Running Head: WMWWYK GG Essay

Much Wow So Great Such Gatsby

West Career and Technical Academy Jericho Sadorra Period 8 AP Literature and Composition Pastore

WMWWYK GG Essay

In Scott F. Fitzgeralds novel about love, alcohol, and tragedy, there is a young entrepreneur that goes by the name of Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby represents the pursuit of the American Dream as Gatsby is a symbol of this because his story is one of rags to riches. He starts of as a miserably poor boy, by the name of James Gatz; time slowly withered away at this persona and gave birth to a new persona- one of eloquent and frivolous spending. The rags-to-riches, American Dream story of Gatsby closely relates to that of Fitzgerald himself. While working on The Great Gatsby (1925), Fitzgerald grew increasingly disillusioned, as his wife Zelda was caught having an affair in France with Edouard Jozan in 1924 (Martin) as Martin Robert of Oxford University Press is proof that Gatsbys and Daisys fiasco closely mimicked that of Fitzgerald and Zelda. Gatsby, like Fitzgerald, loved his woman passionately. Though this was the case, both women found ways to betray their lovers hearts. In Daisys case, she left Gatsby underground. She was swooped by a man of shallow morality and a sea of never-ending money. Zelda found herself a Frenchman and later suffered severe psychological damage that crippled hers and Fitzgeralds marriage. Fitzgerald not only implement a pseudo-shadow of himself in his novel, but showed a clear depiction of how the Roaring Twenties. The Great Gatsby revealed the carelessness and irresponsibility of the people in that time. In the book, there are several instances in which recklessness is present. So we drove on toward death through the cooling twilight. (136) is a prime example of this. This is the foreshadowing of Myrtles unnecessary death as there could have been many scenarios in which it could have been avoided. It shows how Daisy drove towards death, not even stopping to see the aftermath of the situation. Recklessness is a

WMWWYK GG Essay

disgusting feature in the Roaring Twenties. People do things and dont think of the repercussions of their actions. In The Great Gatsby, the geography is broken up into three major areas: West Egg, East Egg, and The Valley of Ashes. In todays society, the three areas can be broken up into three classes: the lower class, the middle class, and the upper class. The Valley of the Ashes represents the lower class, which is filled with the unprivileged, poor, and those in the struggle. West Egg is a place where the self-made rich reside. These people work for what they have and is a mirror to todays middle class where they can work to get what they want and have more opportunity than the lower class. East Egg is a place of the already rich. These people are synonymous to todays upper class and those who are very privileged. Nicks attitude does not surprise us as he learns that Tom and Daisy are careless people, says Kristin Chan of Cornell University, which supports my statement of East Eggs carelessness. Nick is appalled at Daisys disability of unable to clean up their own mess. Daisy and Tom just leave after Gatsbys death. They did not think of what happened to George, or bother attending Gatsbys funeral, which his death was caused utterly by Toms hint to George. Tom uses this opportunity to have George clean up his problems by murdering Gatsbyanother aspect of negligence in The Great Gatsby. Georges actions are also that of negligence and carelessness in which he acts without any concrete evidence and blatantly shoots a man with an assumption. The Great Gatsby holds numerous lies and dishonesty. He was a bootlegger, blatantly stated by Ms. Jackson of Seton Hill University. Gatsby himself is dishonest. He lived in a web of lies and brought himself up. He disregarded where he came from and his true roots to become a son of God. Gatsby built an empire that consisted of illicit deals to get where he came

WMWWYK GG Essay from and secluded himself from any true outside interaction. These actions and business

transactions shrouded him in shadows. Nick says himself, Everyone suspects himself of at least one the cardinal virtues and this is mine; I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known (59). This shows the lies and deceit in society and how a person can only just trust himself and a few other people. Some characters in The Great Gatsby are those who are power hungry. Some people are willing to give up all their values including that of honesty to prosper and be accepted into a corrupt and unhappy upper-class, from Ohio History Society clearly describes this. Myrtle is an example of this because she is nothing but a gold digger. Myrtle has Tom playing around with her so he can shower her in lavish things, like a pearl necklace which induced Georges rage upon Myrtle. She threw away her husbands trust and love, just to take a leap of faith with a married man who was fixed on staying with his careless wife. Through karma, she suffers a disgusting death in which causes huge turmoil in the story. It blows everything out of proportion and reveals the truth hidden in the mist that is made out of lies. All in all, The Great Gatsby includes huge amounts of symbolism and reverberate to Fitzgeralds life. Fitzgerald resonates the vibes of the Roaring Twenties along with personal turmoil carefully, mixing crumbs of his failing relationship with the carelessness and excessive drinking bound to the time. He gives characters heartlessness which most likely is linked to his problems. The novel portrays the deceit, ill manners, underhand deals, countless affairs, class struggles, excessive drinking, recklessness and negligence of the privileged, in a flux of perfection and emotion.

WMWWYK GG Essay References

Chan, K. (n.d.). Unpublished manuscript, Cornell University, Ithasa, NY, Retrieved from http://reading.cornell.edu/reading_project_06/gatsby/documents/Chan_000.pdf Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1925. Jackson, C. (n.d.). Unpublished raw data, Seton Hill University, Greensburg, PA, Retrieved from http://blogs.setonhill.edu/CarlaRaeJackson/002194.html Martin, Robert A. F. Scott Fitzgerald. American National Biography Online. Oxford University Press, 2000. Web. 16 Sept. 2012. Retrieved from http://blogs.cofc.edu/american-novel/2012/09/16/fitzgerald-in-the-great-gatsby/ Ohio Historical Society. "Roaring Twenties." Online Encyclopedia. Ohio History Central, 5 July 2005. Web. 8 Apr. 2010. Retrieved from http://english20ibgatsby.wikispaces.com/Wealth+and+Dishonesty