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The Great Gatsby Research Paper

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In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the time period is very important. In the 1920’s men and women were changing the way they lived. Money was spent more frivolously and the wealthy are idolized. Many elements in the story are influenced by the time in which they live. Fitzgerald does an excellent job making the time in which they live impact the story. Certain things in the story would be much different if the story were to take place today. If this took place today nothing would be the same. An example of the way the time period effects the story is the way Tom makes racist remarks and no one bats an eye. “This fellow has worked out the whole thing. It’s up to us, who are the dominant race, to watch out or these other races will have control of things.” If someone were to say this today he/she would be viewed much differently. Racism is a very sensitive topic in society today. But, back in the 1920’s racism was common place segregation was still practiced even forty-four years after 1920, and other races were discriminated …show more content…

“I had taken two finger-bowls of champagne, and the scene had changed before my eyes into something significant, elemental, and profound.” The novel takes place during the prohibition era. Alcohol is being smuggled and illegally manufactured all over America. to get alcohol in this time wasn’t as simple as walking to a liquor store. A big part of this book is the impact that Tom’s mistress had on everyone. “The fact that he had one [a mistress] was insisted upon wherever he was known. His acquaintances resented the fact that he turned up in popular restaurants with her and, leaving her at a table, sauntered about, chatting with whomever he knew.” Tom was cheating on his wife and didn’t care who knew about it. Daisy knew of his mistress and he took Nick who happens to be his wife’s cousin to meet his

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The book eventually put Tom in Louisiana, where he was eventually violently beat. As northerners began to read her novel, they began to realize that slavery was a lot worse they thought it was. After reading her story, the abolition movement began to take flight

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Ryan Gerhart Mrs. Frantzen 11 Honors Block 3A 25 March 2024 Analysis of The Great Gatsby: Historical Events and Impacts All across the United States, the great experiment with prohibition failed miserably. The ratification of the 18th amendment, also known as the prohibition, was caused by efforts to address alcohol-related issues such as crime, poverty, and domestic violence, all of which were significant problems in America during the 1900's. Prohibition was a nationwide ban on the production, distribution, and sale of alcohol. Ironically, as shown in F. Scott Fitzgerald's book, The Great Gatsby, many people benefited from the prohibition by breaking the laws. A historical lens highlights how Jay Gatsby benefited from the prohibition laws

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How does someone’s past affect their own future? Some people like to believe that it is incredibly easy to block out a part of history and move on instantly, however this isn’t the case for all. In “The Great Gatsby,” F. Scott Fitzgerald discusses the high amount of power that the past can hold over people through Jay Gatsby’s sense of longing and love towards Daisy and all of the things he did for her. His obsessive love from the past forced him to only act toward his vision, and he became blind to all else in the present. Gatsby was deeply in love with Daisy, and even though she moved on, he did everything in his power to get as much money as possible over five years to get her attention again.

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These feelings of arrogance extend to the treatment of his wife, where Tom expects her to be “endlessly forbearing when he humiliates her by barely bothering to conceal his affairs” (Voegeli 3). Any sympathy for Tom ends shortly after he is introduced when it is brought to our attention that not only has Tom been cheating on Daisy since “shortly after his honeymoon,” but he has also never tried to conceal his affairs from anyone (Lehan 88). Evidence of Tom’s lack of discretion is displayed when Tom chooses to invite Nick to a party hosted by him and his mistress Myrtle. Nick and Tom are not close friends, so him inviting Nick to this party indicates Tom’s lack of subtlety when it comes to his affairs. Another public way that Tom flaunts his affair with Myrtle for anyone to see is when he “[takes] his mistress to popular restaurants to show her off” (Donaldson 102).

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How did society's attitudes affect the attainability of the American Dream for Gatsby? The economic boom in the Roaring Twenties changed the direction of the American Dream, forcing people to focus on one prized possession, money. F. Scott Fitzgerald used this idea to detail what life was like during the 1920s, when he wrote his most famous novel, The Great Gatsby. In the book, each character lived in a specific place on Long Island that represented their social status.

