The analysis of the text -May Day- by F. S. Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald is in many ways one of the most notable writers of the twentieth century. His prodigious literary voice and style provides remarkable insight into the lifestyles of the rich and famous, as well as himself. Exploring themes such as disillusionment, coming of age, and the corruption of the American Dream, Fitzgerald based most of his subject matter on his own despicable, tragic life experiences. Although he was thought to be the trumpeter of the Jazz Age, he never directly identified himself with it and was adverse to many of its manifestations.

A person is defined by their charac…… Nose? Did you ever think that noses could be used more than just smelling. Well, as Fitzgerald depicts the rigid social structure that is carefully maintained in 1920’s America, despite the dream of equality and social mobility, he uses the appearance of noses, some pert, to indicate the social class of the bearer, and to reinforce the difficulty of changing classes.

F Scott Fitzgerald was one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. Although his last finished work was more than 60 years ago, today they are enjoyed with more enthusiasm and acclaim than they were when they were written. His works are cited as an influence for many other authors. Fitzgerald saw his writing as a reflection of his own life. His works are closely based on his experiences at Princeton, in World War 1 and his love life. Although he was not overly popular at the time of his death, today, he is regarded as one of the best authors of the modern era.

In conclusion, Fitzgerald uses this tragic story to express his feeling about the American Dream of the American people during the 1920's. The characters in the novel are being used to reflect the gradual demoralization of the people in the society. Every person living in this

In today’s society, people are judged by their values or are frightened to take sacrifices to better benefit their lifestyle. Characters like Gatsby, Tom, Daisy and Myrtle are shown as evidence of greed and how wealth surrounds their values. Fitzgerald uses social commentary to offer a glance of an American life in the 1920s. He carefully sets up his novel into distinct groups, but in the end, each group has its own problems to contend with, leaving powerful ideas for readers to adapt(add morals characters inhabit). By creating distinct social classes, old money, new money, and no money, Fitzgerald sends strong messages about the elitism running throughout every perspective of society. F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays characters like Nick,

In this quote Fitzgerald illustrates the crucial contrast between the rich and poor when George Wilson, a resident of the Valley of Ashes, confronts Tom Buchannan about the car he is interested in. In reality does Tom need the car? No; nevertheless he goes out of his way to assert his superiority over the lower social class when he essentially makes George take back his comment. During the roaring twenties there was an enormous dissimilarity between the miserable struggles of the poor and the trouble free rich. It became impossible to reach this unrealistic goal of immense wealth when they couldn’t get out of the poverty stricken town they inhibit. Fitzgerald distinctly highlights this when George and his wife, Myrtle, finally have to opportunity to leave the desolate setting and she is killed. “’I’ve got my wife locked up in there,’ explained Wilson calmly. ‘She’s going to stay there till the day after tomorrow, and then we’re going to move away.’[…] A moment later she rushed out into the dusk, waving her hands and shouting – before he could move from his

Throughout his novel Fitzgerald shows the reader that love is essential to a fully functioning relationship through portraying the failure of relationships based on materialism. All the major relationships presented in the novel were doomed to an extent based on differences in social class/status and obsession with wealth and success. The overriding theme of moral decay in America of the 1920’s determined the nature of society and its relationships, most of which were doomed to

One of the most important themes in the novel is the important of class. Fitzgerald makes it evident that the social classes are divided by the setting, the possessions thy have and how that certain individual interacts and behaves with other people. This is shown by Fitzgerald uses powerful adjectives and verbs to portray to the reader what that character is like. I am looking at the importance of class as this is the reason for the differences in the characters.

