Discussing the Greatness of Jay Gatsby Essay

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.

Jay Gatsby is an enormously rich man, and in the flashy years of the jazz age, wealth defined importance. Gatsby has endless wealth, power and influence but never uses material objects selfishly. Everything he owns exists only to attain his vision. Nick feels

The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a story about a wealthy man named Gatsby. Gatsby lives a luxuriant life in West Egg of New York. Gatsby’s wealth has an unknown secret because nobody seems to know where his wealth emerged from. Despite of having so much fortune, Gatsby’s true American dream has not been achieved. In the great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald develops Gatsby as a failed American dream to show the impossibility of the American dream in the 1920’s.

The first dream that does not get fulfilled is the one of Gatsby. He starts off as an underprivileged boy and struggles his way to the top. We make his acquaintance when he is on the top of his life. He is enjoying his big house and his vast wealth. The one thing he cannot have is his lovely Daisy. Gatsby’s story reflects the “classical” American dream: Anyone can make anything of himself/herself with just elbow grease, spirit and a whole lot of confidence. Jay loves Daisy and, sadly, she is the one thing which he cannot procure to his “perfect life”.

According to Aristotle, a tragic hero character can be defined to be of noble status, but not necessarily virtuous. There is some aspect of his personality that he has in great abundance but it is this that becomes his tragic flaw and leads to his ultimate demise. However, his tragic ending should not simply sadden the reader, but teach him or her a life lesson. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is the tragic hero who portrays the corruption of the American dream through his tragic flaw. His devastating death at the end of the novel portrays the dangers of centering one’s life on money and other materialistic things and warns the reader not to follow his foolish steps. Jay Gatsby is the epitome of a tragic hero; his

Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, a novel documenting the experiences Nick Carraway has in New York, is ultimately used to voice Fitzgerald’s perception of the American dream. Nick, voicing the message from Fitzgerald, affirms his confidence in the matter that the American Dream will always be unattainable. From the beginning of the novel, Gatsby is illustrated as a mysterious character who constantly changes his backstory in an attempt to appeal to the “old rich.” As Nick and Gatsby became acquainted, Nick abominated Gatsby as he ascertained that Gatsby’s methods to pursue wealth and Daisy were scandalous. In the end, Nick conceived a new perspective on life proceeding Gatsby’s death which is portrayed through his thought that, “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us.

Gatsby dreams an intangible world and constantly strives to sculpt his life in which his actions are manifestations of his desire to be wealthy. Gatsby’s identity is superficial, and Nick sees through this façade.

“Is Tom most responsible for Gatsby’s death? Daisy? Myrtle? Gatsby himself? Give reasons why or why not each character is implicated in the murder.”

The Great Gatsby has been around for ages; it is a story of a young man in the 1920’s who is thrown into a new world made up of the new and the old rich. He is confused by the way these people act and in the end cannot stay another minute in this strange, insensitive, materialistic world. The author, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses many techniques to help the reader understand how Nick Carraway (the narrator) is feeling throughout the story. In the book The Great Gatsby, the author F. Scott Fitzgerald uses effective language to make his writing successful. He uses the techniques of imagery and irony to display this message.

Why should high schoolers be forced to read a book that isn’t interesting to them? Often times they either do not apply to real life situations or even teach anything that a teenager would understand. So, the high schooler skims through the book and does not pay attention to any detail. High school classrooms need better books that can teach history in a fun way, and add some interesting things to which students can reflect and think on. A book read in high school, should allow the students to think critically about the text they are reading, should include some references to history, and incorporate themes that are understandable and relatable to a high school student’s life. This makes a book want to be read as well as enjoyable. The

Jay Gatsby, the title character of The Great Gatsby, is really not all that the title might suggest. First of all, his real name is James Gatz. He changed it in an effort to leave behind his old life as a poor boy and create an entirely new identity. He is also a liar and a criminal, having accumulated his wealth and position by dishonest means. But he is still called ‘great,’ and in a sense he is. Gatsby is made great by his unfaltering hope, and his determination to live in a perfect world with Daisy and their perfect love. Gatsby has many visible flaws—his obvious lies, his mysterious way of avoiding straight answers. But they are shadowed over by his gentle smile and his visible hunger for an ideal future. The coarse and playful Jay

Gatsby’s aspirations reflect the time period. The “Roaring Twenties”, as it is called, was a period of prosperity, and the Americans were obsessed with acquiring wealth, and thought that “those who have wealth should be splendid, happy people”

This assignment, I was instructed to choose an American film within the past five years and write a film review about it. One thing I love about America, are its astonishing and inspiring films and story’s. Specifically, my favorite is The Great Gatsby directed by Baz Luhrmann released May first 2013. This film takes place in New York, 1922. Nick Carraway a bond-seller is depressed and suffers from alcoholism, his doctor pursues him to write an account of what put him in this state. Roughly seven years in the past, Carraway comes to New York in search of the American Dream and ends up living next door to the millionaire Jay Gatsby and across the bay from his cousin Daisy and her husband Tom Buchanan. After being invited to Gatsby’s amazing and mind blowing party’s he accepts Gatsby’s influence of becoming wealthy and successful. Moments later, Gatsby asks Carraway to invite his cousin Daisy over for tea with Gatsby. What Carraway does not know is that Daisy was one of Gatsby’s true love before he left for war. Throughout the story, Carraway learns more and more about the mysterious Mr. Gatsby. Throughout the story, tragedy’s, lies and love interferes with every character.

The novel The Great Gatsby is a story that takes place in the 1920’s. The story

Gatsby’s obsessions are not limited too simply possessing wealth, but they also extend to the manner in which it was acquired as well. First Gatsby claims having attended Oxford, and even goes so far as to flaunt Nick a picture,“ A souvenir of his Oxford days…” (71). Gatsby openly avoids mentioning how long he was at Oxford and why he was there. The small dishonest taste that Gatsby has of Oxford only serves to make his desire to change the past more consuming than ever before. Gatsby wants a simpler time, a better time with more noble aspirations. Gatsby uses the photograph to undo his past. In addition, Gatsby furthers the tales of his grand life insisting that he lived in all the capitols of Europe like a rajah. Fitzgerald proves Gatsby’s stories to be lies beyond any reasonable doubt. Jay sounds like a fool, and his condescending willingness to underestimate the intelligence of his listeners proves he acts as a fool. Gatsby’s false stories suck him deeper and deeper into the abyss that is self-worthlessness. Finally, the rainbow that Jay Gatsby follows through life has the ultimate treasure at the end –true love. The desperate alteration of his past serves only one purpose, to impress the shallow Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby innocently assumes that his money and accomplishments can buy anything – even