Summary : ' The Great Gatsby ' By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Mangum, Bryant. "THE GREAT GATSBY, by F." THE GREAT GATSBY, by F. London and Chicago: Fitzroy-Dearborn, 1998. Web. 1 July 2015. .

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.

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

  Released in 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby cleverly demonstrates the manners and morals commonly practiced throughout the time period. The plot revolves around several main themes and effectively expresses Fitzgerald’s unique perspective. With an objective standpoint, Nick Carraway narrates the story as Jay Gatsby, a foolish racketeer, tries to win over his lifelong love, Daisy Buchanan. Although pecuniary matters can often be too large of an influence on human relationships, the novel unveils several powerful battles entangling love, morals, and money.

It only takes a spark to start a fire. That spark could be a dream or a passion that has the possibility of growing into something larger than life. To transform that dream into a reality, goals must be set and plans must be made. The goal that many people were pursuing during the Roaring Twenties was the American Dream. It enticed people with the promise of prosperity and success all with a little hard work and elbow grease. Yet somewhere along the way, the goal was lost in the midst of affluence and illegal alcohol. F. Scott Fitzgerald used The Great Gatsby to portray how fulfilling the American Dream became impossible due to the growing desire of wealth and pleasure and the disappearance of social and moral values.

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.

Lillian Angu Mrs. Lagomarsino American Literature 11 / Period 1 4/5/16 Jay Gatsby, a great man! “The Great Gatsby” is about a man, Jay Gatsby, whose American dream is to get back the girl he loves, who is Daisy, but there are some things keeping them apart such as the fact that Daisy is married to Tom, and also that Gatsby isn’t old money. “You were put on this earth to achieve your greatest self, to live out your purpose, and to do it courageously.” By Steve Maraboli.

Achieving the American Dream means reaching a level of material wealth and social status to almost everyone. Although most people think they would pursue the American Dream with integrity and sincerity, the allure of material wealth often leads people to compromise.Their moral compass often becomes relative and their relational pursuits often become predatory. Throughout The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts the morality of society and the pursuit of the American dream through his characters’ actions and worldviews.

The American Dream in simple terms is the essence of Americanism; it is the belief that social mobility, prosperity, and financial success are attainable by hard work regardless of social class and nationality. The American Dream exemplifies what every immigrant imagines as they walk through Ellis Island or cross the border from Mexico. It is the ethos of America, the defining image of the average upper-middle class family man. This idea of prosperity begins as far back as the founders of the United States. Benjamin Franklin, one of the most famous Framers in American history, built himself from the ground up. Franklin’s The Autobiography is both his personal regimen for prosperity, but also the

F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, depicts the characters Gatsby and Daisy as symbols of the American Dream. Those who long to be at the top of the social ladder are evidence of the greedy scramble of wealth. Although Gatsby falsifies the original story of his climb to the top, this rags to riches endeavor is the pillar on which the American dream stands which gives him a mysterious yet interesting persona. Gatsby embodies Jack Solomon’s premise, in “Masters of Desire: The Culture of American Advertising”, through his empty pursuit of materialism. Solomon argues that the American dream is an ideology that measures individual success based on how much wealth and property one owns. This idea of the American Dream dictates that a person’s outward appearance gives the illusion that if one attained wealth and property, happiness would suffice. By applying Solomon’s thesis to an analysis of Gatsby, we see that this idea of the American dream is an empty pursuit of pleasure that ultimately leaves him in a whirlwind of depression.

F. Scott Fitzgerald is an author known for his best-selling book, The Great Gatsby. The story is about a man, Jay Gatsby, who was in love with Daisy Buchanan. Daisy was married to Tom, but Tom was cheating on her with Myrtle Wilson. There were two islands the story took place in: East Egg and West Egg. East Egg was the “old money,” or money passed down from ancestors, while West Egg represented the “new money,” or self- made money. Fitzgerald used multiple types of symbolism in his book, and his symbolism helped the reader understand the plot. The novel is read throughout schools to teach symbolism. The book can be described as “[…] satisfying as entertainment, thought provoking as a study, and increasingly rewarding the more closely it is examined.” (Koster). A frequently used type of symbolism in The Great Gatsby was color. The colors symbolized in the book were white, green, yellow, blue, gold, and gray.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald show us how powerful money is, ever more than love. The History setting is around the 1920’s, one of the main characters is named Nick Carraway, he is he is portraying a series of events were love, hate, power played a great deal of importance and led to the passing of a men he closely knew, his name was Jay Gatsby. Daisy was Gatsby’s doom he gave everithing for her, shockingly for him his affection was no match against Daisy’s greed for a comfortable lifestyle and social stature. “Her voice is full of money,’ he said suddenly” (128).

In this passage, I presume that Nick is indeed the author of this narrative. When Nick is invited to Gatsby’s party he distinctly felt special as being one of the few who were invited. The author’s description of the party scene is specified in great detail that shows that he is very sharp-eyed. The authors observation of his view of the scenery is apparent in the second line, “In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the stars.” The exposition of the moth focuses on imagery which is relevant to compare the men and girls to moths because they have no reason to wander around, they just do unsolicited.

“A piece of writing may start off life as history or philosophy and then come to be ranked as literature; or it may start off as literature and then come to be valued for its archaeological significance” (Eagleton 7). As British philosopher, Terry Eagleton, eloquently explains, literature and history are deeply intertwined. Literature is heavily influenced by the history it is surrounded by; this sphere of influence includes prominent leaders, religions, wars, revolutions, and much more. Many classics show the influence of well-known historical events of their time period such as: 1984 by George Orwell which was influenced by the spread of communism and totalitarian governments, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald influenced by the roaring 1920s, and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird influenced by the racial inequalities prevalent in America. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein can be added to this list as well. Frankenstein was influenced by the search for knowledge, loss of innocence, and romantic heroes both in history and literature of the Romantic period of 1798 through 1832; these same topics that influenced Shelley and other Romantic writers, influence the contemporary society and literature.

What is intertextuality? Intertextuality is a word that introduced by Julia Kristeva, a philosopher, literary critic, feminist and a novelist. Kristeva defined Intertextuality as a “mosaic of quotation”, which means that all texts that are derived from the natural process and transformation of other type of content (Martin, 2011). It is also called referencing an original idea that has previously been produced. In essence, it is to take an original work of art and turn it into a whole new idea or artistic style. The following essay will explore of how intertextuality is used in Baz Lurhmann’s “The Great Gatsby”.