Aidan Spataro Mr. Jefferson English 3P 3/13/24 The American Dream, The Wealthy, and Lack of Morality. The 1920s was a captivating time of new technology, music, fashion, and culture. The 1920s is commonly known as the “roaring” twenties due to dramatic changes in society. Not everyone experienced the “roaring” side of the twenties. People living in impoverished areas such as farms, rural towns, and labor towns did not get to experience the fascinating 1920’s. In the novel, The Great Gatsby the author F. Scott Fitzgerald, uses literary elements such as Symbolism, Setting, Plot, and Character to criticize the American dream, the lack of morality, and the wealthy. Fitzgerald criticizes the wealthy by using literary elements such as symbolism and …show more content…
They pass by a small town by the name of Valley of Ashes. Nick is observing through the train windows as he sees a large billboard that reads Doctor T.J. Eckleburg. Nick explains, “The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic—their retinas are one yard high. They look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a non-existent nose. Evidently, some wild wag of an oculist set them there to fatten his practice in the borough of Queens, and then sank himself into eternal blindness, or forgot them and moved away. But his eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days under sun and rain, brood on over the solemn dumping ground” (Fitzgerald 24). Nick sees the eyes of Doctor Eckleburg and describes them in a very particular way. Fitzgerald uses the eyes to represent God. In the 1920s people didn't worship God, which Fitzgerald demonstrates by the billboard being old, rusty, and rundown. Fitzgerald also uses the place where God is to show how he only watches over the poor, less fortunate group of people. People in the 1920s went crazy and broke the law as if it didn’t exist. In addition, during chapter three, Nick and Jordan are looking for …show more content…
A stout, middle-aged man, with enormous owl-eyed spectacles, was sitting somewhat drunk on the edge of a great table, staring with unsteady concentration at the shelves of books'' (Fitzgerald 45). Nick and Jordan walk into Gatsby's library and find a man, drunk with large owl-eyed glasses. As Fitzgerald already portrays God as being left out and forgotten, he also uses Owl Eyes to portray Jesus as being part of the ‘roaring’ twenties. The Large spectacle worn by Owl Eyes is a close resemblance to Doctor T.J. Eckleburg. Owl Eyes is drunk during the story and says he has been drunk for the past week, showing that even Jesus has been forgotten and has even started to enjoy the life of the twenties. Fitzgerald critiques the lack of morality in the 1920’s by showing that God and Jesus have been forgotten. Fitzgerald also criticizes the American dream by using literary elements such as symbolism and plot. At the end of chapter one, Nick is getting home from the Buchanon's house, Nick sees Gatsby on the edge of his dock reaching for something out in the water. As Nick thought to himself, “I could have sworn he was
" This is a quote from Nick Carraway, the central figure of the story, and the voice of Jay Gatsby. Dr. Eckelburg is introduced at this point. He takes on an image of a human figure, which he is characterized as at many times throughout the novel, and that of a Godlike figure. & nbsp; Doctor Eckleburg's eyes were referred to once again by Nick when he was driving in his car with Tom, Gatsby, and Daisy on a trip to New York City. "We were all irritable now with the fading ale and, aware of it, we drove for a while in silence. Then as Doctor T. J. Eckleburg's faded eyes came into sight down the road I remembered Gatsby's caution about gasoline.
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,
Fitzgerald describes the eyes of T. J. Eckleburg as if they are big and nobody can miss them. The enormous yellow spectacles let the readers know that Eckleburg has glasses and that his vision is clear. During the time period this novel was written, many people believed that religion was not a big thing, but I agree that God sees everything and he knows everything. Works Cited for: Dilworth, Thomas.
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 eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are perhaps the most important symbol in The Great Gatsby. The eyes can be taken as the eyes of God or even as us, the observers. We are observing the characters in what they do and analyzing them as an example of what is wrong or what is right. In this case, we are observing Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby. We are observing their conducts and deciphering whether their actions are wrong or right.
Twain, Mark. "Revised Catechism." Collected Tales, Sketches, Speeches & Essays: 1891-1910. New York: Library of America, 1992. Print.
Thesis: How does F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, compares the American Dream in today's generation and back in the 1920's-30's? What did the American Dream really mean and why? So why did this issue happen? Do you think America can change in the future? What is the american dream really about? When did the phrase: ‘american dream’ started? Have you ever wondered what the 20s and 30s were like back then? How can this so called dream ever bring hope to our country? These are all the questions I would like to know myself. I’ve found three online sources & one source from the novel that can help explain about the 20th century, the Gatsby novel, today's generation, and about Mr.Gatsby from the book.
The eyes of T J Eckleburg represent the loss of moral and social values in America, the hollowness of the American Dream, and the corruption of people. T.J. Eckleburg’s eyes stare down at everyone around them, including the main characters that pass by it on their trips to New York City. In this way, the symbol of the eyes reveals the corruption of the American Dream through the people that the eyes are watching. The eyes ‘watch’ as Gatsby goes to luncheon with Nick to meet Wolfshiem, the dishonest man who helped fix the World Series. The eyes too have watched Tom go into the city...
Up until now, the term American Dream is still a popular concept on how Americans or people who come to America should live their lives and in a way it becomes a kind of life goal. However, the definitions of the term itself is somehow absurd and everyone has their own definition of it. The historian James Tuslow defines American Dream as written in his book titled “The Epic of America” in 1931 as “...dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” The root of the term American Dream is actually can be traced from the Declaration of Independence in 1776 which stated “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
Essay Outline Hook/Interesting Start Despite the recurrent opinion that money can’t buy happiness, many perceive it to be the solution to all their problems. Clouded with this same perception, the same people often over the wealthy are perfect and problemless beings. Background information The romantic novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a thematic story that conveys multiple lessons about life. It depicts the extravagant life of the late Jay Gatsby, told by his dear friend Nick Carraway, the story describes Jay’s life in New York during the prohibition era as he attempts to win back the love of his previous lover Daisy Buchanan.
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 book The Great Gatsby is a modern American fiction book that illustrates the reach for the American dream in a society of rich and poor. Written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and published in 1925 on April 10th; this book is considered an original masterpiece. Gatsby, the main character, and Daisy, married to Tom, fight the urge of chemistry between them in a love and moral battle. As Gatsby's mysterious personality and daisy moral battle fight old feelings reemerging, their community is competing for wealth and social status for their own sense of an American dream. The lives of the characters that live in The Great Gatsby and their pursuit for happiness shapes their lives in mysterious ways.
Francis Scott Fitzgerald was a short story writer and jazz age novelist who is considered to be one of the greatest twentieth- century American writers. He was born on September 24, 1896; he was the only son of an aristocratic father and a provincial, working-class mother. He attended St. Paul Academy and Newman School a prestigious catholic preparatory school in New Jersey. According to Erika Willet a biographer “His life is a tragic example of both sides of the American dream: the joys of young love, wealth and success, and the tragedies associated with excess and failure. ”(Willet)