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Argumentative Essay On The Great Gatsby

803 Words4 Pages

In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzerald expresses a negative view of the 1920's and the American Dream. He does this using the characters, setting, and symbolism. One character Fitzgerald uses to show his view of the 1920s is Nick. Nick doesn't have much of an effect on the story, he just observes everything as it happens and makes silent judgements of those around him. The reader experiences the story through his eyes and sees the world the way Nick perceives it. Throughout the course of the book, Nick starts off open-minded, but gradually becomes disgusted with everyone he meets. Nick saw mostly everyone only thinking of themselves and trying to pursue "The American Dream", a staple of the 1920s. The one person Nick liked was Gatsby, because …show more content…

Daisy seemed really nice and pretty and was the goal of Gatsby to get, but turns out she's not as great and Gatsby imagined her being, represents the false sense of glory people see in the American Dream. This proved in chapter 5, page 93, "Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her. It had seemed as close as a star to the moon. Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one." She only became interested in Gatsby when they first met because he lied to her about being wealthy and while she was waiting, she didn't care enough to wait for him all that time and instead married Tom because he had …show more content…

The two settings used the most throughout the book is West Egg and the Valley of Ashes. West Egg is the area where all the new money people live, including Gatsby. At Gatsby's house, wild lavish parties are very common. However, everyone who attends those parties don't even know Gatsby, they just come because they want to have fun and not worry about anything. Meanwhile, there's the Valley of Ashes, an area outside of the city which is a gray and dull place where ashes and other waste is dumped. Fitzgerald uses this setting to represent the despair and low morality caused by the lack of care and desire for

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936 Words | 4 Pages

Gatsby had spent so much time and effort pursuing this unrealistic view of Daisy that it became impossible for her to live up to these expectations. He never made a real effort to find out who she actually is, or even simply respect that she had created a life apart from him. It’s unsurprising that he is disappointed by reality; he has been living in an elaborate dream, deluding himself to believe that his plan to win her over will work just because he wants it to, and ignoring the real factors that would break this illusion until it is broken for him. Gatsby is aware of the factors playing against him when it comes to his dream of being with Daisy, such as her marriage and commitment to her family, but he creates a mental version of events that serve him when he cannot accept this reality. Subsequently, he suffers from realizing that his imagined perfect version of Daisy and their perfect life together is not real or reasonable.

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364 Words | 2 Pages

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488 Words | 2 Pages

Fitzgerald uses Nick as a good example of a middle class compared with Gatsby. Nick also known as the (person telling the story) has a house that is carefully thought about/believed an "eye sore" which means that Nick's house needs more improvement. It is also known as an over looked house because it is a regualar home that need a little bit of fixing or home improvement. Nick only pays $80 per month for his house but still lives the rich (way of living) like Gatsby. Nick is a type of person that is an (usual/ commonly and regular/ healthy) person should look during the "American Dream" which Is ok to be in a middle class.

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1014 Words | 5 Pages

Gatsby’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.

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1589 Words | 7 Pages

Fitzgerald condemned the American Dream by showing how even though Gatsby became rich, he was not happy nor did he have a happy life. Tom Buchanan dehumanized Gatsby by how he thought badly of him because he was nouveaux riche. Tom was old money. Nick was also newly rich like Gatsby. He dehumanized the Buchanans in the fact that he thought of them as careless except when it comes to their image or their money.

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685 Words | 3 Pages

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578 Words | 3 Pages

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844 Words | 4 Pages

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1208 Words | 5 Pages

The characters put wealth, power, and desires over moral values and respect for themselves and others. Fitzgerald’s makes it obvious that he believes people should not substitute their values for a materialistic life. The characters’ desire to achieve the American dream outweighs moral convictions, resulting in scandalous and fatal actions. A critical perspective that is approached throughout the entire novel and is most helpful in understanding the theme is the Marxist criticism.

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528 Words | 3 Pages

The Ever Controlling Government The ban on alcohol is one of the most ironic things the government has done. Since the prohibition had passed alcohol has become cheaper which ironically is the antithesis of what the ban had hoped to achieve. With the decrease in price and the controversy around alcohol, liquor has revealed many interesting behaviours of the American public. Mr. Gatsby of West Egg and alcohol have a very particular relationship, not in the sense of abuse necessarily, but one of excess for certain.

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755 Words | 4 Pages

Gatsby then gets involved with the nightmare of the American Dream. Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s perfectly as an era of decayed social and moral values, evidenced in its overarching greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure. This novel shows the lack of social skills in newly made millionaires such as Gatsby that cannot even pick up on an invitation to lunch. This book was enjoyable to read because it set in when America was becoming an economic superpower and it was relatable in some ways.

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Argumentative Essay On The Great Gatsby

2169 Words | 9 Pages

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1218 Words | 5 Pages

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161 Words | 1 Pages

The story The Great Gatsby is based in New York during the 1920s, also known as the jazz age. The narrator Nick Carraway brings the readers along for his journey of moving from a small city in Minnesota to a high-born suburb, West Egg, New York. While Nick lives there he meets a pretty intriguing man named Jay Gatsby, whom he finds out had a romantic past with his cousin Daisy. After the discovery of Gatsbys and Daisys past, Nick is called in for help from Gatsby to recreate the past and make Daisy realize that Gatsby is the one she should be with. Gatsby’s one dream in life is to win Daisy back and Daisy’s dream is to be married to a man that can support her and love her as much as she loves them.

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752 Words | 4 Pages

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