Great Gatsby

Great Gatsby 4

When F. Scott Fitzgerald first published The Great Gatsby, it was named

Under the Red, White, and Blue. However, after having revised the novel

many times with his many editors, publishers, and personal advisors,

Fitzgerald eventually released the book under its contemporary title.

Why did Fitzgerald make the change? Under the red white and blue

referred to the life of people in America, or under the American flag.

His novel is focused on the corruption of the American dream, and the

corruption of those residing within. The great Gatsby referred to one

of the principle characters in the novel, Jay Gatsby. Why was Gatsby so

great that the book was named after him? Jay Gatsby was portrayed by

Fitzgerald as the son of God, or of a God. Fitzgerald reminds us of

this throughout the novel, and from beginning to end he fills the text

with hints as he alludes to Gatsby^s divine spirit. The ^Great Gatsby^

was a great man- Fitzgerald tells the reader that Gatsby was so great

he could not have been a man- that he was a heavenly figure. Fitzgerald

wanted the reader to believe that the American dream had died, and to

further ingrain his belief in our minds, he destroys religion and

morality^ but the final and most dismal reality Fitzgerald faces us

with is that no man is a great man- the only great man encountered in

The Great Gatsby is the son of God- who is superior to man, and cannot

be judged by the same rules. An author uses imagery to convey specific

thoughts and emotions from his readers. Fitzgerald constantly reminds

us that Gatsby is a heavenly figure by associating Gatsby with the

moon. The moon is a heavenly body; therefore, Gatsby^s presence brings

out the heavens. The first time the narrator, Nick, meets Gatsby, it is

at one of Gatsby^s gaudy parties, and ^the moon had risen

higher.^(Fitzgerald p.51) just before Nick met Gatsby. When Nick leaves

the party, ^a wafer of a moon was shining over Gatsby^s house.^(p.60)

After Myrtle had been run over by Daisy, Nick speaks to Gatsby outside

Daisy^s house, and Nick ^could think of nothing except the luminosity

of his pink suit under the moon.^ The imagery in this location suggests

that Gatsby is innocent of the crime he is implicated in, which is the

murder of Myrtle. The moon shining down on Gatsby, making his suit

radiate, suggests that heaven looks with favor upon Gatsby. Gatsby is

linked with the heavens occurs when he describe! d having kissed Daisy

for the first time.