Great? Or Not So Great? In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby we see the constant battle between morality and secularism, mainly through his use of symbolism. Two main symbols used throughout his work are the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg and the green light. One must sometimes wonder ... and why they acted the way they did; because each character has a different interpretation of each symbol. Gary J. Scrimgeour, author of "Against the Great Gatsby", has a similar outlook on the novel; however his feelings aren't as strong as Kenny's. Scrimgeour states, "It may serve to teach both rea...

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• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... his entire life to climbing the social ladder in order to gain wealth, to ultimately win the love of a woman: something that proves to be unattainable. As it turns out, Gatsby's excessive extravagance and love of money, mixed with his obsession for a woman's love, is actually the autobiographical portrayal of Fitzgerald. While attending Princeton University, Fitzgerald struggled immensely with his ... . "Its lavish weekend parties in impressive surroundings, which attracted girls from New York, Philadelphia and beyond, may well have provided the first grain of inspiration for Fitzgerald's...

• Word Count: 2254
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... feature. Set in 1920's America - pre stock market crash - in the rich suburbs of New York known as East and West Egg, "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald explores the positive and negative aspects of dreams. By analysing Fitzgerald's characterisation, setting and actions in the novel and determining how effectively ... possessions he requires: "His bedroom was the simplest room of them all" The inclusion of this information is very successful in the understanding of why Gatsby lives where he lives, in the house that he lives in: "it was a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville ...

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... , they fall short of true happiness. Throughout the novel, moral decadence, frequent exploitation, and the unobtainable American Dream represent significant themes in understanding various interpretations of The Great Gatsby's storyline. Throughout the novel, moral decadence is displayed by many members of the wealthy, ruthless upper-class society. For example, blatant adultery takes place throughout the novel. ... for one's fellow man. Also in the novel, frequent exploitation to gain one's own needs or desires serves as a popular path to happiness. For instance, manipulative partygoers...

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... Daisy; he even "revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes." (Fitzgerald 97) Gatsby has built his fortune through some mysterious business practice. He knows Daisy loves money, wealth, and prestige, and he believes he can use his ... he eagerly tries to points out to Daisy: "You must see the faces of many people you've heard about." (Fitzgerald 111) Daisy's reactions justify Gatsby's beliefs. "'I've never met so many celebrities!' Daisy exclaimed." (Fitzgerald 111) She is dutifully impressed with his mansion: "'That huge place o...

• Word Count: 1325
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• Grade Level: High School

... of the novel are also based on people with whom Fitzgerald had associated throughout his life (H, Nicole 1). The Characters of Nick Carroway and Jay Gatsby are both a little bit of Fitzgerald himself. Nick is like Fitzgerald in the way that they both are kind, thoughtful young men from Minnesota. ... to be Tommy Hitchcock, war hero and champion polo player (H, Nicole 1). Born in 1900, Tommy Hitchcock was, at the time of the writing of "Gatsby,"" a world famous champion polo player. From 1922-1940, with the exception of 1935, he had received the coveted 10-goal handicap rating, the highes...

• Word Count: 1690
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• Grade Level: High School

... , a perfect family, a true love, and security---is not uncommon, but the corruption is characterized by greed and overpowered by money and material wealth. Gatsby's one lingering hope throughout his entire life was set upon winning Daisy with his materialistic values, and his life ended tragically as he soon would learn the ... without reevaluating the perception of why they should want such a dream if happiness, the base of ones dreams, is not of material significance. Jay Gatsby based his life on his love for Daisy Buchanan and set his heart on achieving his dream, but was shot down by ...

• Word Count: 1397
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... aspects into the novel such as the continuous strings of insignificant parties, the recklessness of the wealthy, the cruelty of the Valley of Ashes, and Gatsby and Myrtle's tragic deaths. Nick Carraway's moral and honest view of life is the only slight relief from the feel of tragedy. Not only ... the absolute contrary to the people of the 1920's whom Fitzgerald detested. The simple pleasures of life satisfy and excite Carraway and Fitzgerald also. The Great Gatsby was a way for Fitzgerald to verbalize his disapproval of the people of the "roaring twenties." Although most people view thi...

• Word Count: 1839
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... no principle to hold it together (Lehan "Sugar Lumps- 95). Fitzgerald incorporates his personal background, peers and close friends, to form the personalities of the various characters in The Great Gatsby. F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota (Michael Reynolds 2360). His mother's father was a self made Irish immigrant millionaire, and his father was a salesman who married above his social ... Zelda was committed on and off, to a sanitarium (Reynolds 2360). As a result of Fitzgerald's struggle with alcoholism he struggled with his writing career (Reynolds 2360). "The subst...

• Word Count: 1494
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... , but rather a more in-depth view of American history and the ordinary people living during this time. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel the Great Gatsby, morality played a huge factor in how the reader views the people of the 1920s. The 1920s was a period in our history, much like many ... 1920s were so defined that for both of these groups and many others, true love was virtually impossible. Even though the characters in the Great Gatsby, and man! y of the social elite of the 20s and even possibly today, would say other wise, money cannot buy true happiness. Through ... illegally were pr...

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• Grade Level: High School

... love with him, but when she comes in danger of being implicated of Myrtle's death, she leaves with Tom not even stopping to say goodbye to Gatsby. "There was an unmistakable air of natural intimacy about the picture, and anybody would have said that they were conspiring together.""[Pg 138], an observation by ... he is a burden and because he is unsuccessful and poor she seeks love elsewhere not realizing the hurt she will cause her husband. The main character, Gatsby shows the most heartbreaking kind of blindness. The first thing he is blind to is life in general. He spends his entire li...

• Word Count: 1558
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... in fact, are not terribly relevant to the description of a room. Although these seemingly out-of-place adjectives are the norm in The Great Gatsby, there are other examples of the same type of impressionism as well. Just before Nick meets Wolfshiem, he describes his setting as "Roaring noon. ... In a well fanned Forty-second Street cellar, I met Gatsby for lunch."" (73) In this case, the description of the setting does not seem to have the same type of extraneous description as his depiction ... seemingly floating in midair. A striking example of this was a mention of "blue gardens- (43...

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• Grade Level: High School

... nearly everything that made it worth wanting." (Burhans) Clinton S. Burhans states that "Fitzgerald once described "Winter Dreams" as "a sort of first draft of the Gatsby Idea," Mr. Burhans does not agree but considers the story "worth careful study" and states "Winter Dreams can be a fertile and challenging story; for a student ... of Fitzgerald, its careful analysis is a rewarding necessity." After reading "Winter Dreams" and "The Great Gatsby" I can see the common elements in the two stories that would make Fitzgerald describe "Winter Dreams" as "a sort of first draft of the ... dif...

• Word Count: 1314
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School