The Great Gatsby Pool Analysis
In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby’s pool is typically mentioned in conjunction with displays of his fortune. Gatsby’s pool represents the temptations of excess and luxury that accompany a life of wealth. Initially, Gatsby is able to distance himself from this lavishness—while he enjoys a privileged lifestyle, he acknowledges the need to distance himself from excess. However, as the summer continues, he fails to maintain this internal restraint, leading him to lose the morals that once guided his behavior. Consequently, the only his desire for wealth, an all-consuming force that leads to his eventual demise, remains. As Gatsby is increasingly exposed to wealth, he fails to maintain an internal restraint, one that prevents him …show more content…
Before Nick leaves for the city, he meets Gatsby for breakfast. Gatsby discusses draining the pool with his gardener and tells Nick, “you know, old sport, I’ve never used that pool all summer?” (153) Gatsby is self-aware: he acknowledges that he hasn’t given into the temptations of wealth during the summer, as instead he has been concentrating on winning Daisy’s love. He was nearly successful—he almost got Daisy to leave Tom—but in the end, he failed. While he is able to set aside his temptations for the summer, he can never completely escape them. On the day of his death, Gatsby plans to go for a swim: “he stopped at the garage for a pneumatic mattress that had amused his guests during the summer, and the chauffeur helped him pump it up” (161). Although there is still a barrier between Gatsby and a complete consumption of wealth, it is shrinking. Before, Gatsby was not tempted by excess, whereas now he is on the brink of giving into it. The “pneumatic mattress” enables Gatsby to further assimilate into a life of complete wealth before becoming completely consumed. It is frequently used by his guests, who acknowledge the need to maintain some distance between themselves and excess, but still feel themselves giving into the desire for increased wealth. By maintaining this barrier, Gatsby is able to exist in a world of privilege and enjoy the benefits of his wealth without being entirely consumed by
Explain How Does Nick Describe Himself In Chapter 1 Of The Great Gatsby
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Examples Of Privilege In The Great Gatsby
621 Words | 3 PagesIn the Great Gatsby, privilege comes into play. Privilege in this context means being born with advantages that you did not earn or work for. Some people have to work to get their money but others are born with money which means that they didn’t have to work for their money. Gatsby for example was not born with money. He had to make his own money by selling and dealing drugs and is now a very wealthy man.
Does Money Buy Happiness In The Great Gatsby
1077 Words | 5 PagesWanting to gain status, Gatsby shows his wealth by throwing extravagant parties and purchasing expensive items to display. To announce himself as a man of wealth to the New York upper class, he purchases 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” (5), his mansion in West Egg. It is here that he chooses to throw parties every weekend, where everyone shows up, though rarely people are actually invited. It is here that he is able to show off the true extent of his wealth to other rich folk. For example, in his library, he has a collection of “absolutely real” books, rather than “durable cardboard” (45), expected by Owl Eye, and attendant of one of Gatsby’s parties.
The Great Gatsby And The Godfather Analysis
1981 Words | 8 PagesThis ideas roots itself in disenfranchisement and how people judge other people just on how much success they have had. When Gatsby was young he felt like he did not fit with the social class that he was raised in. He wanted to get out of it because he believed that was the only way to be achieve his determined destiny. As he was growing up Gatsby, “was a son of God-a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that-and he must be about His Father’s Business, the service of a vast, vulgar and meretricious beauty” (Fitzgerald 104). Gatsby believed that he was meant to get out of his current circumstance because it was his destiny.
The Great Gatsby Foolishness Analysis
1014 Words | 5 PagesGatsby’s “Greatness” Greatness is showed by the choices we make in life. From how we see the circumstances and how we react to them. Gatsby is not as great of a man as Nick claims that he is. Gatsby makes foolish, childish and delusional decisions and not at all great.
Self-Made In The Great Gatsby
985 Words | 4 PagesThere were many ostentatious possessions that Gatsby gained from wealth as an outcome of being a self made man. Even though being a self made man can have repercussions, it can still have beneficial outcomes from
The Great Gatsby Green Light Essay
610 Words | 3 PagesAt the end of The Great Gatsby, Nick reflects upon Gatsby’s life and pursuit on the beach where “the green light” at the end of Daisy’s dock can be seen. As a significant metaphor, “the green light” represents Gatsby’s dream which guides him to keep pursuing wealth and social status, while the position of the light, the distant and inaccessible Daisy’s dock, indicates the close connection between Gatsby’s unreal dream and Daisy, and as well the disillusionment of the dream. In the last three paragraphs, Nick explains the disillusionment of Gatsby’s dream, “He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it” (162). Gatsby has always strived for his ambition and dream.
