ipl-logo

The Great Gatsby Dynamic Analysis

1631 Words7 Pages

The 1920s in the United State is usually documented as a time of economic and social growth and prosperity, evidenced by the growth of Fordism and an expansion of women’s rights. These developments have led many to the consensus that they are living in The American Dream. Alongside such developments, however, the gap between the rich and the poor kept growing, allowing those of better financial and social status to develop harsher critiques over the poor and more importantly, during the industrial age, allow them to have power over those less fortunate (DIScovery 1). These socio-economic divides and relationships between both parties are explored in Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.” Fitzgerald illustrates the dominance the wealthy upper …show more content…

Eckleburg, the blue-eyed, yellow spectacled man on the billboard. The dynamic is again established through color symbolism with Dr. Eckleburg and diction connoting biblical/religious connections to display power. T.J. Eckleburg is first established as the owner through the color symbolism yellow spectacles, which is implied to be the color of the rich, wealth and gold, as mentioned by Zhang: “Doctor T. J. Eckleburg’s enormous spectacles are yellow too. All these yellow and golden things indicate that the Jazz Age is an age where everyone shows great worship of money and where the materialism is so fashionable that even God cannot avoid its influence.” (5) The yellow spectacles of T.J. Eckleburg serve as a reminder of the wealthy to those living in the Valley of Ashes of the people in power (the rich). Another event that strengthens the connection between T.J. Eckleburg and the wealthy is Tom’s exchange with the man on the billboard: “Terrible place, isn 't it," said Tom, exchanging a frown with Doctor Eckleburg.” (26) The small exchange establishes a friendly, if not, the associate-like connection between the two, implying that they are from the same social background. Furthermore, residents of the Valley of Ashes also seem to have embraced this notion. When speaking about his wife’s death, George says that the murderer will not go unpunished, saying: “You may fool me, but you can 't fool God! '" Standing behind him, Michaelis saw with a shock that he was looking at the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg, which had just emerged, pale and enormous, from the dissolving night. "God sees everything," repeated Wilson.” (159) George equates Dr. Eckleburg to God, showcasing the ultimate resignation of power by the poor to the rich. The direct use of the word God rather than another powerful being give Dr. Eckleburg a feeling of unlimited power and a feeling of omnipotence and

Show More
Related

The Great Gatsby Dbq Essay

671 Words | 3 Pages

During the 1920’s, many people were power-hungry. They all wanted to be at the top and be the richest of the rich and be able to buy whatever they want. The 1920’s was a time where people were able to go from rags to riches, industries were growing and making money, and it was also the era of the Prohibition, a law that banned alcohol. “The Great Gatsby” was able to reflect on noticeable and non-noticeable aspects of the 1920’s. It reflects on the postwar disillusionment, the rise of the nouveau riche, and how business became the new religion for the United States.

Read More

The Valley Of Ashes Symbolism Analysis

766 Words | 4 Pages

The color yellow symbolizes many deceitful ideas in the novel. As Nick is entering into the Valley of the Ashes, he acknowledges a billboard of an eye doctor and notes: “They look out no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles…” (23). T.J. Eckleburg is looked upon as a fake God. The billboard looks over the Valley of Ashes, implying that he is always watching. While reading, there seems to be a nonexistent reality of religion.

Read More

The Great Gatsby Father Wasteland Analysis

497 Words | 2 Pages

Eckleburg can be quite profound. He can be perceived as Hades the ruler of a grotesque underworld, and the dead, which in this case would be hopes and dreams. Being that the case his yellow spectacles can symbolize Thanatos the god of death in Greek mythology. The novel can display a relationship between the color yellow and death. The correlation is undeniably there.

Read More

Socioeconomic Status And Power In The Great Gatsby Essay

792 Words | 4 Pages

The impact of socioeconomic status can be examined through a myriad of lenses. F. Scott Fitzgerald aims to show the relationship between socioeconomic status and power. Throughout The Great Gatsby, Tom’s character shows that socioeconomic status is equivalent to power within the novel. Tom puts great pride and emphasis on his socioeconomic status and wealth.

Read More

Examples Of Foreshadowing In The Great Gatsby

1667 Words | 7 Pages

Eckleburg on it. The defining characteristic of this billboard is, “The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic—their retinas are one yard high. They look out of no face but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a nonexistent nose. ”(page 26) Yellow is a common motif in this story; it represents wealth and desire.

Read More

The Great Gatsby Context Analysis

883 Words | 4 Pages

In ‘The Great Gatsby’ Fitzgerald portrays a corrupt society whose citizens all strive to fulfill their role in society. With characters from multiple different financial status’ the author unveils the different ways used to obtain this dream. During this time the prohibition was in place and this led to many lower class people gaining

Read More

Myrtle's Use Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby

966 Words | 4 Pages

The Moral Decay of the Materialistic Although F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby debuted in 1925– before the Great Depression– it serves as a prophetic exemplification of the the material excess of the 1920s that drowned out signs of the coming Great Depression. The book’s plot follows the bootlegger Jay Gatsby as he pursues his old love Daisy Buchanan through flaunting his new extravagant lifestyle, mainly by throwing ostentatious parties. Yet, in the end, Daisy chooses her unfaithful husband Tom over Gatsby. Through Fitzgerald’s use of wealthy, materialistic characters, he comments on the effect of the material excess of the roaring twenties: moral corruption.

