The extent of contextual information that the reader is able to understand allows the reader to understand the text in a greater depth. The Great Gatsby, written by F.Scott Fitzgerald, follows Nick Caraway as he retells the story of Gatsby and his love for Daisy that lead to his downfall. The knowledge of history and the context of the 1920’s allow meanings within The Great Gatsby to be enhanced. The novel refers to contextual factors such as the suffragette movement, liberation of the twenties, prohibition, roaring twenties typical social lifestyle and the America Dream. These are all displayed with the use of elements of characterisation, symbolism, descriptive language and setting that the contextual information is able to relate to. These …show more content…
exterior contextual factors allow readers to have an enhanced understanding of the text. The 18th amendment, passed in America during the 1920’s, banned the manufacturing and selling of alcohol. The ban on alcohol was down to ensure the complete stop to production and consumption of the substance within the United States. This amendment backfired and in created a desire even stronger for the substance. This lead to black markets and incredibly amounts of wealth to citizens willing to take the risk. These use of “bootlegging”, the illegal production and selling of alcohol, by Tom when he finds out of Gatsby’s wealth reveal the cause of the Gatsby’s grand wealth. Gatsby himself also reveals of his association with “pharmacies” with his work, through the symbolic contextual use of pharmacies readers gain an understanding that pharmacies were able to supply ‘medicinal alcohol’ ensuring they would have large amounts of success during the prohibition reinforcing the likelihood that Gatsby took part in “bootlegging” business. In addition to the wealth Gatsby was able to obtain his popularity and rumors attributed to the fact of his known reputation and to provide an endless supply of alcohol at his parties, creating a fascination to the reader of how he developed his wealth. The readers understanding of the prohibition to the characters more than just “important business” but as an essential element of the text that allowed characters, such as Gatsby, to obtain arguably what they would never have been able to obtain. The “Roaring Twenties” were a time of pursuit of extreme wealth and the want for pleasure. It was a time were traditional believe were challenged by the new ideologies. Men looked to have multiple wives while women sought men who were able to provide not only financially but also socially within society. In ‘The Great Gatsby’, Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s husband, is associated in multiple affairs, “ Tom’s got some woman in New York”. Daisy is fully aware of the affair that Tom is currently participating in and in turn Daisy has an affair with Gatsby. Although Gatsby presents to her everything she would every want and expresses his love for her, Daisy chooses to stay with Tom, as his position in society is able to provide a more favorable financial and social position compared to Gatsby even though Tom has proven to be unfaithful. This is furthermore reinforced as Tom’s partner calls at dinnertime, Daisy’s dialogue reveals her annoyance that she had called, “She might have the decency not to telephone him at dinner time”. Although Daisy expresses her dislike for Toms multiple partners, Daisy choses to stay with Tom for the money and social positioning. The readers understanding of the “Roaring Twenties” reveals the loose social ideologies that challenged the traditional ideologies and caused a change in the lives of those in the 1920’s. The readers understanding of the changing roles of women allows an enhanced understanding of meanings within the text.
There are multiple portrayals of the changing roles of women throughout the text. The allowing of women to vote during the 1920’s allowed for a new, more self-sufficient role of women to be portrayed. Jordan Baker is an example of a new type of woman in the twenties. She shows herself to be harsh, self-motivated and very confident in the actions she takes. Jordan also looks down upon those who are less financial equipped then she, “lets get out…this is too much polite for”. This reveal Jordan to be blunt, revealing what every she has on her mind blurting out secrets and gossip of others. This is reinforced, as she is the first to reveal the Myrtle is Tom’s mistress. Myrtle also portrays a new identity of women during the time period. She reveals to the reader of the liberated woman of the 1920’s who challenged the traditional gender norms. She reveals that she only married George under the believe that he was rich, “I though he knew something…but he was not fit to lick my shoe”. She chooses to cheat on George, leaving him to have an affair with Tom, showing her shallow personality. She also reveals to have been attracted to Tom by his suit, “he had on a dress suit and patent leather shoes and I couldn’t keep my eyes of him” revealing that she in fact does not love Tom but instead wishes to have the money that he posses and reveals her materialistic values and her concern only to reach the higher parts of society. The readers understanding of the changing roles of women due to the new rights and liberties given to women during the
era. American dream was the pinnacle of American social standards that everyone tried to achieve. During the 1920’s America was in a state of economic boom. This is constantly referenced throughout the text from the “extravagant” parties of Gatsby to the “gold” that framed the windows of the Buchanan’s. The lexical choice reveals the large amount of wealth that was obtainable. Gatsby himself represents the American dream and the wealth obtainable by it. Though the lifestyle of the rich is portrayed in a lavish manner and Gatsby’s characterisation from his “humble origins” as a son of a farm boy, to a millionaire reveal the American dream as being achievable to those in society. Unfortunately Gatsby death symbolically reveals the corruption of the American dream. His inability to obtain his love Daisy after “his dream must have seemed so close he could fail to grasp it”, reveal the American Dream to be corrupt. His want to obtain “his dream”, Daisy, the unobtainable after he total recreation just for her reveal the flaw within the American Dream and its inevitably demise within society. The American Dream is furthermore reinforced within society, as it is seem within the lives of Wilson and Myrtle. Wilson works towards the achievement of the American Dream in order to achieve a better life for his wife Myrtle. While Myrtle, in order to increase her economic status, becomes the mistress of Tom. The reader with the knowledge of the importance of the American Dream within American society allows readers to see how society tried to achieve this social ideology and how it not only affected the upper class but the lower class as both would try to achieve the American Dream.
