Prejudice In The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald is, to this day, one of the most famous American writers. His books are studied in schools all around the globe and he is still celebrated in American culture today with blockbuster movies such as The Great Gatsby. Although one thing about Fitzgerald that many people tend to overlook is how he depicted minorities in his writing. In almost all of his stories F. Scott Fitzgerald used degrading, racist stereotypes and slurs as a way to describe minorities. He even used these stereotypes as a way to show humor in his writing by making the character appear “dumb” or “silly.” Most of his books only focus on wealthy white people and when a character of a minority is introduced they are usually described as villains. Fitzgerald’s writing was still popular despite these reasons mostly because people during this time and didn't see these depictions as offensive. Although all of this started to shift as time went on and bits of society slowly began to see the injustices faced by minorities in America. More and more people began to point out the racist stereotypes Fitzgerald used in his writing and pushed him to not only learn about the discrimination minorities faced, but to change how he wrote about minorities as a whole. These “little” comments that were made towards Fitzgerald reflected an overarching change that America was going through during the early to mid-nineteenth century. Though both of the changes that America and F. Scott Fitzgerald made were

Passage: On page 17, one of the main characters talks about a book he read about whites being a superior race. This is why the book “The Great Gatsby” is challenged for racism.

When Nick is describing Gatsby’s elaborate parties, he says, “People were not invited – they went there… Once there they were introduced by somebody who knew Gatsby” (Fitzgerald 41). Gatsby does not care who attends his parties, rather his sole purpose is to attract people and to make himself known in the community. In contrast, when Dorian hosts dinners, he carefully selects people to attend and handpicks the decorations. Through attending, people feel that Dorian has “all the grace and distinction and perfect manner of a citizen of the world” (Wilde 130). Dorian’s hosts dinners not to gain popularity, but to strengthen the admiration that people have for him. In general, Gatsby and Dorian differ in their aspirations for personal motives and images in society.

Moving to New York presents Nick with the capacity to recreate himself, and Jay Gatsby’s parties provide Nick with the necessary arena. He expresses his captivation at the individuality at the parties, articulating, “In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars” (39). Nick Carraway too is a moth, for he is attending the party. In fact, it is one of the only times he has gotten drunk. Nonetheless, the party descriptor is a refrain. Moths are solitary creatures fatally attracted to light, a metaphor for the abandon of Gatsby’s parties. The “whisperings and the champagne” represent the gossip and intoxication at the parties, and “the stars” represent the distance between people within relationships. The dishonest individualism of the New York social scene is outlined: infinite space exists among people because they only congregate by the divisive prattle and drunkenness that lures them. It is only later that Nick realizes the folly of Gatsby’s parties; they are a reflection of Gatsby himself: dishonest. Gatsby sought the affection of his ex-girlfriend Daisy by amassing wealth and hosting parties that he hoped would attract her. Nick discloses that Gatsby “represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn” (2). Nick scoffs at Gatsby because he made moral concessions in an effort to realize his dream. In chasing that dream, Gatsby tailored himself to her liking. Gatsby was dishonest to himself and others in fabricating an individual he hoped to be. As Nick believes, however, an individual Gatsby was not. First suppressed by his excitement at the individualism in New York, and later dominating his perception of that individualism, Nick’s principles of honesty and fair judgement do not belie his

The Great Gatsby follows Nick Carraway as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in 1922, an era of loosening morals, jazz and bootlegging. Chasing his own American Dream Nick ends up living next door to a mysterious, party throwing millionaire, Jay Gatsby and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy and her husband, Tom Buchanan. Throughout the novel there is a theme of Racism and Anti-Semitism. Racism and Anti-Semitism in the 1920s will greatly influence the ideas of Tom Buchanan and Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby.

As I watched everything descend in this story I realized how ignorant they truly were. Each wanting to please each other, but really all they wanted was to please themselves. Daisy wanting everyone’s attention, but actually greedy and longed for money and status.

Morality, the judgement of right from wrong, is dependent on one’s conscience, yet the corruption due to ignorance leads to vileness and immorality. F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby satirizes the incorrect societal values that lead to the inevitability of immoral acts. False idolization of the personified American Dream and inherited social status results in the characters’ defiance against the Catechism of worshipping the one and only God. Furthermore, their inability to face the reality and dishonesty breaks the rule of being truthful to oneself and to others. Lastly, their act of adultery completes their twisted ideals, which contradicts against the Catechism of not committing adultery.

