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Opulence In The Great Gatsby

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The 1920’s expressed great wealth and luxuriousness through excessive and lavish parties with dazzling effects and no apparent purpose other than to simply entertain. In Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby’s displays of affluence demonstrate that in the 1920’s, opulence was represented in forms of materialistic objects. Hieronymus Bosch's painting “The Garden of Earthly Delights,” suggests that sensuous temptations and the need for grandeur can lead to the corruption of purity. In Philippa Hawker’s article “The subtle art of staging Gatsby's lavish parties,” she describes the effective use of overindulgence and chaos in Gatsby’s parties to represent the shift in societal norms of conservative and refined parties to a more vulgarized form. In John F. Carter, Jr.’s article “‘These Wild Young People,’ by One of Them,” he exposes the changing perspective of his generation from the stringent realistic outlook of the older generation to his looser and more …show more content…

In his novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald represents grandeur and “refinement” as world objects like Gatsby’s “two motorboats…drawing aquaplanes over cataracts of foam” (Fitzgerald). This exposes a change from traditional views on wealth and class that occurred in the 1920’s, to illustrate the corruption of refinement and old values. Similarly Bosch's painting “The Garden of Earthly Delights,” clearly represents the digression from purity and high-class to greed and immorality through detail and color. Near the bottom of paintings center panel, Bosch’s use of bright green and white depict the innocence and purity of society tainted by occasional dark figures lurking amongst the good, tempting them with lust and curiosity (Bosch). Both sources serve to express the shallow views of refinery and grandiosity, infecting the original idea of divinity and

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Gatsby hosts extravagant parties in an effort not only to boost his social status, but also to look for Daisy. Many wealthy, and often wild people attend these large social events held by Mr. Gatsby. Some of the guests even come lacking an invitation, “Sometimes they came and went without having met Gatsby at all, came for the party with a simplicity of heart that was its own ticket of admission.” (41)

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The 1920s was a time of flamboyance and wealth in the upper class. Jay Gatsby, a man of old money, threw over the top parties, in which he would spend his money very nonchalantly. The ambiance of his parties greatly illustrated the upper class of the time. The author uses symbolism and characterization to support the central idea that the upper class was very careless, wealthy, and extravagant. Gatsby’s parties are luxurious, glamorous, and over the top.

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In the novel The Great Gatsby, F.Scott Fitzgerald depicts the theme of “wealth can breed carelessness” using the literary devices and/or techniques of irony, irony, and point of view. From Nick 's perspective, the wealthy characters of this story tend to act ignorantly and care nothing else besides themselves, which would impact others, including the actions shown by Gatsby, Tom, Daisy, and Jordan. First of all, F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts the theme of “Wealth can breed carelessness” using irony. In the text, a conversation between Jordan and Nick, “‘They’ll keep out of my way,’ she insisted.

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F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby illustrates that materials and possessions are crucial to the plot development and represent the social status of the characters. First automobiles subsist throughout the story to highlight the differences between “new money” and “old money”. Consequently, automobiles are crucial to the conclusion of the novel. In addition, some characters live in small apartments and homes others live in elaborate mansions, which is signifies their social classes. Clothing is used as a means to show social class or pretend to be in a higher one.

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The Roaring Twenties, known as the decade of the 1920s in the Western World, consists of dramatic changes in social values. The cultural differences between the 1920s and the Victorian era changes people's behavior, where they become more free-will, youthful and carefree, despite of being more conservative before. People are more open-minded and found satisfaction through the “open pursuit of sex, money, and booze” (Berman 53) as they suggest their wealth and status in the society. New York City had become one of the cities where materialistic wealth has become the key of happiness and the standard to judge people's success, further leading Americans to pursue each other in a negative, acquisitive way. Through the different scenes and characters of the famous novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald explores how the society twisted the original idea of

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Gatsby’s dreams and aspirations in life are rather interesting and amazing as he goes about his life in the book. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald helps highlight the social, moral, and political issue that were very present during the 1920’s and today. Gatsby is the focus of the book as before the book began, he was an ex-soldier who came to wealth by some rather illegal ways. Daisy a married woman is his person of interest, who was his ex-lover 5 years before the book started. Gatsby’s actions, and words demonstrate a clear obsession with Daisy that seems to have no end.