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? The message of numerous literature novels are connected to the context of the time and can enlighten readers to understand the meaning. This is true of the novel, The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and first published in 1926. It highlights a materialistic and consumerist society where social and moral values were slowly decaying.
Throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s work The Great Gatsby, Nick Caraway undergoes a large transformation. His character arc demonstrates the negative effects of being part of a rich and privileged society, and that even though the 1920’s era looks beautiful and fun, a great many of its inhabitants were empty. Nick Caraway starts the novel hopeful, but as he is exposed to the amoral culture of the rich socialites and businessmen, he becomes cynical, bitter, and he abandons his habits of honesty, and reserving judgment.
Jay Gatsby’s funeral is a small service, not because that 's what was intended, but because no one bothered to show up. Nick wanted to give Gatsby the popularity he desired, even in death, but only three people were present in the end. Gatsby’s father, Henry C. Gatz, shows up unexpectedly from Minnesota because he heard about the news in the papers. He believes that the man who shot his son must 've been mad, that no one in their right mind could commit such a horrible act. Daisy and Wolfsheim, the people closest to Gatsby in the book, do not attend. This exemplifies that it was always about wealth and social status for them, including Tom, and they never genuinely cared for Gatsby. Nick held up hope,
F. Scott Fitzgerald is well known for being an excellent writer, for expertly describing the Jazz Age, and for having a drinking problem. However, he is not so well known for creating deep and intriguing characters. In The Great Gatsby, the majority of the characters remain one-dimensional and unchanging throughout the novel. They are simply known from the viewpoint of Nick Carraway, the participating narrator. Some insight is given into characters in the form of their dialogue with Nick, however, they never really become deep characters that are 'known' and can be identified with. While all of the participants in the novel aren't completely flat, most of the main characters are simply stereotypes of 1920's people from the southern, western, and eastern parts of America.
In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nick’s unreliability as a narrator is blatantly evident, as his view of Gatsby’s actions seems to arbitrarily shift between disapproval and approval. Nick is an unreliable and hypocritical narrator who disputes his own background information and subjectively depicts Gatsby as a benevolent and charismatic host while ignoring his flaws and immorality from illegal activities. He refuses to seriously contemplate Gatsby’s negative attributes because of their strong mutual friendship and he is blinded by an unrealized faith in Gatsby. Furthermore, his multitude of discrepancies damage his ethos appeal and contribute to his lack of dependability.
Think about being separated from the one you love. You thought this person would be in your life forever and always. You may have spent days and weeks thinking and planning your future together, but then one day they disappear from your life. That person has moved on, and chose to live a life that no longer including you. It would be assumed in most cases that the love of your life is no longer the person they were before, so should you stick around and try to win them back? In the case of Gatsby and Daisy, Gatsby did not realize Daisy would be different, and although he still thinks he is in love with Daisy, is he in love with her for who she is now, or the idea of everything she used to be the answer may shock you, and this is all due to the unreal expectations he has for her to fill. Because Gatsby is not in love with who she is at the time they are reunited. Instead, he is caught up in the idea of who she used to be. The actions of Gatsby, how he talks about her, and the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy once they are back together again show who Gatsby is really in love with, and that is the old Daisy.
