ipl-logo

The Great Gatsby Commentary

736 Words3 Pages

This passage illustrates the changing landscape around them. This connects to how people have changed, not only in the book but in the time period. The american dream changed how people spent their time and acted. Just like the landscape changed, so did they. Americans would do anything to reach their ultimate goal, just like in the book the characters would lie, cheat, and live unhappily just so they could look perfect in other people’s eyes. The American dream made the public act differently so they could be seen by their peers as successful. People did not want to be seen as failures when they were working so hard to achieve their dream. In the text Catherane states, “It’s really his wife that’s keeping them apart. She 's a Catholic and they don’t believe in divorce.” (page 38). This is a clear lie. The real reason Tom would not leave Daisy is because he does not want to be seen as lower than that. He sees that Myrtle is of a lower class, and he …show more content…

He does not care what he has to do. This relates back to Americans during the time. They did not care what they had to go through to bring home money to their families. In the passage on page 189, it states, “for Dutch sailors’ eyes- a fresh, green breast of the new world.” This specific sentence uses symbolism to illustrate the many people who changed their lives, by moving to America or simply urging for their new ‘perfect’ lives, everyone seemed to be starting over for the perfect life of the American dream. Additionally, the Dutch made way to America for a better life. They were big dreamers, similar to Gatsby and Americans. They all had a similar, if not the same, vision. Still, for Gatsby it was no longer visible. It seemed that all of these people strived for dreams that no longer existed, or were impossible. All in all, Americans in this time wanted what they wanted and did not care what they had to do to achieve

Show More
Related

Tom Buchanan Character Analysis Essay

682 Words | 3 Pages

Tom clearly does love Daisy, or at the least, respects her to some extent, and doesn’t feel the need to leave her, this being evident when Myrtle comes in the room saying, “Daisy, Daisy, Daisy” and Tom, slaps her face, breaking her nose with the sharp movement. If he truly didn’t have any feelings for Daisy, or any plans on leaving her, he would not have hit his mistress for mentioning her name. Nick Caraway He’s acting somewhat out of character and seems to be easily persuaded.

Read More

Fitzgerald's Use Of Satire In The Great Gatsby

1323 Words | 6 Pages

In the novel, she is well aware of Tom’s affair with Myrtle, a married woman and if she was a fool, she wouldn’t care, making her life easier. It’s disappointing to know that being a careless fool was the smartest choice for women in this era. Above all, women put so much emphasis on materialism that it was important for men to show off their wealth to win someone’s heart, increasing the materialistic views that damaged the morality of the majority in the 20’s. To continue, Daisy marries Tom though

Read More

Were The American Colonists Justified In The Revolutionary War

426 Words | 2 Pages

During the Colonial Era (1492-1763), colonists were justified in waging war against Great Britain; due to the inequitable Stamp Act, the insufferable British oppression, and the perceived tyranny of King George III, the king of Great Britain, however, the colonists were unjustified in some of their actions. In Colonial America, colonists were justified in waging war against Great Britain, because the Stamp Act was unfair and viewed as punishment. Because of the war, Britain had no other choice but to tax the colonists to pay for the debt. For example, according to document 2, the author states that the act was not only for trade but for “the single purpose of levying money.”

Read More

What Are Tom Buchanan's Attitude In The Great Gatsby

867 Words | 4 Pages

Another instance of Tom apparently being excessively concerned about Daisy doing anything without him occurred earlier in the book. After Daisy goes outside their house to

Read More

Daisy Color In The Great Gatsby

701 Words | 3 Pages

The game Daisy is playing with her smartness and all is not the right way to go since humans are supposed to show their characteristics and qualities freely no matter what. If she makes people think that she is indeed a fool then they will take advantage of her and we see this happen in the novel already. Because Tom knows that Daisy is an ignorant fool, after 3 months of their marriage he gets into a relationship with a vermin poor women named Myrtle. Tom will not change his mind about Daisy being a fool, even if she proves to him that she is, it’s too late now to do anything and life will move on while Tom thinks she’s a fool indeed because he got used to idea of so much, he can’t let that thought go away. We all know why men are interested in Daisy Buchanan, it’s because she’s a fool and furthermore, it’s because of what she represents as well is money and wealth and that’s exactly what everone wanted in the

Read More

Indirect Characterization In The Great Gatsby

825 Words | 4 Pages

Tom is seen to be a very racist person, and that is just from what he said about one book. Tom does not care about women either, he is a sexist person who only cares about himself. He broke Myrtle’s nose just because she kept saying Daisy’s name even though he told her to stop. More proof of Tom’s sexism comes from his affair with Myrtle. If Tom cared about Daisy he would not be seeing other women, it was also revealed that Myrtle was not the first person Tom had an affair with, which just proves this even further.

