The Tragic Heroes Of The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Since American literature’s emergence, the American dream has become a conceptual ideal for many people throughout history. Although the dream has its own distinct aspects throughout different time periods, it predominantly focuses on the foundations of wealth, success and a desire for something greater. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s fiction novel, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby, the protagonist, is primarily known for the numerous lavish parties he throws each weekend at his ostentatious mansion in West Egg in an attempt to reunite with Daisy Buchanan, a woman he falls in love with prior to entering the war before the Roaring Twenties. However, he is seized with an impotent realization on the fact that his wealth cannot afford him the same privileges as others that are born into the upper echelon. Gatsby is completely blinded from his opulent possessions until he becomes oblivious of the fact that money cannot buy love or happiness. Throughout the story, the predilection for materialistic features causes many characters to lose sight of their aspirations, demonstrating how a dream can become easily corrupt by one’s focus on acquiring wealth and power.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald tells the tragic story of two star-crossed lovers. Fitzgerald uses the Roaring Twenties as the setting of this novel. The twenties were a time of promiscuity, new money, and a significant amount of illegal alcohol. Fitzgerald was a master of his craft and there was often more to the story than just the basic plot. He could intertwine political messages and a gripping story flawlessly. In the case of The Great Gatsby, he not only chronicles a love story, but also uses the opportunity to express his opinion on topics such as moral decay, crass materialism, individual ethics, and the American dream.

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.

  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.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby chronicles Jay Gatsby’s ill-fated attempt to recreate a lost love from his past. Through single-minded focus, he transforms himself from penniless James Gatz of Minnesota to the wealthy and mysterious Jay Gatsby of West Egg, New York. Despite the fact that Daisy Buchanan, Gatsby’s lost lover, has come to terms with their separation, Gatsby maintains his firm belief in the notion of rebirth, convinced he can recreate the past. Furthermore, the novel serves as Fitzgerald’s personal introspection, voicing his own desire for renewal in the search for his identity. Therefore, a central theme in the novel is rebirth, exemplified by the actions and motivations of Gatsby and Fitzgerald’s examination of his own life.

Money, commonly associated with happiness and success, is deceiving because it doesn 't necessarily breed enjoyment at all. Lorraine Hansberry 's A Raisin in the Sun and F. Scott Fitzgerald 's The Great Gatsby examine the difference between wealth and appreciation of life. Lorraine Hansberry explains this with Walter, a negro father in a poor family who seeks more money than is realistic to bring happiness into the family. Fitzgerald uses the character Jay Gatsby to show that wealth doesn 't imply success or happiness. Both characters occupy strikingly different roles in their stories, yet decently portray money 's impact on life. In The Great Gatsby and Raisin in the Sun, wealth is made to seem as the key to happiness, but, in essence,

Sybil Isabel Dorsett, a shy, twenty-two-year-old substitute teacher, became an interesting case, when the Sybil came into a mental health facility complaining of severe memory loss that resulted in unknown store bought items, “waking up,” in strange place, and severe social anxiety that again resulted in a loss of time, and memory, blackouts, and emotional breakdowns, in public places. What was first thought to be hysteria, turned into another problem, after experiencing some of the patients, “hysteria.” Born, and raised in the suburbs of Dodge Center, Minnesota, to a very successful and well respected carpenter, and architect, Walter Mason, and an often described as, “bizarre,” stay-at-home mother, Martha “Mattie” Atkinson. Sybil seemed to have the all-American family, but reports sexual abuse at the hands of her well-respected mother, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia years before Sybil was born. A much respected art teacher at Columbia university, Sybil often teaches art classes to university students.

To certain people, Gatsby’s death was a cruel and surprising conclusion to The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. But there is still some mystery around the cause of Gatsby’s death. Upon meeting Gatsby for the first time, one can tell that he has an obsession centered around Daisy Buchanan, his old love, and was dead set on getting her back. Gatsby’s obsession with repeating the past is responsible for his death and Gatsby’s greed put him in a grave. Further into the novel, it is revealed that Gatsby made his abundant fortune on illegal business and trades that were outlawed in the 1920’s. Gatsby’s death could be caused by either his love for Daisy or from his inner need for more. Roger Lewis makes the

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.

Ever since the formation of America, cultural values and ideals have been strongly centered on the belief that any man, no matter his initial station in life, can achieve greatness and prosperity, should he be willing to work hard and have initiative. Americans had trust in the idea that they would find a certain level of success, as long as the aforementioned traits were put into practice; no prerequisites were required to obtain these goals, and all people had a chance to better their situation. However, this long held belief was put into question in the aftermath of the First World War; millions of soldiers and civilians were killed, advanced methods of warfare destroyed homes and cities, and the

F. Scott Fitzgerald uses Nick in The Great Gatsby to develop a new view of the American dream by exploring the illusion of unending pleasure that it seems to provide. At first glance the American dream promised success and wealth that was almost limitless. An era characterized by extravagant parties and displays of wealth was built on an illusion that it would continue without end. Soon, people lost track of the work that got them there and began to be concerned more about the display of wealth than actually having it. This began to lead to an illusion of wealth built upon a materialistic view of society. The materialistic illusion began to be eroded upon despite attempts to stifle the advances of nature (“PROSPERITY”). This controversy

“How could you?” she exclaims, despairingly. Her eyes begin to well as she turns away and storms off, her heart sagging in heartbreak and anguish. She hides herself in the collar of her coat, embarrassed and humiliated.

A life of luxury requires an arduous journey of dedication to achieve it. To embody the American Dream, one must strive to succeed. However, some may go too far in the process, and make irreversible decisions. This dream of copious amounts of wealth causes multiple characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s well-known novel The Great Gatsby to perish from selfishness. Based in the roaring twenties, also known as the jazz age, Fitzgerald sheds light on a major problem in society. Since a poor farm boy in North Dakota, to a rich gangster in New York, Jay Gatsby has been in pursuit of the American Dream. This dream lead Gatsby to believe that money and wealthy can buy anything, even happiness and love; ultimately leading to his downfall. Daisy Buchanan, who also believed in the American Dream, wished to marry Gatsby, however she could not due to the immense differences between economic and social class. By becoming a gangster, Gatsby achieved an equal wealth status; however this banished him to a life with a tainted past. The green light on Daisy’s dock was Gatsby’s only way to hang onto his goal. To clear his past and attain the ideal American Dream social status, Gatsby tried to woe Daisy into marrying him, believing his money alone would be enough to win her love. F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates how the American Dream causes destruction and corruption in society.

“Life is essentially a cheat, and its conditions are those of defeat; the redeeming features are not those of happiness and pleasure, but the deeper satisfactions that come out of a struggle.”

The iconic novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, utilizes multiple songs throughout the story. “Fitzgerald’s wok has become automatically identified with an American decade: The Jazz Age (which he named) or the Roaring Twenties or The Boom.” (Fitzgerald, IX). The Twenties was a time full of exploration of alcohol and music and the move from small farms into large cities. “Since The Great Gatsby is the defining novel of the Twenties, which have become trivialized and vulgarized by people… it was necessary and useful to provide a corrective assessment of that era and Fitzgerald’s response to it” (XI). I personally believe Fitzgerald did just that. The development of Jay Gatsby’s character is all about rebirth and reinvigorating yourself; even if these developments are canards. Nonetheless, the tale of revival is a parallel belief echoed throughout the 1920s and the novel. The Roaring Twenties were a period “of possibilities and aspirations” (X) which is an influential theme in The Great Gatsby. “In ‘Echoes of the Jazz Age’ he wrote: ‘It was an age of miracles, it was an age of art, it was an age of excess, and it was an age of satire’” (X). During a stage of such metamorphosis, one element survives Jay’s coherent love for Daisy. This American classic of romantic literature collaborates beautifully with a playlist of Jazz songs. Also, Fitzgerald regularly mentions songs in the book. F.