The word visually stunning could be used to describe the 2013 Baz Luhrman directed adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s timeless novel The Great Gatsby. Speaking of the director, I enjoyed his portrayal of the lavish lifestyle and carefree party like attitude in such a beautiful visual experience. The way in which the party scenes were filmed in the movie made perfect sense compared to the source material and were something I have never seen done by any other directors in a live action film. Another positive for me about this film was the soundtrack. When I first started watching the film I expected to hear old time music prevalent in the 20s. I however was pleasantly surprised when I learned the soundtrack was compiled by Jay-Z and featured many tracks I enjoyed featuring him either alone or accompanied by another musical guest. While Jay-Z is not exactly an accurate representation of the music of the 20s, the soundtrack adds a modern flavour over the previously mentioned beautiful backgrounds and architecture. The story however is where the movie at times falls flat. When stripped down to basics it is nothing more than a generic love story with a few twists added in for extra kick. The characters in the same vain can be very bland and not make you care much for them due to their backstories not being deeply explored. The only character that I found to be interesting was Jay Gatsby because of the mystical aura that surrounds his character at the beginning of the movie that leads you to want to uncover more of this ever mysterious man. All in all the visuals clearly outpace
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is about Nick Caraway, a man who moved into New York in West Egg. He soon finds out that his house borders a mansion of a wealthy man, named Jay Gatsby, who is in love with Nick’s cousin Daisy Buchannan. Nick describes his past experiences with Gatsby. He is an unreliable first person narrator, for he is extremely subjective being biased towards Gatsby and he is deceptive, with his lying and past actions. His evaluation of Gatsby is not entirely just, due to his close friendship with Gatsby.
In the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald includes many different types of connections between his lifetime and a reflection on what life was like in the eyes of him. Fitzgerald shows connections to “The Great Gatsby’ by including his family history, Social History, and also national and world events that influenced him in writing this novel. F. Scott Fitzgerald also include Literary theories such as Historical, Formalists, Psychoanalytic. The great Gatsby also has connections to “How to Read Literature Like A Professor” and it has a connection and reveals the work as a whole.
Like the author Garrison Keillor once said “ I believe in looking reality in the face and denying it” ,but in this tale , isn’t very wise. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, some of the character are in disillusionment, but the one that is constantly in it is Jay Gatsby.Although, people can do this, Gatsby tries to recreates the past and never considers Daisy’s reality.Through Gatsby’s choices, Fitzgerald displays his argument that people should accept reality .
As The Great Gatsby progresses, the reader feels a range of emotions for each of the character, especially the narrator. The story of Jay Gatsby is told in the point of view of Nick Carraway, Gatsby’s only real friend and he is also a participant in the book. Although most of the main characters in the book are rich and come from “old money” Nick works hard to rent a house “at West Egg, the-well, the less fashionable of the two [Eggs]” (5). Even so, Nick says that his “ own house [is] an eyesore, but it [is] a small eyesore” (5). Nick does not exactly complain about his house as much as the reader would expect him to. Throughout the book, Gatsby has three different personas and he uses the other characters in the book to make his ultimate dream come true. Nick is not excluded and he is taken advantage of by Gatsby just like everyone else. Ultimately, Nick is
“The Great Gatsby”, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, portrays a world filled with rich societal happenings, love affairs, and corruption. Nick Carraway is the engaged narrator of the book, a curious choice considering that he is in a different class and almost in a different world than Gatsby and the other characters. Nick relates the plot of the story to the reader as a member of Gatsby’s circle. He has ambivalent feelings towards Gatsby, despising his personality and corrupted dream but feeling drawn to Gatsby’s magnificent capacity to hope. Using Nick as a moral guide, Fitzgerald attempts to guide readers on a journey through the novel to illustrate the corruption and failure of the American Dream. To achieve this, Nick’s credentials as a reliable narrator are carefully established and reinforced throughout the story.
In 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald published The Great Gatsby, a novel set in The Roaring Twenties, portraying a flamboyant and immortal society of the ‘20s where the economy booms, and prohibition leads to organized crimes. Readers follow the journey about a young man named Jay Gatsby, an extravagant mysterious neighbor of the narrator, Nick Carraway. As the novel evolves, Nick narrates his discoveries of Gatsby’s past and his love for Daisy, Nick’s married cousin to readers. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald develops the theme of the conflict which results from keeping secrets instead of telling the truth using the three characters – Tom Buchanan, Nick Carraway, and Jay Gatsby (James Gats).
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.
...does he master the common form of imagery in description using the five senses, but he also delves into the world of inner human thought and sentiment. Fitzgerald’s imagery dives into the issues that have surrounded human nature throughout history including morality, flaws, instinct, and perspective in a new manner. The reader is taken through a simple story that follows characters in their daily trials involving love, jealously, and leisure, but in doing so through Nick Caraway’s eyes, the deceivingly straightforward actions become much more. From Fitzgerald using his skill to explore human nature through his narrator’s thoughts and observations of the world around him to his use of color imagery to represent more than meets the eye about personality and emotion, The Great Gatsby is truly a novel of the ages that reveals the innermost complexities of human life.