High school is often said to be when us teenagers discover ourselves—our likes, dislikes, passions, strengths, weaknesses, friends, and enemies—all within four years. During this crucial period in our lives, we begin to construct the foundation of our identity. We try out different clubs, different friend groups, and different forms of self-expression. Without strong identities formed through trial and error, the world would be full of clones. Over the last four years, I’d like to think I have developed a strong understanding of who I am. In simple terms, I am a deaf, concert-obsessed, creative theater kid. However, my identity goes far deeper than three adjectives and a hobby. It is impossible to describe the vital aspects of a person’s identity …show more content…
Sometimes, you choose how your identity shapes you by re-inventing yourself, as Jay Gatsby did in The Great Gatsby. He comes from nothing, reimagining his life and chasing his goals. A poor boy from rural North Dakota turned rich man with a luxurious life, he meticulously crafts every aspect of his new life with precision and intention. Changing his name from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby, building a mansion across the bay from his long-lost lover, and throwing extravagant parties are several steps he takes to orchestrate his new life. However, Gatsby builds this new identity but fails to be true to who he is. He cannot be himself, except Daisy, the woman he crafts his new identity for. All of this work to attempt to be someone else ultimately leads to Gatsby’s tragic end and emphasizes the importance of a true sense of identity. In my freshman year, I read Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson, which delved into the complexity of identity. The book follows the story of Jade, one of only a few black students at her private high school in Portland. She also struggles with being poor and …show more content…
Other aspects of Jade’s identity are important to her, such as her role as a daughter and her goal to learn Spanish and leave Portland. However, the majority of her peers at her school only identify her through the markers on the surface—being black, female, and poor. They fail to recognize the deeper traits that make Jade who she is. While there is no real solution given to Jade’s issues in this book, the story teaches readers that identity shapes you, and it’s important to dig deeper into someone’s identity than just the surface. In certain contexts, like in Beloved by Toni Morrison, people lose their sense of identity and struggle to retrieve it. In this novel, Sethe struggles with her sense of self as she copes with the lingering effects of slavery. Slavery forces its victims to strip themselves of all facets of their identity. Their exclusive role becomes to serve their slave masters. Even after her escape, Sethe cannot see herself with any purpose other than to serve others–this time her children. Her sons leave home, and she is left with one child and the ghost of her murdered
“Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.” Fyodor Dostoyevsky once said this and this quote has greatly influenced the theme statement for this paper. The theme statement for this paper on the Great Gatsby is some people are willing to put up a false façade in order to become something they think is better and they lose their true selves in the long run. This paper will go through three examples of putting up a false façade. First the paper will go through Jay Gatsby, then Nick Carraway and finally the paper will wrap up with the parties that Gatsby throws.
The art of reinventing oneself is constantly seen throughout pop culture. We see it in the reinvention of Miley Cyrus straying away from the wholesome good girl image to a provocative trashy controversial girl. Hollywood and celebrities are constantly reinventing themselves; sometimes it is for the better like wanting to clean up their image after some horrible incident. On the other hand it could be going away from the persona they are seen as, and wanting to be seen as somebody entirely different. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s superb novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby the main character is so fixated on reinventing himself. Going to great lengths to not only reinvent himself but to obtain the things that he once had in the past- which was a life with Daisy Buchanan; a young girl whom he met before going off to war. The Great Gatsby explores themes such as reinventing oneself, the obsession with romance, and the carelessness of the prosperous people.
Close Analysis of a text and knowledge of context can enrich our understanding of a text's meaning. To what extent do you agree with this in relation to The Great Gatsby?
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book The Great Gatsby was a remarkable book. Fitzgerald Made the characters of the book as real and as personal as possible. Three characteristics stood out in the novel to me. Tom’s Jealousy of Gatsby relationship with his wife, Gatsby’s lies about who he is and his life, and Daisy’s ways to tempt Gatsby to fall in love with her. The novel was inspired by the way he fell in love with his wife Zelda.
Symbolism in The Great Gatsby Symbolism is what makes a story complete. In "The Great Gatsby" Fitzgerald cleverly uses symbolism. Virtually anything in the novel can be taken as a symbol, from the weather, to the colors of clothing. characters wear. There are three main symbols used in The Great Gatsby, they are The East and West Egg, the green light at the end of Daisy's dock, and the eyes of Dr.T.J. Eckleburg.
The art of reinventing oneself is constantly seen throughout pop culture. It is seen in the reinvention of Miley Cyrus straying away from the wholesome good girl image to a provocative trashy controversial girl. Hollywood and celebrities are constantly reinventing themselves; sometimes it is for the better, like wanting to clean up their image after some horrible incident. On the other hand it could be going away from the persona they are seen as, and wanting to be seen as somebody entirely different. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s superb novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby the main character is so fixated on reinventing himself. Going to great lengths to not only reinvent himself, but to obtain the things that he once had in the past- which was a life with Daisy Buchanan, a young girl whom he met before going off to war. The Great Gatsby explores themes such as reinvention and obsession.
The 1920’s was a time of prosperity, woman’s rights, and bootleggers. F. Scott Fitzgerald truly depicts the reality of this era with The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby, an enormously wealthy man, is famous for his extravagant parties and striking residence. However, this is all that is known about Gatsby. Even his closest friends continue to wonder what kind of man Gatsby actually is. The mysteriousness of Gatsby is demonstrated by conceivable gossip, his random departures, and the missing parts of his past.
“The great Gatsby” is an inspiring novel written by the famous American author Scott Fitzgerald. The novel was published in 1925. It is regarded as Scott’s supreme achievement and also as a masterwork in American literature, and it’s entirely justified.
Jay Gatsby is a man who lives a life of lies and confusion. He is the novel’s title character.
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.
An Analysis of Two Scenes in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Juxtaposing two scenes in a narrative allows them to be easily compared and contrasted. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, two such scenes require specific attention. The impromptu party that is thrown by Tom Buchanan and his mistress, Myrtle Wilson, followed immediately by Jay Gatsby's party at his house, call for the attention of the reader because of the implications of these contiguous scenes. The result of analyzing the two scenes is that one can infer certain qualities of each man's character.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, “The Great Gatsby”, identities and knowledge about a person are very important in the novel. One character that has a depth to his identity is Tom Buchanan. On the surface, Tom has the appearance of a respectable, wealthy person; however, studying the novel closer brings out the self-evident truth that this is not Tom’s identity. Throughout the course of the novel, it becomes easy to infer Tom’s true identity; Tom is an unfaithful spouse, consumed with wealth, and a narcissist.
For instance, as a young adult James Gatz realized that he could not accept living an unremarkable life with the farming people of his community and therefore “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”(Fitzgerald 98). Fitzgerald demonstrates that Gatsby was a man who driven to reinvent himself, to explore his dreams, and to go beyond his limits. What’s more, Gatsby’s self-empowerment, meaning his ability to make his own choices and own goals, was bound up in his ability to define his own identity. Gatsby’s fixation on living this fiction suggests that he hated his former life and was unable to consider himself successful if he was living the ordinary existence than his life began with. Gatsby was driven to become better because “he was faithful to the end” to his own personal conception of what it meant to live at the height of high society.
In stories, minor characters are often highlighted to display or represent a certain idea. The novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, shows the rich and their romps. Most are carefree and only care about themselves and their status. The novel focus’ on Jay Gatsby, a mysterious extravagantly rich man who throws blowout parties and lives in luxury in hopes of winning over his love, Daisy. Gatsby builds his life of from nothing, as the son of poor farmers from the west and then morphing himself into a New York millionaire. Only to be destroyed when Daisy kills her husbands mistress and Gatsby takes the blame for her; eventually leading to his murder. No one but a party goer nicknamed Owl Eyes and Gatsby’s live-in resident Klipspringer attends his funeral. All of Gatsby’s business partners and the thousands that came to his parties did not care enough to come to his funeral. Gatsby spent all his time focusing on one dream that he did not make connections and socialize with people that cared about him, but his parties. The lifestyle of the American Dream arguably became the only thing that people were chasing. Through the character of Owl Eyes, Fitzgerald shows the rise and fall of the American Dream and the consequences that come with it.
In Erikson’s Identity vs. Role Confusion stage, I thought, “Who am I?” countless times like many other adolescents. I occupied much of my time trying to construct a firm identity of myself, which I now realized did more harm than good. Letting myself explore different interests would have helped me find my identity than me trying to fake some firm identity.