Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Great Gatsby Essay

Good Essays
484 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Great Gatsby Essay
Great Gatsby Essay In the 1920’s America was experiencing a time period known as the Jazz Age. Many people were beginning to find success financially and happiness was in the air. Jay Gatsby is a successful young man. He throws parties at his home hoping to find love. Gatsby’s parties are both exciting yet destructive. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, analyzing specific words, images, and figurative language, the reader can draw to conclusion that the party was enchanting, exciting, and alluring yet repulsive, destructive, and vulgar. By analyzing quotes of imagery, figurative language, and specific words, the reader can draw to conclusion that the party was destructive, repulsive, and vulgar as well. The party was destructive by analyzing specific words. The destruction of Gatsby’s party made his servants clean a lot. The servants were “repairing the ravages” the party goers had created. Gatsby was not friends with most of the people that were in attendance. Many of the party goers invited themselves and because Gatsby did not know any of them or vice versa, the party goers treated his home with disrespect. The party was very vulgar because the people in attendance conducted themselves in a manner they would act as if they were in an “amusement park.” They treated his home like a playground by trashing the area and disrespecting his valuables. The party members devalued Gatsby’s Rolls- Royce by using it as a “station wagon”. A Rolls- Royce is a luxurious vehicle often used for showing off. Unfortunately, the people in attendance used it as transportation like a metro bus. If Gatsby was more familiar with the party members then most likely there would be much less destruction. The party members were repulsive towards Gatsby home causing the servants to have extra work. The servants had to “toil all day with mops and scrubbing brushes.” They used mops and brushes to clean the destruction created in Gatsby’s home the night before. The servants were belittled because they had extra chores. From analyzing quotes about imagery, figurative language, and specific words, the party was destructive, repulsive, and vulgar.
The Jazz age was a turning point in America. The Jazz Age was a movement that took place during the 1920s, or the Roaring Twenties, from which jazz music and dance emerged with the introduction of mainstream radio. Many people were beginning to find success from love to finance. Gatsby’s main priorities for throwing the parties were to reunite with Daisy, his past love. Gatsby was determined to win Daisy’s heart back no matter the circumstances, whether it required him to ruin his home, spend large sums of money, or belittle his valuables. The party was exciting, enchanting, and alluring as well as destructive, repulsive, and vulgar. It was positive because of the beautiful scenery, atmosphere, and distribution of alcohol yet negative due to the destruction and mistreatment of Gatsby’s home.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Ridge Scholarship Essay

    • 819 Words
    • 4 Pages

    On the surface, The Great Gatsby reads as a story of thwarted love between a man and a woman. The real theme of the novel, however, encompasses a highly symbolic meditation on 1920’s America as a whole, and, in particular, the disintegration of the American dream in an era of unprecedented prosperity and material excess. Fitzgerald portrays the 1920’s as an era of decaying social and moral values, evidenced in its overarching cynicism, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure. The reckless jubilance that led to decadent parties and wild jazz music—epitomized in The Great Gatsby by the opulent parties that Gatsby himself hosts every Saturday night—resulted ultimately in the corruption of the…

    • 819 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1. How does Nick describe himself at the beginning of the novel? As tolerant, and smart…

    • 1003 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The majority of what Fitzgerald writes in his stories are about the love for rich girls. In real life he has personally experienced falling for a wealthy girl, Zelda. In the book, The Great Gatsby, he writes about a boy who isn’t rich that is in love with a girl named daisy, who is rich like Zelda. Gatsby later lost his love, Daisy, when he went to war, for Fitzgerald, he was rejected by Ginevra King’s father who said “poor boys don’t marry wealthy girls,” which was said by Daisy in the book. He was asking for her hand in marriage. Then Fitzgerald got denied by Zelda Sayre. Daisy, the women jay Gatsby has been basing on his whole life on, is similar to Zelda Sayre who would not marry him at first since he was unsuccessful Fitzgerald lived in Great Neck, Long Island, in which his first child was born. To Zelda, Fitzgerald was seen poor but he was really upper middle class, but Zelda’s Standards were too high, like Daisy. Gatsby and Fitzgerald both met vital women to their lives at dances and both while they were stationed at army camps…

    • 611 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Jazz Age was depicted as an era of freedom, revolution, fantasy, and mostly, corruption. The inhabitants of America during the time were jubilant over the victories of World War I and very much enjoyed the wealth brought on by the spoils of war. Many were busy as they tried to build big businesses to monopolize the flow of money, and legalities did not matter as long as the people got what they wanted. The people sought to use the new-gained wealth to make their fantasy ideals to become a reality and the “American Dream” was the popular phrase used to describe their mindsets. Gatsby is longing to reunite with his love, and he spends a fortune to have it all setup and does not even stop at the face of her husband. To put the novel into a sum, the people of the Jazz Age flare up their monotonous life with corrupted love and the most unethical society and class hierarchy built on the flow of money.…

    • 851 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Many people enjoy the occasional weekend parties, but in the Jazz Age parties never ended. This time took place during the 1920s and was known to many as the Roaring twenties. Many held these parties daily, but no party was as extravagant as Jay Gatsby’s which often last all through the night. Throughout his own life F. Scott Fitzgerald, (author of The Great Gatsby) had lived in the partying lifestyle of the roaring twenties. Many of his experiences directly relate to the novel as well as multiple characters. Having been around during the Jazz Age Fitzgerald used many of these influences in his novel, which mainly are partying, drinking and sex.…

    • 1102 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    No one thinks to highly of him, but his circumstances, when tangled with the themes of the novel is what will lead to the climax of the novel. George Wilson’s purpose in The Great Gatsby is to show a contrast between corruption and innocence. He is the only passive character in this story and similar to Nick, has moral dilemmas. He is the opposite of the American dream shown through his low wealth and social status. However, as he does show to not gain anything significantly, he is not corrupted by the pursuit of the dream. George is an honest and hardworking man, but is naive and quickly intimidated and manipulated by Tom Buchanan. George defers to Tom out of necessity as he needs Tom's business. Although he believes that Tom will sell the…

    • 963 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Popular culture is defined as all of the ideas, knowledge, information, creative works and principles expressed or enjoyed by a majority of a population at a given time. Representations of Jazz, in the 1920s, brought assort open-minded relationships in this era; it also influenced women to break from previous social standards and become more ‘equal’ to men. Two texts, which are associated with this topic, are an advertisement for ‘Lucky Strike Cigarettes’ and the novel The Great Gatsby. Both texts are excellent examples on how women acted, dressed and lived in the 1920s.…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    F. Scott Fitzgerald shows many themes in his novel The Great Gatsby. One of the themes…

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The era known as the Roaring Twenties was a time of immense joy, opportunity and prosperity. Unfortunately, the 1920’s was also a period where greed, corruption and organized crime took a firm foothold. The exuberant happiness of the time was only trumped by its gap between the rich and the poor. The novel shows the true face of the so-called Age of Wonderful Nonsense with the writer’s own personal conflict. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s groundbreaking novel The Great Gatsby has stood the test of time with its messages of how corruption, extravagance, and overindulgence can destroy people’s lives and relationships.…

    • 906 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gatsby Essay

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages

    "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter – to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther...And one fine morning –" The last sentence of The Great Gatsby. Leaves so many questions unanswered, leaves so many possible ideas about what it could possibly mean. There are many potential reasons as to why Fitzgerald leaves this sentence unfinished. Could it be because he is showing what can happen “one fine morning” just by simply cutting the sentence short? I think it shows that one day we could be chasing our dreams and living life to the fullest; frolicking throughout the world doing everything as normal; everything as planned. Then one morning, we could die, we could go bankrupt, we could lose our house, someone in our family can die; something can and most likely will happen to cut our future short. It’s the harsh reality of it all. Nothing lasts forever, and we can’t expect that it will. I also think the unfinished sentence could be taken in a positive way, like Fitzgerald was letting the reader create their own idea of what could happen one fine morning. Whether that is something negative or positive. Some people can work hard enough and achieve their dreams, but if their sole purpose of doing anything in life is based on a person (Gatsby’s motivation was his “love for Daisy), it isn’t a valid dream. It’s superficial and less likely to happen. That is why it can be interpreted different ways by the reader.…

