F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

806 Words2 Pages

Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her; If you can bounce high, bounce for her too, Till she cry Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover, I must have you! Thomas Parke D'Invilliers Jay Gatsby went through most of his life striving for a new beginning, a chance to start over and succeed. He forced that aspect of life, into his own, by changing his identity. He was James Gatz a man who's unknown soul was left to linger in the past. Now he is Jay Gatsby.

Gatsby does not realize that life can be difficult. You can not just move on and pretend that the past never happened. If you do not face the real and original you, you will never find success or happiness in the way you wish to live your present life. All through Gatsby's life he looked to the green light on the dock across the bay for hope and reassurance. He needed to know that his dream was still as bright as it was the day he met Daisy. Gatsby lived for an American dream.

The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God - a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that. (Pg.104) Gatsby created himself to be his own hero, through the eyes of a seventeen year old boy. He began to wear that gold hat and rise in society with money, friends, and a love life he dreamed of returning. You see I usually find myself among strangers because I drift here and there trying to forget the sad thing that happened to me.

(Pg.71-72) Gatsby smothered himself in popularity to try and block out the memory of the man he was before his change. He has been grieving for a love that he lost when drafted to the war. His only hope left is a green light across the bay which seems to shine through the unhappiness in Gatsby's life. Daisy, as pure and sweet as the flower itself, is the only thing left that is needed for him to complete his dream. He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say, I never loved you.

(Pg.116) We know that Gatsby is asking for to much of Daisy, he knows it too. Can't repeat the past?

