Mykaela Benkart
Ms. Doyle
Honors American Literature 11
17 May 2016
The Great Gatsby: Analytical Essay The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a powerful story about the history of the roaring 1920’s. Fitzgerald uses different intellectual techniques of writing to captivate a completely new meaning to the prohibition era. The Great Gatsby, narrated by Nick Carraway, tells a moving story from his point of view about the lives of the upper and lower class of the 1920’s. Fitzgerald creates a compelling plot through different literary devices to transform his text into a greater meaning by implementing indirect and direct hints in order to capture the audience’s attention. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald displays a significant meaning throughout the story by applying symbols, motifs, and theme. One-way F. Scott Fitzgerald draws in the reader throughout the story is through his use of symbols. During The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses heat to foreshadow the situation yet to come, Daisy’s rejection and Myrtle’s death. For example, “‘But it’s so hot,’ insisted Daisy on the verge on tears, ‘and everything’s so confused. Let’s all go to town!’” (118). Throughout a couple of chapters, Daisy was complaining that she could not do anything with the excruciating heat therefore; she comes up with the idea for the characters to go into the city. The warmth also expresses the blend of turmoil and emotions between the characters. In addition, another symbolic place in the story
The Great Gatsby has been around for ages; it is a story of a young man in the 1920’s who is thrown into a new world made up of the new and the old rich. He is confused by the way these people act and in the end cannot stay another minute in this strange, insensitive, materialistic world. The author, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses many techniques to help the reader understand how Nick Carraway (the narrator) is feeling throughout the story. In the book The Great Gatsby, the author F. Scott Fitzgerald uses effective language to make his writing successful. He uses the techniques of imagery and irony to display this message.
Sometimes in a passionate relationship, one is willing to give up their own selfish desires
‘ "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone," he told me, "just remember the advantages that you 've had..." In consequence I 'm inclined to reserve all judgments.’
Parents always warn their children to steer clear from shady and unreliable characters. Real life situations are the target of this notion, but such a claim also stands true for literature. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, Nick, the narrator, is a shady character who disclosed no personal information about himself and expected the viewer’s trust in return. As a result, Scott Donaldson, in his article “The Trouble with Nick” deliberates his opinion over what a terrible person Nick is, however later determines that regardless of how shady Nick may be, he is still the only one fit to narrate The Great Gatsby. Some of Scott Donaldson’s views of Nick as an unreliable narrator may stand true; however, it is definitely agreeable that Nick Carraway is the only acceptable narrator for The Great Gatsby.
"Never has symbolism played such a crucial part in the very foundation of a novel as it does in Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece, The Great Gatsby." Harold Bloom has written about this book. The author used several types of symbolism in The Great Gatsby. The colours are probably the easiest to be recognized and guessed what they symbolized. According to the definition “symbolism” is "the practice of representing things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationships."
The Prince, a philosophical work of literature introduces maxims that have become a part of American Literature from the past to present day. In one of America’s well known classic, The Great Gatsby, a story of the spontaneous Jazz Age filled with power struggles, a materialistic society, and the infamous affairs of the twenties create maxims for a character in the novel. Machiavelli’s maxims have had an impact in many writings and continue throughout this novel. Daisy, the most intriguing and charming character brings the defense, rebellion, and promising traits it takes to become a successful prince.
Most define the American Dream as an equal opportunity for all to achieve success through handwork and determination. Many define success as having or gaining wealth and power. This isn 't true for the novel The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald. Instead Fitzgerald represents the withering of the American Dream, in the novel the American Dream is presented more as a overpowering idea of aspirations far from reach, making it less of a dream and more of a distant thought. Throughout the novel Fitzgerald slowly deconstructs the image of the American Dream and builds upon the corrupting nature of wealth. Due to the corrupting nature of wealth we are able to identify the theme of the withering American Dream, which is being represented through
In the classic novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby centers on the lives of the rich and wealthy who lived sad, lonely lives and could not achieve happiness with their money. The setting of the novel is set around the 1920s where there was an economic boom during this period. Many political and social reforms happened during this time and it was commonly known as the “Roaring Twenties”. Jay Gatsby is one character who used his money to get what he wants. He threw large extravagant parties as a means of proclamation to get his name perceived, all in misrepresentation to get the attention of a woman.The parties brought a lot of attention for Gatsby, which also shows how he used his money to show his wealth and influence. In chapter 3 of the novel, Fitzgerald portrays the parties that Gatsby threw by analyzing specific words, images, and figurative language to develop both the allure and glamour of wealth and its destructiveness.
Money can buy a glass of Chardonnay, a great mansion, a pink suit, and a beautiful, yellow, Rolls-Royce car. But money can 't buy happiness. The characters in The Great Gatsby depend so much on money to make them happy. Although, this only leads to dreadful consequences and a daker side of them appear. Nick says in the great Gatsby that he realizes that this story has been a story of the west, “after all-Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to eastern life” (Fitzgerald 176). I disagree with Nick on why all the characters in the book are so corrupt. I don 't find location to be the reason why, but instead money. Money has twisted
The American Dream is a philosophy based off of starting from nothing and achieving family, fortune, and fame. The belief that self-determination and hard work will lead to the attainment of the American Dream is strongly tied with the American culture. This philosophical idea, however, is not portrayed in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which is often referred to as one of the “Great American Novels” to date. In terms, a “Great American Novel” should portray an honest and well-remembered character, rather than a character such as Jay Gatsby who achieved his fortune through illegal business and dies without recognition towards the end. Although Gatsby lives a lavish lifestyle that many people fantasize about, Gatsby’s American Dream is never fully fulfilled due to his failure of not having a family, successfully obtaining money the righteous way, and leaving a legacy; therefore, the novel The Great Gatsby, should not be entitled as the “Great American Novel” today.
In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, symbolism plays a major role in the continuation of the plot. Symbolism in this novel uncovers emotional backstories of the main characters, shows why the characters make the choices they do, and the difference of the meaning of certain objects in the novel. Although there are many different symbols in The Great Gatsby, the ones that stick out the most are the green light, the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg, and the Valley of Ashes. Each symbol can have many different meanings, depending on what character and what situation in which the symbol is being presented.
The famously written book, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, provides many details, which help to provoke the meaning behind this narrative. The use of symbolic objects helps to connect the significance of the story on a deeper level and eventually reveal its literal meaning. Many symbols portrayed throughout The Great Gatsby, such as the green light, the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, Gatsby’s Mansion and the weather help to uncover one of the main themes–the American Dream.
In Fitzgerald 's The Great Gatsby, all the characters are attempting to achieve a state of happiness in their lives. The main characters are divided into two groups: the rich upper class and the poorer lower class, which struggles to attain a higher position. Though the major players seek only to change their lives for the better, as in real life, the idealism and morality of the American Dream is inevitably crushed beneath the harsh reality of life, leaving their lives without meaning or purpose.
Every parents wants their child to amount to greatness and be the best their child can be. Parents tend to push their children and give them the mindset that through hard work and dedication that child can achieve anything. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald demonstrates parents lied about hard work and, so he ridicules the high class and lower classes, thus critiquing the American Dream. The American Dream is an idea to give people hope that through hard work one can achieve wealth, fame, and prosperity. This dream symbolizes the desire to attain a luxurious house, car and even a perfect marriage if one is diligent enough. It is represented by the idea of a self-sufficient man or woman who is determined to achieve
Many consider The Great Gatsby a beautiful love story. A literary review site, for example, says about Fitzgerald’s most famous work: “The Great Gatsby is probably F. Scott Fitzgerald 's greatest novel […] Gatsby is really nothing more than a man desperate for love”(The Great Gatsby Review). Popular opinion paints Gatsby as such: A man desperate for love, devoid of any evil. But a closer look uncovers a new side of Jay Gatsby because Gatsby, underneath his glorious façade, is a sociopath.