The Great Gatsby
Francis Scott Fitzgerald, a progressive writer in the United States of the 20th century, is known to the reader as the author of the wonderful novel The Great Gatsby and several short stories. During his short life, he wrote five novels, including one unfinished, four collections of short stories, a series of articles and screenplays for films. Already in the early works of the writer, the main theme of his work is clearly visible: the exposure of the moralism of the work, the destructive effect of bourgeois America on the younger generation.
Analysis
This story attracts the reader's attention with the
writer's appeal to the dream of the younger generation. "Winter
dreams" drive his hero to the realization of his hopes. Dixter Greene
is making great strides in the business world. But the beloved girl could
not wait so long. Scott Fitzgerald exposes the bourgeois world, where
marriage depends on the financial situation of lovers.
Indeed, this story is like a short version of The Great Gatsby. Its hero, James Goetz, who later became Jay Gatsby, follows his "winter dreams" like Dixter Green. His childhood dream of the luxury of a dazzlingly bright world in which he will play an important role, serving "the ubiquitous, vulgar and tinsel beauty" has come true. Just like Green, night dreams inspired Gatsby "belief in the unreality of the real, convinced that the world is firmly and reliably resting on the wings of a fairy." They were an outlet for him in those days of semi-exhausting labor, when he was fishing. But having met and fell in love with Daisy Fey, a "girl from society", into whose house he was able to get only thanks to the uniform of an officer, to the rank of which he rose to the rank in the army, his dream of wealth, of an exclusive place in society acquired a certain goal: marry Daisy. But as the author emphasizes, the hand of Daisy Gatsby can only be achieved by joining the elite of the rich. In a bourgeois world where everything is based on calculation, a person without a name cannot become the husband of a girl from high society, even if she sincerely loves him. Gatsby, like Green, manages to get rich. James Goetz's ambitious dreams came true: he became the owner of a huge villa that looked more like a palace, an aquaplane, yachts, and a beautiful car. They talked about him everywhere. Abilities, fearlessness, business qualities were useful for Gatsby to achieve wealth through financial scams and the smuggling of alcoholic beverages during the Prohibition period, to which he was introduced by the big swindler Meyer Wolfsheim. Scott Fitzgerald talks about the business life of his hero sparingly, in passing. All the attention of the author is paid to describing the emotional experiences and devotion of Gatsby to his dream of his beloved, his inner purity. He was too faithful to his dreams, too much chained to the mirage of the "green light", "the light of incredible future happiness" to see and understand the disgusting essence of the surrounding "menagerie" to whom he gave all his abilities. His ideals of life from childhood were imposed by bourgeois society. Apologists for American imperialism argue that "every American can become a millionaire." But not a single honest path helped Gatsby get rich: neither education ("a man from Oxford> dies of hunger on a New York street), nor military merit (" the order is desirable, but not at all obligatory decor "), nor loyalty and devotion to his beloved: Daisy couldn't marry a poor man). The people around him are indifferent where did Gatsby get so much money to waste so much. They, however, gossip about it in his beautiful mansion. Why would a rich American be so generous? "Apparently he is trying to avoid trouble with anyone else." But the number of guests who simply came without waiting for an invitation did not diminish at all, although many considered him a criminal. The author very clearly shows the unscrupulousness of the representatives of bourgeois society, for whom the wealth of a familiar person does not arouse other feelings than curiosity and admiration. They are not interested in ways to obtain a huge fortune, since any business is a business, and "money does not smell." Why would a rich American be so generous? "Apparently he is trying to avoid trouble with anyone else." But the number of guests who simply came without waiting for an invitation did not diminish at all, although many considered him a criminal. The author very clearly shows the unscrupulousness of the representatives of bourgeois society, for whom the wealth of a familiar person does not arouse other feelings than curiosity and admiration. They are not interested in ways to obtain a huge fortune, since any business is a business, and "money does not smell." Why would a rich American be so generous? "Apparently he is trying to avoid trouble with anyone else." But the number of guests who simply came without waiting for an invitation did not diminish at all, although many considered him a criminal. The author very clearly shows the unscrupulousness of the representatives of bourgeois society, for whom the wealth of a familiar person does not arouse other feelings than curiosity and admiration. They are not interested in ways to obtain a huge fortune, since any business is a business, and "money does not smell." except curiosity and admiration. They are not interested in ways to obtain a huge fortune, since any business is a business, and "money does not smell." except curiosity and admiration. They are not interested in ways to obtain a huge fortune, since any business is a business, and "money does not smell."
Gatsby paid too dearly to enter Daisy's company and thus aroused the suspicion of those around him. He wanted to attract the attention of only his beloved woman. It seemed to him that one day she would appear in his house and be amazed at his wealth. For a long time he walked towards his happiness, thinking that it was very close, he had only to stretch out his hand. But Gatsby did not know that the dream remained forever behind, even at the moment when Daisy agreed to leave her husband. The author subtly conveys that Gatsby cannot but feel the fragility of his happiness, acquired by a huge impression on his beloved, amazed by the size of his wealth. Daisy's husband's confidence in the fragility of Gatsby's position changed her mind. Gatsby realized that "the long-term extravaganza has come to an end." For him, the old cozy dream world was forever lost, and now life had no meaning.
Despite the fact that the author sincerely despised everything that Gatsby embodied in himself, he considered him great, since the hero managed to maintain the purity of feelings, loyalty to a romantic dream in a world of debauchery, rudeness, callousness and heartlessness. The writer believed that "spiritual generosity, a rare gift of hope" could have made Gatsby a hero in a different setting, if he had not been so tinsel "great" in the role of a businessman, setting magnificent balls, surrounding the mystery of the way to obtain wealth. Unlike T. Dreiser, who drew the image of Clyde Griffiths in the novel American Tragedy, whose environment fostered a passion for money, selfishness, a desire to "break out into people" by any means, even through crime, Scott Fitzgerald showed that the life around him, capturing Gatsby in tenacious hands and turning him into an international swindler, she could not take away and trample the dream, to the end to take possession of this man's heart and turn it into a callous stone, which she often managed to do with others. Gatsby needed money, fortune, material superiority, like the hero of another Dreiser's novel, Cowperwood, only to achieve his goals. True, these people have different goals. But wealth was not an end in itself for them. Unlike Dreiser, Fitzgerald does not dwell on the ways in which the hero makes a fortune, does not show his participation in capitalist relations. This is understandable, since the writer was not familiar with Gatsby's business circle. But Fitzgerald could not fail to mention his activities in general, since he was well aware that "people's life does not go on the beaches and in country clubs." He only emphasizes that Gatsby achieves his power on his own, investing all his ebullient energy and abilities. The wealth did not turn Gatsby into a swaggering arrogant master. In his attitude to people, human warmth, responsiveness, some kind of softness, combined with the hardness of a large businessman, was felt. He did not forget Gatsby and his father, constantly providing him with material assistance. The author was attracted to Gatsby by "some kind of heightened sensitivity to all the promises of life", his ability to react quickly to events, which had nothing to do with the flabby impressionability, magnificently called "aristocratic temperament." All these features distinguished his hero from the society around him. In the novel, the author's ambivalence towards Gatsby is felt. He admires his energy, admires the strength of his feelings and despises all that which makes the hero gloriously "great." M. Perkins, in a letter to Fitzgerald, noted that the image of Gatsby is unclear, vague among the surprisingly lively, vivid, vital characters of the novel. It seems more vague, more mysterious. The writer himself said that he was going to give a picture of his hero's childhood, but chose to keep the atmosphere of secrecy and removed this scene, turning it into the story "Forgiveness" from the collection "All these sad young people." He even considered one day to make Tom Buchanan the protagonist. But “Gatsby remains in my heart. For some time I lost him, and now I know that he is with me again, ”he wrote to M. Perkins in 1924. In another letter, Fitzgerald reported that this image was associated with some kind of sense of romance. The author does not deny the shortcomings in revealing the image of the main character of the book.
Tom Buchanan and similar heroes turned out to be more
convex, almost tangible, since the writer knew this society, his life and
interests very well. Fitzgerald paints with great artistic skill those
"who have too much money to spend and too much time to
spend." The Great Gatsby is a realistic portrayal of modern American
life. One of the original titles of this work - "Among the trash
heaps and millionaires" - Scott Fitzgerald wanted to show (and he
succeeded) spiritual poverty, "incredible stupidity, triviality, brilliant
disgusting" of those who own all material wealth. According to E.
