F. Scott Fitzgerald was one of the most influential authors in American history. From The Great Gatsby to This Side of Paradise, Fitzgerald was able to create classic stories that are still greatly acclaimed by many. Fitzgerald utilizes the themes of pride, wealth, love, education, and appearance to develop his stories and characters. Through the use of literary devices such as symbolism and imagery, Fitzgerald was able to greatly influence his readers. Fitzgerald took his own life experiences and used them to influence his work. From his time spent studying at Princeton, to the time he enlisted in World War I, Fitzgerald was able to parallel his life in the story he created in This Side of Paradise. Fitzgerald uses themes such as pride, wealth, education and appearance to create diverse and interesting novels that attract readers of all kinds. In This Side of Paradise, Fitzgerald uses a theme of education by having Amory Blaine attend Princeton. Blaine also exhibited the theme of wealth because …show more content…
This was exhibited throughout the entire novel. The Great Gatsby consisted of wealthy people from two different spectrums. West Egg, where Gatsby lived, was where people who had new money lived, they were more flashy and wild. Those who lived in East Egg inherited their money and were more proper and fashionable. By using these two sides of wealth, Fitzgerald showed something that is still relatable in today’s society; that there are different kinds of wealthy people. The narrator, Nick, explained how the two sides had “dissimilarity in every particular except shape and size” (Gatsby 5). Egotism is exemplified in The Great Gatsby by the characters’ concern with their image and importance in society. The character Gatsby was mostly an image of the perfect man, but most of what was said about him was not true, it was all made up to make him seem
"I am still a little afraid of missing something if I forget that, as my father snobbishly suggested, and I snobbishly repeat, a sense of the fundamental decencies is parceled out unequally at birth" (Fitzgerald 7), as stated by Nick, shows that, in The Great Gatsby, class determines the value of a person’s identity. Even between the rich, those with old money are more respected than those with new money, since there is a history of wealth associated to those with old money. Wealth holds great priority in society, since it provides more opportunities. However, while it provides more opportunities, the characters in The Great Gatsby shows the negative aspects of money. In the book The Great Gatsby, it is seen that rich people are powerful,
Throughout the classic The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the rich and the poor are constantly juxtaposed against each other. The rich as ployed as being colorful and full of detail, while the poor is described as being "ashes" in a "desolate" landscape. This juxtaposition of the rich and poor makes it clear to the reader that Fitzgerald wanted the distinction to be blunt. Fitzgerald adds this distinction because he wants the reader to understand that the rich and the poor lead completely different lives. The rich are described in elaborate colors and detail because the they live lavish lifestyles. The rich own extravagant mansions, expensive cars and hydroplanes, and lead exciting lifestyles. On the contrary, the poor are described in
The author Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby as a novel that talks about and covers American issues in the 1920s. He shows in the novel the carelessness and selfishness of everybody at the same time by portraying all of them in the location of west and east egg. Fitzgerald talks about a couple different topics throughout the novel. One of those is," the Attainment of a dream may be less satisfying than the pursuit of it" and the second one is"the American Dream is corrupted by the desire for wealth". He uses those themes to show how americans lived at a different time.
The couple later got married on April 3, 1920 in St. Patrick Cathedral, located in New York. A little over a year later He and his wife had a child named Frances (Doreski). Fitzgerald lived more by his feelings than his morals (Doreski). He and his wife, Zelda, would throw extravagant parties which put the couple in financial hardship early on. Sometimes these parties would even last 4 days in a row (Shain). Because of all the partying and choice of lifestyle, Zelda developed a mental disorder and had her first mental breakdown in 1930. Fitzgerald wrote short stories to pay for his wife’s treatments. However, he is best known for his works This Side of Paradise, from which he gained his wealth, and The Great Gatsby, arguably Fitzgerald’s most popular work (Coale 190). This Side of Paradise was his first autobiographical novel. The book is based on Fitzgerald’s childhood and portrays him as a young boy who is ready for his exciting life to begin (Shain). After it was published, Fitzgerald became rich quickly. Following Zelda’s hospitalization, he wrote the book Tender is the Night. The book was centered on a wealthy psychiatrist and his unstable wife (Bruccoli). By this
The social status is a main theme in The Great Gatsby , take the exemple of Tom and Gatsby they are both rich but use their money differently they are also not the same type of rich. Gatsby is part of the nouveau riche he spends his money irresponsibly and Fitzgerald shows that by describing his mansion where only himself lives in “It was Gatsby’s mansion.Or, rather, as I didn’t know Mr.Gatsby,it was a mansion, inhabited by a gentleman of that name” (5) and his fancy car but in reality all of this is to impress everybody especially the women he always loved Daisy. Gatsby wasn’t always rich he comes from a poor family and earned his money from crimes and bootlegging. Tom on the other side always had money and never worked to have it because his family always had it “His family were enormously wealthy even in college his freedom with money was a matter for reproach” (6) and is more responsible with his money then Gatsby he tries to save it. He likes to spend money for himself whereas Gatsby
“This Side of Paradise” and “The Great Gatsby” two novels written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, during the post-World War I era. The novels have many similarities and differences in two main characters Amory Blaine and Jay Gatsby, “This Side of Paradise” has remained a novel while “The Great Gatsby” has been put into film in 1975. The comparisons of these two novels are based on the book and film. Blaine and Gatsby had very different lives growing up one of wealth and prestige and one of common wealth, which has affected the drive in life. Blaine and Gatsby had one big thing in common, a woman they felt they could not live without. Finally, in their final chapter of life, Blaine and Gatsby died never getting what they wanted.
