Examples Of New York City Life In The Great Gatsby

In The Great Gatsby, by Scott Fitzgerald, the book’s setting takes place during the post-World War I era when the Roaring Twenties take place. The main character, Nick, experiences the peak of America’s bustling and growing society, particularly in the heart of New York City. Beginning his journey by adjusting to such changes, where he imagines what he could do with others. He felt that his image of the city represented the reality he longed to be a part of. By contrasting the expectations and reality of New York City life, Fitzgerald exposes the city’s promise of excitement in order to warn aspiring dreamers from falling into the trap of the unattainable American dream.

The growing society in America believes that pursuing false hopes will

After work, Nick strolls around the city to experience the mellow night it offers, Nick includes, “I began to like New York, the racy, adventurous feel of it at night, and the satisfaction that the constant flicker of men and women and machines gives to the restless eye” (56). The author juxtaposes a bright and optimistic tone with a more hopeless and uncertain tone conveyed through ‘constant’ and ‘flicker’ to create a contradiction between the outwardly active appearance of city life and the underlying sense of inactivity. Where in reality a constant flickering does not exist, further linking how unreal such ideals the inhabitants held for the city are. Fitzgerald displays the misconceptions that make up the image of American city life, especially in New York, to discourage feeding into the endless, inescapable cycle of chasing unrealistic imaginations. Dwelling on what he could do on the streets of New York, Nick imagines, “in my mind, I followed them to their apartments on the

Walking past groups of people along the city streets all alone, Nick observes, “I felt a haunting loneliness sometimes, and felt it in others-poor young clerks who loitered in front of windows waiting… wasting the most poignant moments of night and life” (56-57). The author depicts Nick’s surroundings through the repetitive use of negative language to highlight New York’s engaging, exciting surface, yet deep down, its overall monotonous, lifeless nature. Specifically, using words such as ‘metropolitan’ shows the expectations full of activity, and ‘loitered’ for how the people lack the purpose of leaving them lingering. Almost as if these wanderers lost their purpose and feel distanced from the acceptance, still holding onto the sliver of expectancy for success in America. Fitzgerald captures beneath the illusion of promise carries the unfortunate fate of reality, in which only lies and misconceptions shape the city and losing individuality. Falling into what society deems as successful causes the population to enrich themselves with ideals and stray from their purpose to fulfill such expectations. Continuing his journey through the city nightlife, Nick notices, “Forms leaned together in the taxis as they waited, and voices sang… laughter from unheard jokes…” (57). The author describes Nick’s surroundings with