... 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

... 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

... 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

... 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

... society. It is through the eyes of Nick Carraway that the reader is exposed to the frivolities that take place on Long Island during summer of 1922. In the first chapter of the novel Nick is presented as an observant, unbiased and non-judgemental person, but at the same time as someone who has a distinct connection to all of the characters ... . He realises that people are not the same and that one must not cast a label upon someone else simply because of the way they act or look. Nick states in chapter one that he is "inclined to reserve judgement" (p.1) and that he posses tolerance to ...

• Word Count: 841
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... 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

... conform to prevailing attitudes of the time. Nick Carraway diverted from this notion and covered the issue in black and white. The very controversial scene comes around the end of chapter two, whereby Nick ends up in McKee's bedroom and is after having a party in the company of Tom Buchanan alongside his mistress. McKee and Nick together moved towards the elevator ... . " I was standing beside his bed and he was sitting up between the sheets clad in his underwear with a great portfolio in his hands." In the last paragraph of chapter two, Nick is at the Penn Station literary half asleep a...

• Word Count: 1092
• Approx Pages: 4

... 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

... Dream, when "the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever," and thus "his count of enchanted objects had diminished by one"(93). However, in chapter seven, Gatsby is defeated in his goal to claim Daisy, proving he was foolish to accept and not question the tacit agreement in ... chapter five that he has finally won Daisy back. The manner in which the green light in presented in this novel resembles the evident tacit lie of the American Dream. Lastly, ... ...

• Word Count: 1239
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... 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

... Jay Gatsby's quest to win her back. The character of Gatsby is very interesting because it contradicts itself throughout the novel. Gatsby first enters the novel in a speaking character in Chapter Three as a mysterious, extremely wealthy man who already has a celebrity type reputation before he was even introduced. No one knows what he does, where he came from, and how he ... in Nick Carraway that his childhood was slowly revealed. The rest of his past of how he made his fortune still remained a mystery until he is exposed as a criminal in Chapter Seven. He is exposed as a fake, lovesic...

• Word Count: 839
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... 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

... discover that Nick and Gatsby have changed, a change in Gatsby's self-identity and in Nick's morality from the beginning until the end of the novel. Through information presented in each chapter, readers gradually learn about Gatsby's past. Jay Gatsby's original name was James Gatz and at the age of 17, James decided to disassociate himself from his family and from his ... ...

• Word Count: 539
• Approx Pages: 2

... maps into his stories to bring paths and connections together to find a far greater meaning than what is implied. An example of his unique sentences of the fourth paragraph of chapter one of The Great Gatsby he says, "If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises ... ...

• Word Count: 1076
• Approx Pages: 4

... 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

... 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

... dealings, because of the hints that Meyer Wolfshiem drops and the things Jay tells Nick about Meyer. The reader is finally told why Gatsby is unhappy at the end of chapter four, when Jordan Baker tells Nick about Gatsby's love for Daisy. The next major revelation about Gatsby does not happen to Nick until much later, but the author decided to ... ...

• Word Count: 519
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... important aspect of any tragic work "tragic flaw. Does Gatsby indeed have a "flaw of character- which leads him to his death? We first encounter Gatsby at the end of chapter one from a distance, stretching "his arms toward the dark water in a curious way."" He is staring intently at a small green light across the water, and the reader gets a distinct feeling ... ...

• Word Count: 528
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... watched over the affair with Tom and Myrtle from beginning to end, as Myrtle died in the valley of ashes. Emphasising the theme of seeing, the eyes also witnessed in chapter 7 that Tom "saw" the true relationship between Daisy and Gatsby and George "saw" that Myrtle was having an affair. Although the billboard has no true significance in the real world ... ...

• Word Count: 715
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... great American type. (Cohen) I tend to agree very strongly with Cohen's view of Gatsby. Is it not every American's dream to achieve their full potential? We are given privy in Chapter IX to a schedule and list of resolves made by Gatsby, then James. His writing, dated September 12th, 1906 shows us that even as a boy, Gatsby was dreaming and planning, to ... ...

• Word Count: 1111
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School