... to another. It is safe to say, however, that one of the stereotypical American Dreams is "a house surrounded by a white picket fence where Dick and Jane play with their dog, Spot." Most people perceive this setting as the perfect life, because it appears to be flawless -- no problems and no worries. The ... , Tom. When Tom and Gatsby confronted each other about their love for Daisy, something was said that truly showed how long Gatsby had wanted to complete this chapter of his life. He says to Tom: "She never loved you, do you hear?" [Gatsby] cried. "She only married you because I was poo...

• Word Count: 1317
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... the Almighty dollar, status, superficial beauty and other luxuries and new innovations leads people to neglect their relationship with others. In "American Beauty" both Lester and Carolyn neglect their daughter, Jane, after both decide to pursue new journeys. Carolyn becomes obsessed with trying to become a great real estate agent and has an affair with Buddy Kane, her so-called competitor in ... to Carolyn, she lashes out at her telling her she should be happy she has "nice things" and that she should be "grateful that she doesn't live in a duplex." Jane, like most children, wants to h...

• Word Count: 1003
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... Fitzgerald, Gatsby's past is revealed very gradually throughout the story. It is revealed shortly in a couple parts in the story, and then it is blown open in Chapter 6. This technique is used so that Gatsby can remain a "mystery" throughout the book. Also, it is used to keep Gatsby's image of being rich and famous ... , throughout the story. We first learn about Gatsby in the first chapter. We briefly get a description of Gatsby. We learn that he lives in the same place as Nick. They both live in West Egg, which is the ... technique is used so that it seems that Gatsby is really this gr...

• Word Count: 1488
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... few obvious motifs to depict what his notion of the American Dream is. One of the motifs used was dishonesty, more specifically, dishonesty of the rich. In Chapter 3, Jordan mentions that she cheated in a golf tournament to win and Nick thinks about what kind of person she is: "Jordan Baker avoided instinctively clever, shrewd ... to be able to stay bathing in wealth, which shows that people will do anything to obtain/maintain the American Dream. Another motif used was cars. In Chapter 4, Gatsby drives over to Nick's house to take him out for lunch, and Nick encounters Gatsby's car: "It w...

• Word Count: 1146
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... of the Valley of Ashes disillusion themselves in this gloomy town. The narrator, Nick, first introduces the Eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg in the beginning of chapter two. At this point in the novel the eyes don't seem to represent anything of importance to him. At first sight, all he sees are, "A ... , he doesn't discuss it any further, thus implying that he only saw it as an object and really didn't put much though into it. However, in chapter seven, Nick has a different outlook on the eyes. He states that, "The eyes were regarding us with a peculiar intensity- (pg 131) For the first ... t...

• Word Count: 1284
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... Gatsby's trouble to express his feelings leads to his misfortune by portraying him as an incredibly mysterious character. Nick sees Gatsby for the first time in chapter one. (2) When Nick first moves to the area, he notices that Gatsby is a lonely man. In their conversation with one another, Gatsby seems ... closely and find out why he chooses to be so lonely. (2) Second, Fitzgerald shows that Gatsby longing for the past leads to his misfortune. Chapter four introduces more about Gatsby's life. We learn that Gatsby inherited his money from his family. We also learn that Gatsby is involved...

• Word Count: 617
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... created continually act in a superficial way. Tom Buchanan is an excellent example of a trivial and superficial man. He displays this in the first chapter of the novel, with the comments he makes about the threat to white supremacy. To further emphasis his superficial nature, Fitzgerald uses irony later in ... and noticeably be of great contrast to each other. Even Nick can see this, when he mentions that after Gatsby's encounter with Tom in chapter seven he "had broken up like glass against Tom's hard malice." (pg 141) The character that Fitzgerald evidently wants his readers to dislik...

• Word Count: 6164
• Approx Pages: 25
• Grade Level: High School

... wealth; the color white, representing Daisy's purity and innocence; and the seasonal change from Summer to Fall, representing Gatsby's death. From chapter one, Fitzgerald relies on the color white to characterize Daisy as an innocent and pure character. In this chapter, Daisy is wearing a white dress, and correspondingly, she behaves innocently as well. Nick ties together these two traits of Daisy's when ... the season changes from summer to fall in the later stages of The Great Gatsby, the vegetation starts to die off, which is strong foreshadowing of Gatsby's upcoming death. In chapte...

• Word Count: 577
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... - wealthy. His extravagant mansion shows that he is trying to impress and show off with his possessions. Some time passes before we hear of Gatsby again (end of Chapter one). The beginning of Chapter 3 describes the transformation of Gatsby's garden and house for parties, It also shows his wealth again, " two motor boats, Rolls-Royce and a station wagon."" The next impression we ... and enough colored lights to make a Christmas tree of Gatsby's enormous garden."" (Description of party preparation) There is always a lack of light when Gatsby is around. The last paragraph of Chapter 1 desc...

• Word Count: 597
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... the rich choose to indulge themselves. They have no regard for others; they only act for their own pleasure and well being. The valley of ashes is first mentioned in Chapter II as Nick is on the way to meet Tom's mistress, Myrtle Wilson. He describes the valley as a ". . . fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and ... valley of ashes that Nick first sees on his way to meet Myrtle. Just as the grayness of the ashes is filling his mind, the blue eyes strike him. In Chapter II he describes these eyes as "blue and gigantic." With a closer look, Nick describes them...

