The Great Gatsby was a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The book is told in the form of a narration and follows the life of the newly rich and the old rich in the 1920s. the main character of the book is a mysterious man named Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is an interesting character that seems to have a lot of hidden secrets; Jay Gatsby always seems to keep the readers of the novel guessing. Though we are not introduced to the great character that the book was named after at the beginning of the book when we do eventually meet Jay Gatsby, he was well worth the wait. The book is called The Great Gatsby but what exactly does make Jay Gatsby as great as he is rumored to be.
Daisy is a perfect example to illustrate this attitude. When Gatsby leaves Daisy, she promises to wait for him, but she breaks her own promise and marries Tom Buchanan whose “family were enormously wealthy—even in college his freedom with money was a matter for reproach” so as to stabilize her status in the upper class society (Fitzgerald 8). She is a superficial, sardonic and beautiful woman with “an absurd, charming little laugh” who knows how to make full use of her advantages to improve her own life (Fitzgerald 11). She is “warm, feverish, thrilling, intoxicating—a siren, an enchantress, a blossoming flower” who draws the attention of everyone (Baker). With the support from her family, she betrays Gatsby and marries Tom Buchannan not out of love but out of realistic concern. However, when Gatsby comes back as a mysterious millionaire with a lavish lifestyle, Daisy falls for him again. According to Daisy, the reunion with Gatsby is miserable not only because of the rekindled flame between the two past lovers, but also because Gatsby now has the upper-class lifestyle she yearns for, yet she is not with him (Gam). Her love is based on his attraction which comes not from Gatsby himself but from his money and material luxury. People around her gradually
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald is the author of the twentieth century American classic, The Great Gatsby. It is a story of the American dream, settled down in the 1920’s, with issues of the time period being, prohibition, women, class structure, crime, and many more, The Great Gatsby has a taste of each. Fitzgerald incorporated subjects of his time and his very own experiences into the story to portray an era of social and moral values. The 1920’s were a time of breaking morals Class structure and wealth were among the highest pleasures achievable. The 20’s were an era of Jazz; with extravagant music playing throughout all hours of the night. Not only men went to fancy parties, but women as well were invited, sometimes appearing to have no company. Times were changing for women, for they could go out on their own and dress spontaneously. In many occasions throughout the book we get sights of the characters drinking, another big boom of this era; we know that prohibition was an enormous debate about this time as people began to drink more (Fitzgerald). All of this ties together, because Fitzgerald’s vision of the American dream was about discovery, individualism, and the pursuit of happiness. Were his works for the characters of his book and his readers, or for himself? It is believed that Fitzgerald incorporated his life situations and emotions into his stories.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, characters have very distinct identities that develop throughout the book and many inferences are needed to understand the characters. One example of this is Daisy Buchanan. Daisy Buchanan cares greatly about wealth and is a very careless person. Throughout the novel, many of her decisions are due to her greed and carelessness, even though those decisions may not be the best decisions for her.
Gatsby’s dreams and aspirations in life are rather interesting and amazing as he goes about his life in the book. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald helps highlight the social, moral, and political issue that were very present during the 1920’s and today. Gatsby is the focus of the book as before the book began, he was an ex-soldier who came to wealth by some rather illegal ways. Daisy a married woman is his person of interest, who was his ex-lover 5 years before the book started. Gatsby’s actions, and words demonstrate a clear obsession with Daisy that seems to have no end.
The Great Gatsby is an American novel written by Scott Fitzgerald. On the surface, the book revolves around the concept of romance, the love between two individuals. However, the novel incorporates less of a romantic scope and rather focuses on the theme of the American Dream in the 1920s. Fitzgerald depicts the 1920’s as an era of decline in moral values. The strong desire for luxurious pleasure and money ultimately corrupts the American dream which was originally about individualism. As a result, S. Fitzgerald portrays the corruption during this era by creating a novel infused with lies and deception.
In a book about a tragic love story, one would not expect to find a deeper meaning behind the dangers of jealousy or peril of lust. However, in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there is a deeper meaning beyond jealousy and love. In The Great Gatsby, the author uses an empathetic storyline as a symbol to unwittingly give a complex depiction of the nuisance that people create that not only destroy our world but our society and gives warning to what will occur if we continue the path of destruction. With this intention, the brilliant opinionated writer, expressed his opinion through symbols such as the characters he uses, the setting the story takes place in, and the objects he uses in the book.
Jay Gatsby, the title character of the novel “The Great Gatsby” is a man that can not seem to live without the love of his life. Trying to win Daisy over consumes Gatsby’s life as he tries to become the person he thinks she would approve of. What most readers do not realize is that Jay Gatsby’s character mirrors many personality traits and concerns that the author of novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald, had. In fact, Gatsby and Fitzgerald are similar in that they both had a girl they wanted to win over, took a strong stance on alcohol, and ironically both had similar funerals, also, both people also symbolize the American dream.
In The Great Gatsby, we learn more and more about the characters, Gatsby and Nick, as the story unravels deeper. Although these characters seem to have many differences, they have more in common than recognized. Throughout the novel, we see some corresponding traits between Gatsby and Nick. Despite these two having somewhat indistinguishable attitudes towards women and desires, they differ in their class, and their outlook and temperament.
“And what's more, I love Daisy too. Once in a while I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time” (Fitzgerald 138). These words, spoken by Tom Buchanan in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Great Gatsby, exemplify the personality traits that are omnipresent throughout the novel. Tom is Daisy Buchanan’s husband whom she marries after her first love, Jay Gatsby, leaves for the war. Gatsby later tries to reconnect with Daisy, much to the dismay of Tom. Fitzgerald utilizes the characters of Gatsby and Tom to create parallels and highlight certain characteristics in both men. Tom and Gatsby are similar in that they both are very wealthy and love Daisy, each in their own way. While they share this similarity, there are a myriad of differences between the two. Tom is a racist, is part of the old money society, and does not face judgement for his actions. Gatsby has criminal wrongs rather than moral wrongs, is part of the new money society and dies as a result of his actions. In addition, Gatsby made his fortune through illegal activities, while Tom inherited his wealth through his
The Great Gatsby is written by Francis Scott Fitzgerald who is the most famous chronicler of America in 1920s, an era that he dubbed “the Jazz Age.” The book reveals the disillusion of American dream through the love story between Gatsby and Daisy. In this book, what Gatsby cared about was only Daisy, and even he died for Daisy. It seems that Gatsby loves Daisy very much. However, does Gatsby really love Daisy or just love the image that Daisy stands for? This paper focuses on the question by analyzing the image of Gatsby and Daisy deeply and finally gets an answer that Gatsby only cared about his dream and Daisy was a part of his dream, that’s why he cared about Daisy so much.
As American business man, Richard M. Devos, once said, “Money cannot buy peace of mind. It cannot heal ruptured relationships, or build meaning into a life that has none.” In the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott, Fitzgerald, Daisy, an elite socialite, is blinded by dollar signs and makes multiple decisions based on class, ultimately leading to the destruction of those who she claims to love, and without a doubt love and idolize her. Jay Gatsby has been in love with Daisy for five years, and supposedly she is with him, but she’s too impatient to wait for Gatsby while he is at war and decides to marry an arrogant, racist, and rude former college football star, Tom Buchanan, for money. Daisy is a self-absorbed, vacuous socialite whose decisions lead to the destruction of Gatsby.
While Tom was part of an upper-class family, Gatsby was not. Gatsby's parents were “shiftless and unsuccessful farm people…”(Fitzgerald 104). However, Gatsby did not let that hinder him. Both men are affluent, yet Gatsby is a self made man. He came from nothing and with hard work he earned all that he had. Although he did have some “immoral” jobs to get to where he is, Gatsby is a symbol of a naïve man who is hopeless for love. He basically goes through all the trouble to be with Daisy. Tom on the other hand is “enormously wealthy- even in college his freedom with money was a matter for reproach” (Fitzgerald 10). Tom inherited his money; he never had to make it. That is why Tom is full of arrogance, he believes he is worthy of everything. He believes he is better than all other men, “there was a touch of paternal contempt even towards the people he liked” (Fitzgerald 11). Jay on the other hand, knew what it was like to be on the bottom of the social ladder. In spite of his
"The Great Gatsby" is an outstanding piece of classic American literature. F. Scott Fitzgerald discusses the issues on-post-war society, the American dream, love, and wealth. This draws attention to the readers that question if Jay Gatsby is "Great". Despite the uselessness of his beginnings, Gatsby is great due to the intensity of his will. Although, Gatsby is a person whose false love, materialism, and egotism led him to the tragic end.
F. Scott Fitzgerald, Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald in full, (born September 24, 1896, St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.—died December 21, 1940, Hollywood, California), was an American short-story writer and novelist famous for his depictions of the Jazz Age (the 1920s), with his most famous novel being The Great Gatsby (1925). His wife, Zelda, was his muse and her likeness is prominently featured in his works including This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and the Damned, The Great Gatsby and Tender Is the Night (Mizener).