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Kanye West And Jay Gatsby Analysis

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When comparing legendary rap artist Kanye West with the fictional entrepreneur Jay Gatsby, at first glance one may think that there’s absolutely no similarities between the two and that the comparison being made is impossible. Well they actually have far more in common then what you’d think. I mean, they’re both rich and live a lavish life of luxury, but how did they both get there? Where did they start from? And what kind of love interests did they get caught up in along the way? The point that is being proven throughout the essay is that Kanye West and Jay Gatsby are both very similar in the facts that they both are self-made and have had their lives completely turned around because of failed pursuits of love, and now live lavish lives in …show more content…

He rose from an impoverished childhood in rural North Dakota to become fabulously wealthy. However, he did this by participating in organized crime, including distributing illegal alcohol and trading in stolen securities. He was once also in college at St. Olaf’s College, but dropped out after only two weeks because he could not bear the janitorial job with which he was paying his tuition. Though he never looks back on any of the mistakes he made in his past as he says “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. (Fitzgerald 149-153)” Kanye West is a very similar man to Jay Gatsby, especially since he also came from an impoverished childhood, living in a single parent household in the slums of a crime-ridden Southside Chicago. Kanye West also eventually rose to wealth but did it through music producing, album-making, and fashion-designing. He went to the American Academy of Art for college at first, though soon transferred to the University of Chicago, where his mother was an English Professor. But he too dropped out from college as well, hating the college setting and learning environment and wanting the dedicate his full and undivided attention to his musical career. On his debut album titled “The College Dropout,” he discusses the road to riches in his hit song “All Falls Down”; “It seems we living the American dream / But the people highest up got the lowest self-esteem / The prettiest people do the ugliest things / For the road to riches and diamond rings / We shine because they hate us, floss cause they degrade us / We trying to buy back our 40 acres / And for that paper, look how low we

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Leah Pope Mrs. Dixon Honors American Literature Class 3B 03/02/17 The Great Gatsby Rhetorical Analysis Essay Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby are polar opposites. Nick is poor while Gatsby is rich, Nick is laid-back while Jay is social and throws extravagant parties every weekend, and Nick is honest and doesn’t hide who he is while nobody truly knows who Gatsby really is or how he got his riches or even what he really does. So, how are the two such close friends?

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However the more one looks in depth at the main characters, the easier it becomes to understand their similarities. Holden Caulfield and Jay Gatsby share the need to hold on to what was once. Both characters grasp so tightly to memories in the past, it blinds them to reality in present-day. This is mainly a result of both characters being idealists and rejecting change. Whilst both characters thrive in the past they struggle in reality with their individual distinct flaws.

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Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway are two of the most important characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Throughout the novel many comparisons and contrasts can be made, however, this may be arguably the most important due to the magnitude of importance of these two characters and the roles they play in progressing the story. Jay Gatsby, a fabulously wealthy young man living in a Gothic Mansion in West Egg and the protagonist, throws constant parties every Saturday night, but nobody has much insight about him. Nick Carraway, a young man from Minnesota who lives in New York City to learn the bond business, is typically an honest and tolerant man. Although they do share some similarities, they also share a plethora of differences in their

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“James Gatz — that was really, or at least legally, his name… The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God.... So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end.” ( 99) Gatsby was just a ideal, a dream that was conceived from James Gatz , a poor boy. He changed everything, lied about his past and truly believed that he was Jay Gatsby.

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2. Gatsby comes from a poor family in North Dakota, but he lied about his past and said that he came from a wealthy family in San Francisco. Gatsby had also claimed that he inherited his wealth, but the truth is that he acquired his money from bootlegging. At the beginning of the novel he said he went to Oxford to make others think of him highly, but the truth was that he only studied at Oxford for 5 months. In other words, Jay Gatsby lied about his past to cover up that he came from a poor family.

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Nick describes Gatsby “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. So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end” (Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby 98). He compares Gatsby and Jesus Christ to show how he created his own identity. After he reinvented himself as a rich man, Gatsby had to maintain his image, so he went to the extremes to make as much money as he could. These extreme ways of making money worked very well for him, but the

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Expressing through his own lyrics, Kanye has exposed what most individuals are motivated by. Today, he views the world a bit differently as he did when he was younger. Although, the same dreams of pushing boundaries and desired opportunities is implemented. In the song All Falls Down, Kanye raps: It seems we living the American dream

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The Great Gatsby is a tale of rich people and love. Jay Gatsby, or previously James Gatz,

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The eponymous character was born the day he met Dan Cody and invented himself a new life. Ultimately, Gatsby created and fabricated his own ideal ‘identity’ to meet his expectations: “The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his platonic conception of himself […] so he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year- old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end.” Two identities therefore arise: Jay Gatsby and James Gatz. Yet one can almost see the threads of James Gatz behind the Gatsby facade. With Daisy, Gatsby loses the carefully constructed identity: he reverts to the young soul seeking for his place in the world, with “a touch of panic” in his voice when he realises that Daisy has “slipped away [and become something] no longer tangible”.

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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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Dan Cody taught him many things about being rich. “His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people…the truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his platonic conception of himself…so he invented the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent...” (Fitzgerald 104). What this quote is mainly talking about is that Gatsby didn’t come from the most well off family, nor did he think he was going to go anywhere as James Gatz so, he reinvented his whole being. He changed his image, his backstory, and even his name.

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The American dream stands as a symbol for hope, prosperity, and happiness. But F. Scott Fitzgerald 's The Great Gatsby, examines the American dream from a different perspective, one that sheds light on those who contort these principles to their own selfish fantasies. Fitzgerald renders Jay Gatsby as a man who takes the Dream too far, and becomes unable to distinguish his false life of riches from reality. This 'unique ' American novel describes how humanity 's insatiable desires for wealth and power subvert the idyllic principles of the American vision. Jay Gatsby is the personification of limitless wealth and prestige, a shining beacon for the aspiring rich.

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Jay Gatsby, the title character of the novel “The Great Gatsby” is a man that can not seem to live without the love of his life. Trying to win Daisy over consumes Gatsby’s life as he tries to become the person he thinks she would approve of. What most readers do not realize is that Jay Gatsby’s character mirrors many personality traits and concerns that the author of novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald, had. In fact, Gatsby and Fitzgerald are similar in that they both had a girl they wanted to win over, took a strong stance on alcohol, and ironically both had similar funerals, also, both people also symbolize the American dream.

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Claire 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

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Gatsby represents the American Dream throughout the story, he works hard towards rewarding achievements but is let down, because others would rather have money, power, and society’s approval. Jay Gatsby grew up in a poor family from North Dakota. As a farm child he worked hard and followed the American dream. He wanted to escape the poor farm life and make a name for himself. He wanted to be someone that was looked up to by others.

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