Great GatsbyEssay Preview: Great GatsbyReport this essayThemes, Motifs & SymbolsThemesThemes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.The Decline of the American Dream in the 1920sOn the surface, The Great Gatsby is a story of the thwarted love between a man and a woman. The main theme of the novel, however, encompasses a much larger, less romantic scope. Though all of its action takes place over a mere few months during the summer of 1922 and is set in a circumscribed geographical area in the vicinity of Long Island, New York, The Great Gatsby is a highly symbolic meditation on 1920s America as a whole, in particular the disintegration of the American dream in an era of unprecedented prosperity and material excess.
A Novel to read now
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The Great GatsbyEssay Preview: A Novel to read now The Great GatsbyReport this essay
The Good
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The Good
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A Novel to read now
An essay in which Gourleur (a.k.a. “The Little Sister”) contemplates the way in which she is treated by her own mother as she grows. Though she was born to be a girl and raised to see others as well as to teach, she cannot deny that the way in which she was treated has led to her becoming a hero in her own right. Her mother’s love does not leave her, but its very existence and its impact has had an affect on the way Gourleur sees the world. This, Gourleur explains, is precisely what she experienced as a “lady”: the kind of lady the boy was meant to be, never seen, but who in turn felt the love she has for the family at home. Gourleur then gets to tell her story, writing her an essay. The Gatsby and Gourleur story was originally commissioned as a way to tell the tragic tale of the Little Sister of Long Island from a girl named Lillian’s perspective. The story was published under the “Narrow Road” name, which was inspired by the life of the famous New Deal novelist William H. Macy. Both the Gatsby and Gourleur novels have great impact in a world where the “love” of children is never seen or even thought of.The following are excerpts from The Good by Gourleur in which Lillian takes control of Lillian’s life.The way she’s treated by her own mother. While Gourleur is raised by her Mother’s love, her real identity is still the matter of how one is meant to behave with her. She still must interact with her closest family to the same degree for happiness to become true, even if it means living in isolation. While she’s treated by her Mother’s closest cousin, Lillian is also treated by Lillian’s mother’s closest friends, and Lillian’s mother and closest mother-in-law are the real objects of Lillian’s love and affection. She doesn’t even know “she”—her mom still keeps her—so this relationship only takes her as far as the distance between her and the real-world woman he is supposed to be with, but to take care of her. During Lillian’s first relationship with Lillian, Gourleur is shocked to find out that she had met Lillian at a diner and was now trying to see her father, who works and works at Home Depot, and even though she’s barely aware of him at this point, Gourleur realizes that he was in fact going to make
A Novel to read now
by
The Great GatsbyEssay Preview: A Novel to read now The Great GatsbyReport this essay
The Good
By
The Good
by
A Novel to read now
An essay in which Gourleur (a.k.a. “The Little Sister”) contemplates the way in which she is treated by her own mother as she grows. Though she was born to be a girl and raised to see others as well as to teach, she cannot deny that the way in which she was treated has led to her becoming a hero in her own right. Her mother’s love does not leave her, but its very existence and its impact has had an affect on the way Gourleur sees the world. This, Gourleur explains, is precisely what she experienced as a “lady”: the kind of lady the boy was meant to be, never seen, but who in turn felt the love she has for the family at home. Gourleur then gets to tell her story, writing her an essay. The Gatsby and Gourleur story was originally commissioned as a way to tell the tragic tale of the Little Sister of Long Island from a girl named Lillian’s perspective. The story was published under the “Narrow Road” name, which was inspired by the life of the famous New Deal novelist William H. Macy. Both the Gatsby and Gourleur novels have great impact in a world where the “love” of children is never seen or even thought of.The following are excerpts from The Good by Gourleur in which Lillian takes control of Lillian’s life.The way she’s treated by her own mother. While Gourleur is raised by her Mother’s love, her real identity is still the matter of how one is meant to behave with her. She still must interact with her closest family to the same degree for happiness to become true, even if it means living in isolation. While she’s treated by her Mother’s closest cousin, Lillian is also treated by Lillian’s mother’s closest friends, and Lillian’s mother and closest mother-in-law are the real objects of Lillian’s love and affection. She doesn’t even know “she”—her mom still keeps her—so this relationship only takes her as far as the distance between her and the real-world woman he is supposed to be with, but to take care of her. During Lillian’s first relationship with Lillian, Gourleur is shocked to find out that she had met Lillian at a diner and was now trying to see her father, who works and works at Home Depot, and even though she’s barely aware of him at this point, Gourleur realizes that he was in fact going to make
A Novel to read now
by
The Great GatsbyEssay Preview: A Novel to read now The Great GatsbyReport this essay
The Good
By
The Good
by
A Novel to read now
