Free Essays on Great Gatsby

In the summer of 1922, Nick, a working man in the bond’s business tells his story of his neighbor Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is a wealthy business man who lives in West Egg, Long Island. Gatsby was well known for his lavish weekend parties in his West Egg mansion, with excess amounts of liquor, and endless tables of food. Gatsby has an uncontrollable obsession with Nick’s cousin Daisy. She is married to a man by the name of Tom Buchanan. Tom is an old friend of Nick from their college days at Yale. Gatsby and Daisy have history together before Gatsby fought in World War I. Gatsby was stationed at a military base near Daisy’s home in Louisville Kentucky. They fell in love with one another but broke up when he had to leave for war. She promised to wait for him when he returned, but she never did. She then married Tom, who had a higher social status than Gatsby at the time. Although Daisy remained faithful to her husband throughout their marriage, Tom did not. Tom was having an affair with George Wilson’s wife Myrtle. George owned an automotive garage in the valley. Gatsby would like for Nick to arrange a tea party at Nick’s house without Daisy knowing that he will be showing up, forcing her to see him. Nick obliges to Gatsby’s wishes, and both Gatsby and Daisies rekindle their love for each other. They continue to see each other without Tom knowing that they are more than friends. One day Nick drives to East Egg the more prestigious, upscale part of Town, where Tom and Daisy live. Also joining them was Gatsby and Jordan Baker, who is a friend of Daisy as well as Nick’s lover. Daisy complains of her boredom and asks Gatsby if he wants to go into the city. Tom then steps in and agrees with Daisy that it would be a good idea. Nick rides with Jordan and Tom in Gatsby’s car, and Daisy and Gatsby rides together in Tom†™s car. On the way there they stop for gas at Wilson’s garage for some gas. They learn that Mr. Wilson found o... Free Essays on Great Gatsby Free Essays on Great Gatsby Timed Re-writing: The Great Gatsby In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, the character Jay Gatsby is neither a tragic hero nor a hero at all. In my opinion, Gatsby has done enough work to make it seem as if he classifies to be a hero or a tragic hero. Although behind all of his work, it revealed truly as to who and what he is. There are those who are responsible for the ending of his life. So, those who are around him are all collectively responsible. Jay Gatsby is not a tragic hero because of his behaviors and actions that was done throughout the book. According to the AP Language on Tragedy and Tragic Flaw/Hero, a tragic hero is a person â€Å"who may bring about his or her own downfall because of an error in judgment of because of a personality failure.† Jay Gatsby definitely â€Å"bring[s] about his own downfall.’ Not only he ruined his own life, he also jeopardized the Buchanan’s marriage, even though Tom himself is having an affair. His desire to be with Daisy Buchanan is not achieved because of many different situations. For example, Jay Gatsby is not from the same social class as the spoiled, delicate, little princess - Daisy. He does not do enough work to make his dream come true. He put in his mind the effort to achieve his highest goal, although, he stopped when he was almost done. Gatsby simply stands around during many of the situations throughout the book, hoping and having others do what he sh ould have done. For instance, inviting Daisy to have tea with him and Nick Carraway. What was worse, moreover, is the fact when he had Jordan Baker talk to Nick for him. He does not have the confidence to confront Nick and is too ashamed of himself to ask Nick to do such things. Jay Gatsby is not a hero also because of his actions and behavior. Throughout the novel, Jay Gatsby does not do much action. All he did was stand around waiting for his goals and desires to come to him. With this, it demonstrates that Jay... Free Essays on Great Gatsby Deeper Thought: the symbolism of â€Å"The Great Gatsby† It is understood that in language, each word has a specific understood meaning, and each combination of words has a compiled meaning. But throughout history, there have been writers who pushed the limits of words, who brought an underlying meaning to the words, and demanded consideration from their readers. F. Scott Fitzgerald was able to bring more depth into simple words. He was able to portray more than one meaning with simple sentences. Fitgerald used amazing symbolism throughout the book â€Å"The Great Gatsby†, and it forces the reader to consider each word for more than face value. Because of the great quantity of underlying symbolism within the story, it is difficult to select just two aspects to focus on. However, in the following paragraphs I have decided to examine the symbolism of â€Å"Daisy’s voice† and also of â€Å"The Green Light†. Throughout the story, Daisy’s character changes in the eyes of the reader from someone who is sympathized with, pitied, to someone with which it is almost impossible to feel anything but contempt. Her voice is a recurring theme in the book, and it was described somewhat abstractly, as if the sound of it could not be put into words, until the following passage on page 127: â€Å"’She’s got an indiscreet voice, ‘ I remarked. ‘Its full of-’ I hesitated. ‘Her voice is full of money.’ he said suddenly. That was it. I’d never understood before. It was full of money that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song in it... High in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl....† In this passage, we gain further understanding into the character of Daisy. Gatsby observes something that we as readers are forced to imagine and consider. This passage marks the beginning of the change of Daisy in a readers mind. It has begun to ... Free Essays on Great Gatsby Fitzgerald exhibits the moral deterioration, the desire to obtain the ‘American Dream’, and how American ideals are different with the actual social conditions that exist in society, through Nick Caraway’s eyes in the novel The Great Gatsby. Each one of the characters in the novel, have a certain dream that they want to live. They each have a picture of what they want, and selfishly, they stop at nothing to get it. All; to reach what they believe to be â€Å"happiness†, puts religion, morality and kindness aside. Myrtle, whom entered her life striving to be wealthy, married a man who rented a tux for their wedding, and â€Å"wasn’t fit to lick her shoe†. She attempted to become a member of Tom’s wealthier, more sophisticated class. She begins an affair with Tom, resulting in her inheriting his values, and way of living. She begins to belittle people from her own class and loses all sense of the honor and respect she once had. Myrtle never reached the role she so desired. Instead, her life was cut short by the world she wanted to be apart of. Gatsby, the mysterious neighbor and gentleman, turns out to be nothing more then a love crazed suitor of Daisy’s. Since Daisy would not wed Gatsby because he was not rich or able to support her luxurious lifestyle, he vowed he’d get rich, and return for her. Gatsby fought to fit himself into another social group, the one of ‘old money’, and made his fate rest upon it. Gatsby obtained the riches and admiration he worked so hard to achieve, but only to be spiritually killed when he failed to win Daisy’s love. His physical death didn’t really matter, for he had already died of a broken heart. Jordan also exhibited a need for a better life. She lied herself to the top- within her golfing career and personality. Nick, who rarely talked negatively about anybody, made the comment that every word out of her mouth was a lie. Lying is a way of covering the truth, Jorda... Free Essays on Great Gatsby In the summer of 1922, Nick, a working man in the bond’s business tells his story of his neighbor Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is a wealthy business man who lives in West Egg, Long Island. Gatsby was well known for his lavish weekend parties in his West Egg mansion, with excess amounts of liquor, and endless tables of food. Gatsby has an uncontrollable obsession with Nick’s cousin Daisy. She is married to a man by the name of Tom Buchanan. Tom is an old friend of Nick from their college days at Yale. Gatsby and Daisy have history together before Gatsby fought in World War I. Gatsby was stationed at a military base near Daisy’s home in Louisville Kentucky. They fell in love with one another but broke up when he had to leave for war. She promised to wait for him when he returned, but she never did. She then married Tom, who had a higher social status than Gatsby at the time. Although Daisy remained faithful to her husband throughout their marriage, Tom did not. Tom was having an affair with George Wilson’s wife Myrtle. George owned an automotive garage in the valley. Gatsby would like for Nick to arrange a tea party at Nick’s house without Daisy knowing that he will be showing up, forcing her to see him. Nick obliges to Gatsby’s wishes, and both Gatsby and Daisies rekindle their love for each other. They continue to see each other without Tom knowing that they are more than friends. One day Nick drives to East Egg the more prestigious, upscale part of Town, where Tom and Daisy live. Also joining them was Gatsby and Jordan Baker, who is a friend of Daisy as well as Nick’s lover. Daisy complains of her boredom and asks Gatsby if he wants to go into the city. Tom then steps in and agrees with Daisy that it would be a good idea. Nick rides with Jordan and Tom in Gatsby’s car, and Daisy and Gatsby rides together in Tom†™s car. On the way there they stop for gas at Wilson’s garage for some gas. They learn that Mr. Wilson found o... Free Essays on Great Gatsby Great Gatsby There is not one person in the world that does not poses any type of a character flaw. Not everyone is perferct. For most people theses flaws don’t always lead to tragic events. Unfortunitally for the characters in the book The Great Gatsby, this is not true. Certain character flaws that these characters poses lead them in to bad trouble, and even for some death. There are many different flaws that could be argued as the most â€Å"dangerous† ones, but there are three that I would like to touch on. The three main flaws that the characters poses in this book that I think are the most tragic would have to be greed, desire, and the over all loss of moral values. Most would find it slightly odd that if you have a friend, and you go to their parties, and you say that you are their friend, that when this friend dies you don’t go to their funeral. Yet this is exactly what happened in the book. Everyone loved to attend parties that Gatsby had; they didn’t really know him, yet they all called him their friend. So why exactly did they not show up at this friends funeral? They really didn’t care, that’s why. They were so into the fact that they could go to his parties, and have fun, that when it all ended they were mad that it had to stop and not at all sad at the fact that they had lost a friend. Greed had driven these people to act this way. They all wanted to have fun, and enjoy life, and really didn’t seam to care who they hurt at all. Nick was the only one who appeared to really care at all. This is not the only example of greed in the book. The main idea of the story is achieving the â€Å"American Dreamâ⠂¬ , the idea of being ritch. Greed again is present. Everyone was so willing to do anything for money. Daisy does not marry Gatsby because she thinks that Tom can offer her â€Å"Old† money, and the life that she desires. Later on she realizes that Gatsby could have offered her this too, but her greed drove h... Free Essays on Great Gatsby In the novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is portrayed as an individual who strives to achieve the American Dream through acts that would otherwise corrupt a common person in the 1920’s. F. Scott Fitzgerald, however, lived his life in the 1920s with ambition, devotion, and perseverance: the ideal formula for achieving financial success. But Fitzgerald didn’t always follow the rules to the American Dream of monetary prosperity. Likewise, Gatsby wasn’t always a lucky crook. Recognizing Gatsby’s and Fitzgerald’s distinctions, one may ask themselves: how can these two personages be likened to each other? The answer lies in the way in which each either progressed or was damned in living his life. The Great Gatsby is, to the most part, an autobiography of F. Scott Fitzgerald himself. All humans have at least two selves: one who wants to set goals, work hard, and achieve success; and one who would rather sit around and have fun shopping or gossiping. To understand F. Scott Fitzgerald, the man and the writer, one must be familiar with the idea of doubleness. Fitzgerald was quoted in â€Å"The Crack-Up† to have said that â€Å"the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function† (Gottesman, 1615). Everything about Fitzgerald is touched by this idea. For example, he both loves and hated money. He was attracted to the life of the very rich as an outsider who had very little, and at the same time he hated the dishonesty, hypocrisy, and cruelty of their lives. He was disciplined, knowing that he had to have great mental and physical self-control to succeed as a writer, but he was often unable to exercise those very qualities he knew he would need in orde r to succeed. Part of Fitzgerald lived a dazzling life full of parties, joviality, and show; and part of him knew that this sort of life was a complete chara... Free Essays on Great Gatsby Fitzgerald’s The Great Winter Dream F. Scott Fitzgerald is said to have been one of the most important American writers in the twentieth century, not only for his realistic views on the â€Å"American dream† but also for his insight and use of prose. It seems as though Fitzgerald was somewhat fixed on the dreams that men strive to acquire. This is extremely apparent throughout the short story â€Å"Winter Dreams† and The Great Gatsby. In both stories, he shows the connections between love, money, and social status. Not only are these stories extremely similar in setting, but there is a parallelism between Dexter and Gatsby, and between Judy and Daisy. Dexter and Gatsby both had poor childhoods and worked extremely hard for the riches that they gained. The riches that they earned helped them fall in love with rich beautiful girls. The men believed that money could fill the idea; that they were searching for, women. Dexter and Gatsby both used their newfound wealth for their own personal enjoyment. The two men both created their romantic dreams when they were young boys and they both remember the past as much as possible. In essence, both men are extremely similar characters because they both were in search of wealth, happiness, and a beautiful girl. The parallelism between Judy and Daisy is less evident than that of Dexter and Gatsby. The two ladies are both described as pretty and enchanting characters. They both were raised in families with abundant wealth. They are portrayed as charming and elegant and give the â€Å"Illusion† of love. Dexer and Gatsby both center their lives around these women, but the women do the exact opposite in both cases. The two charming ladies lead to the downfall of their â€Å"lovers.† Judy leads to Dexter’s unhappiness and Daisy leads to Gatsby’s death.... Free Essays on Great Gatsby In Fitzgerald’s book, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald illustrates the theme, â€Å"Outward appearances can be deceiving.† This theme is shown in a few parts of the book. These outward appearances are not only found in people, but in the geographical areas of the New York area. The first deceiving outward appearance is that of Daisy. At first, we are lead to believe that she is a very happy person, as Gatsby’s love. But she is not, she is a rather tragic and selfish person. We see this when she uses Gatsby as a way to go to parties and look popular, while she is really more attracted to Tom. And in the end of the story, she takes off with Tom and doesn’t leave a trace to where they are going. There is a big irony in this. We see that Gatsby is pursuing the woman he loves. But Daisy ends up inadvertently causing Gatsbys death by killing Myrtle in the car accident, which set Wilson into a psychotic mood. Gatsby himself has an outside appearance that is deceiving. At first, we see that he is a wealthy, courteous, and handsome man who is trying to get the woman he loves. Later on, we realize that Gatsby uses enormous amounts of people to get to Daisy. By throwing these large parties to impress Daisy, he uses many people, including Nick, to get to her. Another small, but deceiving appearance is that of the New York area. New York and East Egg are seen as beautiful, wealthy cities. But these cities form a layer to cover the valley of ashes, the area of poverty and desolation of the cities. This deceiving appearance may be minor, but it is there to support a theme of the book. These issues in the book are all used by Fitzgerald to support the theme, â€Å"Outward appearances can be deceiving.† These issues all have to be pulled out of the story and torn apart before they can be understood by the reader. Fitzgerald does an excellent job of interweaving conflicts and plots to make the story... Free Essays on Great Gatsby Reserving Judgements is a Matter of Infinite Hope† pg. 6 F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby This quote is the fundamental axiom that the book revolves around. Nick’s father told this to him and he hasn’t forgotten the quote or the intrinsic moral significance that goes along with it. So much is spoken and gossiped about Jay Gatsby before he is even introduced in the novel that no one knows his true character, except for the fact he’s a rich man who throws wild parties in West Egg. In the novel, both social image and the perception of wealth play important parts in illustrating the internal class structure of West and East Egg. The fact the Gatsby is such an enigmatic character makes the audience wonder about the internal make-up of his personality, since most of his life Gatsby has been trying to escape his true image. In the case with Nick, the narrator, and Gatsby, as long as judgments are not made, Nick can be optimistic about Gatsby and their relationship and hope for the best, even if the best situation is not always reached. More generally, however, it advocates tolerance and understanding regardless of social status, or preconceived information. Within the first chapter of the novel, there is already a contradiction and a questioning of Nick’s moral integrity as he regresses from his comment slightly. While he nobly and humbly mentions that he is tolerant and nonjudgmental, he also regards himself as morally privileged, having a greater sense of ‘decencies’ than other people. It makes sense that New York’s social dichotomy and the vast difference between the rich and the poor, the arrogant and the humble has given Nick a complete moral spectrum. This quote not only symbolizes a creed that Nick lives by, but it also represents the ideal morality that unfortunately many of the frantic, materialistic, capitalistic easterners lack. Judgments and stereotypes and the declination of American values pla... Free Essays on Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby: Nick versus Gatsby Mainframe computers analyze information and present it so that the observer is able to make accurate observations. In The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the narrator, Nick Carraway, tells a story in which Jay Gatsby tries to attain happiness through wealth. Even though the novel is titled after Gatsby, Nick, just as a mainframe computer, analyzes the actions of others and presents the story so that the reader can comprehend the theme. Therefore, Nick is the hero in the novel. Throughout the novel, Nick is the vehicle used to gather all of the pieces together to learn about Gatsby. Nick is a one of a kind in the novel. He also, is the only character that changes in the novel from the beginning to the end. Nick is the literary device that is employed to learn about Gatsby, which ultimately tells the theme of the story. Throughout the novel, flashbacks are inserted to reveal piece by piece about the mysterious Gatsby. Nick patches the pieces of the puzzle together regarding Gatsby's past and lack of a future. Nick is like the box of a puzzle; the puzzle is impossible to put together without it. Without Nick, the reader's opinion of Gatsby would be extremely different. The reader's opinion would be influenced by the idea that Gatsby becomes rich through bootlegging alcohol and counterfeiting bonds. Nick persuades the reader that Gatsby is "†¦worth the whole damn bunch (rich class) put together"(Fitzgerald,162). Even though Gatsby struggles to be part of the upper class, he, fortunately, is different from them. Nick also analyzes Gatsby's behaviour in order to provide the reader with details and a summary of the great man. At the end of the novel, Nick comments on Gatsby's life by stating that "(Gatsby) 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 al... Free Essays on Great Gatsby The all out flaunting of money first came about in the 1920’s. In this time period, when people had money, they found some extravagant way to show it. The characters of The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, reflected this type of lifestyle. The three characters, Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby, each reveal the theme of money can’t buy happiness, through their own unique way. The Great Gatsby includes three very different characters that all reveal a common theme. At first, Gatsby seems to be a sophisticated, and intelligent war veteran. However, once one gets past the surface, he comes to find out that Gatsby is frantically hanging onto the past. He reluctantly reveals the truth about events in his past when directly asked about them. His obsession with Daisy almost borders on insanity. However, he made his money work for him by impressing Daisy with his home. Gatsby thought that all of his material possessions would overwhelm Daisy. Still, Gatsby’s personality won over most of the people he encountered. He was an overall charming, and charismatic character that, in the end, proves that money can’t buy happiness. Throughout most of the book, Tom was a self-centered, materialistic person. Tom thought that Daisy was so in love with his money, that he could have an affair, and it not ruin his marriage. He thought of Daisy as just another one of his shallow, money driven possessions. Tom did, however, show some compassion, when he comforted George after his wife, and Tom’s mistress, was killed. Throughout the novel, Tom blatantly showed his shallow personality through his money-centered actions. At first glance, Daisy appears to be the most innocent of all the characters, but it is quickly learned that she too is immersed into money. Her extremely shallow personality was very evident when she told Gatsby â€Å"rich girls don’t marry poor boys.† Daisy’s words triggered something in Gatsby’s mind, and he reali...