All literature reflects the values, attitudes and beliefs of the context of construction. Thus, this means that whenever we study any text, we must develop a deep understanding of how the context impacts upon the purpose of the texts and the writers intended discourses. The comparative study of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s sonnets of the Portuguese and Scott Fitzgerald’s Pros fiction ‘The Great Gatsby’ allow for a thorough evaluation of the relationship between the texts contexts and values. Both composers craft arguments on the nature of and value of life itself within the framework of love and spirituality. Browning, however writes from the perspective of a woman challenging values of the conventions of the Victorian era. Whilst, Fitzgerald construct’s his text as an indictment on the emerging hedonistic and capitalist creed of 1920’s America – the Jazz Age. As we will move through the texts, the writer’s context will influence their discourses and hence the meaning and significance we derive from each text. Mortality:
Both Gatsby and the sonnets provide commentary on the meaning and value of life itself. The composers articulate a number of arguments on human mortality and what does and doesn’t constitute a waste of human life. ( I will change the parts I have highlighted)
The Great Gatsby presents most of the characters using immoral and corrupt means to achieve their American dream. This results in the physical/metaphorical death of a being. Contextually, 'The Great
“... it is a story about failure and death, an idealistic quest for unworthy goals, and the almost total collapse of the aspirations of nearly all of the principal characters” (Nagel 113). The Great Gatsby is a story that represents people’s unachieved aspirations that lead to a sad existence and ultimately death. They are all trying to attain one thing, the American Dream. The American Dream is almost impossible to attain and that is why a lot of people failed when it came to living out the American Dream. In Fitzgerald’s, “The Great Gatsby”, Gatsby tries to attain the American Dream through Daisy throughout the whole novel but fails and is left heartbroken.
In the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald shows us that material obsession often leads to the decay of ones soul. Jay Gatsby believes the world has been corrupted by materialism and he believes himself to be one of the only honest people he knows. He sees people as being deceitful and full of lies. But He's immersed in hope that he'll find Daisy, hope that she'll come to him in the end, but what happens in the end? Does he really achieve that dream? Culture clash, the American dream, appearance and reality, and moral corruption are all discussed and considered themes of The Great Gatsby. The idea of moral corruption found in The Great Gatsby is exemplified not only in literature but in life as well.
Gatsby's final tragedy is his death. Gatsby made a great effort to achieve his dreams, but in the end his efforts were futile. Fitzgerald was obviously appalled at the general state of society in the 1920s. He appears to have been particularly saddened by the decayed social and moral values of the well-established American aristocracies. The old wealth seen on East Egg and the people attending Gatsby's parties signify the careless materialism of the time.
The Great Gatsby is Frances Scott Key Fitzgerald’s greatest masterpiece, and is one of the most important books in American literature. It is a story about love and youth, but just as important as love is in the story is death. In this story about a man chasing his dream and trying to win true love, death finds ways to ruin multiple characters’ attempt at achieving their dreams. Two major deaths in The Great Gatsby reflect themes present throughout the novel.
Authors from the 1920’s are among the most exceptional and famous writers of today, one of the greatest well-known being F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald wrote multiple extraordinary novels, though he is most accredited for The Great Gatsby. In this book he discloses essential truths about life, which are more relevant in today’s society than ever before. Within the article A Gatsby for Today, Sven Birkerts provides further insight to these truths and imparts the importance of their lessons. F. Scott Fitzgerald reveals important truths about life through the characters Jay Gatsby, who displays disillusionment, and Myrtle Wilson, who demonstrates hope.
The Great Gatsby is generally regarded as a story of love and tragedy, but in actuality, it was a story of a sad man chasing a baseless obsession with a woman and in trying to obtain this relationship, succumbing to immoral practices and ultimately dying alone. The author of The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a widely acclaimed author who had a life of tragedy and loss that greatly impacted his writing. He was able to see not only the light-hearted, celebratory, and successful side of the American Dream, but also the negative effects of overindulging with alcohol and incessant partying. He was able to indirectly write about himself and his losses in the stories he wrote. Unfortunately, he was not able to see how successful he had become.
Both the texts ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F.Scott Fitzgerald and ‘Sonnets from the Portuguese’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning explore the ideas of aspirations and identity developing a deeper understanding of the texts. Both texts share these ideas through the characters and the values of idealism and hope, and personal voice and identity. Although the two texts are separated in time and context, they both reflect the world of the text and composer.