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Desire lives within all humans and animals alike; the desire to be, to accomplish, and to achieve haunts us all. Humans linger on hope, on dreams, and in the 1920s, an "American Dream" promised luxury to a young James Gatz. Born to poor farmers and living a life of pennies, little James Gatz desired more, and at the age of 17, James Gatz symbolized his abandonment of his old life with the illusion known as Jay Gatsby. As some religions believe in a maker, Jay Gatsby felt as if he were the maker, creating a precise sculpture of himself that no one could mend. For he was an art, not real, and only an illusion.

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There are many lessons that are taught in The Great Gatsby. The most important lesson in The Great Gatsby is the no one can go back into the past. The past has already happened. Nothing can be done to get back to the past, make the past happen once again or make the past be in present. Gatsby tried to go back to the time where Gatsby and Daisy were close.

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Men were cheating on their wives everyday and participating in illegal activities. This book shows all the corruption that was happening in the mid to late twenties. In the book we see what is happening through Nick Carraway, the narrator. The book begins with Nick moving to a small house in Long Island, New York. His house was also located next to the biggest house in West Egg.

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“The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a classic piece of American literature, which ironically demonstrates how, for most, the American Dream will never become reality. In “The Great Gatsby”, the titular Jay Gatsby, a wealthy man of working class origins, seeks out the love of Daisy, an even wealthier heiress who is already married. To get what he wants, he befriends the main character Nick Carraway and uses their friendship to get close to Daisy. Eventually, they do get together and have a relationship, even if not for long. Soon, Tom takes notice and steps in, competing with Gatsby over Daisy’s love.

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1304 Words | 6 Pages

“That’s why they call it the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it,” -George Carlin. In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays a theme known as the American Dream to develop the characters, specifically Gatsby. Gatsby grew up as an extremely poor man in North Dakota but believed he could be great; he believed he could achieve the American Dream. He left his old life behind him and chased his dream, not knowing the true reality of it. In short, Jay Gatsby demonstrates the corruption of the American Dream as evidenced by his need to acquire wealth, infatuation with Daisy, and obsession with his social status.

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Zipporah Tran Mrs. Crouson English 22 April 2024 Did Gatsby really love Daisy? Gatsby doesn’t truly love Daisy anymore because the love that Gatsby shows is from the past. Gatsby sees Daisy as a perfect person who can fulfill his desires in life and idolizes her to the point of delusion. It’s an idolized fantasy that Gatsby has convinced himself to be real. Gatsby only loves the past Daisy instead of the real, present Daisy.

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767 Words | 4 Pages

Gatsby has always had goals, and his mind has always been set on the same dream, being with Daisy. Although Gatsby wants a life with Daisy, that is not what he needs. Some dreams are not meant to be reality, and for him, that is exactly the situation. He is trying to force something that is not meant to happen. Gatsby is often stuck replaying his past encounters with Daisy, so much so that he is wasting his life.

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848 Words | 4 Pages

The American dream is described as the ideal by which equality of opportunity is available to any American, allowing the highest aspirations and goals to be achieved. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, “The Great Gatsby,” the main protagonist of the story, Jay Gatsby, is often seen as a symbol of the American dream. Gatsby's relentless pursuit of wealth and social status, is seen as the manifestation of the contemporary American dream during that time period. But, some could say that Gatsby's illegal ways and the demand for love raise questions about whether he lived the true American dream. The American dream then and now has seen some changes with advancements in technology and infrastructure, but overall the ideals have remained relatively

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The American Dream has been sought out by many, and although everyone has their own version of it, everyone would agree that it surrounds the idea of happiness and success. It has been made to be this idealization of one’s life, almost like an alternate reality or universe. This idealization, however, can gain control over one’s life, causing them to take risks to achieve their goals. The novel The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, delves into the topic of the American Dream and how it can corrupt one’s life when obsession takes over. Fitzgerald uses Jay Gatsby to critique the American Dream by conveying how it is an illusion of happiness that gives false hope, and that by being unattainable, it can lead to tragedy.

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(Fitzgerald 18). Tom especially thinks that women should be loyal and not cheat. The only problem with this logic is that he’s “got some women” in New York that he has been having an affair with. (Fitzgerald 15) This double standard, that he is allowed to cheat, but women are not, shows us that men have a certain power over women; and decide what they can and can not do.

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