How Does Fitzgerald Use Gatsby to Present Other Issues in the Great Gatsby
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Fitzgerald uses Gatsby, who is the perfect reflection of any young persons dream, to present the impossibility of the American Dream, but yet how important it is to dream and how wealth will not make you happy.
In chapter 3 Fitzgerald uses Gatsbys Library to present Gatsbys life as a veneer but also how much he wants his dream of living with Daisy and the lengths he will go to reach it. Fitzgerald uses the character of Owl Eyes – the only other character apart from Nick who sees Gatsby clearly; also owls can be an omen for death, which is foreshadowing later events in the novella. He points out the Gatsbys books are real although he didnt cut the pages. Books used to come with their pages uncut meaning the pages are sealed together. If you wanted to read them you would have to cut them open. Fitzgeralds presentation of Gatsbys uncut books tells us that much of what Gatsby presents to the world is a façade. His character wants people to believe that hes a well-educated man, an Oxford man, but in fact he only spent a short time there after the war. Fitzgerald is showing that Gatsby wants people to think that hes well read, but hes never even touched the covers. The books represent the fact that Gatsby is a fraud. At the surface there is a sense of realism but the inner reality contradicts this appearance. Hes built up an image of himself that isnt consistent with the facts of his life. Fitzgerald is also using the books to present Gatsby himself: eternally mysterious, unopened and unappreciated. Further more the fact that if one brick was removed the whole library would likely to collapse emphasises the fragility of not only Gatsbys dream but also the American Dream in general, and hints at the impossibility of its success.
In Chapter 5 Fitzgerald uses Gatsbys bedroom to show to the real Gatsby. Gatsbys bedroom has simple decorations and is a lot different compared to the glitz of the rest of his house shown in the parties his own chambers are anything but pretentious. This implies that Gatsbys outlandish persona is only a front and he still values the same things as when he feel in love with Daisy. Fitzgerald also uses his room to reinforce the comparison between Gatsby and Tom and where they get their money. It is suggesting that Gatsby came into his recently as he is used to living without luxury so his own bedroom is quite plain. The golden toilet seat reinforces this idea because it is an unnecessary item implying that Gatsby doesnt yet know how to spend his money wisely.
Another way Fitzgerald presents