To begin, it is pertinent to examine the conditions of the working class poor to which Fitzgerald is comparing his gang of upper crust personalities. This group of individuals is headlined by everyman George Wilson, the owner of an automotive repair shop in the Valley of Ashes. The Valley of Ashes is a stretch of land between the Eggs and New York City that is barren and filthy. “A fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (23). This desolate place is the home of the labor force that powers the industrial endeavors throughout the New York City area. This is an excellent example of how Fitzgerald uses setting to convey his perception of the class struggle. The men and women in

During the roaring twenties, the United States was a blemished nation. Crime and corruption were at an all-time high, the bootlegging business was booming, and throughout all this, people were euphoric. This time period during the nineteenth and twentieth century was captured by numerous artists, writers, musicians, and entertainers in their attempts to break from traditional values in what is known as modernism. A modernist is in simple terms a rebel. One who dislikes normal conventions and hopes to rewrite and renew societal morals. These artists were rebels with a cause and fought to expose themselves to society. Fitzgerald is an iconic figure in modernism because he skews the perception of reality, rejects the stereotypical traditions, and exposes people’s struggles as the American Dream fades away and proves a nightmare.

Scott Fitzgerald presents a variety of themes, putting the emphasis on the theme of social stratification, providing the audience with a clear image of what the American society was like in the 1920s and how significant it was to be born into a wealthy, white family. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald sublimates certain groups and humiliates the others, through the use of insensitive comments by such characters as Tom Buchanan, in order to show the groups that were marginalized in American society and in the novel itself in the 1920s. The 1920s were the times when the position within the social stratification and stereotypes towards women and African-Americans started to somewhat change, however Fitzgerald's novel shows that it was far from being equal or even from being on its way to equality at all. The marginalized, excluded or silenced group within the text, that the essay focuses on is the African-American race and racism in

The social hierarchy is influenced by the amount of money one owns which determines whether one can attain their dream. By creating apparent social classes within ‘The Great Gatsby’ – old money, new money and no money, Fitzgerald strongly suggests that American society is intensely stigmatised. Daisy, Tom and Jordan represent the elite social class of society where despite their problems and failures they are always protected and immune by their wealth. Tom refers to Gatsby as ‘Mr Nobody from nowhere” and a “common swindler who would have to steal the ring he put on her finger” as he boasts about his hereditary wealth compared to the other distinct elite group of society who acquire their wealth through business deals, which are sometimes corrupt. Although Fitzgerald mainly attacks the rich, by making them look judgemental, superior and selfish, evidently the lower class of society are vulnerable within American society. This is shown where so many, like Myrtle,

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born in a family of a failed business man which caused many moves between Buffalo and Syracuse. (Brucker) After the loss of his father’s job, they were left to move back to St. Paul, Minnesota and live from his mother’s inheritance. (bio.com) F Scott Fitzgerald grew as a very intellectual young boy who published a detective story in his school’s newspaper as a teenager. (bio.com) He was encouraged by his parents, along with educators to continue pursuing a writing career. His dedication of writing soon harmed him when he was put on academic probation as his school work was put aside. He then decided to enroll in the military despite his fears of dying without living his dreams. Upon being commissioned Fitzgerald met a crazed young woman named Zelda, who represents the basis of the desires of the world. Her greed of wealth, fun, and extravagance soon took a toll upon F. Scott. He became lazy with his writing and instead of devoting himself to novels, he quickly put

Both Fitzgerald and Hemingway were part of what is called the Lost Generation. The Lost Generation was a group of American writes who moved to Europe because they believed that America had lost all hope and could never be fixed. In the “Lost Generation” by Kate O’ Connor, she says that, “The accusation, ‘You are all a lost generation,’ referred to the lack of purpose or drive resulting from the horrific disillusionment felt by those who grew up and lived through the war, and were then in their twenties and thirties. Having seen pointless death on such a huge scale, many lost faith in traditional values like courage, patriotism, and masculinity.” The aftermath caused these ex-pats to write about common themes such as, “Decadence, Gender roles and Impotence, and Idealized past” (O’Connor). As audiences read stories written during the twentieth century, they will be able to see these themes.

The Great Gatsby presents different social groups to embody and transmit the idea that each class has it’s own problems to prevail over and unhappiness transcends over all the social classes. The problems in each group, despite the social stratification, reveal the instability of the world they live in. The three classes are old money, new money, and no money in which all three believe their own rules of survival in society and enforce boundaries between social classes. Fitzgerald uses the similarities between the poor and the rich to reinforce his opinion and his characterization of the upper class.