F. Scott Fitzgerald 's ' The Great Gatsby '

In many instances, Gatsby showed signs of selflessness. But, if the reader were to dig deeper into the roots of the story, they will be able to see that under the kind acts and good deeds, Gatsby’s intentions were always selfish. After the car scene, Tom, Jordan, Daisy and Nick returned to Daisy and Tom’s house. As Gatsby waits outside of the home, Nick, unknowingly, asks Gatsby whether or not Daisy was driving. Gatsby replies saying, “Yes, but of course I’ll say I was” (Fitzgerald 143). When Gatsby took Daisy’s place in the murder of Myrtle, although seeming kind-hearted, his only reason for this was to earn Daisy’s love and to impress her. Gatsby has somewhat put up an image of himself to be the pure and almighty man that deserves Daisy more. Meyer Wolfshiem, Gatsby’s business partner, mentions to Nick of Gatsby’s chivalrous actions towards women saying, “Yeah, Gatsby’s very careful about women. He would never so much look at a friend’s wife” (Fitzgerald 72). Although Meyer Wolfshiem’s comment on Gatsby about him being a gentleman, and how he would never look at another man’s wife, Gatsby proceeds to exceed all expectations and have an affair with Tom’s wife, Daisy Buchanan. Yes, some might say his only reason for doing so was out of true love and destiny but, in either case, it was morally wrong. In every action that Gatsby commits for Daisy, his selfishness secretly hides beneath it, shading itself from light so no one will approach the real man that lurks behind the curtains of self pride.

Since American literature’s emergence, the American dream has become a conceptual ideal for many people throughout history. Although the dream has its own distinct aspects throughout different time periods, it predominantly focuses on the foundations of wealth, success and a desire for something greater. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s fiction novel, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby, the protagonist, is primarily known for the numerous lavish parties he throws each weekend at his ostentatious mansion in West Egg in an attempt to reunite with Daisy Buchanan, a woman he falls in love with prior to entering the war before the Roaring Twenties. However, he is seized with an impotent realization on the fact that his wealth cannot afford him the same privileges as others that are born into the upper echelon. Gatsby is completely blinded from his opulent possessions until he becomes oblivious of the fact that money cannot buy love or happiness. Throughout the story, the predilection for materialistic features causes many characters to lose sight of their aspirations, demonstrating how a dream can become easily corrupt by one’s focus on acquiring wealth and power.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald tells the tragic story of two star-crossed lovers. Fitzgerald uses the Roaring Twenties as the setting of this novel. The twenties were a time of promiscuity, new money, and a significant amount of illegal alcohol. Fitzgerald was a master of his craft and there was often more to the story than just the basic plot. He could intertwine political messages and a gripping story flawlessly. In the case of The Great Gatsby, he not only chronicles a love story, but also uses the opportunity to express his opinion on topics such as moral decay, crass materialism, individual ethics, and the American dream.

In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, colors are one of the most important details in the book. Throughout the story Fitzgerald cleverly uses colors in order to focus on specific themes and characters. He wrote this book in a way where one can read it for pleasure, and where one could analyze it and truly appreciate the work that he has put into this book. Every color has a specific meaning which correlates with each of the characters. Specifically, gold represents wealth, high class, selfishness, and relationships; while white represents honesty, purity, innocence, and a symbol for surrendering.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is the compelling story of the lengths one man goes to in order to try and win back the love of his youth. In order to do so, the titular figure of the novel, Jay Gatsby, reinvents himself from the hardscrabble soldier of his younger years into an enigma of a millionaire; during his time living at West Egg, Gatsby is revered by all, but known by none. Despite the lavish lifestyle which has made him ever so well known, Gatsby is never able to win back Daisy, the girl who has for so long represented the culmination of all of his desires. To convey the complex themes of the novel, Fitzgerald makes use of the literary techniques discussed in How To Read Literature Like A Professor by Thomas C. Foster, especially in his portrayal of the geography of the Eggs and in Gatsby’s quest to win Daisy’s affection. In his novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s desperate struggle to ingratiate himself into Daisy’s life to illustrate how one can never overcome the socio-economic barriers placed upon them at birth.

Following the destruction caused by World War I, it became obvious that the United States needed to rebuild itself. Jay Gatsby, even though fictionalized character, represented many of the hardships of the time, he “was promoted to be a major, and every Allied government gave me a decoration” (Fitzgerald 71), but yet when he came back from the war he had a very hard time finding a job or work.This lead to many long-held pre-war values and customs being rejected by a new rising youth culture, which made them seem irrelevant. Because of this, the American youth began rebelling against many of the social norms of their parents ' generation as they strove to create something uniquely their own. Even adults played a part with this new youth culture, as some attempted to imitate the new trends while others found themselves repulsed by them. But whatever adults of the time felt, they could not deny that the new world created by their country 's youth was having a drastic effect on the American population as a whole, as they synthesized new ideas from embattled traditions creating a complex movement that was reckless and moved without regard to others. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald highlights how the rising youth culture was personified by "flamboyant, reckless spirits" (Drowne and Huber 29). It was this spirit which lead to the moral depravity so often seen and exemplified by the youth culture, both the youth culture of the 1920s and the contemporary one.

