Great Gatsby

A detailed Summary of Great Gatsby

Wealth, material possessions, and power are the core principles of The American Dream. Pursuit of a better life led countless numbers of foreign immigrants to America desiring their chance at the vast opportunity. Reaching the American Dream is not always reaching true happiness. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby achieves the American Dream, but his unrealistic faiths in money and life's possibilities twist his dreams and life into useless life based on lies.

Jay Gatsby believes he can buy happiness. For example, Gatsby's house is " A factual imitation of some Hotel De Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool and more than forty acres of lawn and garden" (The Great Gatsby 9). His house is nothing more than an perfect symbol of his vast income. Gatsby uses the house in an attempt to win happiness and respect from his peers. Furthermore, Gatsby also tries to impress others with such unimportant possessions as his clothing, as when Daisy emotionally comments, "beautiful shirts... It makes me sad because I have never seen such beautiful shirts before"(98). Crying over articles of clothing is out

Gatsby also aims to establish a certain level of status to make Daisy love him, and in the process he unknowingly tangled his life into a grimy mess. With this in mind, Gatsby trades his morals for riches, as Tom points out in a passage describing Gatsby: "... a common swindler who would have to steal the ring he put on her finger" (140). Tom implies correctly that his money is not from a legal resource. Gatsby is nothing more than a very successful criminal. This fact alienates Jay from the upper-class members of east egg. Specifically, Gatsby's mysterious source of wealth comes directly from his activity in the risky and profitable business of bootlegging. Bootlegging was considered an acceptable business, but it did not serve to increase the level of respect people had for Gatsby. The wealth Gatsby needs is acquired wealth, not the earned wealth he currently has. Gatsby also fakes bad first name by changing his gestures and speech to reflect a better upbringing. " He smiled understandingly... It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of reassurance in it" (52). To increase his perceived integrity, Gatsby modifies his patterns of speech, manners, and whole body language in order to appear more respectable. His clipped speech, the 'old sports', and the formal intensity of his mannerisms are all disturbing examples of his fake outer personality. His expressive gestures and attention to details only serve to complime

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Approximate Word count = 963
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English