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Great Gatsby Essay Example

    • 2160 Words
    • 9 Pages

    “He hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes. Sometimes, too, he stared around at his possessions in a dazed way, as though in her actual and astounding presence none of it was nay longer real. Once he nearly toppled down a flight of stairs.”…

    • 2160 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    F. Scott Fitzgerald’s writing brought out the deeper meaning of the difference between the wealthy and the poor and how ignorant, greedy, and carefree the upper classes really were during the 1920’s. Their actions and behaviour during the parties that Gatsby had thrown were a glimpse of the ignorance, greed, and carefree living. “I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby’s house I was one of the few guests who had actually been invited. People were not invited- the [just] went there” (Fitzgerald 41). Nick comes out saying that he feels as if he were the only one who was actually invited to the party, unlike the other hundreds of people. Being the most honest person within the novel, the reader realizes how greedy and ignorant the people of the 1920’s may be. These people come to the party to have a good time for themselves and not to have a good time with the person throwing it either. Their carefree attitude is revealed when they break the stuff within the house at the party and make themselves at home as if…

    • 1901 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Great Gatsby is a novel that, superficially, seems like the tragic story of infatuation and misunderstanding. However, set in 1920s America, it can be read in a number of different ways. This post-war period was a time of economic boom and rapid change in technological advances led to fashionable, more affluent and carefree lives. Alcohol was banned as a direct response to hedonism of the time but ironically it encouraged corruption and a black market. The speed of change and modernity was both exciting and overwhelming. Thus we see that this was a time of glamour and corruption, excitement and emptiness, infatuation and disenchantment.…

    • 2165 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Great Gatsby Essay

    • 977 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “It’s a shallow life that doesn’t give a person a few scars”. This quote said by Garrison Keillor, metaphorically exemplifies the true meaning of hollowness and shallowness. Hollowness and shallowness were a major part of people’s characteristics in the 1920’s ‘easy money’ era because of the great economic boom. During this era, people earned their money by corruption with smuggling alcohol during prohibition. In addition, people earned their money by people unknowingly investing in major stocks. A few people earned their money with hard work; it was mostly made easily for them. Throughout the novel, The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the shallowness and hollowness of the upper class is persistently shown. Hollowness and shallowness of the upper class are shown in The Great Gatsby through Tom’s disrespect and segregation for people in the lower class; Daisy’s love and addiction towards ‘gold’ and money; and Tom and Daisy’s lack of respect for their morals by cheating on each other which leads to the tragic downfall of Jay Gatsby.…

    • 977 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    social scene

    • 703 Words
    • 3 Pages

    It is at a party where Nick Carraway, Fitzgerald’s narrator, first encounters Gatsby. After watching from his home as others journeyed to the gallant affairs held by the mysterious Gatsby, Nick finally secures an invitation. With this invitation comes a sense of self-importance and pride to Nick. He feels accepted. At the party, many people are pictured in their best clothes, dancing, drinking, cavorting about and gossiping. Here, Fitzgerald is commenting upon the rash abandon of the high society. Nick only feels accepted once he has been invited to partake in this higher lifestyle, but once there, the scenes he describes bely the waste and futility of the entire situation. The party-goers have no deeper aspirations than to drink and socialize and be merry. Although seemingly grateful to Gatsby for this diversion, the attendees gossip about his past, making querries as to the legality of his past and present employment and connections. Fitzgerald’s strongest foray against the emptiness of the 1920’s high life appears during this party scene. These people are not glitzy, secure, powerful, and worthy of idolatry. They are superficial, worrying about how they appear to others both physically and socially. They are lacking in direction and ambition, making no attempts to better themselves or the world, to set and achieve goals--they are hollow men. And with this tasteless depiction of the partiers, Fitzgerald sums up his feelings about 1920’s society life as a whole, lending a melancholic and wasted feel over the entirety of the novel. Also important about the party scene is its revelation about the two main characters—Nick…

    • 703 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays