Gatsby's Pursuit

of
Love and Wealth
Alex Bohr
Mrs. Goodale
English 10 Pre-AP
Period D
12-22-14
 Song List:
1. "King of New York" by the Newsies Ensemble

2. "Oh, What a Night" by The Four Seasons

3. "Don't Stop Believin" by Journey

4. "Bold as Love" by John Mayer

5. "Why" by Rascal Flatts

Theme List:

1. Pursuit of the American Dream

2. Reclaim the Past

3. Hollowness and Superficiality of the Upper Class

4. Unrequited Love

5. Decline of the American Dream

 Introduction
Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby (1925), is a true American classic that shows the life of a

young man who had followed his dreams to the bitter end. Fitzgerald wrote the book with a

tragic and elegant cast, hoping one day it would be seen as a representative book for the raucous

decade, the roaring twenties. At first, the sales for the book were very disappointing, and with

the eventual breakdown of his wife, Zelda, Fitzgerald would be entrapped in a world of

alcoholism and Hollywood screenwriting. Though, he still believed that "the meticulous craft he

put into Gatsby would one day be recognized" (On The Great Gatsby 3). Unfortunately,

Fitzgerald died of a heart attack in 1940, but his reputation rose to fame with the help of his

college friend, Edmond Wilson, who published some of Fitzgerald's work. Soon, the work of

The Great Gatsby would come to be seen as one of America's number one classics. With the

themes including the hollowness and superficiality of the upper class, the decline and pursuit of

the American dream, reclaiming the past, and unrequited love, this soundtrack goes through a

young man's life in the roaring twenties; a decade in which science, medicine and health

advanced remarkably and Albert Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics. Today,

critics emphasize Fitzgerald for his work to document "the American psyche and the national

experience" (On the Great Gatsby 3) in the twenties. With the movie already out, The Great

Gatsby, a soundtrack is needed to accompany five scenes from the movies and the scenes the

songs are on tell of the pivotal points in young Gatsby's life.

 Scene: 1 Pages:74-75
As Jordan strolls past Gatsby and Daisy in the car in the year of nineteen seventeen, she

could tell that Gatsby is living the American dream. The song that corresponds to the scene is

"King of New York" by the Newsies Ensemble Daisy and Gatsby loves each other. They were

inseparable, just like the relationship a man has with his dog. Jordan alluded that " the officer

[Gatsby] looked at Daisy while she was speaking, in a way that every young girl wants to be

looked at some time" (Fitzgerald 75). The American Dream is also stated in the Declaration of

Independence, as it states that all men are created equal and that they are endowed with certain

unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. This is what is going

on with Gatsby at this time in the car with Daisy. He is having his pursuit of happiness. All he

wants to do now is life the rest of his life with Daisy. In everyone's eyes, they want to be the

richest and happiest person during this era of which Gatsby lives in. The stock market is

booming, and everyone is taking advantage of it. The war is almost over and Gatsby wants to

come out of it a better man with Gatsby. Gatsby is one of those men who will go do anything for

Daisy. She is the love of his life. When Gatsby left to go to war, Daisy "wasn't on speaking

terms with her family for weeks" (Fitzgerald 75). She is so upset that her family wouldn't let her

say bye to Gatsby. That shows how passionate they are for each other. Gatsby is probably

thinking that "I'm blowin' my dough and goin' deluxe. And there I be, ain't I pretty? It's my city,

I'm the King of New York." The lyrics talk of New York, but that could represent Gatsby's

town. He will do anything to make Daisy happy. The American Dream is that any man can

achieve success in life regardless of family history or social status if they only work hard

enough. Gatsby will spend anything to make Daisy happy, "A pair of new shoes with matchin'
laces, a porcelain tub with boiling water" anything. At this time is Gatsby's life he is definitely

achieving his American Dream, through his little wealth that he has.

