Essay On Society In The Great Gatsby - 835 Words

The 1920’s brought about extreme change in the way the average American lived their lives, both socially and politically. Immigration, industrialism, and economy boomed, creating abundant wealth among Americans through the creation of new job opportunities. Eventually, a more defined social class structure was established, bringing fluctuations in the distribution of wealth among different ranks in society. This period of time, known as the â€Å"Roaring Twenties†, is exhibited in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, who uses the characters in the novel to depict the conflict in American society. Gatsby, the central figure of the novel, represents the lower class and is followed as he attempts to achieve the benefits of the American Dream,†¦show more content†¦Contrary to the belief that the higher class has advantages that elevate them in their ability to access the American Dream, the progressive class is still capable of acquiring the wealth needed to ri se in social status and become equal with those within plutocratic society. No matter their pre-existing fortune, citizens of low status are fully capable of achieving the benefits of the American Dream through seizing opportunities given to them and flourishing as equals within American society. Fitzgerald portrays Gatsby as the main protagonist of the lower progressive class by highlighting his limitations in accessing the benefits of the exclusive higher societal classes. Nick observes Gatsby on his pier as â€Å"He stretched out his arms towards the dark water in a curious way†¦ I glanced seaward — and distinguished nothing except a single green light†(Fitzgerald 20-21). Gatsby is portrayed to highlight the fact that no matter how progressive and socially mobile he is, he will never achieve an equal status as those within higher society, which Fitzgerald uses the green light to symbolize. He was convinced that through superfluous wealth and mass property, he could go from the penniless man he was, to entering the highest echelons of American society with Tom and Daisy. Gatsby’s downfall is when he realizes that Tom and Daisy’s society is inaccessible by the rest of America no matter the wealth, proving Fitzgerald’s concept of the lo wer class’s restriction onShow MoreRelated Chapter 2, -The Great Gatsby- -Dying society- Essay936 Words   |  4 PagesChapter 2, -The Great Gatsby- -Dying society- Fitzgerald presents in this novel upper-class people, who live in the world of dreams. He tries to describe the life of milliners, who spends enormous amount of money on drugs, parties, alcohol and other luxury things. In this chapter the writer clearly shows us that America in 20th was dying, there was no truth, no love and no real relationships, and everything was based on how much money each American had. All America had just people whoRead MoreFitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby - Parallel between Jesus of Nazareth and Jay Gatsby711 Words   |  3 PagesThe Great Gatsby:  Ã‚   Parallel between Jesus of Nazareth  and Jay Gatsby In his critical essay, â€Å"The Mystery of Ungodliness†, Bryce J. Christensen writes about the parallel that F. Scott Fitzgerald creates between Jay Gatsby and Jesus of Nazareth from the New Testament of the Christian Bible. 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There are many symbolizes throughout the novel, for example, the bright green light Gatsby gazes from across the oceanside of his Mansion - â€Å"I glanced seawardà ¢â‚¬â€and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minuteRead More Destruction and Failure of a Generation in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby1413 Words   |  6 PagesThe Great Gatsby and the Destruction of a Generation      Ã‚   The beauty and splendor of Gatsbys parties masks the decay and corruption that lay at the heart of the Roaring Twenties. The society of the Jazz Age, as observed by Fitzgerald, is morally bankrupt, and thus continually plagued by a crisis of character. Jay Gatsby, though he struggles to be a part of this world, remains unalterably an outsider. His life is a grand irony, in that it is a caricature of Twenties-style ostentation: his closetRead MoreThe Dissolution of a Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby1047 Words   |  5 PagesDissolution of a Dream in The Great Gatsby       A dream is defined in the Websters New World Dictionary as: a fanciful vision of the conscious mind; a fond hope or aspiration; anything so lovely, transitory, etc. as to seem dreamlike.   In the beginning pages of F. Scott Fitzgeralds novel The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway, the narrator of the story gives us a glimpse into Gatsbys idealistic dream which is later disintegrated.   No- Gatsby turned out all right at the end;Read MoreDestruction of Dreams, Failure of Dreamers in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby1489 Words   |  6 Pages Jay Gatsby, the protagonist of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, is used to contrast a real American dreamer against what had become of American society during the 1920s.   By magnifying the tragic fate of dreamers, conveying that twenties America lacked the substance to fulfill dreams and exposing the shallowness of Jazz-Age Americans, Fitzgerald foreshadows the destruction of his own generation. The beauty and splendor of Gatsbys parties masked the innate corruption within theRead More Symbols, Symbolism, and Metaphor in The Great Gatsby Essay796 Words   |  4 Pages Metaphors and Symbolisms in The Great Gatsby nbsp; In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses many different metaphors and symbolisms to express his point.nbsp; In this essay the point that I wish to make is how Fitzgerald uses colors to develop image, feelings, and scenery depiction to let the reader feel the emotions and other aspects being portrayed in that particular part in the book.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Like every other essay one must address the major pointsRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1519 Words   |  7 Pagesdevelop the whole plot. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses a lot of symbols in this book. Among all those symbols in it, the symbol of the green light is the strongest, due to the changes of meaning in the book and leading the plot. However, each symbolic imagery is not unique, they interact with each other. This essay will argue that, with the help of other symbols, the symbol of green light becomes the crucial symbol for us to understand The Great Gatsby. Besides, this essay will discuss the three times