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby
705 Words | 2 Pages
In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby functions under the illusion that Daisy is perfect and is living in such distress because she was forced to marry Tom due to Gatsby being away at war and being poor. This illusion leads Gatsby to spend his entire adult life pining after Daisy and cheating his way up the social and economic ladder in order to win her over. Gatsby believes that Daisy will someday come back to him because she loves him so much and they will live happily ever after together.
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Money Can't Buy Happiness in F.Scott Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby
1078 Words | 3 Pages
“Money can’t buy happiness” is a saying that is often used to make one understand that there is more to life than wealth and money. Jay Gatsby was a man of many qualities some of which are good and bad. Throughout the book of “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, we learn of his past and discover the true qualities of Jay Gatsby. Starting from the bottom, with little money, we learn of why Gatsby struggled so hard all his life to become wealthy and what his true goal in life was. When reading this story, the true reasons behind Gatsby’s illegal actions reveal themselves and readers can learn a great life lesson from this story and the actions the characters take. Readers can see through Gatsby’s contradictions of actions and thoughts that illustrate the theme of the story, along with his static characteristics, that all humans are complex beings and that humans cannot be defined as good or bad.
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The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
377 Words | 1 Pages
Gatsby is unrealistic. He believes he can relive the past and rekindle the flame he and Daisy once had. He is lost in his dream and accepts that anything can be repeated, "Can't repeat the past…Why of course you can!" (116, Fitzgerald). For Gatsby, failure to realize this resurrection of love is utterly appalling. His whole career, his conception of himself and his life is totally shattered. Gatsby's death when it comes is almost insignificant, for with the collapse of his dream, he is spiritually dead.
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Sacrifices in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
1770 Words | 4 Pages
The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God-- a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that-- and he must be about His Father's business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty. So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end (99).
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F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby
727 Words | 2 Pages
Crossing the porch where we had dined that June night three months before, I came to a small rectangle of light which I guessed was the pantry window. The blind was drawn, but I found a rift at the sill.
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Character Analysis of Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
1198 Words | 3 Pages
“You can’t repeat the past?... Why of course you can.” (110 This enduring quote from the famous novel The Great Gatsby by none other than F. Scott Fitzgerald stirs the mind and imagination in wonder of the very character who had uttered these words. Infamous Gatsby is the mysterious man behind the lavish and enthralling parties; a man who made his money and his image in that of a king. But, who is this mysterious man? How did he receive the great fortune of developing all of which he had possessed? He had it all, but we are on the outside looking in; did this man with everything really have nothing at all? If Jay Gatsby is the real person we see him to be, then James Gatz is nonexistent. The day that the world had gained Gatsby, it had also lost James Gatz. There is a mysterious motive behind every move Jay Gatsby makes; these meticulously planned out moves will ultimately lead to an unfortunate and untimely demise.
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The Traits of Jay Gatsby
1167 Words | 3 Pages
When looking at Jay Gatsby, one sees many different personalities and ideals. There is the gracious host, the ruthless bootlegger, the hopeless romantic, and beneath it all, there is James Gatz of North Dakota. The many faces of Gatsby make a reader question whether they truly know Gatsby as a person. Many people question what exactly made Jay Gatsby so “great.” These different personas, when viewed separately, are quite unremarkable in their own ways. When you take them together, however, you discover the complicated and unique individual that is Jay Gatsby.
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Time in The Great Gatsby
642 Words | 2 Pages
Daisy is not pure and perfect like Gatsby thought she was in the past. From Gatsby's illusions of the past preoccupying all his thoughts, he forgets about the key dimension he exists in which is the present. Although Gatsby was persistent on reliving the past, Gatsby vaguely lived for the present. This is apparent when he cancels his biology by leaving home, changing his name, and leaving his heritage behind which was not done by following the past.
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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.
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Self-Identity in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
590 Words | 2 Pages
In The Great Gatsby, many individuals are involved in a struggle to find themselves and who they want to be. Personal identity is a very challenging thing to define. Everyone has an image in their mind of who they want to be. These images are usually very different from the actual identity of a person. In this novel, Jay Gatsby’s search or struggle for a new identity for himself is an ongoing journey. He has dedicated his entire life creating an image to impress Daisy Buchanan and to set himself into her society. This image does not necessarily depict who he is in reality.
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The Great Gatsby Illusion Vs Reality Essay
1168 Words | 3 Pages
Daisy Buchanan, in reality, is unable to live up the illusory Daisy that Gatsby has invented in his fantasy. After Daisy and Tom Buchanan leave another one of Gatsby’s splendid parties, Fitzgerald gives the reader a glimpse into what Gatsby’s expectations are. Fitzgerald claims that “he wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you.’” (109). Here it is revealed that Gatsby’s one main desire is for Daisy to go willingly...
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F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby
1422 Words | 3 Pages
According to the dictionary, the definition of dissatisfaction is the quality or state of being unhappy or discontent. Dissatisfaction is a disease that theoretically knows no prejudices, has no cure, and almost everyone has it. This is a global epidemic, that can destroy a man in the time it takes to snap your fingers. Physically most people will be alright but discontent will rot you to the core on the inside. Unfortunately, not being content seems to be a very common part of society today and in the past. The theme of not be satiated by life is especially seen in the famous novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. All the characters in this novel seemingly have achieved the american dream but they are all unhappy and never get what they really want in the end. Also, no character is satisfied with their marriage, with love, and with life in general. They are all unhappy with their lives and they destroy the lives of others in order to satisfy themselves. The Great Gatsby teaches us that even being wealthy and powerful, people can still be dissatisfied and will do anything in order to be happy. Therefore, despite believing that we have it all, dissatisfaction still plagues the human spirit.
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Jay Gatsby's Dream
1072 Words | 3 Pages
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.
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The Great Gatsby Theme Essay
1400 Words | 3 Pages
Themes of hope, success, and wealth overpower The Great Gatsby, leaving the reader with a new way to look at the roaring twenties, showing that not everything was good in this era. F. Scott Fitzgerald creates the characters in this book to live and recreate past memories and relationships. This was evident with Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship, Tom and Daisy’s struggling marriage, and Gatsby expecting so much of Daisy and wanting her to be the person she once was. The theme of this novel is to acknowledge the past, but do not recreate and live in the past because then you will not be living in the present, taking advantage of new opportunities.
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True Love or False Love
815 Words | 2 Pages
Jay Gatsby is one of the characters that can’t tell the difference between true or false love. Gatsby and Daisy were to be in love but then Gatsby had to go to war and Daisy decided to move on. Daisy got married to Tom but Gatsby was still in love with Daisy. Since he was still in love with her, Gatsby had many dreams and ideas about how things should be. On page 92 it said, “He had been full of the idea so long, dreamed it right through to the end.” Throughout the book, Gatsby says he is in love with her, but it is more like he is in love with the idea of the old Daisy. Gatsby’s head is so into the past he doesn’t see the new Daisy. He wants things to go back to the past and believes it can. In the book on page 110 it said, “ He talked a lot about the past, and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy.” Gatsby just couldn’t get over the whole idea of Daisy that he pretty much lived in the past in his head. So Gatsby couldn’t see that he was in love with the idea of Daisy, not the real Daisy. He was just taking advantage of the idea of Daisy’s love. To Gatsby, the idea of Daisy’s love is everything. Ideas and dreams is what Gatsby lives off and it is not true...
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F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby