l The Great Gatsby
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F. Scott Fitzgerald's famous novel The Great Gatsby is often considered one of the quintessential tales of lost love and social climbing. Indeed, Jay Gatsby's quest to win the heart of his beloved Daisy Buchanan once again is fueled by the social advancements that he has made in the five years since they last saw each other. Despite the fact that Daisy is now married to another man, Gatsby believes that his newfound wealth and social status will bring her back to him. In Gatsby's pursuit of Daisy, Fitzgerald depicts the universal pain of lost love, as the reader comes to understand the devastation that Gatsby has endured without his beloved. Yet, there is a broader message in The Great Gatsby as well, one that illuminates the specifics of American life during the 1920s. Thus, while Fitzgerald explores the story of Gatsby's love for Daisy, he also wishes to convey the idea that over time, the notion of the American dream has become hollow and meaningless, as Gatsby's ultimate demise proves that the 'good life' that so many Americans strive for does not bring the happiness that they imagine. When one first examines The Great Gatsby, the universal nature of the narrative is inevitably what the reader first notices. Regardless of what generation one belongs to, the devastation of lost love is clearly understood, and thus Gatsby's struggle to win Daisy back is one to which readers have little difficulty relating. Yet, Fitzgerald's ambitions when writing the novel were
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promises of life, as if he were related to one of those intricate machines that register earthquakes ten thousand miles away. This responsiveness had nothing to do with that flabby impressionability which is dignified under the name of 'creative temperament' - it was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in another person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again (6).
Gatsby embodies Fitzgerald's notion of the American Dream because, as Berman contends, "Gatsby has the capacity for the pursuit of happiness. He believes in his dream and in Daisy as its object. Except for Nick Carraway and poor George Wilson he is the only figure in the novel to have a passion for belief, and to care deeply about someone else" ("Gatsby and the Twenties" 86). Indeed, Gatsby represents the 'willingness of the heart' that Fitzgerald believes defines America. His dream is thus the American dream.
Yet, even Gatsby is led astray by changes in the modern, post-war world of the twenties. He comes to believe that by improving his financial and social standing, he will be able to win Daisy's heart once again, and thus achieve his dream. In some sense, this represents the way in which all Amer
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1687
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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