Society and literature have presented constant concepts throughout all texts, notably, individual desire has been a universal standard through which love and social expectation can be explored. However, whilst this is a universal theme, differing contexts can produce new explorations and perceptions of classical beliefs, reinforcing distinctive qualities within texts. Notably, Elizabeth Barret Browning’s Sonnets from the Portuguese challenged literary and societal standards of the Victorian era, whilst Scott. F. Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby similarly challenges the extravagance and cultural devaluation of the ‘roaring 20s’. Yet both texts explore individual desire in different manners, using distinctive form, language, tone and techniques, which is the result of differing perspectives and their respective historical, social and
Self-Reinvention in the Great Gatsby Self-Reinvention: The act of reinventing or changing oneself, this means, changing ones’ personality, social status, and past. One person who reinvented himself was none other than the Great Gatsby. Gatsby is an obvious example of self-reinvention, especially when he tells Nick about his real story. Another person who reinvented himself is the narrator Nick. Nick is the less obvious example of self-reinvention; however, he still undergoes a self-reinvention process.
Throughout the novel, Gatsby’s actions leave the reader puzzled about his intentions and reasoning. However, with time, his intentions are made more clear upon learning about his past. Gatsby’s past plays a key role in the events of this novel. The main basis of this story is that Gatsby is in love with a married woman, Daisy Buchanan, and Gatsby goes to an ambitious extent to win her over.
Nick lives in a society full of creed in which the vast majority is differed between the rich and the poor. Since Nick mentions how he is nonjudgemental, with him meeting Gatsby, his moral spectrum is changed completely. Gatsby’s wild, lavish parties indicate the lifestyle people had in the 1900’s with self absorbed rich people. Fitzgerald shows how Gatsby uses his wealth to wield influence over others such as Daisy. Nick, after all, does not hope to judge Gatsby and his decisions with Daisy because he knows that Gatsby is stuck in the past.
The temptation of wealth and love drives him to chase unrealistic and misguided dreams: “He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night” (Fitzgerald 180). The more Gatsby tries to recapture his past, the further he is taken away from what is real. Throughout The Great Gatsby he moves further into this dreamland he has created of his perfect life with Daisy, trying to escape the social class he was born to that once separated them. There is also irony in that Gatsby continuously tries to distance himself from his past and the lower class lifestyle, yet he spends the entirety of his life trying to rewrite his past with Daisy until he sees that she isn’t someone truly worth his love.
Gatsby has spent his whole life trying to prove to Daisy and everyone around him that he is worthy of her. The only way to be on the same social level as her is to turn himself into new money. Since this is not possible, he has to try to convince to others that he truly is old money. To do this, he becomes rich, and lies about his past, but the only way for him to complete this idea is if he is with Daisy. She is the final piece in his American dream.
In a way, Gatsby trapped himself in a thought that he would obtain Daisy Buchanan back, going back to the old days of their relationship. Parties were not enough to acquire that goal. The Even though it caught her attention, it was not enough to turn time around and relive the past. Using wealth may allow you to have freedom and be careless, but it cannot buy
In the text, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses a wide range of literary techniques to convey a lack of spirituality, and immorality. Techniques such as characterisation, symbolism, and metaphors help to cement the ideas Fitzgerald explores. However, there are some features to this world that redeem it. Which are displayed through expert execution of techniques like characterisation, contrast, and repetition. The world of The Great Gatsby is home to many morally corrupt and spiritually empty characters however, the world itself is not a spiritual and moral wasteland.
Instead, Gatsby’s motivation is to make himself someone who can give Daisy the luxuries and monetary stability she desires. His reason for living is ripped away from him when Daisy choses to remain with Tom, and he is now stripped of
In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby takes his chances at the American dream in the twentieth century and ends up falling drastically short. Gatsby throws extravagant parties and tries to live a lavish lifestyle hoping to keep up and eventually fall in love with a rich girl named Daisy. Daisy and Gatsby have everything they want in each other pre-war, but once Gatsby comes home his expectations of Daisy fall short. Gatsby spends all of his waking hours pursuing his dream to be with Daisy, however, she does not live up to his standard he had of her before. Both Gatsby and Daisy have changed from when they felt a connection before, and maintaining that connection may not be meant to be.
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.
Gatsby’s new and made up identity is what even gives him a chance with Daisy. As an attempt to chase away this negative identity, Gatsby is obsessed with the idea of marrying Daisy. However, Gatsby’s lies and past catch up to him when Daisy realizes she cannot and does not want to get over the idea of the stain that is left on Gatsby due to his negative identity. Finally, because of the materialistic world that people live in today, it prevents not only Gatsby, but several people within society from being able to be with the person that they truly
“Wilson's feelings for Myrtle are the only example of genuine love in The Great Gatsby” ("The Great Gatsby Theme of Love"). Is it sad that there is only one example of genuine love in The Great Gatsby? The morals back in the 1920s were downright awful. Most wealthy people back then just drank and partied all day and all night. As a result of their wrongdoings, many problems arose in the novel. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the carelessness of the characters and immorality bring about chaos in the novel.
This lead to him thinking everything was perfect and heading off to war, leaving Daisy behind. When he returned, he still had the same dream that he had once accomplished, but it had become unrealistic because Daisy was married. Gatsby’s dream began to cloud his reality and he didn’t give up on it. Despite it being unreachable, Gatsby’s dream continued to be very important to him, as he felt “that if he had searched harder, he might have found her” (152-153). He didn’t know how to win Daisy over, but that didn’t stop him from trying and searching.
Fitzgerald makes it apparent throughout the novel that Gatsby does everything in hopes to compete against Tom and impress Daisy. For example, Gatsby throws lavish parties every weekend with the hope that Daisy will stumble in, and then they will be reunited and return to their old ways. Additionally, when Gatsby moves to the West Egg, he purposefully purchases an extravagant mansion near the Buchanan’s mansion where he can view their emerald light on his dock. Throughout the duration of The Great Gatsby, Gatsby noticeably envies Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s husband, for seizing the life that Gatsby was not able to achieve. Gatsby longs to return to the passionate relationship they had five years prior and maybe even create a family similar to the family Daisy has with Tom.