Examples Of Unhappiness In The Great Gatsby
1873 Words | 8 PagesThe characters in the novel pretend that they have their lives all figured out, but through their successes their downfalls and emptiness can be seen, to prove that money cannot buy happiness. Jay Gatsby is the newest and upcoming star in New York during the 1920’s. Through his business and inheritance he is one of the richest men of his time. One may think that his abundance of wealth would lead him to be eternally happy, but he is the opposite. Gatsby longs for his love of Daisy, which is his personal American Dream.
Theme Of Poverty In The Great Gatsby
619 Words | 3 PagesClaire Shalinsky wrote an article titled “The Problem of Poverty in Gatsby”, and she explains how throughout the book, Jay Gatsby is picked apart, so we can see past
Connotation Of Women In The Great Gatsby
1169 Words | 5 PagesIn today’s duplicitous society, men often pursue the “perfect woman”. This woman is construed to be; fit, provocative and ravishing. However, in greatly distinguished American novel, The Great Gatsby, the men have strayed from stalking women for their looks. Instead, Gatsby chases Daisy to achieve her as a prize of his bounty and any affection Gatsby demonstrates toward her, is simply to appease to her sense of status and wealth. The author F. Scott Fitzgerald, exhibits Gatsby’s these feelings for Daisy through the clever usage of connotation, symbolism and metaphors.
What Is The Pursuit Of Wealth In The Great Gatsby
1439 Words | 6 PagesWhen Gatsby loses everything, we see that wealth not only fails as a means of fulfillment but actively participates in the destruction of this goal. Fitzgerald suggests that wealth cannot lead to happiness, rather it undermines the existing and potential good in life. It should therefore should not be used as means of attaining fulfillment. The first mentions of Gatsby’s character reveal a personality who has sacrificed morality to achieve a
Corruption Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby Analysis
1756 Words | 8 PagesGatsby was a man who came up from essentially nothing by gaining his money through bootlegging and other illegal acts in order to gain a reputation in society. Gatsby’s constant desire to accomplish more in his life demonstrates the corruption of the American Dream. It is evident that Gatsby has had a thirst for the American dream since a young age, this is shown when Gatsby’s father says: “Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this or something. Do you notice what he’s got about improving his mind?
Personification Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby
1140 Words | 5 PagesBut even though it seems that Gatsby 's "number of enchanted objects [have been] reduced by one" (84) with the possibility of winning Daisy, he is foiled by her greater attraction to a secure life of luxury. Ironically, Gatsby is unable to comprehend that Daisy 's obsession with material possessions mirrors his own fixations with such objects. Though Gatsby is aware of the "youth and mystery that wealth imprisons and preserves" (132), his inability to sacrifice his wealth and embrace simplicity breaks his spirit. Rich on earth, but poor at heart, Gatsby thus "[pays] the price for living too long with a single dream" (142), as he learns that his life is superficial and lacks meaning. But instead of attempting to reverse this misfortune, Gatsby takes it apathetically, wishing only to live this leisurely path.
The American Dream In The Great Gatsby Essay
1133 Words | 5 PagesTo some extent, Gatsby is successful in managing this, as his poor background does not determine his future and he rises to a higher position in the society. However, he does make sure to
Self-Made Man In The Great Gatsby
1373 Words | 6 PagesWhile on the surface, Gatsby does have a ‘rags-to-riches’ story, it is not a virtuous one; he amasses his wealth through illegal channels by working with Meyer Wolfsheim, and never fulfills his dream, Daisy. Also, He changes his name from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby when he first encounters Dan Cody. Because Gatsby has to take on an entirely different persona to achieve success, disguising his poor upbringing and suggesting that James Gatz could never achieve the American dream. Gatsby first attempts to earn his financial success by performing menial labor for Cody, but when Cody’s ex-wife swindles Gatsby out of his inheritance, he turns to illegal means of getting rich. Not only does Gatsby illegally gain his wealth my selling grain liquor over the counter, but he also does so under the direction of Meyer Wolfsheim, breaking two essential qualities of the self-made man, virtue, and independence.
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