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The Theme Of Spirituality In The Great Gatsby

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It is evident that composers postulate how moral concerns of an individual and audience are shaped by a particular era. Similarities and differences of morals are highlighted through a comparative study, providing insight into concerns of an epoch. The Great Gatsby (TGG), published in 1925 by F. Scott Fitzgerald, emphasises the materialistic nature and morals of the 1920 's, highlighted through an individual 's corrupt understanding of love and desire to achieve freedom. Contrastingly, Elizabeth Barret Browning 's (EBB), Sonnets from the Portuguese (SFTP), produced in 1850, explore the pure love and freedom a woman can experience due to a high level of spirituality. A comparative study explores the effects context has on a composer and, …show more content…

An individual’s appreciation of spirituality is dependant on the era in which they live, where TGG and SFTP give insight to the divergent morals as a product of religion, or lack of. The lost generation of New York City in the 1920 's highlights those individuals who lost direction and purpose in life due to the values present in the secular society. Comparatively, the Victorian era was a society structured around religion that shaped the morals and beliefs of the time. The 1920 's produced existentialists who worshipped material possessions and 'lived in the moment; ' the past and future merely illusions due to the secular society and the horrors of WW1. Fitzgerald, through the symbolism and connotations of travelling, explains that the Buchanan 's "drifted here and there unrest… wherever people… were rich together," emphasising how their materialistic nature lead to a lack of purpose and little spirituality. Such "careless people" like the Buchanan 's exemplify a search for meaning and purpose through diction, "smashed… things… up… and… retreated… into their money or their vast carelessness.” Their Christian values were discarded after WWI, similarly to Fitzgerald who abandoned the Catholic religion he practised as a child as his beliefs no longer aligned with the religion when he became an adult. In addition, the personification of "the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg" and his "persistent stare" and "frown" allude to a new consumeristic god of secular NYC in the 1920 's. ‘Immoral’ behaviour of individuals at this time, through participating in sinful behaviour such as illegal drinking, disappointed Eckleberg 's "blue and gigantic," eyes, connotations alluding to an ocean; transparent and fluid. TGG is a platform that presents a mirror to the audience and asks them to question their religious beliefs. They are compelled to examine their morality and compare it to individuals in 1920 's NYC who deserted their religious values and turned to an

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