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The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Decent Essays

Fitzgerald’s novel, ‘The Great Gatsby’, centres on the society of “moths” and the post war generation of the 1920s. Fitzgerald explores how the immorality of his characters during this period leads to the sorrow that is present in their lives, influenced by this new and exciting Jazz Age. In addition, Waugh uses his novel ‘Vile Bodies’, to explore the same immoral generation of the “Bright Young Things” and links their lifestyle, like Fitzgerald, to the cause of sorrow and human frailty that is at the heart of both narratives.
Facades are a central element of ‘The Great Gatsby’ as they are used by a number of characters as a weapon to conceal their sorrow. Arguably, one may say that Gatsby’s entire life is a facade. It can be argued that “He chose to become someone new, someone unfettered by his past...” (The Daily Beacon). Gatsby’s facade is used as a form of escapism from reality – a reality which causes him sorrow which he wants to forget. Through describing Gatsby’s parents as “shiftless” and “unsuccessful”, Fitzgerald suggests to the reader that Gatsby was hoping for a life that was distant and beyond the reality of poverty his parents may have faced in the world, signifying why Gatsby may have been drawn to his “green light”. Moreover, Fitzgerald tells us that “his heart was in a constant, turbulent riot,” which suggests an internal conflict and unhappiness existing inside of him. The noun “riot” conflicts with the “majestic hand” of Gatsby that we see through

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