The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is a classic work of F. Scott Fitzgerald, an American author of short stories and novels. The book was first published in 1925 during a period known as the Jazz age. The novel was purely creative work of the author. Advertising We will write a custom book review sample on The Great Gatsby specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The story was set on North Shore in Long Island in New York City. F. Scott Fitzgerald is regarded as one of those greatest writers in America of the 20th century. The novel was written during the First World War when the American society enjoyed success. The period was known as roaring 1920s when the economy soared. During this period, manufacturing and sale of alcohol was banned which made millionaires become bootleggers. The Great Gatsby is a love story that embraces American ideals of 1920s as viewed through the characters’ actions throughout the novel. The story is about Jay Gatsby, a wealthy man, and his love for Daisy Buchanan. The book addresses the lavish life that most people lived in America during the 20s, a period referred to as roaring 20s. The 1920s of America can be termed as rebellious decade, a period when the younger generation mainly focused on having fun and fritting their time with friends instead of family. During this period, some amendments were made in American Constitution which included enforcement of prohibition. Nobody was allowed to produce, sell or even consume alcohol in America. With the existence of probation law, crime also increased in America. All these characteristics of America during 1920 are evident and inherent in the main character, Jay Gatsby, in the novel The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald portrayed Gatsby as an extravagant young man who loved parting and bootlegging. This is evident in the book: â€Å"Tom accused Gatsby of bootlegging and other illegal activities (Bruccoli 100).† Gatsby discovered that Nick who is the n arrator of the play is related to Daisy the woman he fell in love with. The love that Gatsby had for her had been buried but when he saw Daisy at Nick’s place, that love rose again which caused mayhem among Tom, Nick, Daisy and him. The plot of the book presents an intertwined love story and the characters’ actions clearly bring out the American ideals of 1920s. Gatsby also presents the economic status of Americans during 1920s. After the end of World War I, there was economic peace in America and many people had the potential to acquire wealth. Many people began to spend money on cars, tourism and houses. Advertising Looking for book review on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Gatsby is a good example in the novel; he did everything in his power to acquire wealth and after that he began to misuse it. In the beginning, Gatsby was an ordinary man without much wealth; this was before he met his l ove Daisy (Bruccoli, 89). This also depicts America before 1920s when its economy was not stable yet. After the war, many soldiers decided to come back home to their families. This is one of the themes in the novel The Great Gatsby. Gatsby strived to come home at the end of the war but he ended up in Oxford. However, when he finally managed to get to home, Gatsby began to look for the love of his life, Daisy. Based on American ideals, one can say that those solders that went to fight in World War I in Europe had a strong love for their country. They went back home to look for their loved ones. The economic peace in America during 1920s is evident through the kind of life that the characters in The Great Gatsby had. Gatsby and his friends used to spend freely more on entertainment and leisure. They used to go out to lavished parties which were attended by everyone. This was accelerated by preface of alcohol beverages in Prohibition period (Bruccoli, 140). In conclusion, The Great Ga tsby is a love story that embraces American ideals of 1920s as viewed through the characters actions throughout the novel. The book addresses the lavish life that most people were living in America during the 20s, a period referred to as roaring 20s. Works Cited Bruccoli, Joseph. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby: A Literary Reference. New York: Carroll Graf Publishers, 2000. This book review on The Great Gatsby was written and submitted by user Ana E. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here. The Great Gatsby Introduction The novel, The Great Gatsby, can be considered a form of novelized social commentary that delves into the life of Jay Gatsby, an eccentric millionaire with an unhealthy obsession with the character of Daisy Buchanon. There are three distinct characteristics of Gatsby which can be considered his defining traits yet are the source of inevitable downfall. These traits are: his obsession with the past, his unwillingness to see the problems of the present and his desire to achieve a future no matter the cost.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Gatsby specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In essence, it can be seen that in his pursuit of what he thinks is his â€Å"ideal† love, Gatsby is in fact pursuing nothing more than a false ideal that he has placed on a pedestal. As such, it can be stated that the main thematic element of the novel is that of a critique which criticizes the excesses of socie ty during the early 1920s by exposing the various negative qualities seen by the author during this era. The embodiment of these negative aspects comes in the form of Gatsby and his life, which in the end is seen as hollow and empty, just as the morals and values of the characters seen in the novel. Obsession with the Past Gatsby’s obsession with the past can be summed up by the following quote: â€Å"If it was not for the mist we could see your home across the bay . You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock.† This quote refers to the house of Daisy which is situated on the river directly across from Gatsby’s home. His obsession with the past is reflected in his unwillingness to give up what he thinks is his â€Å"ideal love†. His actions related to throwing elaborate parties, illegal bootlegging activities and even asking Daisy to cheat on her husband and be with him are all extensions of his obsession with his past relat ionship with Daisy and how he believes that they are meant to be together. What must be understood is that despite Gatsby being killed by a bullet in the end, the fact remains that he would have inevitably been arrested by the authorities as a direct result of his illegal activities. His fortune was built upon illegally transporting liquor with numerous people being aware of his activities. As such, it can be seen that such an obsession was one of the contributing factors behind his downfall. He simply refused to move on, to find someone else, and to go for another woman that would have suited his lifestyle more. Instead, he hung on as tight as he could to his ideal, and, like the fool that he was, died as a direct result of such actions. Unwillingness to see the problems of the present The unwillingness of Gatsby to see the problems of the present can be seen in the following quote which surmises the way in which he lived his life: â€Å"Gatsby believed in the green light, the org iastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter — tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.†Advertising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More What must be understood is that in the case of Gatsby he seldom examined the immediate impact of his actions and mental state and instead focused the entirety of his time on thoughts related to Daisy. The cost of his parties, the legality of his acquired fortune and the problems he was having in keeping his activities a secret were all secondary concerns in the face of his obsessive desire to have a woman that was not his. The culmination of his unwillingness to see the problems of the present is seen when he took the blame for the car accident that killed Myrtle when it was in fact Daisy that was behind the wheel of the car. The fact that he might have been arrested, incar cerated for life or even killed did not seem to occur to him. From a certain perspective it can be stated that he was blind to such potential futures and instead obsessively focused on the one thing that was most valuable to him, namely Daisy. Desire to achieve a future no matter the cost The following quote best describes the essence of Gatsby as an individual that relentlessly pursued his desired future no matter the cost: â€Å"The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God . and he must be about His Father’s business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty. So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end.† From this quote it can be seen that Gatsby’s ego, his desire to make something of himself and to be better than what he was no matter the means was driving force b ehind him achieving his fortune through illegal means. His vision of the future involved being rich and being married to Daisy. It is due to this that he single mindedly pursued his goal to the extent that he became rich, bought a home across from Daisy’s and continued to throw lavish parties to entice her to come. However, based on the other two personality traits that have been elaborated on already, his desire was ultimately self-destructive leading him to live a hollow and empty existence with no real friends as seen in the case of his funeral. This essay on The Great Gatsby was written and submitted by user ShinobiShaw to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here. The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby