The Great Gatsby and The Wasteland

The Great Gatsby and The Wasteland

Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby and Elliot’s The Wasteland are two stories that similarly express the modernist post-war disillusionment. Both stories comment pessimistically on the direction that our world is moving in from the post-war modernist perspective. Both men looked past the roaring twenties, and realized that this time period was actually a moral wasteland. The final paragraphs of The Great Gatsby sum up their mutual lack of faith in American culture to improve.

Fitzgerald uses a number of both direct and indirect ways to comment on what has happened to America. The green light is a recurring symbol in this book that has many deep meanings. Beginning in the first chapter, when Nick compares the green bulk of America rising from the ocean to the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock, this symbol takes on many meanings. This is the green light that drives Gatsby, this is the green light symbolizes the new money and materialism in the world. This shows that money is now the new driving force in the world, and that people work to consume. This ties into the fact that Gatsby went to great lengths to become rich solely to impress Daisy with his wealth. Additionally, Gatsby showed off this wealth by showing her all of the shirts that he had purchased. All of this points towards the emerging consumerism in American society.

The green also seems to symbolize the automotive industry, which was one of the biggest parts of the new consumer culture. Henry Ford made a policy of paying his workers high wages, because he realized that if they were paid more, they themselves would become consumers of his products. Today, cars are often seen as a status symbol, which began back in the 1920’s.

The Wasteland of Elliot’s is analogous to the valley of ashes between West Egg and New York City. It is an industrial wasteland that was clearly created by large corporations and industries. This valley of ashes symbolizes the moral decay created by limitless pursuit of wealth. The valley of ashes is a place inhabited by the poor, and polluted by the rich. This shows that the only people who have to accept the consequences of corporate greed are the working class themselves.

Elliot’s The Wasteland describes Europe as a very bleak place after the First World War. In the final section, the speaker bothers Stetson about th...

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...green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter- tomorrow we will run faster, stretch our arms farther… and one fine morning-

Nick comments once again on Gatsby’s pursuit of this perfect future that will never materialize. He also says that this our world is deteriorating even further, but expresses some hope for the future. He expresses optimism not in our culture, but in human beings to strive for improvement.

Nick ties up all of the sentiments on this page with the conclusion “so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” This statement ties back into the idea that people will strive to improve themselves, but the state of things are so bleak that it is like trying to row upstream. It also means that while people try to work for a perfect future, the best they can hope for is to be “borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

Elliot and Fitzgerald share a mutual pessimism regarding society, but a confidence in individuals. They both share a very modernistic take on the post-war world, and hope that the power of individuals can break through the restraints of their society.