Read More

Impracticality Of The American Dream In 'The Great Gatsby'

767 Words | 4 Pages

Gatsby 12 PM Explication These passages from the chapter describe Gatsby’s struggle to reinvent reality. Gatsby, a self-made man, is the epitome of the American dream: he started as a nobody James Gatz, but he aspired a life of wealth, and worked hard to make his dream a reality. F. Scott Fitzgerald, however, draws attention to the limits of the American dream: that a dream is but a dream, separate from reality. Passage one conveys Gatsby’s sentimental attachment to the past and his idealism to change things according to his favor, while passage two talks to the impracticality of the American Dream.

Read More

Theme Of Destruction In The Great Gatsby

934 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald the constant theme of obtaining the American Dream causes major destruction. The American dream is based off a myth told that every United States citizen has an equal opportunity to achieve success through hard work and determination. However, in the novel, Fitzgerald shows how the American Dream is unattainable, with Gatsby representing this myth through his unfulfilled desire to obtain more and more. Through Gatsby's impossible journey to attain the American Dream, Fitzgerald shows how this dream creates false hope for a better life and replaces religious figures for money.

Read More

The Great Gatsby Quotes On The American Dream

856 Words | 4 Pages

The American Dream is different for everyone, however, all will fight for it. They will struggle for their ideal of the American Dream. Fitzgerald shows this with all of his characters. He shows what all of them are willing to do to achieve their happiness, and what happens when it is taken away.

Read More

Daisy In The Great Gatsby Essay

428 Words | 2 Pages

She doesn’t try to confront Tom about his mistress, and she feigns sophistication to remain in wealth and out of gossip. She even gives up Gatsby, who she states she loves, and dreads the drama that comes from the confrontation between Tom and Gatsby. She goes so far as to let Gatsby take the fall for Myrtle’s death, which ends in his death. She and Tom leave immediately, leaving no forwarding address; Daisy ends up running from the trouble she helped cause. Daisy is so utterly unattached and desperate for material comfort that she has no morals left to care

Read More

The Great Gatsby Outline Essay

871 Words | 4 Pages

I. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the American Dream is depicted as a mirage due to its ultimate lack of fulfillment, outsider’s inability to obtain it, and the corruption it causes. A. Those who have achieved their idea of the American Dream are ultimately unfulfilled emotionally even though they possess tremendous wealth. B. The American Dream is a mirage, and thus unattainable as it limits success of an individual by their class and ethnic origin. C. Not only is the American Dream exclusive and unfulfilling, but it also causes corruption as those who strive for the American Dream corrupt themselves in doing so and the old rich hide behind their wealth in order to conceal their immoralities.

Read More

The American Dream In Into The Wild

529 Words | 3 Pages

The American Dream of wanting less material goods in order to live a more fulfilling life that is indulged in the natural beauty of the world was the American Dream that McCandless was seeking. Christopher McCandless rejected the American Dream, as it’s traditionally defined in pursuit of a more emotionally and spiritually fulfilling existence free from the social pressures of our materialistic society in the Alaskan wilderness. The irony of McCandless's rejection of the traditional American dream is that he lived such a perfect life. a life many would want to live and achieve as a part of their own American Dream and yet he wanted to remove himself from society's standards. An important part of the traditional American dream is the “perfect American family” which is essentially the family that McCandless grew up in.

Read More

The American Dream In Hemingway's A Clean, Well-Lighted Place

908 Words | 4 Pages

Overall, this story shows that even if you have money and success you may not necessarily have everything you need to have your American dream because everyone needs human interaction and love to be happy. In comparison, in The Boys’ Ambition, success seems like the only important thing in obtaining the American dream and that happiness doesn’t really play a role (Twain

Read More

Examples Of Alcoholism In The Great Gatsby

609 Words | 3 Pages

Tom’s altercation with Myrtle accentuates his hypocrisy and lack of self-control; while he doesn’t feel guilty for cheating on Daisy with Myrtle, he feels that he has the right to maintain his authority over Myrtle. In this same scene, Myrtle, who is also drunk, draws attention to the negative aspects of her personality.

Read More

Women's Power In The Great Gatsby

1399 Words | 6 Pages

Myrtle is accustomed to living an underprivileged life where feminine power engulfs her, but Tom is too egotistical to allow Myrtle to speak with such authority to him. Similarly, Gatsby’s need for assurance from Daisy pressures her into revealing to Tom that she never loved him (Fitzgerald 132). Deep down, Daisy knows that she truly did love Tom once, but Gatsby’s assertiveness and persistence drives her over the edge to telling Tom that what the two of them shared meant nothing to her. Daisy’s attribute of being a pushover is revealed immensely because she refuses to stand up for herself. Daisy is used to enabling Tom to constantly control all aspects of her life, and that leaves her powerless in society.

Read More

More about The Great Gatsby Commentary

Related Topics

Open Document