How Is The Great Gatsby Relevant Today

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The Great Gatsby first published in 1925 is over 90 years old, however, the relevance of this esteemed novel may be withering. The author of this splendid novel is F. Scott Fitzgerald, who was a man that is largely remembered for The Great Gatsby, his third novel. Fitzgerald’s numerous works often entail a theme that reflects those of society, social class, wealth, romantic idealism, and materialism. The Great Gatsby, a novel that largely reflects the 1920s, focuses on Gatsby’s great affection for his love of the past while being narrated by Nick Carraway, Gatsby’s neighbor, who holds affiliation with various characters. This novel is commonly associated with the American Dream that anything is achievable even one’s greatest aspirations. R. …show more content…

Given that this novel is nearly a century old, the time era may have been significantly divergent from that of today in the lifestyle of individuals and their own version of the American Dream. Thus the relevance level is diminishing as society continues to progress into an era of modernism and alternative ideologies about the roles of individuals in society. Modern times present a certain insurgence in how individuals of society view the American Dream, that one can obtain their desires solely with hard work, which is so greatly delineated within The Great Gatsby. However, despite what certain individuals may believe The Great Gatsby continues to hold value, not only in present times but unceasingly into the …show more content…

Gatsby, a man that may not be “great”, is the main character of The Great Gatsby and presents an individual developed upon lies. While characterizing Gatsby, Nick says, “The truth was that Jay Gatsby [. . .] sprang from his Platonic conception of himself” (Fitzgerald 98). To this day there continue to be numerous individuals that falsify their information in hopes to achieve a certain delusion that has been developed from an unsatisfied reality. Gatsby presents a character that is still relative to countless individuals today, a person that develops his own delusional reality in order to alter his life to suit his desires. In his essay, “Why Every American Should Read The Great Gatsby, Again”, R. Clifton Spargo states, that Gatsby, in an “American way” is a person that “believes that if you can’t realize your idealistic goals, you might as well settle on delusions” (Spargo). Spargo uses “American” to describe not only Gatsby but the vast majority of Americans as individuals that ultimately will settle for a false reality. Today’s people are often faced with various tasks that generate difficulties in their lives such as having multiple obligations. To escape the stresses and pressures that reality presents, delusions, the false reality, are often the satisfaction they side with. Time is an impeding factor, yet it does not alter the message Fitzgerald intended in his