Scene: 2 Pages: 82-96

Gatsby's and daisy's reunion is the first time in five years that they have a chance to be

with each other which make it the emotional climactic moment in the novel. During this scene,

the song from The Four Seasons, "Oh What a Night," will be featured. Gatsby hasn't had the

opportunity in the past five years to talk to Daisy. He wants to reclaim the past between him and

Daisy. When he firsts sees Daisy walk into the room, as the song expresses, he "got a funny

feeling when she walked into the room." Gatsby is very nervous because he doesn't know how

Daisy will react to seeing him. Nick pronounces to Gatsby that "you're just embarrassed, that's

all, Daisy's embarrassed too" (Fitzgerald 87). Gatsby needs to overcome his embarrassment so

that he can reclaim the past. As Gatsby and Daisy start to talk more, they walk over to Gatsby's

mansion, and the past comes out and it seems like Gatsby is actually reclaiming the past. As the

song explains, Gatsby "recalls it ended much too soon." Daisy also has the same realization.

When Nick's walks back to see Gatsby and Daisy, he claims that "they had forgotten about me,

but Daisy glanced up and held out her hand; Gatsby didn't know me at all" (Fitzgerald 96). All

Gatsby wants to do is reclaim the past, and through what Nick can see, Gatsby has definitely

achieved his goal of reclaiming the past.

 Scene: 3 Pages: 105-111

Tom and Daisy finally go to one of Gatsby's parties, and Tom's attitude toward Gatsby

shows the true hollowness and superficiality of the upper class. Journey's biggest hit, "Don't

Stop Believin," will be featured during this scene. Since Gatsby and Daisy have reunited,

Gatsby hasn't talked to Tom Buchanan, Daisy's husband. When Tom and Gatsby finally meet

during one of his parties, Gatsby can tell how hollow the old rich population really is. Tom tells

Daisy "I'd like to know who he is and what he does, and I think I'll make a point of finding out"

(Fitzgerald 108).Nick hears this before Gatsby hears Tom talk and what he can tell of Tom is that

he is a very mercenary attitude. You don't just walk into someone's house and snoop around

their private life. What Gatsby hears Tom says that makes him know how hollow the upper class

really are is when Tom asked Daisy, "Do you mind if I eat with some people over here? A

fellow's getting off some funny stuff" (Fitzgerald 105). A man shouldn't just leave his wife at a

party to eat with someone else. The lyrics that portray this scene reads: "The smell of wine and

cheap perfume. For a smile they can share the night." Gatsby can smell the hollowness all over

Tom. He wants Daisy to just leave Tom because he is not the right man for her. He is too

hollow for anyone. Tom is very rich, and he does take that into effect when he is in situations

that he does not like. Tom is using his wealth to show that daisy is his, and she can't leave him.

Being rich does not allow any individual to act better than anyone, and Tom is one of those

people. Tom's list of why his hollowness gives Gatsby impressions of why he shouldn't be with

Daisy, as the lyrics describe, keeps going "on and on and on and on." Tom's hollowness

protrudes the idea of why the old rich, where Tom is located in the caste system of America in

the twenties, show the true hollowness and superficiality of the upper class.
 Scene: 4 Pages: 130-145

When Tom and Gatsby are arguing in the hotel suite of who loves daisy, Daisy realizes

that her allegiance is with Tom, and she gives Gatsby unrequited love. The song that best suites

this scene is John Mayers's "Bold as Love." Since Gatsby and Daisy have been seeing each other

again, Gatsby and Tom haven't confronted each other. As they get into the suite, Gatsby

blatantly tells Tom "your wife doesn't love you. She's never loved you. She loves me"

(Fitzgerald 130). Gatsby wants Daisy hear him stand up to Tom. He is sick and tired of running

around behind Tom. The lyrics that correspond to this scene reads: "Well, I'm bold as love(hear

me talkin girl), I'm bold as love." Gatsby is now speaking out about what he has been holding in

for the past five years. Love is just too much to keep bottled up inside. To counter this

statement, Tom reveals to everyone how Gatsby gained all his wealth. He is a criminal; he

receives all his fortune from bootlegging and other criminal activities. Upon hearing this news,

Daisy realizes that her allegiance is towards Tom, not to Gatsby. At the hotel, it might seem like

Daisy is leaving Tom, but, as Tom and Daisy are eating dinner that night, they show love

towards each other. "There was an unmistakable air of natural intimacy about the picture, and

anybody would have said that they were conspiring together" (Fitzgerald 145). After that whole

argument in the hotel between Gatsby and Tom, Daisy realizes that in the end, her love is

towards Tom. She still tells Gatsby that she loves him, but they have been apart for five years.

