Themes of Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald almost gave his novel the title of 'Under the Red, White and Blue'. What does this suggest about the deeper themes of this American novel?This alternative title suggests that The Great Gatsby is (although not an obvious) distopian novel, which discusses the problems of the 1920s, the problems of American Dream and all that can be associated with it. I will also examine the obstacles of greed, and immorality, and that of longing for an unachievable goal. In this essay, I will scrutinise the themes of the Great Gatsby and their essential part in the plot, to create the stimulating and provocative comment on society in 1920s America. Within this novel, there are many multiple themes, but the predominate one focuses on the death of the American Dream that had become the main aim for Americans in the 1920s.The basis of this dream is that through your own decency and hard work, you can become rich and live a comfortable life. From the beginning of this novel, however, we see the contradiction of this dream, with Nick moving from West to East. Most people at this time moved in the opposite direction, hoping to find new fertile lands for them to lay their seed of ambition and watch it grow into ripe retu
He joined the army, and after his time in service, returned to find Daisy married to Tom Buchanan. The idea of the immorality and the self-centred nature of the characters are also key themes to the novel. This fantasy becomes Gatsby's personal version of the American Dream, and his whole life focuses around achieving this aim. Eckleburg gradually fades, this signifies the idea that God is dying, and by the end of the novel he is dead. This is showing that the lack of morals on our part can not only hurt ourselves, but it can also extinguish the life of an innocent third partyThe last, but I would think one of the most impacting displays of this, is at the funeral of Jay Gatsby,"'I couldn't get to the house,' he remarked'Neither could anyone else. George Wilson compares them to the eyes of God looking down over the Valley of the Ashes. This point is reiterated at the end of the novel when Gatsby disappears from life without people noticing, or even taking the trouble to look. Although this is only a faint doubt at this point, this doubt grows and grows each time that Gatsby meets Daisy. We see Fitzgerald making a statement about the problems of immorality and personal gain that besieged 1920s America. Gatsby played host to 'hundreds' of people at his parties, and yet only two of those people could even make the effort to attend his funeral, Owl Eyes and Nick. Another depiction of the selfish attitudes portrayed in this novel would be through the character of Jordan and her driving techniques. Fitzgerald is showing that through deceit and immorality, true happiness is not found. 'Why my God! They used to go there by the hundreds.
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Acceptance Essays
