Theme Of Alcohol In The Great Gatsby

Authors who are addicts use their writing in many ways to reveal their thoughts and feelings of their addictions. Fitzgerald is an example of these people as even claiming to have “not tasted so much as a glass of beer for six months,” (“America’s Drunkest Writer”). This is most likely false as this was during his lowest times and when he would often be in denial that he was drinking. In Fitzgerald's writing, The Great Gatsby, the Owl-Eyed man says “I’ve been drunk for a week now, and I thought it might sober me up to sit in a library”(50). This is similar to the way that Fitzgerald would often go and be drunk for long periods of time and say that he attempted to be sober. In the end, Fitzgerald never had a book like, The Great Gatsby, as he would often

True love is seen through a relationship of two people. Love exists when two people give all their trust, loyalty, and support to one another. Now imagine finding out all of the love and loyalty was false? Betraying a loved one can make someone capable of things they didn’t even know they were capable of. Betrayal is the breaking of a trust that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongst individuals. In The Great Gatsby, characters pursue in the action of having an affair and the result of betraying their loved ones. In the book, The Great Gatsby, the concept of true love is portrayed in a way that negatively affects the characters.

Fitzgerald writes a story with a character that is considered “larger than life”; he throws massive parties, is in love with a married woman, is rich and goes by the name of Jay Gatsby. Nick is the narrator who is sees a different side of Gatsby that sees him “great” aside from his wealth and corruption. Nick grew up in the Jazz age and it was replaced with the vitality, and favor of the artificial American dream. Gatsby’s life was full of winnings along with failures that followed him into death throughout the novel; never the less he achieves a form of “greatness” because of his morality in Nick’s perspective.

For America, the 1920’s was a time of economic prosperity, and political and social changes. The growth of cities, consumer buying, and fashion changes were some of the key changes and developments during this time. Everyone wanted to achieve the American Dream. They were to achieve this dream no matter what they had to go through, whether it be illegal or not. The Temperance Movement took place during this era and many citizens were upset with the government and disagreed with the prohibition. The Temperance Movement was the prohibition of alcohol by the government. It banned the buying, selling and the consumption of any type of alcohol. Many women began to abandon the long and conservative dresses; They wore short, revealing dresses with long necklaces and they had the classic bobbed hairstyle. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is about the relationships between the main characters: Nick Carraway, Daisy and Tom Buchanan, and Jay Gatsby. It is set in New York during the “Roaring 20s”. The Great Gatsby incorporated the aspects of the 1920s by including the effects of the idea of American Dream, the rich and careless lives of its citizens during the Temperance movements and the emergence of women’s more sexual and independent in society.

Gatsby’s character is portrayed by Fitzgerald as a tragic hero, as he exhibits many of the same traits. Gatsby, within the realm of the novel is an extremely wealthy man and his wealth translates into high prestige and social status in a society that is separated by wealth and money. Gatsby’s parties are wild and extravagant events where “on the buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors d’oeuvre, spiced baked hams, crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched to a dark gold.”(26 Fitzgerald). His parties exemplify his wealth and prestige in the community making him seem like royalty. This noble stature is his first tragic

Near the end of the story, Gatsby is shot by George Wilson who had been misinformed that Gatsby was having an affair with his wife. Then, the killer proceeded to take his own life with the same gun that he killed Jay Gatsby with. Clearly he was not okay; he was psychotic due to the fact that his wife had been killed and had also been cheating on him. Another way that mental issues are in The Great Gatsby is that F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda Fitzgerald, both struggled with mental illness. His wife Zelda was stricken with schizophrenia in 1930 and Fitzgerald was an alcoholic. F. Scott Fitzgerald portrayed this through his writing. Fitzgerald’s alcoholism in The Great Gatsby is shown through the characters frequently having drinks, specifically the main character, Nick Caraway. Several instances within the story include Nick being so drunk that he cannot describe a situation as affluently as he normally would, and perhaps Fitzgerald was expressing how he felt when he, himself, was drunk. Either way, it was a problem, although it harmed him physically, Fitzgerald was an alcoholic due to his own mind. Although it’s unclear if he had some specific mental illness, usually addictions such as alcohol and smoking contribute and are caused because of

The book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald has been read in schools for decades. The experience is different for everyone. Some may love this book while others just purely hate it. I have to say I am in between loving and hating this book. I do like the look into the lives of the rich of the 1920s and I did enjoy the overall story. However the cheating I wasn’t fond of. I do understand that is what happens with the rich so I do enjoy the fact that it historically accurate. Another topic that I will touch upon is the drunkenness and reckless driving portrayed, quite accurately, for this time period.

Throughout American literature, character have had secret meanings and have flaws that prove to mean something in the great scheme of things. The story eventually revealed the flaws characters have and the other characters it affects. In The Great Gatsby, an American novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, characters hold greater purposes than they appear, put on a show to fool others and contain flaws that prove to be fatal. The majority of characters in this novel have great potential yet seem to fall short when pertaining to their life. These characters lives are affected by their poor choices focused on parties and lavish pleasures. The flaws the characters hold prove to end in an unavoidable result that does not bode well for their lives.

Fitzgerald’s portrayal alcohol as a shield from pain and suffering serves as a counterpoint to the prohibitionist argument that alcohol is an ineffective way to escape the troubles of life. When Nick arrives at Gatsby’s party he asks several guests about Gatsby’s whereabouts. He realizes that this is, at Gatsby’s party, an embarrassing faux pas. His first reaction to this humiliation is “to get roaring drunk from sheer embarrassment” (Fitzgerald, 42). Fitzgerald repeatedly shows us that, in response to any sort of embarrassment or loss, drunkenness can be a default option for coping. Alcohol, in The Great Gatsby, can help ward off the troubles of life. When Myrtle is hit and killed, Catherine, her sister, decides to break her rule against drinking. When Daisy receives a deeply upsetting letter (presumably from Gatsby) before her wedding, she turns to liquor to shield her from the pain. “‘Gratulate me,’ she muttered. ‘Never had a drink before, but oh

People can be oblivious, lacking a general concern for what occurs, creating an unknowingly selfish image for oneself building uneasiness in the development of life. F. Scott Fitzgerald shows this impact with a selfish and inattentive character, Jay Gatsby, in the novel, The Great Gatsby. Gatsby attempts to revitalize his past with Daisy yet fails as a result of his self-centered attitude. Fitzgerald depicts this through his egotistical values when he does not consider how his decisions impact the people 's lives around him, especially Daisy; consequently he falls oblivious to other 's realities intervening with his dreams, fabricating an insensitive character. Gatsby acts egotistical due to his relentless pursual of recreating the past while remaining blind to her desires in his desire to pursue her, representing his obsessive values to his prize, Daisy.

Alcoholism is a serious disease. It affects all parts of life and can cause serious consequences for the consumer and others around after using it only one time. Consequences of alcohol come from the substance itself and some are due to the effects around others. Alcohol affects the decision making part of the brain called the “Frontal Lobe” leading to bad decisions. Just like how, in The Great Gatsby, when Daisy was drunk she decided to drive Gatsby’s car and crashed into Myrtle which ended up killing her. Therefore, the production, manufacturing, and sale of alcohol should be prohibited in the United States.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a classic novel that captures the essence of life in America during the 1920s. Fitzgerald uses techniques and conventions of characterization, setting, symbolism, plot and tone to make timeless comments on the context of this text. comments include the idea that during the 1920s wealth caused the upper class to have destructive power, the working class struggled and suffered under illusion of affluence, there is no escaping society’s rigid social classes and that consumerism causes people to be selfish and act only out of self-interest.

As Jones summed up on a BBS response, "The certainly love drinking from dawn til dawn" (Jones 1160). In comparison, many of the characters of The Great Gatsby drank excessively, keeping in mind the story was set in the United States during prohibition. Jay Gatsby, a bootlegger, threw large, lavish parties at his grand estate during the summer evenings where the alcohol, food and music flowed. Characters such as Tom and Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, Jordan Baker, and Nick Carraway enjoyed parties and drank excessively. Another important parallel to point out under the vice of excessive drinking is the fact that both Hemingway and Fitzgerald drank excessively. Their excessive drinking behaviors caused their writing to suffer (McDowell 91).

Initially, Gatsby's actions on Lake Superior highlight both his assertion of control over his life and his endeavor to escape his roots. When a young James Gatz, lounging on the sandy beach of Lake Superior, witnesses Dan Cody's yacht “drop anchor,” he “borrow[s] a row-boat” and “pull[s] out” to the yacht, “inform[ing]” Cody of an imminent storm (Fitzgerald 98).

To make this possible, Gatsby has to secure a high status in society to even be in the same circle as Daisy or even have contact with her. After this, he waits as week after week passes, “half expecting her to wander into one of his parties, some night” (79). Eventually this paid off because one night Tom and Daisy decide to attend one of Gatsby’s celebrations (104). Gatsby now has attained his status as part of his American dream through this, and, in his mind, is closer to achieving the other parts as well. Fitzgerald’s experience during the 1920’s was one of great influence on his life and writing. In relation to the novel, he led a life based on status and shallow relationships, and this was typical of the time period he lived in. The decade of the 1920’s changed the way the typical American’s priorities were ordered. Even Fitzgerald “relied on personality, which depended upon appearance, grooming, gesture” (Lehan 58). The fact that the author lived this kind of lifestyle shows how it influenced his writing including The Great Gatsby. The disillusionment of Gatsby’s dream in the story is caused by these choices and changes that Fitzgerald experienced throughout the 1920’s. In addition, Fitzgerald shared a similar routine as Gatsby as he was a frequent partier and drinker (Brackett 58). This most likely produced the leading role that the image of parties played in the story. Fitzgerald’s