The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

The other characters’ attitudes towards Gatsby's wealth makes everything harder for Gatsby to fulfill his dream of being with Daisy. Tom Buchanan's attitude towards gatsby's wealth was that he was a bootlegger and he made his wealth in organized crime, once Gatsby started seeing Daisy again Tom became curious of how Gatsby made his fortune. This attitude toward his wealth set back the progress that he made with Daisy. "Self-control!" Repeated Tom incredulously. "I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife. Well, if that's the idea you can count me out Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions, and next they'll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white” (Fitzgerald 130). This shows how Tom's attitude toward the wealth causes problems for Gatsby in the story. Also Nick and Jordan had trouble trusting him because they also have no idea how he has so much money and they are very curious on how he did. As you can see the characters’ can greatly affect what happens throughout a narrative.

Throughout of the duration of The Great Gatsby, we notice that a large handful of characters in the novel has been corrupted by greed. F. Scott Fitzgerald had portrayed a unique way of showing how money can control people and the society around them. When reading the novel one can come to the conclusion that money, popularity, and having a good reputation had control over Daisy, Tom, Gatsby, and even Nick.

Greed is not always a bad thing, but when many important decisions rely on money and self-gain, it definitely is. Throughout The Great Gatsby, there is a myriad of actions and decisions that greed has a powerful sway on. One of the most prevalent ones is Daisy’s decision to marry Tom instead of Gatsby. Even though she is deeply in love with Gatsby, she marries Tom because of his stable, affluent financial background. Gatsby even announces this to Tom during a confrontation saying, “She only married you [Tom] because I was poor, and she was tired of waiting for me…in her heart she never loved anyone except me” (Fitzgerald, 2000.) Rather than following her heart and waiting for Gatsby, Daisy selfishly marries Tom just because he is wealthier. In contrast, the characters in The Grapes of Wrath are less worried about money, and more about the well

F. Scott Fitzgerald is mostly known for his images of young, rich, immoral individuals pursuing the American Dream of the 1920’s (Mangum). This image is best portrayed in his greatest novel, The Great Gatsby, alongside his principal themes, “lost hope, the corruption of innocence by money, and the impossibility of recapturing the past” (Witkoski). Fitzgerald was identified as a modern period writer because his themes and topics were inconsistent with traditional writing (Rahn).

The Prince, a philosophical work of literature introduces maxims that have become a part of American Literature from the past to present day. In one of America’s well known classic, The Great Gatsby, a story of the spontaneous Jazz Age filled with power struggles, a materialistic society, and the infamous affairs of the twenties create maxims for a character in the novel. Machiavelli’s maxims have had an impact in many writings and continue throughout this novel. Daisy, the most intriguing and charming character brings the defense, rebellion, and promising traits it takes to become a successful prince.

The theme of money not only plays a huge role in the Great Gatsby but it is also a major force behind the motivation of the characters. Many of the wealthy characters seem to share the belief that money has the power to buy happiness, yet they each differ on what will bring them happiness for some its love, or others acting careless or selfish and to others it is just a perfect life.

“The past is never where you think you left it” (Katherine Anne Porter). People intentionally not willing to leave their past due to the prehistoric memories because the good memory they had. Relevant to Porter’s evince in the novel of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby a guy who cannot leave his past, constantly wanting to change everything back to the past with his former lover Daisy but never succeeds due to people’ desire of meliorate their lives. During this process the novel also reveals that there’s no distinction of careless between people in the 1920’s and the corruption of American Dream. Fitzgerald uses color symbolism to reveal the unfaithful condition of living and the loss of purity also the descended moral

F. Scott Fitzgerald created a masterpiece with a multitude of themes that are prevalent throughout the entirety of The Great Gatsby. The one that shines brighter than the rest is that money and materialism leads to Corruption. Fitzgerald uses many symbols to connect this major theme with the overall tone and characters of the story. Without money the story wouldn’t have started back when Gatsby met Daisy. Without materialism Gatsby wouldn’t have been able to throw the parties to attract Daisy. This major theme is prevalent throughout every chapter of the book.