• Word Count: 760
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... his own perception of reality, and the perceptions of the people around him through lies and deceit. Whether by fooling people visually, (such as when he dresses up as a girl) [Chapter 10, Clemens] or by tricking them eloquently, (Committing identity fraud on multiple occasions) Huck molds the realities of those around him. As Huck Finn fools the perceptions of those around ... disparate realities. Huck can weasel his way out of a situation, whereas Jim cannot, "because if he set [sic] up, people could tell he was a nigger a good ways off." [Chapter 9, Clemens] In this way, he is never ...

• Word Count: 1075
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... unexplainable feeling of love and remembrance. In the passage selected, Gatsby and Daisy encounter a whole new meaning to clothes. Which consumes them into a time they have once lost. In this chapter the reunion between Gatsby and Daisy arouses uncomfortable emotions between them both. This is the first time we see them together. We can see how their characters start adjusting to ... one of which a King might have. A lot of the light colors represent dreams or goals. Like all the bright yellow lights lit in Gatsby's white mansion at the beginning of chapter five. Which symbolize Gatsby'...

• Word Count: 1277
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... end of Daisy's dock that is visible at night from the windows and lawn of Gatsby's house. This green light is one of the central symbols of the novel. In chapter one, Nick observes Gatsby in the dark as he looks longingly across the bay with arms stretched outward toward the green light. It becomes apparent, as the story progresses that ... sight, that we have of Gatsby, is a ritualistic tableau that literally contains the meaning of the completed book" (Bewley 41). A broader definition of the green light's significance is revealed in Chapter 5, as Gatsby and Daisy stand at one of the w...

• Word Count: 1504
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... mansion with the millions that he inherited. Next, he changed his name from James Gats to Jay Gatsby. Throughout this novel the author gradually explained Gatsby's history, starting from chapter three. In chapter seven it is revealed by Tom that Mr. Gatsby dealt with illegal liquor and security in his childhood. This created a whole new look to Gatsby's identity. "He and this ... ...

• Word Count: 544
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... Tom has gone down even lower. I think what he does with Myrtle is totally wrong. I also think Nick is a little bit more of an individual than I did in the first chapter. Differences: One scene is when Nick and Jordan are sitting down at a table with a drunken girl and man about Nick's age. When Gatsby had shown his face at the table ... want Tom and envying Daisy because she has him and Myrtle wants him and she cant have him. Still More Biographical Facts: the only information I learned about Gatsby in this chapter is that he truly does love Daisy. I know this because he keeps it a secr...

• Word Count: 2072
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... girl Holden has had a major crush on for awhile, and has sexual intercourse with her. This is a perfect example of betrayal. A friend turns on another friend and takes his woman. "Jane Gallagher. Jesus. I couldn't get her off my mind" (32). In this book Holden is betrayed by his former friend Stridulate, as he takes the girl he loves but cannot get ... ...

• Word Count: 451
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... love with her. According to Jeffery Steinbrink, "Gatsby's dream obscures his vision of the world as it is and clouds his understanding of the historical process. " At one point in chapter three, Nick Carraway has to tell Gatsby that he cannot change or repeat the past " the past is the way it is and there is nothing he can do ... ...

• Word Count: 1064
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... 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" (Chapter 1) The green light is described as 'minute and far away' which shows how it's impossible to reach. The green light was mentioned one last time by Nick in the ... ...

• Word Count: 1141
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... George except to George himself. He exaggerates the fact that he is dumb and cannot see it for himself. Another example of exaggeration comes when Nick first meets Gatsby in chapter three. Nick comments on his smile and states "It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it that you may come across four or ... ...

• Word Count: 1632
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... San Francisco to hide the fact that he is simply a bootlegger. Additionally, he lies about where he got a lot of his money by posing that he had rich relatives. In chapter 2, rumours were floating around at one of Gatsby's famous shindigs. Mr. McKee deliberately says how Gatsby might be related to a wealthy man named Kaiser Wilhelm's. " 'Well they say ... ...

• Word Count: 1423
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... for Daisy Buchanan, but the dream cannot be met, as she is already married. Gatsby has a passion for reliving the past and hopes to repeat it in the future. In chapter six, Nick converses with Gatsby, "'You can't repeat the past.' 'Can't repeat the past?' Gatsby cried incredulously. 'Why of course you can!'" (Fitzgerald 111). Daisy has been ... ...

• Word Count: 1091
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... in Gatsby's demise. Throughout the novel, Gatsby proved to be a respectable man because of his admirable story, despite corruption and his naiveté. Primarily, Jay Gatsby wasn't fully introduced until chapter three. Everything leading up to his first introduction was a complete mystery. People told outrageous rumors and stories about him because nobody knew the truth or had any information regarding his ... ...

• Word Count: 781
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... I experiences, and puts him in the center of a neighborhood which holds the most extravagant lie that has ever quite possibly been imagined. Nick, a humble bonds clerk begins this upside-down chapter of his life meeting his cousin for dinner I myself have always imagined a bonds-clerk as a sickly, unhappy man with a family and no time for parties. But Nick is the polar ... ...

• Word Count: 1215
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... I experiences, and puts him in the center of a neighborhood which holds the most extravagant lie that has ever quite possibly been imagined. Nick, a humble bonds clerk begins this upside-down chapter of his life meeting his cousin for dinner. I myself have always imagined a bonds-clerk as a sickly, unhappy man with a family and no time for parties. But Nick is the polar ... ...

• Word Count: 1176
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... levels. The novel tells the reader that both men, Gatsby and Nick fought in World War I, allowing some understanding for why money was so important to both of them. In chapter four of The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald tells the reader that the American dream was originally about "discovery, individualism, and the pursuit of happiness." (Fitzgerald) During the twenties however, this dream ... ...

• Word Count: 2165
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School