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis The Great Gatsby

516 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author uses many differnt retorical devices to add a personal flare to his work. He uses diction, symbolism, and irony to adress many different themes. These themes include Materialism, The American Dream, and includes a sharp and biting ridicule on American society in the 1920’s. The main point of Fitzgerald, arguement is one where he sharply criticizes the Society of the time.

Read More

Society In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

529 Words | 3 Pages

The Roaring Twenties, known as the decade of the 1920s in the Western World, consists of dramatic changes in social values. The cultural differences between the 1920s and the Victorian era changes people's behavior, where they become more free-will, youthful and carefree, despite of being more conservative before. People are more open-minded and found satisfaction through the “open pursuit of sex, money, and booze” (Berman 53) as they suggest their wealth and status in the society. New York City had become one of the cities where materialistic wealth has become the key of happiness and the standard to judge people's success, further leading Americans to pursue each other in a negative, acquisitive way. Through the different scenes and characters of the famous novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald explores how the society twisted the original idea of

Read More

The Role Of Wealth In The Great Gatsby

747 Words | 3 Pages

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby describes the life of Jay Gatsby in the 1920’s. The novel shares his love story and his loneliness. A major question the author raises is how does wealth impact class structure and society? Fitzgerald answers this question through the distinction between “New rich” and “Old rich” and the significance of East and West Egg.

Read More

Theme Of Poverty In The Great Gatsby

619 Words | 3 Pages

In the 1920’s, social classes were divided with a large gap. The poor wanted nothing to do with the rich, and the rich wanted even less to do with the poor. In the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, he uses the class structure in the 1920’s to redefine poverty. While the rich people in the novel are material rich, they are still “poor” socially and psychologically. Poverty is shown in a differently in this book than other books being written in this time era, and in doing this, it shows the rich what they are, and how they treat others from a different perspective.

Read More

Examples Of Corruption In The Great Gatsby

1261 Words | 6 Pages

The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a classic 20th century story -that period was also known as the “roaring twenties”- which critiques the vision of the American Dream people in general have. At that time, the idea of a free market, and industrial revolution provided the opportunity for many to seize the market and people were starting to see that they could become rich without having any type of restriction. New York city was the centre of this wealth-creating society. After the war, this movement generated new opportunities and ambitions for people wanting to start a wealthy upper class life. That period of time was all about alcohol, partying, gambling, fashion, and money.

Read More

Examples Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

1726 Words | 7 Pages

Extended Essay: American dream in the USA of the 1920’s, as depicted by “The Great Gatsby” by F. S. Fitzgerald Introduction The modern American literature is a topic as broad as it can be; there is, however, one novel which often appears as the one called “the greatest American novel of all times”. The novel in question is “The great Gatsby”, written by Francis Scott Fitzgerald and published in April of 1925. [1] There are a number of reasons for why it is deemed so special, with its’ current position in modern pop culture and status of a classic, compulsory for every reader. One of the major causes is the layered meaning, which leaves whole lot of room for interpretation.

Read More

Examples Of Hollowness Of The Upper Class In The Great Gatsby

995 Words | 4 Pages

In the novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald characterizes the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values. One of the major themes explored in this novel is the Hollowness of the Upper Class. The entire book revolves around money including power and little love. Coincidentally the three main characters of the novel belong to the upper class and throughout the novel Fitzgerald shows how this characters have become corrupted and have lost their morality due to excess money and success and this has led them to change their perspective towards other people and they have been portrayed as short-sighted to what is important in life. First of all, we have the main character of this novel, Gatsby who won’t stop at nothing to become rich overnight in illegal dealings with mobsters such as Wolfsheim in order to conquer Daisy’s heart.”

Read More

What Is Marxism In The Great Gatsby

836 Words | 4 Pages

Written and set during the 1920s where America was going through a post-world war economic boom, The Great Gatsby written by F.Scott Fitzgerald is a perfect specimen of the fulfillment of the American Dream. Capitalism’s promise of great economic opportunity was desired by every person and many of them even succeeded in the get rich quick schemes. We see the tenor of the times in the feverish abandon of Gatsby’s party guests who were confident that their host’s abundance of food and drink, like the nation’s resources, will never be depleted and in Gatsby himself, whose meteoric rise from being the son of “shiftless and unsuccessful farm people” to the proprietor of a “colossal” Long Island mansion with “a marble swimming pool and over forty acres of lawn and garden” seems to embody the infinite possibility offered by the American dream. However, The Great Gatsby exposes the darkness and the evils of the heady capitalistic culture in the dazzling Jazz Age of America showing us how the American Dream despite provide financial satisfaction has led to the

Read More

More about The Great Gatsby Dynamic Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document