The Great Gatsby entails of a story of a bright young man, Nick Carraway, who moved to New York City in search of a successful life in the bonds business, but becomes suffocated by the lifestyles of those in wealth and power at the time. As Nick settles himself in a new job and new city, in the only cottage among mansions on West and East Egg, he finds himself neighbor to a mysterious, wealthy man known for his extravagant parties and elusive persona. This neighbor, Jay Gatsby, emerges to be one of the main characters of the novel and the only person in all of New York that Nick can call a friend. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, encompasses the hollowness of the upper class as well as the deterioration of the “American Dream” within the plotline of the lives of Nick, Gatsby, and the Buchanan’s. Because of the themes Fitzgerald created, it prompts people, such as Bruccoli, to make the claim “The Great Gatsby does not proclaim the nobility of the human spirit; it is not politically correct; it does not reveal how to solve the problems of life; it delivers no fashionable or comforting messages. It is just a masterpiece.” While the Great Gatsby is a masterpiece, Bruccoli correctly examines the text in revealing no nobility of the human spirit, no solutions to the problems of life, and it is politically incorrect. However, despite the dismal themes, Fitzgerald does deliver fashionable/comforting messages to the audience. Bruccoli’s claim brings to light the

Is your life revolved around how much money you have, what you can buy, or what you look like? In The Great Gatsby, the lives of the characters are revolved around the importance of money and the materials they own. Tom and Daisy Buchanan are two very important people that let their money control their lives, such as Daisy marrying Tom solely for is money so that she will be provided for her entire life. Gatsby is a prime example of all the wrong reasons of wanting to accomplish the American dream. He wanted to impress Daisy, so he lied and cheated his way to the top in order to prove to her that he was worth it, and now that he has money, he allowed it to take control of him and his true purpose. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald allows the

The desire for social pleasure was rampant in the roaring twenties and in The Great Gatsby. On the surface, Gatsby’s dream appears very materialistic. We’ve just talked about his fancy parties and his flash car. But if Gatsby’s dream was truly material, would he chase after Daisy? If his aim was purely material, he wouldn’t have been such a desperate romantic figure. We’re selling him a bit short here by accusing him of just wanting money. He is unsatisfied with his wealth, and pursues something greater – ‘true love’. Gatsby’s idea of ‘success’ was Daisy. Granted, you and I will agree that Gatsby could have done so much better. In fact, what does Daisy represent? Daisy has a symbolic name, and the way she gleams “in the sunlight” (pg 160) is merely a white façade covering her superficiality. The truth is, she and Tom are “careless people”, they “smash up things…and retreat into their money and carelessness…let other people clean up the mess they’d made” (pg 191). You may think Gatsby’s corrupt. However, clearly Daisy and Tom are the corrupt ones; they think they can do anything and everything, with the social influence and wealth they gained at birth. Daisy exploited Gatsby, his naive desire of “the golden girl” (pg 128), the ‘girl of his dreams’ – or so he believed. Fitzgerald also wanted a girl out of his league; Ginevra (Erbentraut, 2013). Very much like Daisy, Ginevra couldn’t be with Fitzgerald because of she was rich and cool and he

"Never has symbolism played such a crucial part in the very foundation of a novel as it does in Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece, The Great Gatsby." Harold Bloom has written about this book. The author used several types of symbolism in The Great Gatsby. The colours are probably the easiest to be recognized and guessed what they symbolized. According to the definition “symbolism” is "the practice of representing things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationships."

"Greed, as distinguished from honest reward for labor, leads to corruption. To fatten oneself on it is to be compromised."(Lathbury 64). Several characters in The Great Gatsby struggle with their obsessions with wealth. Their lives depend upon their money and what it can do for them. These obsessions lead to greed, and to the corruption of relationships and lives. In F. Scott Fitzgerald 's The Great Gatsby, the obsession with wealth leads to issues for many characters.

In the book, The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby is exemplified through many symbols and idols. Fitzgerald uses cars to represent wealth, success, status, and glamour. As Friedrich Nietzsche states, “There are more idols in the world than there are realities.” Nietzsche’s quote shows how idols and symbols are used to create impressions. Images are powerful and set a stage for others to judge one’s character, enabling human beings to avoid seeing what realities are. Idols are potent enough to mask the truth. In the novel, despite Gatsby 's own insecurities, he is viewed as an idol in society. Idols impact and influence Gatsby’s life and those living around him. Gatsby’s car represents an idol, illustrating his wealth, capturing attention, creating impressions, and covering misconceptions throughout life in the West Egg.

After World War I, America offered the potential for boundless financial and social opportunities for those willing to work hard—an American Dream. The American Dream is defined as someone starting low on the economic or social level, and working hard towards prosperity and or wealth and fame. Establishing fame, becoming wealthy, having lavish luxuries, and a happy family would come to symbolize this dream. For some, however, striving for and realizing that dream ruined them, as many acquired wealth only to pursue pleasure. Even though the characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby appear to relish the freedom of the 1920s, their lives demonstrate the emptiness that results when wealth and pleasure become ends in themselves. Specifically, the empty lives of three characters from this novel— George Wilson, Jay Gatsby, and Daisy Buchanan—show that chasing hollow dreams results only in misery.