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Examples Of Naturalism In The Great Gatsby

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Hard work pays off. According to people’s perception of the American Dream, all one needs is determination and diligent effort to obtain prosperity and success, particularly material things. While many people want to believe that equal opportunity is real, it is often twisted and confused for something it is not, leaving those deemed as minorities out of the running. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, the characters all chase their own corrupted “American Dream,” all of which fail to be inclusive of everyone. The novel makes a naturalism argument with the idea that one’s social status cannot be changed from the level set by the laws of nature. Fitzgerald effectively characterizes this theme of naturalism by the use of the geography of the Valley of Ashes, …show more content…

At Myrtle’s apartment, she holds a small party where she happens to be the center of attention until Tom tells her to “‘Get some more ice and mineral water… before everybody goes to sleep’” (Fitzgerald 38). Tom immediately shut down Myrtle’s moment to show off by dominating her and reminding her where she belongs. Any chance for her to rise in social class whether through wealth or women’s rights is always beat down. In like manner, when driving across the bridge to Manhattan with Gatsby, Nick laughs at the sight of a limousine “driven by a white chauffeur, in which sat three modish negroes,” indicating Nick’s views on racial equality to be not too far from Tom’s (Fitzgerald 69). As these African Americans are seemingly fitting in, Nick shuts them down in the strange idea of seeing the three trying to live fashionably, just as he and his friends are free to do because of their race. Nick’s blatant disapproval of their attempt at upward mobility puts them back to where they started in the racial hierarchy, precluded from rising in

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