Great Gatsby

A detailed Summary of Great Gatsby


Arguably, F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is more then anything, a direct statement and musing on the nature, derision, and concept of the American Dream. Creating a variety of characters, each stands as a player in the Illusion of the Dream, whether that involement is direct, subtle, or as onlooker. Through these characters, and most notably of course, narrator Nick, Fitzgerald is able to comment, primarily in a negative way, about the American Dream.

Perhaps as noteable as Gatsby himself is Nick, as it is through Nick's eyes which we view all proceedings, and his judegements which in turn affect the prose and progression of both the novel, and Fitzgerald's social commentary. Having said this, having only the opinion of one character, there is sure to be, and is, a definite bias on the part of Nick towards the other characters. Although Nick boasts early on in the novel about how he doesn't judge people, he is in fact, making judgements about them throughout the whole story. Of course, in all realsim, this is quite unavoidable. If he went through the course of the novel without any opionions, then his character would fall flat and two dimensional, as would also be the same fate for his views and perceptions of pe


If though, Nick sees himself superior to the rest of the characters, then it is quite the opposite view he perceives Gatsby. On page two of the text, Nick states: "He has an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again." Nick does not envy the possestions, the mansion, the cars; Nick envies Gatsby himself. Such as it is that Gatsby has been able to achieve this kind of material success, while, still in Nick's eyes, retaining integrity.

In this though, here is Fiztgeralds ultimate statement, about the futility and shallowness of the Ameican Dream, or its potential for futility if misused, and his presentation of Gatsby as a warning to substantiate this statement. Symbolically, and of course literally also, Gatsby dies. This death, rather then just the death of a fictious character, is symbolic on several different levels. Fiztgerald's concern about the moral decline of the 1920's, the status of the Ameircan Dream itself, and the fate of those who fall victim to it.

The uniting factor both have in common is that they use, or are using, the Dream to further their own ends. More correctly though,. and more in the case of Tom, they have let the D

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Approximate Word count = 854
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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