Elizabeth Barret-Browning's 'Sonnets from the Portuguese' and F. Scott. Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' both reflect, in abstract style and varying contexts and elements, the experience of idealised love, hope and mortality. The elements employed by Barret-Browning and Fitzgerald, differ in their depictions of these themes through various literary devices, two of which are 'points of view' and 'motifs/symbols'. Barret-Browning's sonnet sequence illustrates a complex evolution of emotions as the poet moves through sorrow, self doubt, passion, fear, and ultimately profound exhilaration and joy, even in spite of the restlessly lingering thoughts of her own death, whereas, 'The Great Gatsby' follows the tale of young Nick Carraway, a seemingly
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, portrays the life of a man who is truly focused on one dream: to reclaim the love of his life. Fitzgerald illustrates the problem of being so single-minded through Gatsby’s ultimate demise. His slow evolution and reveal of the character of Gatsby leads to a devastating climax once his dream fails. Fitzgerald uses extended metaphor and sharp diction to depict Gatsby’s crumbling life in his last moments.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a tragic tale of love distorted by obsession. Finding himself in the city of New York, Jay Gatsby is a loyal and devoted man who is willing to cross oceans and build mansions for his one true love. His belief in realistic ideals and his perseverance greatly influence all the decisions he makes and ultimately direct the course of his life. Gatsby has made a total commitment to a dream, and he does not realize that his dream is hollow. Although his intentions are true, he sometimes has a crude way of getting his point across. When he makes his ideals heard, his actions are wasted on a thoughtless and shallow society. Jay Gatsby effectively embodies a romantic idealism
Symbolism is a big part of The Great Gatsby, some would say the entire story symbolizes the ending of the American Dream. This becomes quite apparent through Nick Carraway’s narratives further into the book. He compares America now, to what it once was and could’ve been. He explains this well when he says, “ And as the moon rose higher the inessential houses
Written during and regarding the 1920s, ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald is both a representation of this distinctive social and historical context, and a construction of the composer’s experience of this era. Beliefs and practises of the present also play a crucial role in shaping the text, in particular changing the way in which literary techniques are interpreted. The present-day responder is powerfully influenced by their personal experiences, some of which essentially strengthen Fitzgerald’s themes, while others compete, establishing contemporary interpretations of the novel.
Gatsby is completely unable to realize that his dream cannot become a reality and in so doing is blind to his own selfishness. He sees his relentless task as noble, honorable, and purposeful--that he will, instead of causing others much pain, benefit their situations. The audience can, however, see the futility of his task and can merely watch as he degenerates and becomes worse and worse as the story continues, ultimately leading to his own death. A pure dream that began with nervousness and desire, ends with placidness and habit. A twisted, warped dream that was once pure and honorable. Fix
The ideological concept of social hegemony, based on the stratification of class, ensures that the ruling elite, the aristocracy, have absolute power over social institutions, with the ability to control and determine dominant social values. “The Great Gatsby” (1925), by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a contemporary realism novella, which explores the tragic adventures of the titular character, Jay Gatsby, as narrated by his neighbour and friend Nick Carraway. Fitzgerald’s scathing attack upon the selfish and frivolous values of the 1920s Jazz Age is effectively constructed through the author’s use of Carraway’s distinctive voice, to develop the ironic idea of Gatsby as “great” and the representation of the American Dream, the manipulative attitude of the aristocracy towards the bourgeoisie and proletariat classes, and the alternate reading of Nick Carraway as an unreliable narrator. Furthermore, “The Great Gatsby” is a Modernist text, rejecting traditional forms of literature in favour of Fitzgerald’s use of the distinct unreliability of narration within a nonlinear structure. Audiences are encouraged to respond to the ideas and attitudes constructed through Carraway’s distinctive voice, to question the hyperbolic excess of the Jazz Age, supporting the dominant reading of rejecting the extravagant and acquisitive corruption of the period, whilst also exploring the alternate reading of Carraway as an unreliable narrator.
It is often said that certain literary works and characters within such works represent real-world issues. In the work The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the character of Gatsby is shrouded in ambiguity to the reader, providing them with a possibility for personal interpretation. In the work, Gatsby’s character develops from a character representing materialism and a fixation on status to one filled with humility and selflessness for his romantic devotion towards the character of Daisy. Through this shift, the reader is provided with insight in order to draw parallels between Gatsby and two distinct periods in American history. The materialistic side of Gatsby, driven by wealth and his status in Long Island, represents the moral corruption and materialistic desires of America in the 1920s, whereas the romantically devoted Gatsby represents wartime America, devoted to sacrifice and nobility. The contrast within the life of Gatsby allows for a profound insight into the significance of the work as a representation of changing American values.