Great Gatsby Essay

Submitted By volleygirl2121
Words: 1193
Pages: 5
Open Document
Ratkowski 1

Lexi Ratkowski
Ms. Meyer
Honors English 11­7
10 November 2014
The True Life of Jay Gatsby People say “You learn somthing new everyday”, this is true, one cannot go a day without learning something different. On a daily basis one learn about themselves and one another. It is not just about learning lessons; life is about learning from mistakes and making choices that will have a positive effect on one's life. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald has taught many lessons about learning about someone’s past before judging and how its not that easy fitting in somewhere one doesn’t belong.
In society people try to conform even if it means going against what they believe to be morally correct. Within The Great Gatsby, Gatsby went to the unimaginable to fit in with everyone. When people attend Gatsby’s parties, not many people knew anything about him,
“‘Theres something funny about a fellow that’ll do a thing like that,’...’He doesn’t want any trouble with anybody.’...’Somebody told me they thought he killed a man once.’...’I don’t think it’s so much that,’... ‘it’s more that he was a German spy during the war.’...’I heard that from a man who knew all about him, grew up with him in Germany,’”(43­44). Gatsby may have thought he was perfectly fine; not knowing many people in his house, but, Gatsby’s parties were his way of fitting in with the higher social class. By trying to act like the people Gatsby is around, he is creating a false image for himself that may or may not be what he want to be known for, “They look out of no face, but, instead from a pair of enormous yellow low spectacles which pass over

Ratkowski 2

a non­existent nose” (23). The yellow spectacles on a face that represents God shows how much money from the upper classes have caused a wasteland of ashes,making it a challenge to succeed. As a result of Gatsby not completely fitting in; Nick imagined Gatsby would tell him after he was killed, “‘Look here, old sport, you’ve got to get somebody for me. You’ve got to try hard. I can’t go through this alone.”’(165). Gatsby really tried to fit in with people but he just never did; however, in order for him to feel complete, he wanted people to know he was dead.
Trying to fit in with people one does not belong with usually ends in disaster.
In society today, many people tend to judge others that are different from them, because they’re jealous or envious of what they have. Within The Great Gatsby people barely ever judge one another, due to the wide spread of conformity in society in the 1920’s. One of the things people did was have affairs, “‘Why­­’ she said hesitantly, ‘Tom’s got some woman in New
York’”(15). Everyone often knew about the affairs, but they rarely spoke of it, this way it would seem as if it didn’t happen. In Tom and Daisy’s marriage, Daisy knew something suspicious was going on but didn’t want to admit it out loud to anyone. Same with Gatsby and Daisy’s affair, they would meet in a more informal setting, often with Nick, so it was almost okay since they were with people. In Tom’s case, he was very open with his affair with Myrtle Wilson “‘Doesn’t her husband object?’ ‘Wilson? He thinks she goes to see her sister in New York. He’s so dumb he doesn’t know he’s alive’” (26). Tom has now invited Nick and some others over to his apartment in New York City that he saves for him and Myrtle. In the year 1919 alcohol was banned from every house and bar in the United States; but that didn’t stop many people from getting their beloved alcohol. Many of the most respected people in the US abused alcohol the most: “...either is was terrible stuff or the whiskey distorted things, because it didn’t make any

Ratkowski 3

sense to me.” (29), When one thinks of the color gold they think of wealth and power, how about yellow, the sun? Compared to gold, yellow has nothing; however, people never think of the fake gold, almost like pyrite; otherwise, known as
Show More

Related Documents: Great Gatsby Essay

Why Is The Great Gatsby Great

In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is great because of the way he is perceived by the people for living out the the American Dream. Gatsby's mansion, lavish parties and wealth give him a reputation of being great because he is living what people dream of. Gatsby is also great because he is a genuine romantic and will do anything to obtain his lifelong love Daisy, who is occupied by another man, Tom. Gatsby believes that Daisy doesn't truly love Tom and that Daisy truly loves him…