Tom and Daisy have been together for the past five years. She has no feelings towards Gatsby;

he has been away for too long to restart where they left off. Daisy is only giving Gatsby

unrequited love to please him.

 Scene: 5 Pages: 147-162

When Nick arrives at Gatsby's mansion, he finds the corpse of Gatsby floating in

the pool, and Nick can now say that the decline of the American dream has now come to an end

for Gatsby. The song that resembles this scene is "Why" by Rascal Flatts. For the past five

years, Gatsby has been trying to show Daisy that she can still have the American dream if she

leaves Tom for Gatsby. By chasing around Daisy for the past five years, Gatsby builds up what

he believes is the most important American dream. His mind is so infatuated with pleasing

Daisy, he is losing touch with reality. When Daisy hits Myrtle in Gatsby's car, Gatsby takes the

blame the blame for it instinctively. He isn't thinking of his own well-being. Nick tells Gatsby

that "You ought to go away. It's pretty certain they'll trace your car" (Fitzgerald 148). Gatsby

refuses because he doesn't want to leave Daisy. He is losing track with society. In the song

"Why," they say "A troubled soul, God only knows." Gatsby is a very troubled soul at this time,

and nobody knows but Nick. Gatsby's American dream is declining right before his eyes. When

Nick sees that Gatsby is killed for the murder of Myrtle, he knows that what he had to say to

Gatsby that night before might have saved his life, and "morning would be too late" (Fitzgerald

147). Nick will never forget how Gatsby's American dream declined into thin air. If Nick could

tell Gatsby one last thing, and the song "Why" states, is the he would say, "now in my mind I

keep you frozen as a seventeen year old." Nick is now seeing the decline and the end of Gatsby's

dream, but won't forget those times he heard of Gatsby at age seventeen, having an epitome of

how his life will change for the good. In Gatsby's mind, his life was changing for the good.

Though, the decline of the American dream is seen through the life and pursuit of Gatsby.
 Conclusion:

This soundtrack illustrates the life of a young man, Jay Gatsby, as he travels through a

reality of love and betrayal. "The Great Gatsby is more than just a triumph of craft; it is a

searching foray into the myths and realities of American culture" (On The Great Gatsby 9). The

American dream is shown throughout this soundtrack in Gatsby's life. The dream is that "life

should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability

or achievement" (Epic Of America 214-215). In other words, the American dream was that

everyone had the opportunity to be better, richer, and fuller in life, and to be able to afford the

good life. Gatsby developed that dream, but it fell short when daisy didn't love him anymore.

With the themes that the soundtrack follows: the hollowness and superficiality of the upper class,

decline and pursuit of the American dream, reclaiming the past, and unrequited love, Gatsby's

life can be fully understood as a man who was desperately looking for love, and fell short with

the ending of his own life. This soundtrack was written to capture exactly that. With the new

movie already out, The Great Gatsby, each song picked for this soundtrack has a significant

meaning for each scene. Each scene in this soundtrack illustrates the pivotal points in young

Gatsby's life, from the time of his first love, Daisy, to his last breath in his pool in his yard.
 Work cited
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 2004. Print.

"Roaring Twenties." Roaring Twenties. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2014.

<http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1564.html>.

Dickstein, Morris, ed. "On The Great Gatsby." Critical Insights The Great Gatsby.

California, Salem Press. 2010. print

Adams, James Truslow. The Epic of America. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1931.