Hemingway, Fitzgerald considered the rich "a special race, shrouded in a
haze of mystery." But he was not an enthusiastic admirer of the
powerful. Fitzgerald hated them passionately for that wealth allowed
them to perform any deeds, satisfy all their whims. In all his works, the
writer tore off the mask from the American aristocracy, showed their moral
squalor, mental deafness to the fate of other people, the pernicious influence
of the possession of material resources on the minds and souls of the
masses. This hatred of the rich made Fitzgerald feel like a catastrophe, a
tragedy of the American way of life, which brought him closer to
Dreiser. The writer realistically shows the death of his hero, who has
lost the purpose of life, denounces the bourgeoisie, guilty of the death of
many capable young people. Fitzgerald masterfully reveals the essence of
the representatives of the ruling class, reveals a mysterious veil that hides
the lower insides from prying eyes. In his novel, the images of the
typical bourgeois are displayed, who decide the fate of people, the most
successful of which is the image of Tom Buchanan. According to the author,
he "was a figure in a way characteristic of America, one of those young
people who, by the age of twenty-one, reach the very top in
something." He inherited the fabulous wealth of his parents. He
didn't need to think about tomorrow. The money he does not earn gives him weight
in society, justifies all his actions. This self-confident, cruel person
is not used to being rebuffed in anything. He stops at nothing to achieve
his goals, realizing that he can always stay on the sidelines: money always
helps out. He inherited the fabulous wealth of his parents. He didn't
need to think about tomorrow. The money he does not earn gives him weight
in society, justifies all his actions. This self-confident, cruel person
is not used to being rebuffed in anything. He stops at nothing to achieve
his goals, realizing that he can always stay on the sidelines: money always
helps out. He inherited the fabulous wealth of his parents. He didn't
need to think about tomorrow. The money he does not earn gives him weight
in society, justifies all his actions. This self-confident, cruel person
is not used to being rebuffed in anything. He stops at nothing to achieve
his goals, realizing that he can always stay on the sidelines: money always
helps out.
Fitzgerald shows the unscrupulousness and cynicism of
the typical ruling class. Tom Buchanan considers his love affairs to be
little pranks, not hiding them either from society or from his wife. He
calmly appears in cafes and fashionable restaurants with his mistress Myrtle
Wilson, not avoiding friends and acquaintances who know his family
well. Nothing is sacred to him. He was not interested in how Daisy
would look at his love affairs, what his friends thought. He was generally
not worried about any problems. The wealth inherited by Tom Buchanan
determines all of his social views, the entire spiritual makeup of his
character. It gives an unshakable belief in the significance of its
existence and a dull conviction in its righteousness, no matter what issues its
judgment may concern: from racist statements about the dominant Nordic
race, to which he undoubtedly attributed himself, to involvement in the
murder of an innocent person. Fitzgerald convincingly shows that Tom and
his ilk were used to breaking "things and people, and then they ran away
and hid behind their money, their all-consuming carelessness ... leaving others
to clean up after them." Fitzgerald, with all the strength of his
talent, accuses the ruling class of the immorality of society, considers him
guilty of corrupting the minds of many Americans who want to "break out
into people", not only moral, but also physical death of many of
them. The author has touched on this topic before (for example, the story
"May Day"), but in the novel "The Great Gatsby" it sounded
like an exposing act of the modern American bourgeois system with its vaunted
democracy. He passionately emphasizes that in this world only strong
predators survive and go unpunished.
The language
The language of the entire story is lyrical and
poetic. The author skillfully uses artistic means to create bright
colorful paintings. Here is Nick Carraway looking at the Gatsby villa,
shining with all the lights from the towers to the cellars: "the lights were
dim, then flashed again, as if the House winked at night." The green
light on the dock near Daisy's house, one of the symbols for Gatsby, seemed to
him "a star twinkling in the neighborhood of the moon." And
there are many such comparisons in the book. They betray the poetic and
enthusiastic mood of the author. The figurative language of the narrative
helps to clearly present the described pictures. Long identical white
houses on one of the streets of New York, close to each other, give the
impression of a long white cake, and each apartment building resembles a slice
of it. Or the description of the Buchanan house on a hot summer
day: like pale flags ... and a shadow ran rippling across the wine-red
carpet, like on a sea surface under a breeze. The only stationary object
in the room was a gigantic ottoman, on which, like a balloon tied to an anchor,
two young women took refuge. Their white dresses quivered and swayed, as
if both had just come down here after flying around the house. "
Symbols
Cheating :
Cheating is
commonplace among people of the great Gatsby. It is a symbol of corruption. It starts
with Tom Buchanan cheating on his wife with
Myrtle Wilson and his wife cheated on him with Gatsby. The guests at Gatsby's
parties also seem intent on finding partners to cheat with. That's not the only
way of cheating that's stated in the book, hence. The upper class enjoys
sporting activities, and cheating as-well .
Gatsby's Automobiles
Cars are also
considered as status symbols. With that in mind, the fact that Gatsby has a set
of vehicles will not be surprising. They're also another symbol of waste and
emptiness, as one character can't possibly need so many cars as the main character
owns. Of course, Gatsby's purchasing habits aren't about seeking for his basic
needs. His cars are not just a tool of transportation.
Gatsby's Parties
Nick's Mantle Clock
Gatsby's Extravagant House
The Green Light
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