In the Great Gatsby by F Scott. Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald uses Jordan Baker's deceitful behavior on the golf course and as well as her cynical attitude towards life, to show not only how success always comes with a price, but also the moral boundaries that people are willing to push and overlook for their own personal success. Jordan’s cynical attitude allows her to think and act differently than others. Where many people find cheating and deception utterly unacceptable, Jordan sees it as a way of life. “Jordan Baker instinctively avoided clever, shrewd men, and ... this was because she felt safer on a plane where any divergence from a code would be thought impossible” (Fitzgerald 57-58). To Jordan, this was the only means possible to keep her place. She is one of the better off people in society, as she is a well-known professional golfer living an extremely extravagant lifestyle. Jordan is unable to handle being at a disadvantage towards others or be lower than them. She wants to support her social status and wealth, and due to her cynical attitude, she sees that society is full of deceit and betrayal, and she doesn’t want to leave anything up to chance. Therefore, she believes that cheating is the only way to secure her status. Furthermore, as noted by Nick Carraway, the narrator of the book and Jordan’s love interest states that “She was incurably dishonest. She wasn’t able to endure being at a disadvantage and, given this unwillingness, I suppose she had begun dealing with
In Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, wealth and social status play a substantial role in every character's life; from the wealthy Jay Gatsby to the poor gas station owner George Wilson. The characters in the novel lead fake lives, full of greed and carelessness.
Jay Gatsby, taken in by a bittersweet fruit, drags himself through filth. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby becomes wealthy to achieve his American Dream, but he fails to achieve it because of the corruption and disillusioning effects of materialistic society.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby provides the reader with a unique outlook on the life of the newly rich. Gatsby is an enigma and a subject of great curiosity, furthermore, he is content with a lot in life until he strives too hard. His obsession with wealth, his lonely life and his delusion allow the reader to sympathize with him.
Everybody strives to earn it, those little green things in your wallet. Green is associated with good and happiness; above all, things of desire. Nevertheless, it doesn’t truly make you happy with your life and most importantly, yourself. In the fictitious novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the characters who have money at their disposal are constantly looking for something else to fulfill their longing to have a meaningful life. Despite it’s problem-solving reputation, money isn’t what it’s chalked up to be, the characters with excessive money aren’t sincerely happy with their lives. Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, Daisy Buchanan, and Jordan Baker and never satisfied with their m0ney. Fitzgerald’s characters never seem to connect their feeling of never being satisfied with their infinitesimal amount of happiness.
‘The Great Gatsby’ novel by F. Scott Fitzgeralds is a novel that has symbolic life lessons that have shaped my values and realities of life. This novel is about Nick Carraway, the narrator, that tells the story of Jay Gatsby a millionaire purposing the American Dream at the cost of losing himself. A key quote in the novel demonstrated the reality of wealth doesn’t define a person. But consumes them was illustrated when Carraway first saw Gatsby. “I could have sworn he was
In Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, we see that the character of Jordan Baker is quite different from other women of her time. She has beliefs and values that are radically different from everybody else's. Through her actions, it is clear that she represents the emergence of a different type of woman -- one who is self sufficient -- in the 1920's. Fitzgerald uses this individual to symbolize the changing ways of life in America.
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a novel about one man's disenchantment with the American dream. In the story we get a glimpse into the life of Jay Gatsby, a man who aspired to achieve a position among the American rich to win the heart of his true love, Daisy Fay. Gatsby's downfall was in the fact that he was unable to determine that concealed boundary between reality and illusion in his life.
As opposed to the other women in the novel, Jordan Baker is treated a little bit differently by the author, as she has certain masculine characteristics. She is a professional golfer who cheated her way to the top. She has masculine habits of drinking and smoking. She does not marry and is not yet willing to devote herself to a man, unlike the other female characters. She is self sufficient and is actively involved in her own interests. Jordan is harsh, cynical, and represents a new type of woman in the 1920's. The name "Jordan" also happens to be a unisex name. Jordan has made it to the elite status and will do whatever she has to in order to stay there, including lying. "She was incurably dishonest" (Fitzgerald 63). In this way, she does have similarities to Daisy and Myrtle. She is selfish and isn't concerned about anyone besides herself. Nick observes this as he watches the way Jordan drives. "'You're a rotten driver... suppose you met somebody just as careless as yourself.' 'I hope I never will. I hate careless people.'" (Fitzgerald 63). In this quote, the reader can see how Jordan is extremely selfish and indifferent. She likes to drive fast and she doesn’t care about the repercussions to other drivers. Jordan is very haughty, arrogant, and condescending, and looks down upon others who she considers to be below her. "'You live in West Egg,' she remarked contemptuously." (Fitzgerald 15). In this quote, the reader can see that Jordan is judging Nick for living on
Moreover, Jordan, a well known golf champion, but was almost caught with an unethical play . “At her first big golf tournament there was a row that nearly reached the newspapers—a suggestion that she had moved her ball from a bad lie in the semi-final round. The thing approached the proportions of a scandal…” Ergo Jordan was a fraud, and tainted of one of the essential factors of the American dream, hard work. In addition to her unsportsmanlike behavior, Jordan’s dream to be the best at golf was being led by immoral actions. Her appalling deeds do not affect her in in any case. “The sustained good driver/bad driver metaphor, through which Fitzgerald hints at standards of morality and immorality, is evident at virtually every turn of the novel:…Jordan Baker (whose name combines two brands of automobile from the 1920's) wears her careless driving as a badge of honor;” (Mangum) Jordan Baker has pride in her immorality and is gratified by her dishonesty.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, has been heralded as one of the outstanding novels of the Jazz Age. The characters that Fitzgerald created in this novel were laudable and disreputable. Therefore, these characters in the novel will be contrasted and elucidated.
There are many themes in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book, The Great Gatsby in which many people can relate to today. Fitzgerald demonstrates a lot of themes that have to humanity and its many flaws. One of the major themes in Fitzgerald’s book is the theme of selfishness and its negative effects on the characters and the people around them. According to the Oxford Dictionary, selfishness is “lacking consideration for others; concerned chiefly with one’s own personal profit or pleasure.” In more simple terms, it is when a person puts his or her own needs in before others. There are many characters in this book that depict this characteristic through the story.
While wealth can be quite alluring, the power associated with it can also shape one's opinions, morals, and overall humanity. Wealth is a significant factor in determining one's position in society, thus the eagerness to obtain more is correlated with the wish to hold a higher status. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, relates to this pursuit of riches and the social hierarchy attached to it. The story takes place during the height of the roaring 1920’s in New York City. Each character represents an economic sphere and has their own ambition for wealth; however, these characters, whether they fail or succeed, lose their humanity in the process. Fitzgerald utilizes the characters Gatsby, Myrtle, and Daisy to demonstrate that the desire for wealth leads to a process of dehumanization, in which morals and identity are displaced.
In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays failure by using Gatsby to depict the personal struggles and unobtainable goals of people as a result of misfortune; this reflects Fitzgerald’s personal perspective that life is cruel and does not always go as planned.
In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald displays society’s role in transforming one’s identity by creating complex and realistic characters. Jay Gatsby is a prime example of how one will change themselves to accommodate society. Once a poor son from a farming family, Gatsby puts up an extravagant facade to hopefully win a woman over, however in the process, puts aside morals and values. Fitzgerald demonstrates the importance of social expectations, wealth and the perception of the American Dream are in determining one’s identity.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a story that has many different themes. Fitzgerald shows the themes that he uses through his character’s desires and actions. This novel has themes in it that we deal with in our everyday life. It has themes that deal with our personal lives and themes that deal with what’s right and what’s wrong. There are also themes that have to do with materialistic items that we deal desire on a daily basis. Fitzgerald focuses on the themes of corrupted love, immorality, and the American Dream in order to tell a story that is entertaining to his readers.