary to the role- reversal the series undertakes, Browning appeases her contemporaries through an attempt to realize love, as the people of the Victorian era believed a woman’s duty to love her husband, as seen in “Commend my woman-love to thy belief”. However, this is challenged in The Great Gatsby as Daisy falls short of Gatsby’s expectations and is unable to reciprocate his love as seen in “Just tell the truth, that you never loved him (Tom)- and it’s all wiped out…Even alone I can’t say I never loved Tom…It wouldn’t be true. The words seemed to bite physically into Gatsby.” Daisy’s inability to fulfil Gatsby’s expectations is a clear expression of the dissolution of his hopes and desires in his life. It was at this point that Gatsby’s love had shattered and became nothing but a failed attempt at the revival of past, seen in the expression “The words seemed to bite physically into Gatsby”. Sonnet 32 explores Browning’s realization that her initial doubts over the relationship with her husband were wrong, and she begins to espouse her newfound confidence in her relationship, as seen in “The first time that the sun rose on thine oath/ To love me, I looked toward the moon/ To slacken all those bonds which seemed too soon”, as the mention of the sun symbolises hope, possibility and potential which she represents as her husband. Through this we see a great transformation in her self-esteem as she is able to appreciate her husband’s love. There is a reminiscent tone to the sonnet form, as she looks back on her earlier assumptions of love as seen in “And looking on myself, I seemed not one/ For such man’s love!”. As Browning retrospectively hearkens on her initial perspectives, in which she lacked the confidence to embrace love. With the contrast of her initial perspectives in Sonnet 1 against her renewed ideas of her relationship with Robert, Browning highlights her emotional transformations. However, she still doubts herself in her place in the relationship, as seen through the extended metaphor of the worn out viola, beginning with Browning initially comparing herself to a worn-out viola which a musician would not use. This is also in the tone of retrospect, as the sonnet retraces her search for love with the presentation of the male of the relationship as the dominant member
To become something you are not is to reinvent yourself. Reinvention can occur at any time and for any reason. A person can only reinvent themselves as far as they are willing to go. Most of the time, characters in books can reinvent themselves easier than living human beings. That being said, in the novel “The Great Gatsby”, Fitzgerald writes about reinvention by talking about the extent one is willing to go, the cost, and how one Jay Gatsby attempts to reinvent himself.
Sutton, Brian. "Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby." Explicator 59.1 (Fall 2000): 37-39. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Linda Pavlovski. Vol. 157. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resource Center. Web. 24 Feb. 2011.
Written during and regarding the 1920s, ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald is both a representation of this distinctive social and historical context, and a construction of the composer’s experience of this era. Beliefs and practises of the present also play a crucial role in shaping the text, in particular changing the way in which literary techniques are interpreted. The present-day responder is powerfully influenced by their personal experiences, some of which essentially strengthen Fitzgerald’s themes, while others compete, establishing contemporary interpretations of the novel.
With beautiful language unprecedented by any work up to date, Fitzgerald presents a work thematically and aesthetically profound. His characters are remarkably applicable to modern behavior as they express commonly felt sentiments. Critics are truly astounded at Fitzgerald’s poeticism and metaphorical writing style; we can hardly believe that Gatsby is a work by the disregarded magazine columnist. We hope to see more quality works from Fitzgerald.
The ethics of society in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby are clearly noted through the endless partying, fancy houses, and the lavishness of their lives. Time and time again Fitzgerald displays his skills of developing his characters through plots and scenes of enchanting parties and mansions. Through these scenarios, the reader develops a sense of the purposelessness of the rich, the values of West and East Egg society, and Gatsby. Each individual scene reveals the subtle nuances of each and every character. Is shown to the reader in such a way that the reader picks up an idea of who each character is. By a landslide, the Great Gatsby owes a lot of its character development to its settings. The settings of The Great Gatsby provides for its substantial character development.
