Critical Analysis Of The Great Gatsby

The 1920s in America, known as the "Roaring Twenties", was a time of celebration after a destructive war. It was a period of time in America characterised by prosperity and optimism. There was a general feeling of disruption associated with modernity and a break with traditions.The Roaring Twenties was a time of great economic prosperity and many people became rich and wealthy. Some people inherited "old money" and some obtained "new money". However, there was the other side of prosperity and many people also suffered the nightmare of being poor. In the novel,The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is portrayed as a wealthy character

In book, “The Great Gatsby,” F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts how the American was corrupted through wealth. Fitzgerald provides many examples. The most common example shown was Jay Gatsby. Gatsby’s idea that to achieve his American Dream must be to acquire wealth. In order to show this, Fitzgerald uses various literary elements. Two of those being imagery and foreshadowing, these played a critical role in describing the theme, and specific moods to show what was to come and as well as describe the story as a whole. These play a vital role in representing Gatsby’s life and journey to acquiring Daisy, his version of the American Dream.

Dreams are a compelling force in people’s lives. They are what propel them forward each and every day in an effort to reach something better. The American Dream has been sought after by millions all over the world for hundreds of years. This country was founded on the belief that anyone could achieve their dreams. However, in the 1920s these hopes and aspirations began to splinter until they ultimately shattered. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism, setting, and theme to depict the unattainability of the American Dream.

“Nothing great will ever be achieved without great men, and men are great only if they are determined to be so,” once said Charles de Gaulle. This valiant quote by a former president of France accentuates my opinion of the Great Jay Gatsby. From humble beginnings rises our main focus of F. Scott Fitzgeralds’ The Great Gatsby. Young Jimmy Gatz is brought to West Egg from his heavily impoverished North Dakota family. His desire to be something greater than a farmer drove him to fortune and love through any means necessary; his life long obsession, Daisy Fay, infatuates Jay in his own insatiable thirst for her affection. James follows Daisy in the years after he is deployed to World War 1, and when he sees she has married Tom Buchanan he becomes hell-bent on replicating the success Tom has inherited in order to win over Daisy. Through moderately deceitful ways, Jay Gatsby builds his wealth and reputation to rival and even supersede many already lavish family names. Astonishingly, the great Mr. Gatsby, overrun with newfound affluence, stays true to his friends, lover, and his own ideals to his blissfully ignorant end.

“Writers consistently use novels as a lens through which they scrutinise society.” To what extent do you agree with this view?

In The Great Gatsby, the author, F Scott Fitzgerald depicts the post - war roaring 20’s, a time of overwhelming prosperity and a new found sense of hope for the future. While this novel is often perceived as a romance, it is also a criticism on the devastating nature of the elusive american dream. The story of Jay Gatsby is a representation of what had become the values of the individual at the time. With the progression of the early 1920’s the vision of the perfect life, or the american dream, had been skewed. It was replaced with greed, and an abundance of reckless spending in which the wealthier individuals placed their misguided ideas of happiness. In the Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald chooses to expose the hidden truth behind the illustrious concept of the American dream. Through his use of literary devices such as, symbolism, metaphor, and, irony the central idea of the truly unattainable American dream is supported throughout the novel.

Gatsby cannot be classified as a truly moral person who exhibits goodness or correctness in his character and behaviour. Gatsby disputes most moral damage throughout the novel. Gatsby exhibits characteristics explaining the reason behind moral decay in society. Corruption and lies are responsible for the destruction of humanity. Gatsby’s whole life’s basically is a lie as he created a fake identity for himself. A whole new persona, Jay Gatsby is not even his real name. Gatsby

While one of the most interesting subplots is probably the development of Nick and Gatsby’s relationship, this relationship compromises Nick’s ability to stay objective; and while without hearing about Nick’s tenuous relationship with “riotous excursions” (pg. 2), the book would be far less captivating, the result is, regardless, that one loses some faith in its

The Great Gatsby is a highly specific portrait of American society during the Roaring Twenties, the Mise-en-scene is sumptuous with lights and colors that fill the viewers’ eyes, costumes that amaze and dazzle and music that projects the audience into an epic dimension. The director and producer use a lot of high key lighting throughout the film which makes images glamorous and visually appealing while producing a dreamy,

As a result, of him using Jazz and modern music through the film, he made it seem like the audience was in the film with the characters. The emotions that they had towards each other that involved music, is what made the audience drawn to what he was trying to accomplish,, . As some people may disagree with his music choices, or how they felt about using the same artist, or even using the same song, but what they do not understand is that Luhrmann’s creativity is what made The Great Gatsby come to

On the chilly night of April 1st, a variety of different people eagerly waited in the Edward K. Daniels Theatre in Hillsboro, Ohio to meet a mysterious man named Gatsby. During the weekend of April 1st- 3rd the Southern State Community College preformed Simon Levy’s adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby a show that was anything but an April fool’s day prank.

In the beginning of The Great Gatsby, the narrator Nick is critical of the upper class, but hopeful. Toward the end he is disappointed because he realizes how the lifestyle they live is unrealistic. During the novel, the upper class is disrespectful and full of themselves. When he gets to know the characters he notices how the upper class is so unfriendly and snotty. This easy and luxurious lifestyle that they are living is unattainable to everyone because nobody can get there. The American dream is described as making a ton of money and being snotty about it. In the novel, the hopeful and disgusted tones reflect Nick’s points of view on the unrealistic society and his points of view changes when he sees how greedy they all are

“The Great Gatsby” movie is based on a well-known book by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, a well-known author that wrote American fiction. Maurer wrote that F. Scott Fitzgerald was known for his imagistic and wonderful composition. He could analyze the inclination of his era during a politically complex time of American History (Maurer, 2016). There have been a number of reincarnations of “The Great Gatsby” in cinematography. Baz Lurhmann, a popular director of all times recreated the movie and took the story to a whole new level. Baz Lurhmann has adapted the story and fit his visual style of production similar to other recognisable Lurhmann films such as Moulin Rouge and Romeo and Juliet but he manages to preserve the core story.

As the car drives around Carraway and enters through the gate, the sound of the brass instruments is soft while the narrator explains the surroundings. Afterwards it gets stronger and more prominent as he stops talking and Gadsby’s castle is presented. Trumpets start to build up in a jazzy mode creating a party atmosphere as if Gatsby is trying to lure those people into his house for some reason. The shot of the castle (fig.2) combined with the sound effect, creates a setting allowing the audience to understand the grandeur and glamor of the place. This shot shows how desperate Gatsby is to get Daisy’s attention who lives across the lake and lure her to come to one of his parties.

These include the zoom which gives the film a smooth but fast past feel, dissolves and the superimposition of the white board marker to show that Nick Carraway is narrating. He shows Jay Gatsby from low angles to show his importance and uses many establishing shots to balance out the close ups. Luhrmann uses huge sets like Gatsby’s mansion and even parts of New York. The first half of the film is busy and exciting while the second half is more melancholic and reflective. He uses imagery a great deal. For example the green light on the pier by Daisy’s house comes up often as well as the telephone belonging to Tom and Gatsby, calling them away to a secret life.