Throughout The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald highlights the extravagant parties that Gatsby throws, especially the luxurious accessories which Gatsby must have. Gatsby’s first attempt to sway his followers is when “The orchestra arrives” which is grand and overwhelming, as well as drinks passing throughout the party since “The bar is in full swing” (40). Gatsby’s mysterious image he creates for himself causes outrageous rumors about him to come out such

    F. Scott Fitzgerald is well known for being an excellent writer, for expertly describing the Jazz Age, and for having a drinking problem.  However, he is not so well known for creating deep and intriguing characters.  In The Great Gatsby, the majority of the characters remain one-dimensional and unchanging throughout the novel.  They are simply known from the viewpoint of Nick Carraway, the participating narrator.  Some insight is given into characters in the form of their dialogue with Nick, however, they never really become deep characters that are 'known' and can be identified with.  While all of the participants in the novel aren't completely flat, most of the main characters

Hailing from the Midwest, moving to New York presents Nick with the capacity to recreate himself and Jay Gatsby’s parties provide Nick with the necessary arena. He expresses his captivation at the individuality present at the parties, analogizing, “In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars” (39). Moths are solitary creatures fatally attracted to light, a metaphor for the abandon of Gatsby’s parties. The “whisperings and the champagne and the stars” represents the ironic individualism of the New York social scene: infinite space exists among people because they only congregate by the divisive prattle and drunkenness that lures them. Nick Carraway too is an individual attracted by the light, for he too is attending the party. In fact, it is one of the only times in his life that he has become drunk. However, Nick retrospectively realizes the folly of Gatsby’s parties: they are a reflection of Gatsby himself, dishonest. Gatsby sought the affection of his ex-girlfriend Daisy by amassing wealth and hosting parties that would attract her, and in chasing that dream, he tailored himself to her liking. Nick scoffs at Gatsby because he made moral concessions in an effort to realize his dream, which displeases Nick. Nick discloses that Gatsby “represented

F. Scott Fitzgerald was once quoted saying, “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.'' What Fitzgerald is stating is that the ability to live in a state of hesitation and indecision or irresolution without falling out of reality is a sweet spot between questioning oneself and acting on your own basis. Building on that thought, the sweet spot creates a thought process that helps one avoid falling into an outdated set of beliefs, spark personal growth, and increase the basis for decisions one will make. To begin with, the irresolute mind helps oneself avoid falling into an outdated set of stereotypical beliefs.

In Michael Pekarofski’s seventeen page article, The Passing of Jay Gatsby: Class and Anti-Semitism in Fitzgerald’s 1920’s America, Pekarofski argues that Jay Gatsby, from The Great Gatsby, is most likely Jewish. The article uses multiple examples of contextual evidence, as well as other sources, and insight into what may have motivated F. Scott Fitzgerald to write such a character, especially in regards to the anti-semitic viewpoints and class discrimination of the society during that time.

Without even meeting Gatsby, Nick delves into a world of delusion and carelessness that marks Gatsby’s party, emphasizing how just mere taste of extravagance and wealth can have such a

First impressions of people give you an outline on how people will act, talk, and even judge you. Naturally we can identify what type or person they will be and see if we like that type. Though our feelings may change, a person's first impression will always leave a lasting mark on someone. Even in the novels that we read, whenever a new character is presented we decided whether we are going to like them or not. These first words that characters speak can show us how a novel is going to be or how that character will impact the book. For instance, In Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, two main characters, Tom and Nick, have first words that show either how much of a likable person or unlikable person they are.

In the party scene of the great Gatsby The start of our scene focuses the camera on the crowd looking down from the staircase where Gatsby is found. This allows the viewer to see the party from Nick’s perspective. It highlights Nick’s confusion and how he feels uncomfortable at the party, and how he doesn't quite belong. It shows how chaotic the atmosphere is and the overcrowding of people at Gatsby’s house. The camera rotates and this shows the different types of people present at the party. We see swimmers, dancers, a conductor, orchestra and musicians as well as general guests at the