There is always some type of history behind every piece of literature. The author of the Great Gatsby, Francis Scott Fitzgerald wrote this famous novel describing his own hardships throughout his attempted love life. Fitzgerald lived through the turn of the century, known as the bleakness of the Roaring Twenties and The Great Depression. More importantly, this novel gives the reader an opportunity to understand that it was written with the history behind Fitzgerald’s life. This widely popular American classic was written in Nick’s perspective, one of the main characters in the novel who found his new standard of living seductive and inspiring. Jay Gatsby was also another main character who was described as young, wealthy thoughtful man whose …show more content…
love life leads him to his downfall of a beautiful life. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, is a novel written by Betty Smith that focuses on what one knows and is written by her own experience in this cruel world. Betty Smith grew up in a poor neighborhood in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Throughout Betty’s life she had to face many challenging obstacles like social problems and a poor lifestyle but later on she overcame them and successfully became a well-known author. This popular novel mirrors Smith’s life and is written through the perspective of the main character, Francie Nolan. The readers are sympathetically told about how the society and living was like during the turn of the century through a girl’s eye. Many people consider this as Betty Smith’s autobiography that has a big influence and affection on people views and beliefs in life. The Great Gatsby was a true classic of the twentieth-century literature that was exquisitely written in the 1920s.
The story took place in two different areas known as the West Egg and the East Egg which were classified as old or new money. The main character Nick Carraway moved to “West Egg” region of Long Island with a purpose to get information about a business going on and a better life. This was a wealthy area where a mysterious neighbor lived known as Jay Gatsby in a massive mansion and threw lavish parties almost every Saturday night. Jay Gatsby’ reason of throwing spendthrift parties was in the hope of Daisy Buchanan attending and falling in love all over again with him. She was a person that he adored before he joined the war and promised to return for her but when he did he saw her in others man’s arms rather than his. Gatsby had trouble falling out of love and trying to live in the past did him no good, it just brought failure and …show more content…
regret. The novel of the Jazz Age has a lot of history behind it which later on turned into a piece of literature.
The Great Gatsby demonstrates many ideas of the Roaring Twenties, or also known as the Jazz Age. World War I had a huge control over America which carried political and dramatic social changes with it. This was a good thing for the Americans due to the fact that the economic status increased during the Jazz Age and fortified mass production and consumption in America. The technology began improving as the music and pop culture came back to town which brought positivity in people’s life and gave them less time to focus on other undesirable things. Fitzgerald lived through this time period and portrayed the events his writing which also brings back how history supports
literature. “My house was at the very tip of the egg, only fifty yards from the Sound, and squeezed between two huge places that rented for twelve or fifteen thousand a season. The one on my right was a colossal affair by any standard—it was a factual imitation of some Hôtel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool and more than forty acres of lawn and garden” (Firzgerald 4). Nick lived in a wealthy neighborhood where he felt safe and satisfied of the view. During the Jazz Age people were living lavish lifestyles where the money was spent carelessly on luxuries. However, people loved living this way and satisfying other people with their wealth. “He was left with his singularly appropriate education; the vague contour of Jay Gatsby had filled out to the substantiality of a man” (Fitzgerald 101). Gatsby lived a life with a past and a lot of history to it, but he managed on working on it in order to become the man Daisy will want. Sadly, it did not work out that way for him at least he got to spend some time with her before the downfall that lead to his death because of the love for Daisy. The author’s Fitzgerald during his life felt helpless and left the world by drowning himself in alcohol, while in the novel Gatsby fought to win Daisy over but in the end his dream was denied by society.
It’s the peak of the nineteen twenties, a time of great modernism and materialism in America. Stockbroker Nick Caraway, a new arrival in Long Island, resides next to a secretive billionaire who goes by the name of Jay Gatsby. Gatsby soon recruits Nick to aid him in rekindling flames with Gatsby’s lost love, Daisy Buchanan, who is actually Nick’s cousin. Although successful at first, the team encounters circumstances that divide Gatsby and Daisy from one another. This story is that of author F. Scott Fitzgerald’s highly acclaimed novel The Great Gatsby. Throughout the tale, the theme that the past is unforgettable is developed through the character Gatsby and his relationship with his long-lost lover, his obsession with material items, and his concealment of the truth.