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The positives and negatives of the grandiosity in the 1920s is seen in Gatsby’s parties, and helps create a window to the

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Risk taking, ground breaking changes, and wild parties are all important aspects of the 1920’s. The massive parties that included dancing, alcohol, and a house full of strangers were so essential to this magical era that F. Scott fitzgerald made them a key element in his book, “The Great Gatsby.” These extravagant parties that Jay Gatsby was notorious for hosting, attracted strangers from all corners of New York to take part in these luxurious events. These parties were so popular and well known in the eastern New York area that they basically become Gatsby’s trademark. Upon hearing the name “Gatsby” guests did not visualize the face of a young man, but rather envisioned the wild parties he threw.

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In classrooms all across America, high school students have spent time analyzing and learning from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. They spend an excess of time examining the relationships between Nick and people he surrounds himself with. However, most often teachers and students conveniently skip over a glaring detail: Nick’s sexuality. The Great Gatsby is believed to be heavily influenced by Fitzgerald’s life, including, perhaps, his struggle with his own sexuality. In examining events in Fitzgerald’s life, as well as evidence from The Great Gatsby, there is more than meets the eye.

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Gerard Way once said, “ Heroes are ordinary people who make themselves extraordinary “. This quote says that heroes are those people who struggle in their lives, work hard and make themselves extraordinary. Published in 1925, The Great Gatsby is a classic piece of American fiction. It is a novel of luxury and tragedy, noted for the way Fitzgerald captured a cross-section of American society. F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel,The Great Gatsby, follows Jay Gatsby, a man who just wants one desire in his life: to be reunited with Daisy Buchanan, the love he lost five years earlier.

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Rich, irresistible cake, the sour tang of oranges and lemons, and the dinner of chicken, all of which are mentioned in The Great Gatsby. The usage of food imagery is prevalent throughout the story, and is used to symbolize the characters, theirs actions, and major themes of the plot. Most significant of the events and places related to food imagery were the descriptions of the Buchanan mansion, the events that transpired in the grounds of Gatsby’s mansion, and the dinner scene after the death of Myrtle. For example, the Buchanan mansion is described as a wedding cake, which gives insight into the lifestyle of the Buchanans, most notably Daisy. Gatsby’s mansion is the designated location for frequent, extravagant parties, filled with excessive amounts of food that are used up by the guests, much like Gatsby is used by others.

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The Great Gatsby Showcasing The 1920s. The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald represents all sorts of different lifestyles in the roaring twenties. From rags to riches, there is a character for each category. Throughout the 1920s, America went through drastic changes.

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Additionally, the book portrays Gatsby’s parties, characteristic of the 1920’s, as examples of hollow decadence. The parties were filled with alcohol (which at the time was an illegal substance), dancing, rich

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The nature of Gatsby’s parties greatly exhibit the sin of gluttony. Not only is there an excessive amount of food, but also liquor. People are also found in excess at these extravagant affairs. Owl Eyes, a frequent party attender, exclaims “‘Why, my God! they used to go there by the hundreds.’”

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Jay Gatsby, one of the main characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, is a wealthy man with dubious sources of money; Gatsby is renowned in New York due to the lavish parties he holds every friday in his mansion. These are spectacles that fully embody the wealth and glamour of the roaring twenties, and are narrated through the eyes of another character Nick Carraway, an ambitious 29 year old man that recently moved back to a corrupt new york in a cramped cottage next to Gatsby’s palace. After admiring the careless behaviour of the parties from a distance, Nick gets a personal invitation to Gatsby’s next party, he promptly becomes infatuated by the extravagant and frivolous lifestyle the parties portray, along with the superficial

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