The Grand Illusion in The Great Gatsby Essay - 811 Words

The American dream is a farce. Hopeful American children and quixotic foreigners believe that freedom will lead to prosperity, and that prosperity will bring happiness. This anticipation of joy will never come to fruition, and all these unfortunate people will feel that they were cheated out of happiness by some unlucky roll of dice, but really they have been chasing cars, because the American dream is not something one can truly capture, but only smoke trapped in the palm of a hand. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby’s lavish parties, characterized by music, dancing, and illegal alcohol, are a representation of the corruption of society’s values, and are filled with guests only concerned with material things as they step further and further†¦show more content†¦Many of the guests at the parties are not even invited, and Nick believe that â€Å"[He] was one of the few guests who had actually been invited† (Fitzgerald 41). At Gatsby’s parties, avid p eople seeking wealth and social status want to climb up the social ladder by talking to those who are put in high places by birth, and to do this, people simply ignored the common courtesy of not attending a party they are not wanted at, and just went to his parties. Money makes the world go round, and even when the world seems to be joyous and blissful, like at Gatsby’s parties, there are still the unseen gears of greed at work, out to snatch a dollar even in a place they are not even wanted at in the first place. Although Gatsby’s parties may seem to be the best example of honest fun in the 1920’s, they are paid for by nothing but the lies and trickery called â€Å"bootlegging.† Gatsby, although surrounded by extraordinary dà ©cor and living in a beautiful mansion, is nothing more than anyone in prison—he is a crook. The enormous parties he throws, as beautiful as they may seem to the simple wandering eye, are paid for with the money of an imm oral thief, Gatsby. Although Gatsby tries to conceal his business affairs, Tom studies Gatsby’s life out of suspicion, and finds that Gatsby â€Å"bought up a lot of side-street drugstores and sold grain alcohol over the counter†Show MoreRelatedA Separate Peace And The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1111 Words   |  5 PagesRelationships Novels can develop ties despite being written in different times, with very different plots. Such novels deserve the exploration of comparison between them. Both John Knowles and F. Scott Fitzgerald, in the novels A Separate Peace and The Great Gatsby respectively, show relationships between two male characters and detail how a dream can become out of hand. While both authors use extended flashback to start their narration about the past events, Knowles chooses to tell the story from the perspectiveRead MoreEssay on The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald907 Words   |  4 PagesThe word â€Å"great† has many meanings – outstanding, eminent, grand, important, extraordinary, and noble – that vary with the intent of the speaker and the interpretation of the listener. Someone may perceive something as great, while someone else may consider that same thing horrendous. The greatness of a being is not determined by the individual, but by those around them who experien ce and perceive their greatness through actions and words. In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, theRead More F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby - The Power of Money Essay examples672 Words   |  3 Pagesrepresentation of materialism, in search of the power that enables them to live. But, money can play many parts in the drama of life. 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According to dictionary.com, the word disillusion means, â€Å"to free from or deprive of illusion.† Another definition is thatRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1476 Words   |  6 Pagesthe tone of the film. The suspenseful notes of the Jaws theme suggests that danger is approaching. The soundtrack to Baz Luhrman’s The Great Gatsby is a tasteful collection of songs from artists of different genres. Through this amalgamation of genres and lyrics, the integrity of the F. Scott Fitzgerald’s piece is well maintained. The events of The Great Gatsby took place during the summer of 1922, a time when American culture shifted dramatically. Strict societal standards set by previous generationsRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1365 Words   |  6 PagesThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is the compelling story of the lengths one man goes to in order to try and win back the love of his youth. In order to do so, the titular figure of the novel, Jay Gatsby, reinvents himself from the hardscrabble soldier of his younger years into an enigma of a millionaire; during his time living at West Egg, Gatsby is revered by all, but known by none. Despite the lavish lifestyle which has made him ever so well known for, Gatsby is never able to win back DaisyRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald2182 Words   |  9 Pagesthe reader in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby. Published in 1925, the novel tells the story of a cast of socialites in there 20s and early 30s in the fictional town of West Egg, Long Island. Narrated by a character named Nick Carraway, who provides insightful descriptions of the men and women he finds himself surrounded by after moving out East from the Midwest. The novel primarily focuses on the mysterious millionaire, Jay Gatsby. 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For example, Gatsbys house is â€Å" 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 isRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book The Great Gatsby 1533 Words   |  7 PagesA Mirage in a Desert: The Duality of Dreams in The Great Gatsby Dreamers are those who dedicate themselves to bringing the world in their minds into reality, unwilling to accept compromise. Dreams are the realities that everyone holds in their minds giving their lives meaning and direction, but what happens when a dreamer dreams a dream far too grand for reality? Scott F. Fitzgerald critically examines the duality of dreams in The Great Gatsby, a story about a young gentleman trying to achieve