It is New York in the 1920s. Nick Carraway moves to the West Egg from Minnesota. He lives in a small house next to Jay Gatsby, a mysterious man who throws lavish parties, and decides he wants to know more about him. Then conflicts ensue about affairs and the secrets about all of the characters’ pasts. Nick, Daisy, and Tom (Daisy’s husband) “hang out” and later on, Gatsby joins on their travels. One day, when they are on an outing, Daisy hits Myrtle (Tom’s mistress) accidentally with Gatsby’s car and Myrtle dies. Tom then assures Daisy that they will cover up who killed Myrtle. Wilson thinks Gatsby killed his wife, so in a fit of madness goes to Gatsby’s house and kills him and
The Great Gatsby is a well written and exemplary novel of the Jazz age, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald desired writing his books about the roaring twenties and would explain what happened during that time frame. The majority of the characters in The Great Gatsby cared more about money, power, and having a good time then the people in their lives. This lack of caring for others resulted in the hardships the characters faced. Especially, Jay Gatsby was one of these cruel characters.
The Roaring Twenties was a time of excitement for the American people, with cities bustling with activity and a large community that appreciated Jazz, thus creating the title the “Jazz Age.” The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald takes place in this magnificent age characterized by Jazz and the popular new dance, the “Charleston.” Through the midst of all this new activity, we follow a character named Jay Gatsby through the eyes of the narrator, Nick Carraway. Fitzgerald’s themes of friendship and The American Dream is seen in The Great Gatsby through Nick and Jay’s companionship and Gatsby’s growth from being a simple farm boy to becoming a wealthy man.
The story takes place in an area near New York called "Long Island." It is in a shape of an egg. They focus in on places on there named "East Egg", "West Egg", and "The Valley of Ashes." West egg is for people who have recently made their fortunes. The characters Nick and Gatsby live there. The Valley of Ashes is for people who are not wealthy. The Wilson family lives there. The East Egg is for people who inherit their money. The characters Daisy and Tom live there. Daisy is a distant cousin one removed of Nick’s. One of her friends is a character named Jordan baker.
Considered as the defining work of the 1920s, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was published in 1925, when America was just coming out of one of the most violent wars in the nation’s history. World War 1 had taken the lives of many young people who fought and sacrificed for our country on another continent. The war left many families without fathers, sons, and husbands. The 1920s is an era filled with rich and dazzling history, where Americans experienced changes in lifestyle from music to rebellion against the United States government. Those that are born into that era grew up in a more carefree, extravagant environment that would affect their interactions with others as well as their attitudes about themselves and societal expectations. In this novel, symbols are used to represent the changing times and create a picture of this era for generations to come. The history, settings, characters, and symbols embedded in The Great Gatsby exemplify life in America during the 1920s.
The “Roaring Twenties” was an important era in American history. Major events included prohibition, the rebellion of women, consumerism, crime. These events created an era that would have a large effect on the future of American History. The Great Gatsby ties into this by giving fictional accounts of real events.
The plot centres on a fictional World War I army veteran named Nick Carraway. After his involvement in the war on the allied side with a machine gun battalion, he returned to his home in Chicago. With no clear direction of what he wanted to do with his life, he decided to move to New York to enter into the business of selling bonds. He settled down on an area of Long Island called West Egg, directly beside a more fashionable area of Long Island called West Egg. Across from him lived a rich man named Jay Gatsby who also was a World War I vet. Not far away lived a married couple Daisy and Tom Buchanan which he knew relatively well. It was at their residence that he met a woman, Jordan Baker, who was to become his good friend and later his girl friend. Carraway soon became a good friend with his rich neighbour next door, Gatsby, and soon was exposed to many rumours about this man which caused him to question his relationship with him.
According to Aristotle, a tragic hero character can be defined to be of noble status, but not necessarily virtuous. There is some aspect of his personality that he has in great abundance but it is this that becomes his tragic flaw and leads to his ultimate demise. However, his tragic ending should not simply sadden the reader, but teach him or her a life lesson. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is the tragic hero who portrays the corruption of the American dream through his tragic flaw. His devastating death at the end of the novel portrays the dangers of centering one’s life on money and other materialistic things and warns the reader not to follow his foolish steps. 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.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald took place in the 1920’s when the nation was undergoing rapid economic, political, and social change. Looking through different literary lenses the reader is able to see the effects of these rapid changes. The marxist lens reflects the gap between rich and poor while the feminist lens showcases the patriarchal society.
In the novel the Great Gatsby a man named Nick who moved to New York durning the 1920s becomes a bond trader. Nick later realizes that he is living next to a huge mansion owned by the one and only Gatsby. Every evening Gatsby would host large extravagant parties and the rich and famous would attend .One night Nick was invited to join the huge party, later finding out that Gatsby was once in the army. Gatsby's wealth was never put out in the public, so no one honestly knew where or how he became rich. Nick and Daisy long lost cousins after so long finally reunite and are shocked by the stories one another has for each other. Daisy is married to Tom a rich nice looking business man, however daisy has no clue about Tom's secret life. Mrydal the wife of the mechanic has been having an affair with Mr. Tom. Later in the story it talks about how when Daisy was younger her and Gatsby where together, however Gatsby still has feelings for her. While Gatsby is at home he watches Daisy while she is at the lake. Daisy lives with her husband and one child. Gatsby and Nick later on become great friends. Gatsby decides to share how he gained his wealth with Nick, which was very unique to him because Gatsby inherited it from a Yacht owner. Nick was very interested into learning more about Gatsby's personal life. Gatsby and Daisy get a chance to see each other and eventually the emotions they use to have some how come back.
The 1920’s were a time of social and technological change. After World War II, the Victorian values were disregarded, there was an increase in alcohol consumption, and the Modernist Era was brought about. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a perfect presentation of the decaying morals of the Roaring Twenties. Fitzgerald uses the characters in the novel--specifically the Buchanans, Jordan Baker, and Gatsby’s partygoers--to represent the theme of the moral decay of society.
During the 1920's America was a country of great ambition, despair and disappointment. The novel The Great Gatsby is a reflection of this decade, it illustrates the burning passion one man has toward his "American Dream" and the different aspects of the dream. Fitzgerald's work is a reflection of America during his lifetime. The Great Gatsby shows the ambition of one man's reach for his "American Dream," the disappointment of losing this dream and the despair of his loss.
At the onset of this book, the reader is introduced to the narrator, Nick Carraway, who relates the past happenings that construct the story of Jay Gatsby and Nick during the summer of 1922. After fighting in World War I, or the Great War as Nick called it, Nick left his prominent family in the West of America for the North where he intended to learn the bond business. Nick was originally supposed to share a house in West Egg near New York City with an associate of his, but the man backed out and so Nick lived with only a Finnish cook. Right next door, Gatsby lived in a glorious mansion with expansive gardens and a marble swimming pool, among other luxuries. Yet Nick did not even hear about Gatsby until he went to visit his distant family at East Egg next to West Egg.
The Great Gatsby is a famous novel that seemed to be about romance and drama, but the theme of the book was actually about the American Dream and how it declined during that time period. The “American Dream” is about being able to have an occupation you love so that you would never work a day in your life. The theme ties to the time era of the book which it took place in the Jazz age. The Jazz age is a little self explanatory, it was right after the war. The younger generation, who fought in the war, became distracted with the need for money or beer and having parties. During this time it became easier for a person of any class to become wealthy. Since the time era was the jazz age I felt it really supported the theme of the book.