The Great Gatsby: A Bleak Perspective On American Society

“... it is a story about failure and death, an idealistic quest for unworthy goals, and the almost total collapse of the aspirations of nearly all of the principal characters” (Nagel 113). The Great Gatsby is a story that represents people’s unachieved aspirations that lead to a sad existence and ultimately death. They are all trying to attain one thing, the American Dream. The American Dream is almost impossible to attain and that is why a lot of people failed when it came to living out the American Dream. In Fitzgerald’s, “The Great Gatsby”, Gatsby tries to attain the American Dream through Daisy throughout the whole novel but fails and is left heartbroken.

In the eye opening novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there are many arguments based on society that the author was trying to make through his use of characterization. The dark novel is about love, expectations, disappointments, false hopes, and an overall look on what the narrator, Nick Carraway, experiences in the summer of 1922, spent in the town of West Egg. There were various amounts of arguments about society that were displayed by Fitzgerald throughout many different characters based upon their lifestyles and personality. However, Search for Perfection and Illusion vs. Reality are the two most important arguments about society that Fitzgerald made throughout the characterization of Jay Gatsby.

In any great novel, an understanding of the era in which the story is set can lead to a deeper appreciation of the author’s themes and characters. For example, the themes that preoccupied F. Scott Fitzgerald, issues of social class, the dynamics of prohibition, and the culture of excessive consumption, would be difficult to convey on their own. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the social, political, and moral environment of America in the 1920s sheds greater light on the otherwise complex forces that drive the characters in The Great Gatsby.

Tom has been controlled by wealth ever since he was born into a rich family. Tom and Daisy’s negligence is what eradicates their morality. Their view of life is absurd which causes their foolish actions. Money is their leverage against society and the world. Tom also continues to show his licentiousness through his affair with Myrtle. When Tom and Myrtle first exchanged looks at the garage, Myrtle “walked through her husband as if he were a ghost, shook hands with Tom, looking him flush in the eye” (Fitzgerald 26). Tom then says, “I want to see you. Get on the next train” (Fitzgerald 26). Being already married to Daisy, Tom still decides to have relationships with other women, clearly indicating the his indecency. He acts as if what he is doing is acceptable because his possession of money provides him a sense of self-conceit. The upper class assumes that since they have money, they are able to do anything they want, whether it is ethical or not. Based on the events in East Egg, Fitzgerald is able to explicitly stress how wealth is one of the factors that intensifies moral decay in society.

Many novels are written as a means of scrutinising the details and flaws of a specific society. The author’s purpose is to use the novel as a lens through which they can offer their own critical perception. The highly praised novel The Great Gatsby provides such a view into 1920s America, an era which was often described as the “Jazz Age” or the “Roaring 20s,” mainly due to the +and carefree nature of the wealthy. This higher class, who were essentially safeguarded by their money, lived life as if it was an endless party. It is this particular group that F. Scott Fitzgerald mainly targets when providing his criticism

Without using depth of thought, The Great Gatsby is essentially a love story of the impossible forbidden desire between a woman and a man. The primary theme of the novel, however, shows off a much larger, less romantic scope of the novel. Though most of its primary plot takes place over simply a few short months through 1922’s summer, and is set in a small area in relative proximity to Long Island, New York, The Great Gatsby is a a view on the 1920’s in America, and uses a lot of varied symbolism with it, in particular the loss and dismemberment of the American dream in an era literally named after the amount of wealth and industry it produced in material excess. Fitzgerald is able to showcase the 1920s as an era of dying social and moral values, evidenced in its overwhelming pessimism, desire, and unfulfilling pursuit of pleasure. The carelessness of the parties and celebrations that led to wild jazz music, exemplified in The Great Gatsby by the opulent parties that Gatsby throws every Saturday night, eventually was created, in the corruption of the American dream, as the rampant desire for wealth and pleasure surpassed more worthwhile ideals.

I think it can symbolize the fact that the wealthy only care for their own issues. It could also show what being poor could get you. 2. While in the valley of ashes, Nick met Tom's mistress. Tom wanted to get off the train to New York to see her.

The 1920’s was an interesting time where social and political ideas were changing; women gained the right to vote, the jazz age created a large popularity in music and dancing, but most importantly, wealth became a new way to express one’s class in a society as people moved from rural areas to cities. The Great Gatsby is a significant example that F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in order to show how one’s wealth can affect the people they meet and the way people treat each other. Along with wealth, this book is about love, both from the past and from the present, that soon twists into a tragedy when Gatsby was killed while protecting the other, all in the name of love. Everything Gatsby did was to impress or protect Daisy because he was deeply

They say that money is “the root of all evil. This novel exemplifies how the characters live for money and are controlled by it. Love and happiness cannot be bought, no matter how much money was spent. Tom and Daisy were married and even had a child, but they both still committed adultery. Daisy was with Gatsby and Tom was with Myrtle. They tried to find happiness with their lovers, but the risk of changing their lifestyles was not worth it. They were not happy with their spouses but could not find happiness with their lovers. Happiness cannot be found or bought. Daisy lost her love and respect for Gatsby when she found out he was a bootlegger. The

The novel “The Great Gatsby” written by F. Scott Fitzgerald tells the story of a group of people living on an imaginary city close to the New York city. the story is more concentrated on the character of Jay Gatsby, a mysterious rich man who making big parties to attract his love, Daisy Buchanan and how is he trying to win her. A deep reading of the novel shows that in addition to the love story, the writer is more concerned to shows the social life and relationships of people in American society in the 1920s. This essay will argue that the writer wanted to show the bleak perspective of American society on that time. In order to show this, the essay will

The Great Gatsby takes place in the heat of the nineteen-twenties where countries, especially the United States, were economically booming after having recovered from World War One. This novel tells the tales of the fabulously rich while acknowledging, in part, the poor, working class who live during this time. In his work, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the characters and their actions in an unexpected fashion. He does not illustrate the triumphs of the twenties in a positive light, but, instead, mocks societal views by portraying them as full of: greed, falseness, and carelessness.

The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, provides a dark and pessimistic outlook into the American life style in 1922. Jay Gatsby, an American wealthy social identity, appears to have it all. But wealth, stature and an extravagant lifestyle seems not to be enough for Gatsby; he still yearns for his old idealistic love Daisy. In an ideal world this has the making of a great love story with a happy ending, but Fitzgerald chose to carry the story as a reflection of the American era the book is set in. An era consumed by appearances and excess and overall pursuit of the American dream.

Social stratification is depicted in the film through the different classes of characters. These characters are in one of three classes; old money, new money, and no money. Tom, Daisy, and Jordan are in the old money class because they have inherited their families’ wealth and status. Gatsby is in the new money class because his family is not inherently wealthy. Myrtle is in the no money class because she does not have status or wealth. The old money class believes themselves to be the elite and the most refined, therefore those in the new money class will never be viewed as their equals because they have not been born with status. In the portrayal of Tom’s affair with Myrtle, he acts as if he is above her because of his social standing. Gatsby asks Daisy why she didn’t wait for him and married Tom. She replies, “Rich girls don’t marry poor boys, Jay Gatsby.” This reinforces the idea that those in the old money class believe themselves to be the elite

It is often said that certain literary works and characters within such works represent real-world issues. In the work The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the character of Gatsby is shrouded in ambiguity to the reader, providing them with a possibility for personal interpretation. In the work, Gatsby’s character develops from a character representing materialism and a fixation on status to one filled with humility and selflessness for his romantic devotion towards the character of Daisy. Through this shift, the reader is provided with insight in order to draw parallels between Gatsby and two distinct periods in American history. The materialistic side of Gatsby, driven by wealth and his status in Long Island, represents the moral corruption and materialistic desires of America in the 1920s, whereas the romantically devoted Gatsby represents wartime America, devoted to sacrifice and nobility. The contrast within the life of Gatsby allows for a profound insight into the significance of the work as a representation of changing American values.

The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald tells us a variety of themes-justice, power and greed, The American dream and so on. The Great Gatsby is regarded as a brilliant piece of social commentary. The Great Gatsby concerns the wasteful lives of four wealthy characters as observed by their acquaintance, narrator Nick Carraway. Like Fitzgerald himself, Nick is from Minnesota, attended an Ivy League university, served in the U.S. Army during World War I, moved to New York after the war. The narrator, Nick, is a very clever and well spoken storyteller. Nick confides with the reader in the first pages of the novel. He says that he needs to tell the story of a man called Gatsby. It is as if Nick has to overcome disappointment and frustration with a man who has left him with painful memories. This thesis is valid for three main reasons. First, it is evident that dreams and memories are central to the overall plot and meaning. Secondly, the American Dream is a “green light” of desire that Gatsby never stops yearning for and something he will not forget over time, even as he is dying. This is so, even though no one cares about Gatsby or his dreams after he died, except maybe Nick. Finally, the fact that Fitzgerald uses flashback; that Nick is telling us about a main character after he has already died and before the story begins, is ultimate proof.The Great Gatsby is structured by Nick’s memory. Fitzgerald’s clever use of flashback throughout and within the