The American dream is a tacit promise given to all citizens in this country, which states that regardless of social class, any individual can aspire to new heights based upon the ideology of meritocracy. The American dream is a “recurring theme in American literature”(Pearson) and in American society. However, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s critically acclaimed novel, presents the American dream as an illusion which can never be achieved, and according to recent events in America, Fitzgerald is evidently correct. The personification of Daisy as the American Dream, the issue of meritocracy, Myrtle’s death, the image of the green light, as well as the manner in which Gatsby is denied entry into the

Killing people is morally wrong and injustice, but what if the killer believed that he was killing for a good purpose. That person would be considered a destructive angel, which is a type of archetype created by Carl Jung. In the great Gatsby different types of archetypes allow readers to see and understand the negative side of characters. Gatsby throughout the novel shows his archetypal lover role.Tom shows how he is the oppressor Daisy throughout the novel shows how she is the sexual temptress.

What Gatsby means by that thought is that in that moment with Daisy, he felt like he could accomplish anything. With Daisy, he felt that life was wondrous and full of opportunity.

As the old saying goes, “A man’s home is his castle,” meaning that a man can take refuge within his house, safe from the outside world. This is not so in The Great Gatsby. In the novel, instead of sheltering their inhabitants, houses reflect the inhabitants’ personalities. Jay Gatsby and his house are both ostentatious, hospitable, and stuck in the past. Similarly, Daisy Buchanan is cheery, with inner depression, as is her house. Finally, both George Wilson and his house are dreary and uninteresting. Houses in The Great Gatsby serve to embody the characteristics of their occupants.

Scott Fitzgerald 's, “The Great Gatsby”, is used to teach us the prime example of the American experience or the American dream. On the other hand, J.D Salinger 's book, “The Catcher in the Rye”, is generally about the story of a young boy, losing innocence and trying to keep children from falling off of this metaphorical cliff, or in reality, losing their innocence. While these two stories may seem drastically different from each other, they both share a deeper meaning. Throughout both of these books, while the plot line and thematic ideas may seem different, both of these characters share the same trait, idealism; they both desire things that they cannot possibly reach or things, or something as simple as fitting in and feeling like

The American dream is a dream that aspires for one to rise from the lower classes of society and to place in the higher ones. While achieving their dream one hopes to accumulate wealth, love, and power. The dream has been manipulated many times since the founding of America though its commonly based upon the concepts of independence and wish for something greater. In America’s beginnings the dream was to set outward west to acquire land and riches. Though during the 20th century the American dream had shifted to earning material goods like having a nice car, house, and a ease of life. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is a man who was born extremely poor; he try’s to achieve the American dream and succeeds. Thought Fitzgerald shows that an American dream can become very corrupt by being blinded by luxurious goods to acquire love and happiness.

In Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, there are numerous themes, resonating ideas, and patterns that occur, but none are as crucial to understanding Fitzgerald’s character Gatsby and the overall story than Fitzgerald’s portrayal of the dying American Dream. Before exploring the American Dream within the context of the text, readers should consider the changing concept of defining ‘the American Dream. While there are several interpretations of the American Dream, the one that is continuously presented throughout the text is best portrayed by Gatsby himself when he states, “My life, old sport, my life my life has got to be like this. It 's got to keep going up.” The American Dream, as contextualized by Fitzgerald, is illustrated as a chase or a race from poverty or state of discomfort to a state in which individuals achieve elite, often materialistic goals. Fitzgerald demonstrates this chase for success throughout his text and uses his characters as vehicles to portray civil society’s idealized conception of The Dream, while simultaneously critiquing the concept of his perception of the ridiculousness of living only for the purpose of obtaining the Dream’s expected riches. Moreover, Fitzgerald’s varied uses of the American Dream is an effective literary technique to not only critique overt materialism, corruption, greed, elitism, and the Roaring 1920s society, but also aim to illustrate a subliminal message to American society about the negative aspects of the Dream as well

Founding father Benjamin Franklin described the American dream as the “pursuit of a better existence… a higher quality of life through hard work, determination, and devotion” (Benjamin Franklin). The American dream is an idea that if you work hard, you can rise from “rags to riches” and live a wealthy and prosperous life with moral values of respect and integrity. Ironically, Franklin’s version of the dream was decaying during the roaring 1920s when society became corrupt and obsessed with greed. In his classic book, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald shows how the American dream of “hard work, determination, and devotion” was deteriorating because society had become greedy and materialistic. In addition, moral values were in decline and that

The American Dream is defined as the idea of working for the necessities in life: a house that is capable of housing a family, a loving family, and a job that supplies these necessities. This idea also consists of living in a society that is not restricted by social classes and allowing people of the society to have freedom to choose where they belong. The American Dream was and still could be the main focus of people who are going out on their own to create a family. However, F. Scott Fitzgerald took a different route in his most famous novel. Fitzgerald uses his book, The Great Gatsby, to show how the idea of the American Dream is slowly dying in the society he created.