The World of The Great Gatsby

In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays Jay Gatsby as a somewhat sympathetic yet wholly corrupted rendering of the American Dream. Nothing about Gatsby is what it appears to be and the foundation on which his life is based at the time we meet him is a ladder of lies. However, Gatsby is merely the central focus of an entire world composed of people just as corrupted as he, in the sense that these people practice an intriguing and dangerous blend of casual honesty versus intimate dishonesty.

One of Gatsby's greatest errors is his failure to realize that the people with whom he surrounds himself practice this blend of honesty and dishonesty for the specific purpose of maintaining the status quo. Gatsby, on the other hand, has created his ladder of lies in an attempt to change the world he seeks to enter. Jordan Baker's statements serve as verbal markers in the book for the casual honesty the East Egg people practice. Within the first few hours of meeting Nick Carraway, the narrator, she reveals to him that Tom Buchanan is having an affair. What is so astonishing about her revelation is that she does it at Tom's table while he and Daisy are in the other room apparently arguing about the affair. She reveals the information so matter-of-factly, as though it were just so much coffee-table talk:

A subdued impassioned murmur was audible in the room beyond and Miss Baker leaned forward, unashamed, trying to hear. The murmur trembled on

Related Essays

Theme of The Great Gatsby .... The Great Gatsby is set in a time period in which Americans believed they could accomplish anything, and then became disillusioned in a world that challenged .... (1007 4 )

F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby .... The Great Gatsby is set in a time period in which Americans believed they could accomplish anything, and then became disillusioned in a world that challenged .... (1007 4 )

Catcher in the Rye & The Great Gatsby .... of a mind like Holden's, on the other hand, holds out some hope that a new generation will be able to change the world. .... Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. .... (2100 8 )

The Great Gatsby and Society .... Gatsby enters the world of the West Eggers with the clear belief that he can begin from this moment and recreate himself in the image he .... The Great Gatsby. .... (1187 5 )

The Great Gatsby .... a world of superficial appearances as much as has Gatsby. In reality, the are both very much alone. In conclusion, one can see that The Great Gatsby expresses .... (1038 4 )

ody is roasting when in actuality, as Nick reveals in the next paragraph, the butler really only responded appropriately to a telephone call. Jay Gatsby was born James Gatz to poor parents in San Francisco. He spent only five months at Oxford as a sort of military exchange student, but it allows him an entree into the East Egg World by being able to say he was "at Oxford." However, James Gatz, regardless of how many times he changes his name, never lived on the East Egg. He lived on the West Egg, to which Jordan refers "contemptuously" (Fitzgerald 15). He has apparently earned his wealth by bootlegging. Thus, while when we meet him his external shell appears as close to an East Egg person as anyone possibly could, the internal shell does not really understand that world. By acquiring his wealth through bootlegging activities, Gatsby symbolizes the hollowing of the American Dream. The Dream began as a belief that hard work and sacrifice would eventually lead to material rewards. These rewards would be based on the honor and mettle of the man. The East Egg contingency, however, appears to be living largely off of inherited money. They are reaping the benefits without having to do any of the work. Thus, they represent on

Category: Literature - T