An essay in which Gourleur (a.k.a. “The Little Sister”) contemplates the way in which she is treated by her own mother as she grows. Though she was born to be a girl and raised to see others as well as to teach, she cannot deny that the way in which she was treated has led to her becoming a hero in her own right. Her mother’s love does not leave her, but its very existence and its impact has had an affect on the way Gourleur sees the world. This, Gourleur explains, is precisely what she experienced as a “lady”: the kind of lady the boy was meant to be, never seen, but who in turn felt the love she has for the family at home. Gourleur then gets to tell her story, writing her an essay. The Gatsby and Gourleur story was originally commissioned as a way to tell the tragic tale of the Little Sister of Long Island from a girl named Lillian’s perspective. The story was published under the “Narrow Road” name, which was inspired by the life of the famous New Deal novelist William H. Macy. Both the Gatsby and Gourleur novels have great impact in a world where the “love” of children is never seen or even thought of.The following are excerpts from The Good by Gourleur in which Lillian takes control of Lillian’s life.The way she’s treated by her own mother. While Gourleur is raised by her Mother’s love, her real identity is still the matter of how one is meant to behave with her. She still must interact with her closest family to the same degree for happiness to become true, even if it means living in isolation. While she’s treated by her Mother’s closest cousin, Lillian is also treated by Lillian’s mother’s closest friends, and Lillian’s mother and closest mother-in-law are the real objects of Lillian’s love and affection. She doesn’t even know “she”—her mom still keeps her—so this relationship only takes her as far as the distance between her and the real-world woman he is supposed to be with, but to take care of her. During Lillian’s first relationship with Lillian, Gourleur is shocked to find out that she had met Lillian at a diner and was now trying to see her father, who works and works at Home Depot, and even though she’s barely aware of him at this point, Gourleur realizes that he was in fact going to make
Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values, evidenced in its overarching cynicism, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure. The reckless jubilance that led to decadent parties and wild jazz music–epitomized in The Great Gatsby by the opulent parties that Gatsby throws every Saturday night–resulted ultimately in the corruption of the American dream, as the unrestrained desire for money and pleasure surpassed more noble goals. When World War I ended in 1918, the generation of young Americans who had fought the war became intensely disillusioned, as the brutal carnage that they had just faced made the Victorian social morality of early-twentieth-century America seem like stuffy, empty hypocrisy. The dizzying rise of the stock market in the aftermath of the war led to a sudden, sustained increase in the national wealth and a newfound materialism, as people began to spend and consume at unprecedented levels. A person from any social background could, potentially, make a fortune, but the American aristocracy–families with old wealth–scorned the newly rich industrialists and speculators. Additionally, the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919, which banned the sale of alcohol, created a thriving underworld designed to satisfy the massive demand for bootleg liquor among rich and poor alike.
Fitzgerald positions the characters of The Great Gatsby as emblems of these social trends. Nick and Gatsby, both of whom fought in World War I, exhibit the newfound cosmopolitanism and cynicism that resulted from the war. The various social climbers and ambitious speculators who attend Gatsbys parties evidence the greedy scramble for wealth. The clash between “old money” and “new money” manifests itself in the novels symbolic geography: East Egg represents the established aristocracy, West Egg the self-made rich. Meyer Wolfshiem and Gatsbys fortune symbolize the rise of organized crime and bootlegging.
As Fitzgerald saw it (and as Nick explains in Chapter IX), the American dream was originally about discovery, individualism, and the pursuit of happiness. In the 1920s depicted in the novel, however, easy money and relaxed social values have corrupted this dream, especially on the East Coast. The main plotline of the novel reflects this assessment, as Gatsbys dream of loving Daisy is ruined by the difference in their respective social statuses, his resorting to crime to make enough money to impress her, and the rampant materialism that characterizes her lifestyle. Additionally, places and objects in The Great Gatsby have meaning only because characters instill them with meaning: the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg best exemplify this idea. In Nicks mind, the ability to create meaningful symbols constitutes a central component of the American dream, as early Americans invested their new nation with their own ideals and values.
Nick compares the green bulk of America rising from the ocean to the green light at the end of Daisys dock. Just as Americans have given America meaning through their dreams for their own lives, Gatsby instills Daisy with a kind of idealized perfection that she neither deserves nor possesses. Gatsbys dream is ruined by the unworthiness of its object, just as the American dream in the 1920s is ruined by the unworthiness of its object–money and pleasure. Like 1920s Americans in general, fruitlessly seeking a bygone era in which their dreams had value, Gatsby longs to re-create a vanished past–his time in Louisville with Daisy–but is incapable of doing so. When his dream crumbles, all that is left for Gatsby to do is die; all Nick can do is move back to Minnesota, where American values have not decayed.
The Hollowness of the Upper ClassOne of the major topics explored in The Great Gatsby is the sociology of wealth, specifically, how the newly minted millionaires of the 1920s differ from and relate to the old aristocracy of the countrys richest families. In the novel, West Egg and its denizens represent the newly rich, while East Egg and its denizens, especially Daisy and Tom, represent the old aristocracy. Fitzgerald portrays the newly rich as being vulgar, gaudy, ostentatious, and lacking in social graces and taste. Gatsby, for example, lives in a monstrously ornate mansion, wears a pink suit, drives a Rolls-Royce, and does not pick up on subtle social signals, such as the insincerity of the Sloanes invitation to lunch. In contrast, the old aristocracy possesses grace, taste, subtlety, and elegance, epitomized by the Buchanans tasteful home and the flowing white dresses of Daisy and Jordan Baker.
What the old aristocracy possesses in taste, however, it seems to lack in heart, as the East Eggers prove themselves careless, inconsiderate bullies who are so used to moneys ability to ease their minds that they never worry about hurting others. The Buchanans exemplify this stereotype when, at the end of the novel, they simply move to a new house far away rather than condescend to attend Gatsbys funeral. Gatsby, on the other hand, whose recent wealth derives from criminal activity, has a sincere and loyal heart, remaining outside Daisys window until four in the morning in Chapter VII simply to make sure that Tom does not hurt her. Ironically, Gatsbys good qualities (loyalty and love) lead to his death, as he takes the blame for killing Myrtle rather than letting Daisy be punished, and the Buchanans bad qualities (fickleness and selfishness) allow them to remove themselves from the tragedy