Obscenity In The Great Gatsby
For Jay Gatsby to turn out all right at the end as the narrator promises, he must first be erased of his obscenity and indeterminacy. Barbara Will, the author of The Great Gatsby and The Obscene Word, argues in her criticism that only then can Gatsby come to stand as the vision of Americanism and, inevitably, America itself. The sociological criticism discusses the novel as the product of its time period, focusing on the American isolationist movement of the early 1920s and how, through the characters Tom Buchanan and Nick Carraway, the worldview of the dominant class, Fitzgerald included, is expressed.
In the final moments of the novel, Nick erases an obscene word written on the steps of Gatsby’s house, thereby linking Gatsby with the word, meaning that which eludes representation. The problem of his obscenity, then, lies in what his indeterminacy means for the natural American as Gatsby represents the threatening alien during a time of immigration restriction in the 1920s.
Gatsby’s elusiveness prevents him from becoming the center …show more content…
Gatsby represents racial indeterminacy as Gatsby is not necessarily Nordic but his race cannot be pinpointed. To Tom, this non-whiteness is perceived as a threat to the structure of power, hierarchies, and the concept of Americanism as the idea of aliens gaining power became something to fear during the early 1920s’ isolationist and nativist movement. Even Nick Carraway, the narrator of the text, is subtly nativist with his emphasis on his own Nordic lineage and stereotypes of others. This viewpoint was demonstrated by Fitzgerald as well in his letters to his daughter speaking of a vitality that distinguishes the aristocracy from vermin. Gatsby, on the other hand, threatens this vitality with his indeterminacy and
In the final moments of the novel, Nick erases an obscene word written on the steps of Gatsby’s house, thereby linking Gatsby with the word, meaning that which eludes representation. The problem of his obscenity, then, lies in what his indeterminacy means for the natural American as Gatsby represents the threatening alien during a time of immigration restriction in the 1920s.
Gatsby’s elusiveness prevents him from becoming the center …show more content…
Gatsby represents racial indeterminacy as Gatsby is not necessarily Nordic but his race cannot be pinpointed. To Tom, this non-whiteness is perceived as a threat to the structure of power, hierarchies, and the concept of Americanism as the idea of aliens gaining power became something to fear during the early 1920s’ isolationist and nativist movement. Even Nick Carraway, the narrator of the text, is subtly nativist with his emphasis on his own Nordic lineage and stereotypes of others. This viewpoint was demonstrated by Fitzgerald as well in his letters to his daughter speaking of a vitality that distinguishes the aristocracy from vermin. Gatsby, on the other hand, threatens this vitality with his indeterminacy and