THE GREAT GATSBY

 

The Great Gatsby (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Gatsby)

Scott Fitzgerald (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._Scott_Fitzgerald)

          The Great Gatsby is a tragical love story on the surface, but when we deeply go through it, it furnishes a pessimistic critique of the American dream. The term "American Dream" was first coined by James Adams in his book, "The Epic of America" written in 1931. At that time it was a dream of a land where life was better and richer for everyone else and it was based upon innocent, religious values. The reason why people wanted to work hard to prove themselves to God because they believed better people were in eyes of God. But with time passed they started to chase material wealth and it corrupted the people as well as the true value of the dream.

          This controversy formed the basis of the writings of many writers in the modern period. Among them, Scott Fitzgerald who was born in Minnesota USA in 1896 is one of the Great American novelists. He was influenced by his contemporary writer and artist Ernest Hemingway and Fitzgerald published The Great Gatsby as his most famous and 3rd novel in 1925.

           Using New York City to the suburbs known as West and East egg, during Jazz Age the author interpreted the concept of American dream which shifts to social status as everything, through dazzling characters. However the story flows on first person limited point of view make use of sympathetic and Melancholic tone.

            Nowadays, there is nothing wrong with saying that social status and materialism are similar to the American dream. With that, we can say three types of characters belong to three statues in the novel. They are the old money class, new money and no money. With the short glance old money can be interpreted as Aristocrats who inherited the money. These people do not work hard and instead they attend to parties and have fun. Thus, they don't need to achieve the American dream in order to they were born with it. Daisy Buchannan the Mistress of the main character Gatsby, her spouse Tom Buchanan and Jordan Baker; the flapper woman all are belong to this status. Daisy is a wealthy woman and her expectation is to maintain her status. Therefore, she acquired it by marrying Tom who promised her a wealthy life, without getting a risk by marriage to Gatsby, though she promised to wait for him.

           Jay Gatsby, the protagonist of the novel who raised on a rural Farm in North Dakota and had a desire to become fabulously wealthy is a young man around 30 years and he represents new money. As well as he is the best character to read American Dream throughout the novel.

           With the passage of the eighteenth amendment in 1919, which banned the scale of alcohol, an undergone culture was designed in America. To illustrate this, the author has used Gatsby and few others who belong to new money and become wealthy  doing illegal things because all for attaining American Dream.

          When we consider about American Dream through Gatsby, Fitzgerald has connected his dream not onlu mainly to material wealth but with the love of his life: Daisy. She's just like a dream because being desirable, materialistic, careless, selfish, beguiling and haunting. Gatsby achieved fantastic amount of money by participating in organized crime in order to win Daisy back. Therefore, American dream is personified through Daisy.

"She was just eighteen, two years older than me, and most popular of all the young girls in Louisville.

She dressed in white and had a little white roadster. "

(White signifies purity as well as innocent.)

          American dream is beguiling. At first it is innocent like Daisy, when Gatsby saw her first time. Though she seems attractive at first time then leads him towards destruction, as American Dream.

          American Dream also be haunting, which lose the ways of people eventually. That is what happened on Gatsby too. He didn't give up love for Daisy, even took the responsibility for the murder from her. Then it caused to his death too. 

"He stretched out his arms towards the dark water..... I distinguished nothing except a single green light.............."

          Nick Carraway observes this. Green light is an important symbol in this novel and in one side traditionally green color associated with money and wealth and another side it represents Gatsby's inability to reach the dream.

The novel begins with an advice of the narrator's father.

"Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world hasn't had the advantages that you have had."

          It emphasizes that every people does not have same status. The narrator is Nick Carraway from Minnesota who moved to New York because his interest over the bond business. He stands for both old and new money. Once there was a conversation between Gatsby and Nick.

"Gatsby : Meyer Wolfsheimn? No, he's a gambler.

Nick : Why isn't he in jail?

Gatsby : They can't get him, old sport. He's a smart man."

          It shows how America has been corrupted with criminals who are going to achieve American Dream.

            More than that in 20th Century, automobiles were characterized the high class of America. Instead think about the car as a way of transportation they consider it as a way of the exhibit their Fortune to the society. Myrtle Wilson and her husband George Wilson who ran automobile shop are the people, representing no money. These people have least amount of money and survive through buying and selling. They try to achieve American Dream but though they work hard they are unable to get a chance for it.

"I married him because I thought he was a gentleman." 

            

          With the mistake of believing that George had good breeding, Myrtle married him. Then seek to better life than she has, she reaches for Tom Buchannan and died due to a car accident, with making the role of automobile as the failture  of American Dream. 

"He borrowed somebody's best suit to get married"

(To show status)

           Finally The Faded paint of the eyes of Eckleburg can be seen/ it symbolizes that Humanity has lost its connection to God, as they interpreted American Dream before. However, while some people born with the dream, some will never have the opportunity to achieve it.

"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future year by year receds before us."

           Therefore, at the end of the novel Fitzgerald writes above lines and this description shows that the most important quality of American dream is its inaccessibility, it means a dream is not a reality.

                                                   By,

                               ❤️ Tharushi Fernando ❤️