"Across the courtesy bay the white palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered along the water..." (10). The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald tells the story of what happened between Daisy, Tom, Gatsby and many others in the summer of 1922. Nick Carraway gives the readers an insight view of what is really happening among the characters, and sees what the others can’t see. East Egg and West Egg are separated merely by a small bay, but in reality they are worlds apart.
West Egg is where this story begins. “My own house was an eye-sore, but it was a small eye-sore and it had been overlooked, so I had a view of the water, a partial view of my neighbor’s lawn and the consoling proximity of millionaires--all for eighty dollars a month.” (10). His house is squeezed in between too colossal mansions, one being Jay Gatsby’s. In general, West Egg comprises of the middle class, the newly rich, or the wanna bee’s. One could say that West Egg consists of “new money”, or as the book and movie hinted at, bootleggers. People of West Egg love to party and have fun, they are kind of the new...
Death is something that comes to everyone at some point in their lives. No one knows when they will die until it happens. Some are prepared for death and others are completely blind sided by death. In the novel “The Great Gatsby”, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is killed by the character Wilson, because of rumors that Gatsby Killed Wilson's wife Myrtle as well as having an affair with her. Many people are to blame for Gatsby death including: Tom Buchanan , Daisy Buchanan, Nick Carraway and even Jay Gatsby himself! In order to determine who was most responsible for Jay Gatsby's death we must analyze each character and the role he/she played in the death of Jay Gatsby.
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.
The novel mirrors the East-West divide of the whole country in the division between West Egg and East Egg. Nick and Gatsby live on West Egg, which means that they have retained their closeness to western values. The Buchanans on the other hand have become Easterners, they represent the corruption of the East.
The ridiculous wealth and obvious garishness of Gatsby’s parties reveals the reckless values of West Egg society. Nick observes that, “There was music from my neighbor’s house all through summer nights. In his blue gardens, men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars…” (22). Every night, random assortments of people come and go, “like moths” moving towards the light of Gatsby’s parties and wealth. These West Eggers conduct themselves “ according to the rules of behavior associated with amusement parks”(48). West Egg society focuses on spending their money rather than keeping the money like East Egg society. Instead of being polite and refined, West Eggers, who have “new money”, are outspoken and rude in the eyes of East Egg society. At first sight, Daisy “…w...
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.
“Gatsby turned out alright in the end.” Yes, because someone who ends up murdered in their own swimming pool, shot by a lackluster man, taking the blame for a crime he never committed for someone who quickly turned her back on him, is defined as “alright.” I never understood why Gatsby was the one to die. I thought he was the hero of the novel. Fitzgerald was a romantic; he was the American Dreamer. The novel was the epitome of the American Dream. The hero never fails; the underdog always wins. Isn’t that what we have always been taught? How could such a great man die? And why was Gatsby the only one pointed out as “alright?” I mean after all, most of the characters’ lives remained unchanged. Daisy and Tom resumed their marriage. Nick returned to the Midwest. Jordan continued her career. Gatsby was one of the only people who portrayed the repercussions of the events. How could someone that readers are supposed to root for die tragically, and on a false claim, nonetheless? Why did Fitzgerald murder Gatsby? But, after some research I realized Fitzgerald NEEDED Gatsby to die.
The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald that follows a cast of characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on prosperous Long Island in the summer of 1922. The story primarily concerns the young and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his quixotic passion for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. Considered to be Fitzgerald's magnum opus, The Great Gatsby explores themes of decadence, idealism, resistance to change, social upheaval, and excess, creating a portrait of the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties that has been described as a cautionary tale regarding the American Dream.
Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby is one of the most carefully structured stories of all time. The narrator, Nick, is a very clever and well spoken storyteller. Nick confides with the reader in the first pages of the novel. He says that he needs to tell the story of a man called Gatsby. It is as if Nick has to overcome disappointment and frustration with a man who has left him with painful memories. Nick says that, even though Gatsby did alright in the end, “it was the foul dust that collected in his wake” that disgusts him now. Nick, thus, begins the novel with uncomfortable memories. Time is a meaningful concept in this story. It is evident that dreams and memories are central to the overall plot and meaning. Secondly, the American Dream is a “green light” of desire that Gatsby never stops yearning for and something he will not forget over time, even as he is dying. This is so, even though no one cares about Gatsby or his dreams after he died, except maybe Nick. Finally, the fact that Fitzgerald uses flashback; that Nick is telling us about a main character after he has already died and before the story begins, is ultimate proof. The Great Gatsby is structured by Nick’s memory. Fitzgerald’s clever use of flashback throughout and within the novel is the greatest evidence that he intended his novel to be centered on memory and going back in time, which will be sort of a focus as we go further into this essay.
In most literature assigned to young adults for academic reading, there exists major ideas students are taught to dissect and take away from their reading. In reference to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the major moral interpretations of the tale are widely known and accepted by teens due to the variety of shared interests between the characters and their young readers. Fitzgerald encompasses several concepts from infidelity, to gender roles, to economic class, to the importance of hope; all of which he covers with exuberance. In the case of economic class, Fitzgerald creates a social structure that parallels reality whilst placing emphasis on the more desirable attributes of high class life, allowing the text to remain prevalent and relatable throughout time and cultural shifts. The similarities between reality and the world of Gatsby preserve its story and the principles that follow and the romanticism keeps young readers engaged, lending the text the timelessness necessary to grant academic attention.
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,
In this story by F. Scott Fitzgerland the characters are Jay, Nick, Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, George Wilson, Catherine, Henry C. Gatz, Dan Cody, Ewing Kilpspringer,
The first location, West Egg, correlates to a person who is dazzling and extravagant. A person who became rich and possesses new money just like people who live there. The person who corresponds to West Egg is Jay Gatsby. Both the location and person symbolize the rise of the new rich alongside the conventional aristocracy of the 1920s. Previously, only people who were born into their riches were generally part of the upper class. Social mobility was difficult for those in lower classes because the “old rich” who maintained their prosperity across many generations retained control. During the 1920s however, people were starting to acquire their wealth within their own generations giving themselves the name “new rich”. Gatsby is an example of a person who constituting his own fortune after belonging to a lower social class and economic stratum. Gatsb...
...and the upper middle class members mixed in the neighborhood, creating a disturbing mix. West Egg provided a direct confrontation to the establishment that disturbed the rich such as Daisy Buchanan (107). The residents of the city have foreign names like “Joens”, “Muldoon”, and “Eckheart” with uncouth professions such as actors and politicians (63). Epitomizing the qualities of the people and the buildings of West Egg is Jay Gatsby. Gatsby possesses a house designed to imitate royalty. However, Gatsby fills that very house with the risque parties, juxtaposing the old idea of wealth with a new one. The juxtaposition between the two ideas strongly characterizes the West Egg resident.
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
F. Scott Fitzgerald was one of the most compelling twentieth century writers, (Curnutt, 2004). The year 1925 marks the year of the publication of Fitzgerald’s most credited novel, The Great Gatsby (Bruccoli, 1985). With its critiques of materialism, love and the American Dream (Berman, 1996), this dramatic idyllic novel, (Harvey, 1957), although poorly received at first, is now highly regarded as Fitzgerald’s finest work (Rohrkemper, 1985) and is his publisher, Scribner 's most popular title, (Donahue, 2013). The novel achieved it’s status as one of the most influential novels in American history around the nineteen fifties and sixties, over ten years after Fitzgerald 's passing, (Ibid, 1985)