The Great Gatsby free essay sample

The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald seems to communicate a message about people’s failure to accomplish their dreams—Nick, Gatsby, Tom, and Daisy all have ideas for the perfect life and none of them are able to achieve them. Deeply explore one character—his/her dreams, his/her dreams, his/her attempts to accomplish those dream, his/her reasons for failure, and the message that Fitzgerald might be communicating through this failure. The pursuit of dreams is the eternal topic for human. Some fanatical pursuit of fame and wealth, and some will lay down their lives for human equality. Whatever the realm of pursuing dreams, ultimately, I think it is the pursuit of spiritual satisfaction. However, in the reality, people’s dreams are very easy to be materialized. The background of The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is exactly such a society—blindly pursuing the dreams, which are materialized, leads people get lost and finally fail for their dreams. We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Gatsby or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In this novel, all the characters have their ideas for their dreams, but none of them are able to achieve them. So does Myrtle Wilson. Myrtle is an underclass married woman. Living in such a material society, Myrtle has enough of her poor life with her poor husband. She has a dream—escaping from her husband and having a luxurious life. Obviously, she fails to accomplish her dream. As an underlying social character, Myrtle cannot achieve her dream by herself. She must depend on some other upper class men, like Tom. When she pours over the story of her first meeting with Tom, she describes that, â€Å"He had on a dress suit and patent-leather shoes, and I couldn’t keep my eyes off him† (24). At the first tome Myrtle meets Tom, she falls for Tom. Or we can say, she falls for Tom’s wealthy dress up. Depending on Tom, Myrtle lives in a long white cake of apartment-houses, has parties with neighbors, dresses beautiful clothes, and has a lovely puppy. All of these tell us that her attempts to accomplish her dream by having the affair with Tom. She seems closer to her dream because of Tom, but unfortunately, she fails her dream because of Tom, too. Superficially, Myrtle fails to achieve her dream is because of she is married, and her husband does not allow her to leave him. Also, she is a shallow woman, she never cover her emotion for money. Furthermore, she is ignorant. When she requires Tom to buy her a dog, and asks is the dog a boy or a girl, Tom says, â€Å"It’s a bitch†, â€Å"Here’s your money. Go and buy ten more dogs with it† (19). What this illuminates is Tom does not respect her or love her—he just regards her as a little puppy. How can Tom to give up Daisy and their family for a little â€Å"puppy†? It seems impossible. Then we can foresee that Myrtle’s failure. Another reason is about the social class system. At that time, poor boys should not thinking of marrying rich girls, the same as poor women and rich men. For a wealthy man like Tom, it is normal for him to have mistress with any other girls or women, but no one from upper class is willing to marry a poor woman who has the lowest social status. Myrtle is so naive to realize it and fails for her dream finally. And the most important reason for Myrtle’s failure is—her dream is materialized. What she eagers most is the material life, how can her eagers other’s affection for her forever? Her affair with Tom is all about money but not love. And money is the weakest counter for achieving dreams. Myrtle’s dream is faculty false. Connecting to American Dream, once people have dreams, they think that their dreams are not difficult to be achieved through some ways. This blindly thought leads them to ignore the difficulties in the way to accomplish their dreams. For example, in Myrtle’s case, she dislikes her husband and wants to escape from him and their poor marriage life. When she meets Tom and tastes the material life, her desires gradually expand. These desires make her neglect the barrier between the poor and the wealth—the difficulty which can prevent her to achieve her dream. Fitzgerald wants to throw cold water on many people who go overboard for the American Dreams. Actually, American Dreams is not what Fitzgerald wants to criticize. He wants to criticize the villainous American Dreams—metamorphic to pursue of money or pursue of profligate enjoyment by hook or by crook. No other than to pursuing this materialized and villainous dreams make people trap within a false status—pursuing success built by money and fame, but the mind of life is empty. Prosperous appearance covers the hollow and false of the society. All in all, pursuing all about material can never give people the deep sense of satisfaction. It can only expand people’s desires and make people get lost. Then regarding the pursuit of material is their only dreams and forgetting what they really need is morality. Finally they will have a more hopeless ending. The Great Gatsby free essay sample Both Fitzgerald and Gatsby vowed early in life to be successful and prosperous. The underlining symbolism in The Great Gatsby is well presented and can be analyzed through deeper literal examination of quotes such as (pg. 16) I didnt call to him, for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone he stretched out his arms towards the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock. When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished, and I was alone again in the unquiet darkness. This chapter therefore comes to an end with the symbol of the green light that is mysterious. The readers first knowledge of the green light is depicted when Gatsby tries to reach out towards it, like he is worshipping it. We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Gatsby or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page As we progress, we discover that the green light is at the end of Daisys dock and is a symbol of Gatsby dream and hope for the future. On page 115, Fitzgerald proceeds to compare Gatsby green light to the green beast of the world. This demonstrates that even though Daisy is a symbol of power and wealth, there are underlying evil aspects that surround the beauty and comfort and envisaged by Gatsby. The word time appears 450 times in the novel either by itself or in a compound word. Fitzgerald obviously wanted to emphasize the importance of time to the overall design of the book. Time is most important to Gatsbys character. Gatsbys relationship with time is a major aspect to the plot. He wants to erase five years from not only his own life but also Daisys. Gatsbys response to Nick, telling him that he can repeat the past, is symbolic of the tragic irony that is behind Gatsbys fate. Gatsby exclaims (pg. 116), Cant repeat the past? Why of course you can! Gatsby cannot accept Daisy until she erases the last three years of her life by telling Tom that she never loved him to his face. Gatsby fully believes what he says and thinks or desperately hopes, that is true about Daisy. At one part of the story he actually tells Nick how, as soon as Tom is out of the picture, he and Daisy were going to go to Memphis so they could get married at her white house just like it were five years before hand. In another scene, when Gatsby and Nick go to the Buchanan’s for lunch towards the end of the book, Gatsby sees Daisys and Toms child for the first time. Nick describes Gatsbys expression as a natural surprise and suggests that Gatsby probably never before believed in the girls existence. Gatsby is so caught up in his dream that he becomes vulnerable to the worlds brutal reality. Daisy like so is characterized as a symbol of wealth and power; Fitzgerald distinctively creates a time symbolism in the scene when Daisy and Gatsby meet for the first time in five years. As Nick enters the room where Daisy and Gatsby have just met, Gatsby is leaning nervously against the mantelpiece while resting his head upon the clock on the mantle. At an awkward pause in the conversation, the clock starts to tip as if to fall off the mantle. Gatsby dramatically catches the clock before it falls and all three characters are speechless, stricken with a strange awe of the precious clock. Nick, narrates, I think we all believed for a moment that it had smashed in pieces on the floor. The clock was symbolizing time and Gatsbys head resting on it was all the pressure that Gatsby was putting on time. Time could not support the demands that Gatsby was making. Gatsby gingerly catching the clock and his resultant apology symbolizes the sensitivity of his plan and how necessarily delicate his methods were. The main theme of Scott F. Fitzgeralds book The Great Gatsby is the demonstration of how Americas culture of material wealth and sophistication desire has gone beyond the complete search for comfort in life to levels of worship. This ends up in harmful consequences outlined by the flaws in life. Fitzgerald used not only himself but also people he met and knew. Fitzgerald’s message in writing The Great Gatsby was the life of the â€Å"Jazz Age†. And the book tells about riches and glamour, as well as the materialism and the lack of morality of the Jazz Age. The Great Gatsby free essay sample Compares characters of Jay Gatsby Nick Carraway, focusing on their self-delusion, arrogance romanticism. (more) The Great Gatsby free essay sample The valley of ashes is bounded on one side by a small foul river, and when the drawbridge is up to let barges through, the passengers waiting trains can stare at the dismal scene for as long as half an hour. There is always a halt there of at least a minute and it was because of this that I first met Tom Buchanan mistress. While people are waiting for the train, between West Egg and New York they are surrounded in a place where Fitzgerald names the valley of ashes. The opening chapter of the Great Gatsby details the rich and American values. The second heaper Is where the valley of ashes Is Introduced. Fitzgerald portrays this landscape In such specific words that helps the reader capture the ambiance of the plot. The valley of ashes influences the reader to feel Like It Is a metaphor for the world today, some people can be stuck In this world but feel nothing. We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Gatsby or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page All the glitz and glamour can surround you , however, you may still be able to feel dead Inside.The word choice In this paragraph Is very significant and It Is Important to analyze each word, which all emphasize the desolation of the landscape and society. The first four words of the arcograph caught my attention right away. This is the first time Fitzgerald introduces the valley of ashes. A question that came to mind when name the valley of ashes was introduced, why did he choose those specific words to describe the place? Why is it so significant if they are just ashes. Also why ashes?Whose and what were they once? These questions really made me wonder as to what deeper story is there to the valley of ashes. Fitzgerald goes into depth describing the place but not how it got its name of valley of ashes. In addition, the name of the valley of ashes is a foreknowing for Myrtles death that takes place there later on in the story. Myrtle dies in the valley of ashes. She gets ran over by daisy driving the car in such a horrifying way because her body was ripped apart and she died in such pain. This makes a lot of since as to how she died that way because the valley of ashes is all dark, dusty, and gloomy so I was expecting a tragic way of her death due to where she was while it took place. In addition, the next few words the small foul river really caught my eye, considering that foul is a very strong word and gives me a negative vibe made me feel as if the deader would get negative vibes if the reader were there by themselves Furthermore, when I think of the word river I picture a beautiful long lasting, peaceful, calm, and full of life.Whenever someone thinks of a river the first thought to mind Is not usually a foul river. Rivers are usually a source of beauty in poetry. Foul also suggests a lack of life whereas rivers are usually portrayed as opposite. When reading this paragraph the read might feel as If Fitzgerald chose the right word to describe the river that would be in the valley of ashes; this phrase Is what really made me picture he valley of ashes as a very d irty and dark place. The term foul may suggest how no one lives In the valley of ashes and barley any people stop there. Furthermore, when Fitzgerald mentions the drawbridge and the train he tries to use this to show the reader old vs.. New. The only middle ground Is nothingness, emphasizing the desolation of the landscape. The word dismal Is a very strange word to connect with the paragraph because It made me wonder what kind of people would Walt and look at this stop? And when they stopped and looked how would it change their outlook? ND wondering having so many questions, how come it is in between two lively cities and the middle is so dead? Why is the train stopping here?The next phrase that jumped out to me was at least a minute. If it were not for that one-minute he wouldnt have even known her and she would have meant nothing. This showed me that nick had a lack of value for the human life; he mentions Toms mistress as if no importance to his life. In addition, the last three words Tom Buchanan mistress takes the reader back to where Fitzgerald was foreknowing at the beginning of the novel. The placement of these two words in relation of to the beginning of the book may foreshadow the events to come.Perhaps the decadence in the time period reflects how people were trying to ignore the past of WWW. As WWW starts off society begins to realize all the glamour is coming to an end. Fitzgerald asserts that ashes represent something already burned, which may symbolize WWW. The people stuck at the train station may insinuate that society is still stuck in the desolated mind set. This shows that society might not be ready for what is to come due to their avoidance of the past lessons and inability to learn from their mistakes. The Great Gatsby free essay sample The American dream has increasingly focused on materialistic items as a sign of attaining success. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is a self-made man who started out with no money only planned for achieving his dream. He is so blinded by his luxurious possessions that he does not see that money cannot buy love or happiness. Fitzgerald demonstrates how a dream can become corrupted by one’s focus on acquiring wealth, power, and expensive things. Gatsby’s dream can be said to be a naive dream based on the mistaken belief that material possessions are identical with happiness, harmony, and beauty. His American dream has become rather corrupted by the background of wealth that surrounds him in his everyday life. His romantic view of wealth has not prepared him for the self-interested, snobbish, corrupt group of people that also surround him. He throws lavish parties for countless people, yet he has no real friends. We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Gatsby or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Gatsby buys expensive things and entertains large groups of society because of his inexpressible desire for something greater. Nick Carraway realizes that although Gatsby is involved in underhanded business dealings, he is a good man at heart. The last time Nick sees Gatsby alive, he tells him, â€Å"They’re a rotten crowd. You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together† (Fitzgerald 162). Gatsby’s romantic view of life may partly be to blame for his inability to achieve his dream. Although he has made his fortune through conducting suspicious business deals, his heart seems untouched by the honest evil that is around him. He has lived not for himself, but for his dream, instead. His vision of the good life inspired by the beauty of a lovely rich girl is what mainly steers him into the wrong aspect of reality. Gatsby’s inspiration comes from the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, whom he knew when he was in the military. Daisy’s parents considered Gatsby to be an unsuitable match, because he did not come from a good background and had little money. Nick Carraway, the narrator, sees Daisy as the golden girl, the typical rich beauty. Daisy can be seen as the symbol of all that Gatsby strives for; her voice is full of money, as Gatsby describes it. Her voice was â€Å"full of money—that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song in it† (Fitzgerald 127). Gatsby became so captivated by her voice that he based all of his actions on winning Daisy over, kind of like being a prize to be won or a reward to be earned. However, Gatsby is too late to realize that money is the only thing her voice promises. There is no compassion in Daisy, just as there is none in cold, hard cash. Daisy is careless with people’s lives; she lets Gatsby take the blame for her unintentional manslaughter of Myrtle Wilson. Her careless actions eventually result in Gatsby’s death, of which she shows no concern. She commits adultery, but she had no real intentions of leaving her husband. After she learns of Gatsby’s shady background, she quickly runs back into the arms of her equally self-absorbed, corrupt husband. The Buchanans live in the wealthy and highly exclusive East Egg of Long Island, which is the location that Gatsby probably desires. The green light at the end of the Buchanans’ dock symbolizes Gatsby’s yearning for wealth and power, and it also embodies Daisy as the object? of Gatsby’s desire. An obvious interpretation of the light is that the green represents money. The green color can also represent envy, the â€Å"green- eyed monster† because Gatsby longs to be a part of the East Egg society. The fact that the green light can be seen across the bay, â€Å"minute and far away† from Gatsby’s mansion, symbolizes that Daisy or wealth is out of his reach, even though he can still see a glimpse of it. Daisy and Tom’s marriage is further proof of the collapse of the American dream. Although they belong to the snobbish West Egg social group and have extreme wealth, they are unhappy. Tom is first described as â€Å"one of those men who reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterwards savors of anti-climax† (Fitzgerald 11). Tom and Daisy are both in unsatisfied with life and are searching for something better. They have traveled to France and drifted â€Å"here and there unrestfully wherever people were rich and played polo together† (Fitzgerald 11). They are unhappy and bored with life. Tom seems to be searching for the excitement that he found in playing football in college, and he finds an outlet for his dissatisfaction by cheating on his wife with Myrtle. Once again, Gatsby does not see that attaining wealth and power does not equal happiness. The Buchanans’ marriage is full of lies and infidelities, yet they are united through their corruption. After Tom has discovered Daisy’s infidelity and Myrtle has been killed, their callous selfishness is revealed when they are reunited over fried chicken and two bottles of ale. After Myrtle and Gatsby are both killed, neither one of the Buchanans sends their regards or seem remorseful. In fact, they go on a short vacation, which is an indication of the lack of compassion they have toward others. Nick perceives Tom and Daisy as they really are, heartless and careless. They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made† (Fitzgerald 188). Tom and Daisy’s actions are an indication of the detrimental and emotionally numbing effects that wealth can have on someone. They focus too much on appearance and things of m onetary value, while ignoring people’s feelings and lives. Jordan Baker’s plans are also negatively impacted by the corruptive qualities of wealth. Although Nick is attracted to Jordan’s bored, jaunty, careless air at first, he finally understands that it conveys her profound disregard for other people’s feelings. Jordan supports Daisy having an affair, because â€Å"Daisy ought to have something in her life† (Fitzgerald 85). She sees Gatsby as something, not someone. Jordan also has a reputation for being dishonest and for being a gossip. She was involved in a golf tournament scandal in which she was accused of moving her golf ball to her advantage. Jordan belongs to the elitist East Egg social group because of her careless, dishonest ways. She serves as a hint as to the true nature of the people from East Egg. Jordan may also be an indication of the? types of people that Gatsby entertains, since she attends his parties. She is similar to many of his partygoers in that she exploits his hospitality yet never shows any genuine kindness toward him. Nick is a typical attendee of Gatsby’s parties, because he is the only one who shows compassion for Gatsby. Nick knows the truth about Gatsby, his humble background, his dishonest business dealings, and his aspirations for success. Nevertheless, Nick recognizes that although Gatsby has become absorbed in a world of materialism and corruption, he is still a good man. Perhaps because he and Gatsby both come from the Midwest, they do not truly belong with the shallow company of East Egg and West Egg. On the surface, Fitzgerald’s novel may appear to be just a shallow novel about the jazz, parties, and glitz that he experienced in the early twentieth century. After closer examination, however, it is apparent that The Great Gatsby is a profound social commentary on the corrupt materialism that can have on members of society. The have-nots yearn to be like the haves, yet those who already have wealth and status are unhappy and dissatisfied with their lives. On the whole, the superior group in the novel displays characteristics of being bored, disenchanted, and unmotivated. For example, the Buchanans drift from one place to the next, with no real plan or goal in mind. Jordan Baker has a constant bored, unaffected look upon her face. Gatsby has devoted his life to belonging to this exclusive group, but it becomes obvious that he never will belong because of his disreputable background. Also, Gatsby’s romantic idealism does not fit in with this group; no matter how far up the social ladder he climbed, he would never really fit in. The great irony seems to be that the people who have the means, monetary or socially, to grasp their dreams do not have the motivation or the will. Gatsby is surrounded by this materialism and discontent, which serves to tarnish his dream of success. His rags-to- riches dream turns into a dark nightmare that leads to his untimely downfall. His romantic idealism has not prepared him for the corrupt world in which he enters. Gatsby is surrounded by proof of the unhappiness that â€Å"success† can bring, as seen especially through Tom and Daisy. Their marriage is full of lies and deceit, and they are both searching for something greater than what they already have. Gatsby is so blinded by his dream that he does not see that money cannot buy love or happiness. Fitzgerald effectively offers a powerful critique of a materialistic society and the effects it can have on one’s hopes and dreams.