Great Gatsby - 1147 Words

Charles de Montesquieu says that to become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them. Throughout F. Scott Fitzgeralds novel The Great Gatsby , protagonist Jay Gatsby progresses as a hero through his dedication for love, his youthful dreams, and his Christ-like persona. His passion for love reflects in his greatness; for he proves commitment, dedication, and a loving soul for others. Jay Gatsby lives the model of the American Dream in a youthful and undertaking way. Extravagance combined with dreams for success comes greatness. Gatsby also is considered a vision of Jesus Christ as the novel uses different biblical allusions to prove his greatness as a relatable leader. Jay Gatsby’s dedication and commitment for†¦show more content†¦The American Dream is all about achieving greatness in a self-inflicted way like as Jay Gatsby. Gatsby would not be able to achieve such greatness without the core values of a humble leader whom dominates his own dreams of youth. The character of Gatsby has a religious entity that brings him closer to the vision of the Son of God. â€Å"The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God—a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that—and he must be about His Father’s business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty. So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end† (Fitzgerald 104). Gatsby is the â€Å"American Adam† throughout the novel. He acts as the biblical Adam while fu lfilling the spot of the American dream. Gatsby is described as having â€Å"a heightened sensitivity to the promises of life† (Fitzgerald 6). Like the Son of God, Jesus Christ, he has promises for the coming life in order to live out his greatness apart from his own senses. Gatsby brings life to the others around him, bringing out the best in people, giving the rare smile of admiration; nevertheless he is the incarnating God (Mellard 12). Nick describes Gatsby when watching him upon first meeting as he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and far as I was from him IShow MoreRelated Great Gatsby1497 Words   |  6 PagesIn chapter 3 of The Great Gatsby Nick is invited to one of Gatsby’s extravagant parties. He arrives only to find he doesn’t know where Gatsby is, and then he runs into Jordan Baker. Together they set off to find Gatsby and they head to the library where they find â€Å"Owl Eyes†, a drunken man trying to get sober . After talking to â€Å"Owl Eyes† for awhile they head outside again where Nick unknowingly starts a conversation with Gatsby. After revealing himself, Gatsby tells Jordan that he would like to speakRead MoreThe Great Gatsby806 Words   |  3 Pagesthey smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money...and let other people clean up the mess they had made... (P. 179). During the 20s, many peoples American dream was to go out, party and be free, the roaring 20s. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is an explanation of how people acted. People went to parties, lived in luxurious homes, criticized each other, and wanted to achieve their dream by trying to live it. The Wilson marriage is a failure because its one-sidedRead MoreGreat Gatsby5612 Words   |  23 PagesThe Great Gatsby – Study Guide Chapter 1 1. Why is Nick Carraway made the narrator? The device of giving Nick the function of narrator lends psychic distance from the story. Nick is part of the action, yet he is not one of the principals. He shares some of the emotions and is in a position to interpret those of the others. However, the happens are not center on him. 2. What kind of relationship exists between Nick and the Buchanans? It is completely superficial. He speaks of themRead MoreFeminism In The Great Gatsby1643 Words   |  7 PagesSocietal conventions of the time era, however, reinforce patriarchal ideologies and traditional values, as women were expected to marry and be subservient to their husbands. This is perpetuated in works of literature of the time era, notably The Great Gatsby, published by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925. Feminist literary theory helps expose the misogynist undertones of the novel by examining the power relationship between men and women. The novel suggests that women are powerless and objectified in theRead MoreAnalysis Of The Great Gatsby 1526 Words   |  7 Pagesperson, no matter what his or her origins, could succeed in life on the sole basis of his or her own skill and effort. The Great Gatsby is a novel about what happened to the American dream in the 1920s, a period when the old values that gave substance to the dream had been corrupted by the vulgar pursuit of wealth. What Fitzgerald seems to be criticizing in The Great Gatsby is not the American Dream itself but the corruption of the American Dream. What was once--for Ben Franklin, for example, orRead MoreProhibition in the Great Gatsby1355 Words   |  6 Pagessale of alcohol. The law was put into effect to lower the crime and corruption rates in the United States in the 1920s. It was also said to reduce social problems and lower taxes. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald examines the negative repercussions of prohibition on the economy, characters in the Great Gatsby, and on the different social classes of the 1920s. Prohibition was passed to eradicate the demand for liquor but had the inadvertent effect to raise the crime rates in American. RobertRead MoreThe Great Gatsby Essay864 Words   |  4 PagesThe Great Gatsby and Today s Society In American society, the way people act is quite an interesting, yet confusing subject to look at. If you were to look closely at the behavior and the thinking of the average American man in the modern day, you would see that he is not too different from a man that lived one hundred years ago in America. Obviously many things have changed in society that make a man different nowadays compared to one hundred years ago, but the point is that, in general,Read MoreThe Great Gatsby635 Words   |  3 PagesThe one thing that Gatsby really wanted to show to Daisy was the mansion and the valuable belongings he owned. The reason he was so focused on making it sure it happened, could be for various reasons. When Daisy left Gatsby to marry Tom, Gatsby was heartbroken. The reason was not because she didnt love Gatsby, it was simply due to the fact that Gatsby didn’t have enough wealth back then compared to Tom. Daisy came from a not so wealthy family and having wealth played an importan t part in her lifeRead MoreColors in The Great Gatsby758 Words   |  3 Pages Colors are very apparent in The Great Gatsby. They often show up as descriptions to many important items throughout the book, and make those items resemble symbols. The color white confuses the reader, and often causes him/her to rethink their logic. It describes false purity and deception within something, which is very apparent in the character Daisy in this novel. The color grey gives the reader a comparison, and that is of humans to machines. Something that is lifeless is described as grey.Read MoreEssay on The Great Gatsby1404 Words   |  6 Pagesnouveaux riches often clashed with the established wealth, as evident throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald’s narrator, Nick Carraway, suddenly finds himself submerged in the paper-thin morals, and shallow values of upper-class New York after migrating from the Western interior. Throughout the novel, Nick is highly c ynical of American society. Thus, The Great Gatsby is Fitzgerald’s means of criticizing the worsening family structure of American society, the newfound materialistic