The Great Gatsby exhibits many themes which resonate with the Jazz Age. One of the important topics is friendship. Fitzgerald's novel instructs readers not to be careless with their friendships. Fitzgerald uses The Great Gatsby to illustrate the true meaning of friendship through his characters’ relationships in the novel about being understanding, caring, and trustworthy.
Friendship is an important topic for the people in the twenties who were not very understanding, in The Great Gatsby. For example, Nick describes Gatsby's smile as, “It was one of those rare smiles with the quality of reassurance in it...” (Fitzgerald 48). The quote clearly conveys how Gatsby’s smile made Nick feel equal, and only friends make you feel equal or finer in the world. People in the Jazz Age were very careless; they always wanted to be superior than others, and forgot about how their friends felt. Nick also describes Gatsby’s smile as, “...believed in you as you would like to believe in
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People take each other for granted and betray each other. The fear of being judged has caused people not to be their true selves which leads to being fake friends and losing trust. For example, in the novel, Fitzgerald projects Nick’s character as the person whom everyone trusts. Not everyone in the novel knew everything about Gatsby and his past, although Gatsby only told Nick about his past and how he became so wealthy because he trusted Nick. He knew Nick would not let him down because Nick believed in him. In chapter 6, Nick clearly tells Gatsby, “You can’t repeat the past,” (Fitzgerald 110). Nick tells Gatsby that he cannot give up like he did in the past, and not try to win Daisy. Daisy trusts Gatsby, although after she finds out how Gatsby became wealthy, she lost her trust in him and chose Tom instead. Gatsby’s lack of honesty about how he became wealthy led him to lose
Life is often portrayed in a way that one lives it. Gatsby’s father praises him for being wealthy and successful, but he does not know the truth behind his wealth and how he earned it (Fitzgerald 168). As a parent, one is suppose to love their child no matter what. It is easy to love them when all you hear about is how successful they are, but not for what one thinks. It is not easy to trust someone who can not make up their mind about what they want to tell people. Gatsby easily gives himself away because he thinks of a lie, he is going to tell someone, but since he has it planned someone can easily catch him in the lie: ‘“I thought you inherited your money.” “I did, old sport,” he said automatically, “but lost most of it in the big panic-the panic of war.” I think he hardly knew what he was saying, for when I asked him what business he was in he answered, “That’s my affair”, before he
When Gatsby reveals to about his relationship with Daisy, Nick’s relationship with Gatsby takes a full u-turn as it rapidly advances their association from simple acquaintances to close friends. Nick’s outlook of Gatsby undergoes a similar transformation. When Nick learns of the previous relationship between Gatsby and Daisy, Gatsby’s actions make sense to Nick. The mansion, the extravagant parties, and the green light were all in the efforts for making Daisy notice him. Gatsby lives his life for the past life that he lived. He spends his life seeking the attention of his love, Daisy, and as Nick explains, “He wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy. His life had been confused and disordered since then, but if he could once return to a certain starting place and go over it all slowly, he could find out what that thing was…” (Fitzgerald 110). Gatsby sought out the American dream in order to win over the love of Daisy which creates a different perception of himself to Nick. Nick, now knowing Gatsby’s intentions worries about Gatsby’s possible rejection, and then warns him that, “[he] wouldn’t ask too much of her, you can’t repeat the past.” (Fitzgerald 110) But Gatsby, blinded by love, strives to win Nick’s married cousin’s heart. Nick perceives Gatsby as a man dwelling on the past
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, has been heralded as one of the outstanding novels of the Jazz Age. The characters that Fitzgerald created in this novel were laudable and disreputable. Therefore, these characters in the novel will be contrasted and elucidated.
Fitzgerald expresses his social commentary in The Great Gatsby by revealing the true form of people. His charisma in the writing of The Great Gatsby gave him the ability to capture the mood of the nineteen twenties in a socially and politically vital and muddled time of American history. Through the characters in the book, he was not only able to capture an image of the upper and middle-class in the nineteen twenties, but he was also able to exemplify a series of contempt as well. Fitzgerald also made it a point in his book to show how people like Tom, Daisy and Jordan are at the “top of the totem pole” and how they liked to keep it that way. Fitzgerald also shows examples of people like Gatsby who work hard to get to the top, but are never accepted because they weren’t born into that social class.
Scott Fitzgerald, through the characters Gatsby, Tom, Daisy, and Nick readers can see their appearances and the realities of each character. Gatsby and Tom show wealth on the outside and lies on the inside. Daisy appears more genuine on the outside than on the inside. The materialism and wealth caused the characters to lie but did not change the reality of who they really are. By Nick being honest he did not have to suffer the consequences of the actions cause by the lies. The lesson to be learned is to be true to yourself. Do not change who you are to make others happy. Money cannot buy
The 1920s was a time of partying, and many social occasions. During these parties, how one behaves or acts around others, strangers or friends, can reveal intimate values of their character. Typically, social stresses can reveal similar behavioral patterns among whole groups of people as well. Fitzgerald uses social occasions to divulge the nature of different parties in The Great Gatsby, revealing values and mindsets of the different characters and social classes that shape the plot and outcome of the novel.
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, was published in 1925, a time in America when there were many lavish parties taking place. This theme of partying is seen throughout the novel and plays a big role in the lives of the wealthy. However, some wealthy people, including Gatsby, engaged in illegal activity that would lead to their downfall. Their life of partying was coming to an end at the close of the 1920s and, for some, their past actions were catching up with them. Fellowship in 1920s America was built on partying and the lavish lifestyle that came with it, but, as seen in The Great Gatsby, there was another side of the coin with much hardship and an impoverished life for others.
-everyone suspects himself if at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known (59)
Gatsby does not belong to his own class and he is not accepted by the upper class, therefore he becomes an exception. Because of disappointment of being looked down upon and impossibility of accept by the upper class, he has nothing left except his love, which is also his “love dream”. Gatsby’s love for Daisy has been the sole drive and motive of his living. Gatsby’s great love is also the root of his great tragedy, because he is desperately in love with a woman who is not worthy of his deep love. Fitzgerald offers Gatsby with the spirit of sincerity, generosity, nobility, perseverance, and loyalty. All his good natures can be seen
The Great Gatsby is a novel written by Frances Scott Fitzgerald in which he portrayed the American society of the period known as The Jazz Age. The Jazz Age is marked by spontaneous, carefree behavior of people who placed great emphasis on the materialistic things and hedonistic way of life due to the end of the Great Depression. The novel evokes the atmosphere and follows the lives of characters belonging to the upper class. The central character of the novel is Jay Gatsby. Fitzgerald used features of the romantic and tragic heroes and combined them to form the Gatsby’s character.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a story that has many different themes. Fitzgerald shows the themes that he uses through his character’s desires and actions. This novel has themes in it that we deal with in our everyday life. It has themes that deal with our personal lives and themes that deal with what’s right and what’s wrong. There are also themes that have to do with materialistic items that we deal desire on a daily basis. Fitzgerald focuses on the themes of corrupted love, immorality, and the American Dream in order to tell a story that is entertaining to his readers.
In the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there is an importance of relationships. They can be between lovers, friends, and families. The novel shows these, but also the wrong types of relationships such as people having affairs. People form relationships so they are not alone and they try to stick together through the hard times and the good times. In every relationship there are differing situations that affect the outcome and success of the relationship.
Commentary: Analyze/Explain: Like Nick in The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald discovered the lifestyle of prosperity attractive and stimulating, and, like Gatsby, he had always esteemed the wealthy. He found himself in a time where unrepressed avarice set the tone of civilization, predominantly in the sizeable cities of the East. Nonetheless, like Nick, Fitzgerald saw beyond the sparkle of the Jazz Age to the ethical hollowness and insincerity beneath, and part of him yearned for this careless honest core. In numerous ways, The Great Gatsby denotes Fitzgerald’s effort to antagonize his inconsistent spirits regarding the Jazz Age.
F. Scott Fitzgerald is arguably one of the greatest writers to ever come to earth. In the 20th century, he wrote far beyond his time, and wrote about topics that others were afraid to bring up. “Genius is the ability to put into effect what is on your mind.” (Fitzgerald) One of his better known novels, The Great Gatsby, brings up several diverse and arguable topics, but also presents many messages too. The three main messages presented in The Great Gatsby are about self creation, love, and friendship.
The problem of this novel goes far beyond the initial understanding it only as another a sad tale of lost illusions. In "The Great Gatsby" it is put the tragedy of "Age of Jazz" and its special, morbid beauty. But amid this era Fitzgerald puts human problems that are relevant in any society and at any time. Therefore, it is difficult to overestimate the contribution which has been made in the works of Fitzgerald's American and world literature of the twentieth