F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the popular novelists of twentieth century America. He is the representative novelist of the age because his novels deal with the American life in 20th century.
F. Scott FitzgeraldF. Scott Fitzgerald is in many ways one of the most important American writers of the twentieth century. In his first novel, This Side of Paradise, Fitzgerald epitomized the mindset of an era with the statement that his generation had, grown up to find all Gods dead, all wars fought, and all faiths in man shaken(Fitzgerald 307). Aside from being a major literary voice of the twenties and thirties, Fitzgerald was also among The Lost Generations harshest and most insightful social critics. In his classic novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald blatantly criticized the immorality, materialism, and hedonism which characterized the lifestyles of Americas bourgeois during the nineteen-twenties. Collectively, Fitzgeralds novels and short stories provide some of the best insight into the lifestyles of the rich during Americas most prosperous era, while simultaneously examining major literary themes such as disillusionment, coming of age, and the corruption of the American Dream. The life of F. Scott Fitzgerald is marked by as much, if not more, romanticism and tragedy than his novels. Throughout Fitzgeralds life, he unsuccessfully battled alcoholism, depression, and himself, in a quest for both personal and literary identity. At the age of twenty-three, Fitzgerald published his first novel, This Side of Paradise, to critical raves and unimaginable economic success. Shortly after the publishing of this novel, Fitzgerald was able to coerce Zelda Sayre into marriage. This
Money, wealth and prestige were constantly on the minds of people during the Roaring Twenties. Not everyone during this time was able to achieve the wealth and status that they aspired to, including Jay Gatsby. Many people of the upper class inherited their wealth, and oftentimes lived on the rich peninsula of East Egg. On the other hand, those who had to make their own way in the world lived on the less wealthy peninsula of West Egg. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses Jay Gatsby to portray the corrupt mindset of the 1920’s. Starting off as a poor boy, Gatsby aspires to become as wealthy as the aristocracy, and becomes obsessed with this aspiration; his American Dream. Through illicit means, Jay Gatsby makes his way up the social ladder, but stalls prior to reaching the peak. Gatsby, although known for his extravagant parties and expensive belongings, lives in West Egg, showing that he is not part of the aristocracy. Throughout The Great Gatsby, a classic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby attempts to capture the American Dream, but his corrupt view of it only leads him to become materialistic, ending his life with few personal relationships, thus proving that during the Roaring Twenties people were more concerned with superfluous objects, as opposed to their own well being.
Throughout the novel The Great Gatsby, there is a constant theme present: social class. Fitzgerald makes a connection between the theme of social class, and the settings in the novel for example The Valley of Ashes which is described as a “desolate area of land” (p.21) and a “solemn dumping ground” (p.21) which is where the poor people live. The Valley of Ashes is situated between West Egg and New York, West Egg being the place where the aspiring classes are situated, which is the “less fashionable of the two” (p.8), this is where Gatsby lives. West Egg is the place of ‘new money’, Fitzgerald shows this by the idea of the main character Jay Gatsby, rumoured to be selling illegal alcohol (prohibition) which means he is quickly making vast
One of the major topics explored in The Great Gatsby is the sociology of wealth, specifically, how the newly minted millionaires of the 1920s differ from and relate to the old aristocracy of the country’s richest families. In the novel, West Egg and its denizens represent the newly rich, while East Egg and its denizens, especially Daisy and Tom, represent the old aristocracy. Fitzgerald portrays the newly rich as being vulgar, gaudy, ostentatious, and lacking in social graces and taste. Gatsby, for example, lives in a monstrously ornate mansion, wears a pink suit, drives a Rolls-Royce,
In his novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts the dichotomy of the established upper class of the East and the nouveau riche from the Midwest with the two areas of East Egg and West Egg. The novel's characters were obsessed by class and privilege. One reason Tom and Daisy would be considered part of the wealthy class would be because of his parents. Tom and “his family were enormously wealthy” (6). Tom came from a wealthy, established family, and was a much-feared football player while at Yale. The wealthy class includes those high society families who have been rich for generations. These extremely wealthy people live off the income from their inherited riches. Another reason Tom and Daisy would be considered an example of the
The modernistic characteristic teaches us that Fitzgerald could
Another theme in The Great Gatsby is one that is very evident throughout the novel. It is the conflict between the new wealthy class of self-made men and the "old rich." This is most noticeable in the physical separation between them. The new rich live in West Egg and the old rich live in East Egg. The new rich people are not yet acclimated to being upstanding citizens so they are not well connected in the social world, not to mention their incredibly ostentatious nature. In Gatsby's situation, he lives in a huge, repulsively tacky gothic mansion and he throws wild, lavish parties that could be better classified as raves. Daisy and Tom, who represent the old rich, are very refined, tasteful, and very well-mannered. However, the old rich also have come to rely on their money as a defense against trouble (either that they have caused or become victim of). This is exhibited very well when Daisy and Tom simply move away instead of going to Gatsby's funeral. Gatsby, on the other hand, is extremely loyal to his friends
The Roaring Twenties was a time renowned for partying, drinking, and a time without war. F. Scott Fitzgerald is just one of the many writers during this time to write about such times. Fitzgerald, however, is an author that defined this era also known as the Jazz Age. Known for novels such as The Great Gatsby, This Side of Paradise, and The Beautiful and the Damned, and many short stories, Fitzgerald is described by famousauthors.org as “one of the greatest writers American soil has produced in the 20th century. F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. He had an amazing writing career driven by an interesting personal life. His death and legacy cut his career short and we still celebrate him now.