EBB expertly manipulates the Petrarchan sonnet form, commonly known as a way to objectify women, in order to voice her yearning for true love. The Victorian era was witness to rapid industrialization, and with this came a growing superficiality for dowry’s and status. EBB accentuates her own context by so strongly rejecting its newly materialistic conventions, especially towards love. EBB laments ‘How Theocritus had sung’ (Sonnet I), her Greco allusion successfully communicating her longing to return to the values of substantial love during the romantic era. This highlights her own context as it illustrates a distain for its current values of superficiality. Furthermore, EBB conveys her contempt of having to ‘fashion into speech’ (Sonnet XIII) her love, this mocking of courting is highly explored as she continues to ridicule those who love for ‘Her smile, her look’ (Sonnet XIV), thus highlighting her context to the audience. In addition, during Sonnet XXXII, EBB powerfully voices how ‘Quick loving hearts…may quickly loathe’; her expert employment of anadiplosis critiques how superficiality in love may cause it to fade away. A motif of love fading away due to shallowness throughout her sonnet progression significantly highlights the values of love at the time and therefore
Bruccoli, Matthew Joseph, ed. (2000). F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby: A Literary Reference. New
Sutton, Brian. "Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby." Explicator 59.1 (Fall 2000): 37-39. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Linda Pavlovski. Vol. 157. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resource Center. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.
Love is the ubiquitous force that drives all people in life. If people did not want, give, or receive love, they would never experience life because it is the force that completes a person. Although it often seems absent, people constantly strive for this ever-present force as a means of acceptance. Elizabeth Barrett Browning is an influential poet who describes the necessity of love in her book of poems Sonnets from the Portuguese. In her poems, she writes about love based on her relationship with her husband – a relationship shared by a pure, passionate love. Browning centers her life and happiness around her husband and her love for him. This life and pure happiness is dependent on their love, and she expresses this outpouring and reliance of her love through her poetry. She uses imaginative literary devices to strengthen her argument for the necessity of love in one’s life. The necessity of love is a major theme in Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “Sonnet 43” and “Sonnet 29.”
Through her endeavors, this seems to be a new way of thoroughly expressing her admiration and vast affection for her husband. Emily Barrett Browning has proved herself a master poet. Not only does she use almost every literary device in the book, but she also delves deep into her feelings. These explanations of her feelings that she adds into the sonnets are rich in metaphors, alliteration, personification, and many more.
F. Scott Fitzgerald was one of the most compelling twentieth century writers, (Curnutt, 2004). The year 1925 marks the year of the publication of Fitzgerald’s most credited novel, The Great Gatsby (Bruccoli, 1985). With its critiques of materialism, love and the American Dream (Berman, 1996), this dramatic idyllic novel, (Harvey, 1957), although poorly received at first, is now highly regarded as Fitzgerald’s finest work (Rohrkemper, 1985) and is his publisher, Scribner 's most popular title, (Donahue, 2013). The novel achieved it’s status as one of the most influential novels in American history around the nineteen fifties and sixties, over ten years after Fitzgerald 's passing, (Ibid, 1985)
In “Sonnet XVII,” the text begins by expressing the ways in which the narrator does not love, superficially. The narrator is captivated by his object of affection, and her inner beauty is of the upmost significance. The poem shows the narrator’s utter helplessness and vulnerability because it is characterized by raw emotions rather than logic. It then sculpts the image that the love created is so personal that the narrator is alone in his enchantment. Therefore, he is ultimately isolated because no one can fathom the love he is encountering. The narrator unveils his private thoughts, leaving him exposed and susceptible to ridicule and speculation. However, as the sonnet advances toward an end, it displays the true heartfelt description of love and finally shows how two people unite as one in an overwhelming intimacy.
In “Sonnet 43,” Browning wrote a deeply committed poem describing her love for her husband, fellow poet Robert Browning. Here, she writes in a Petrarchan sonnet, traditionally about an unattainable love following the styles of Francesco Petrarca. This may be partly true in Browning’s case; at the time she wrote Sonnets from the Portuguese, Browning was in courtship with Robert and the love had not yet been consummated into marriage. But nevertheless, the sonnet serves as an excellent ...
Love was something that was displayed in both the Romantic Era and The Victorian Era when reading authors work during their time. Yet with comparison of the two there has been a lot of ways to distinguish authors from the Romantic Era, and the Victorian Era. Elizabeth Browning’s “From the Sonnet from the Portuguese” she takes love into her own scenery when writing from a woman’s view. She was able to use the Romantics values as well, and still shape love around the Victorian Era. She makes it very distinguishable to where the audience could know how she would go back and forth to show her love for Robert. In the sonnets there were times where she would describe the love for Robert through beauty and also of nature. With the Victorian age he loves wraps around the religious values of faith, the heavens, and the afterlife.
---. “Sonnet: England in 1819.” The Longman Anthology: British Literature: Volume 2A – The Romantics and Their Contemporaries. Ed. David Damrosch. New York: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc., 2003. 761.