Social Criticism Of The Great Gatsby - 707 Words

The Great Gatsby is often considered to be one of the greatest pieces of social commentary ever written. It provides several themes- justice, greed, and the american dream. Fitzgerald set up his novel into distinct groups, each of which having their own problems which remind the reader of just how cruel the world can really be. By creating different social classes, whether they be old money, new money or no money, Fitzgerald delivers important messages about the elitism throughout every part of society. Jay Gatsby is undeniably the personification of unlimited wealth and an inspiration to the aspiring rich. Nick had always said that there was â€Å"something glorious† about Gatsby and that he is filled with â€Å"some heightened sensitivity to the†¦show more content†¦It had faded into a omen that became â€Å"uncommunicable forever† (100). Rather than representing the home of the free, Gatsby represented America as the home of the rich. Gatsby’s dream â€Å"must have been so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it† (159). Jay had continued to search for happiness in his wealth and is unable to see past his made up reality. Sadly, he is unable to acquire happiness through wealth so he turns to the past when wealth was a dream and not some miserable reality. Gatsby had attempted to fix his failures by using his money, not realizing that it was an impossibility. He wanted to â€Å"purchase† Daisy Buchanans love, whom he had been unsuccessfully trying to impress in the past because of his lack of considerable income. But even though it appears that Gatsby’s â€Å"number of enchanted objects have been reduced by one† (84) with the possibility of winning Daisy over, he is screwed by the fact that Daisy has a greater attraction to a safe life of luxury. In an ironic way, Gatsby fails to see that Daisy’s obsession is a perfect mirror to his own love for such objects. Gatsby is unaware of the  "youth and mystery that wealth and imprisons and preserves† (132). He does not want to sacrifice his wealth and accept the simplicity that breaks his heart. He was a man rich on earth, but poor at heart. Gatsby thus â€Å"Pays the price for living too long with a singleShow MoreRelatedSocial criticism in The Great Gatsby and Great Expectations2248 Words   |  9 Pagesconvey criticisms of society. Such works of literature do not directly criticize specific real people or events. They do however present a sense of the writers concern with issues of social injustice and misguided values. Two strong examples of social criticism through literature are Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. In both novels the writers project their social criticisms to the reader through the use of characterization and setting. Great ExpectationsRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1343 Words   |  6 PagesHonors English 10 Shugart 18 Decemeber 2014 The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby is a tragic love story, a mystery, and a social commentary on American life. The Great Gatsby is about the lives of four wealthy characters observed by the narrator, Nick Carroway. Throughout the novel a mysterious man named Jay Gatsby throws immaculate parties every Saturday night in hope to impress his lost lover, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby lives in a mansion on West Egg across from DaisyRead MoreThree Symbols in the Great Gatsby1429 Words   |  6 PagesNathaniel Woodford Three Symbols in the Great Gatsby Fitzgerald wrote â€Å"The Great Gatsby† to criticise America from straying from the â€Å"American Dream†. Typically the American society tries to follow the American Dream, which is a dream of a society that allows everyone, no matter what economic class they were born into, to be able to accomplish whatever they want with hard work. With this principle no matter their social class Americans should be able to accomplish anything. Fitzgerald thoughtRead MoreMarxist Criticism Of The Great Gatsby1588 Words   |  7 PagesLiterature 14 April 2015 Marxist Criticism of The Great Gatsby Society has evolved to the point where money is the biggest factor in our lives. People spend an incredible amount of time at their workplace for that miniscule pay raise. Money also plays a role in our relationships with the people around us, seen in the fact that people of similar economic status tend to congregate. This desire to gain more money causes conflict, mainly between people who have a great deal of money, and the people whoRead MoreLife Will Go On1337 Words   |  6 PagesPulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award. On June 18, 1982, Cheever died of cancer (Wilson 2). One of Cheever’s most well known short stories is â€Å"The Swimmer†. 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By comparing and contrasting Tom and Gatsby in The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald develops his critique of the class structure of 1920s America that allows corrupt characters to thrive while punishing sympathetic characters for striving forRead MoreThe Great Gatsby as a Criticism of American Society1538 Words   |  7 PagesThe Great Gatsby as a Criticism of American Society In the novel The Great Gatsby, author F. Scott Fitzgerald criticizes American society through the eyes of his narrator Nick Caraway, as he watches the downfall and pathetic lives of what most consider achievers of the American Dream. Fitzgerald’s criticism of American Society is more prominently proven by his Harsh view of America’s materialistic standard of living, the tragic death of Gatsby, the negligence displayed by Gatsby’s friendsRead MoreF. Scott Fitzgerald’s Expression of Temptation, Deceitfulness, and Jealousy in The Great Gatsby1252 Words   |  6 PagesF. Scott Fitzgerald’s book The Great Gatsby was a remarkable book. Fitzgerald Made the characters of the book as real and as personal as possible. Three characteristics stood out in the novel to me. Tom’s Jealousy of Gatsby relationship with his wife, Gatsby’s lies about who he is and his life, and Daisy’s ways to tempt Gatsby to fall in love with her. The novel was inspired by the way he fell in love with his wife Zelda. The novel The Great Gatsby displays deceitfulness in many of its charactersRead More Feminist Criticism of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby810 Words   |  4 PagesFeminist Criticism of The Great Gatsby The pervasive male bias in American literature leads the reader to equate the experience of being American with the experience of being male. In F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby, the background for the experience of disillusionment and betrayal revealed in the novel is the discovery of America. Daisys failure of Gatsby is symbolic of the failure of America to live up to the expectations in the imagination of the men who discovered it. AmericaRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1271 Words   |  6 PagesAmerican Dream Essay By: Mary C. Watts In his novel,The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald attempted to explore the American Dream during a corrupt period of the 20’s. In this novel, he wants us to believe that money makes the world go round, or perhaps gets one headed in the right direction. Is it true that an individual can achieve success in life, regardless of family history or social status, if they work hard? Fitzgerald wanted to show the hidden boundaries dividing reality from illusion