Words 1449 - Pages 6

Gatsby: The Great Gatsby and Gatsby Essay

THE GREAT GATSBY.. In the Great Gatsby the story is narrated in the past tense and seen through the eyes of Mr Nick Carraway.He is a young man from Minnestota, who after serving in World War 1, went on to New York to learn the bond business. He moves to the West Egg and soon becomes friends with his neighbour, the mysterious Jay Gatsby. Fitzgerald, the author uses the the settings of the East and West Egg to present the differences in the classes and the demise of the American dream in the…

Words 1007 - Pages 5

Gatsby: The Great Gatsby and Gatsby Essay

11 (3) 22 April 2013 Lies and Deceit Frederick Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby portrays a rich man who obsesses over the love of his past and as a result ends his life. Lies and deceit take a major role during the novel, the biggest lie of them all being Mr. Jay Gatsby himself. All humans are innately dishonest and superficial which reveals the characters true disposition and as a result leads to discontent and in Gatsbys case, death. Frederick uses Symbolism, Characterization, and Diction to…

Words 1001 - Pages 5

Is The Great Gatsby Really Great

In life we aim to be great to always be caring and loving towards others and to have a legacy everyone will remember, but it's not easy to be all good. Not everyone is truly great everyone has flaws. To be great we must have Integrity and a special set of morals that we won't ever turn against, they always do the right thing. We must think of others before ourselves and do everything we possibly can to be good. Gatsby has fabricated an entire life built up with lies, the people around him are no…

Words 1638 - Pages 7

Love In The Great Gatsby

topic of many novels, movies, and songs. In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, people see many different themes but the one that stands out to me most is the theme of love. The relationships in The Great Gatsby are not always centered around love, instead some are centered around status or wealth. Also, we see in the book how far some people are willing to go in hopes to acquire the one they love. In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald uses the characters to…

Words 497 - Pages 2

The Great Gatsby Analysis

Fitzgerald wrote the classic, “The Great Gatsby” in 1925. It is considered a portrait of the golden age of jazz and all of its excesses. A typical book on the story begins with Jay Gatsby meeting and falling in love with a young Daisy while he is still an impoverished officer. When he is sent over seas Daisy marries the very rich yet brutal Tom Buchanan. Gatsby pursues wealth endlessly until he is a self made millionaire. Gatsby moves to New York and buys a great mansion. He begins to throw lavish…

Words 264 - Pages 2

Essay on The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald In F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' he proves the American dream to be nothing people pretending to be something they're not in hopes of a better life. So is the American dream still a living dream today? Well you would think it would be because you still hear some people still talk about it here and there, so that's what I hoped to find out. Here are some things I discovered in the process. It seems the American dream is very popular in American…

Words 1312 - Pages 6

Hope In The Great Gatsby

world is centered around fantasizing and dreaming, just like in The Great Gatsby. F Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, wanted “something new and beautiful”, this book was exactly that as millions of copies were sold. The book was published in the 1920’s; surrounding wealth, parties, alcohol, materialism, and love. With all of the events in the book, they are all tied to some sort of ‘hope’. In the novel The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the color ‘green’ to symbolize the main character…

Words 795 - Pages 4

Relationships In The Great Gatsby

within The Great Gatsby Throughout the novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald compares the connections between Gatsby/Daisy, Tom/Myrtle, Nick/Jordan; there are importance to these individuals. They can be between lovers, friends, and families. The novel shows these, but also the wrong types of relationships such as people having affairs.Throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the relationships between the different characters, are dysfunctional, arrogant and materialistic. One can see that Gatsby and Daisy…

Words 840 - Pages 4

Symbolism In The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald is a man who believes that God can be found in many places, which is prevalent in his book, The Great Gatsby. Throughout The Great Gatsby, one can find a plethora of religious references that are brought to light by the book’s characters Owl Eyes, Doctor Eckleburg, and Gatsby.This symbolism is found in the character’s actions and how the other characters react to them. One prevalent character that represents a divine deity is Owl Eyes. Within the book, there are several instances…

Words 1511 - Pages 7