As Dan Groat once stated, “The weak thrive on indulgence”, referring to the lack of strength and health self indulgent people experience as consequence of their actions. Persistent attempts to commit selfish endeavors may have detrimental effects. Throughout The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald communicates the modernist perspective of loneliness and the decay of mental stability, as ramifications of self indulgence. Both Fitzgerald and William Golding convey the themes of a character’s mental decay while attempting to prove themselves, the loss of mental stability in attempt to achieve companionship, and the physical destruction that is associated with one’s self indulgence, throughout The Great Gatsby, and, Lord of the Flies. Both authors …show more content…
F. Scott Fitzgerald bases The Great Gatsby, off of this idea and provides many examples demonstrating the mental instability people could obtain by striving for someone of unequal desires. First and foremost, Jay Gatsby hosts countless number of parties with the most reputable people in the country, but is never able to achieve his goal of being accompanied without the presence of his true love Daisy. Gatsby becomes extremely close to winning over Daisy, but unfortunately is unable to, which causes his extreme outburst in front of everyone at the Plaza hotel. Gatsby’s mentally unstable outburst , “Gatsby sprang to his feet, vivid with excitement. ‘She never loved you, do you hear?’”, (Fitzgerald, pg. 124), clearly goes against his nature as a very kind hearted gentlemen, and is rude and distasteful as he struggles to achieve Daisy’s company from Tom’s grasp. Similarly, the idea of mental instability due to lack of proper companionship presents itself through Mrs. Jordan Baker’s lack of success at a relationship with Nick. While performing deeds for Gatsby, Jordan is also trying to impress Nick and become closer with him, but her continued attempts are unrewarded, leaving her in a very depressed stage. After the completion of the funeral for Gatsby, Nick visits with Jordan to break things off and her very angered …show more content…
For instance, one of the most detrimental actions in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, Great Gatsby, being Jay Gatsby’s death, occurred due to protecting Daisy from what she had done and his knowledge of the truth. Although Gatsby knew that it was Daisy who had run over and killed Myrtle, his unrequited love for Daisy was why he took the blame and fell susceptible to George’s anger, dying in order to protect his true love. This selfless action presents itself through Tom’s defensive statement, “ [...] ‘That fellow had it coming to him. [...] He ran over Myrtle like you’d run over a dog and never even stopped his car.’”, (Fitzgerald, pg. 169). Despite how wrongful Tom makes Gatsby seem, it is Jay’s knowledge of Daisy’s guiltiness and his commitment to protect her that lead to his physical destruction. A less prevalent example of physical destruction being the product of indulgent actions would be the death of Myrtle as an indirect consequence for her affair with Tom. Myrtles selfish actions of sleeping with Tom for his wealth and betraying her poor husband indirectly lead to her death. Due to George’s rash actions of keeping her locked up for being disloyal to him, Myrtle is physically destroyed by Gatsby’s car as she attempts to flee with hopes that it is Tom the driver and has returned to rescue her from her raging husband. Myrtle’s indirect
Shortly before Gatsby’s death, Nick Carraway realized that the crowd he hangs out with are discontent and self-obsessed. Dissatisfaction is a recurring theme in The Great Gatsby, as we are introduced to characters that live carelessly and
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby, a young wealthy man who lives in West Egg represents new money. Gatsby attempts to win over Daisy, who represents old money, by showing off his wealth through his large parties and material items, all in order to attain his own happiness. Gatsby is willing to do anything to be with Daisy and keeps pushing to be with her even though she is out of his reach and unattainable. Gatsby ends up dying, while Daisy continues to live with her husband, Tom, because they are kept together by their mutual desire for money. Gatsby’s American Dream is unattainable, but he continues to pursue Daisy through his wealth and status, even though it leads to his corruption.
Gatsby makes an effort by stalking Daisy until “about four o’clock,” reflects how hopeless he is in attaining Daisy’s love and affection(147). For instance, the way Gatsby despairingly “clutches at some last hope,” which exemplifies his unbreakable bond for the girl he will never have. The fact that Nick “couldn’t bear to shake him free” from his dreamlike reality, illustrates how Gatsby has become consumed by a world of desperateness (148). Despite the novel being set in a grandiose era, Fitzgerald contradicts this tone through Gatsby’s despairing and hopeless journey of retrieving his lost “golden
The novel, The great gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald explores the theme of obsession. In this novel Fitzerald wants us to understand that it's not healthy to be obsessed with something or someone because it only leads to negative consequences. The author wants us to understand that One example is Gatsby loves Daisy more than he loves himself which causes him to stay with her knowing she isn’t going to leave Tom. ``And what's more, I love Daisy too.
Nick is chasing after Jordan and Gatsby, however. He thinks he is interested in Jordan, and wants to get to know her better, until he finds out that she is a liar and he cannot trust her. Nick is also looking into Gatsby’s life because he is interested about his
Consumed by Obsession Obsession is like an addiction. Constantly thinking about someone or something and not being able to imagine life without that one thing can consume oneself. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby one of the main characters in the novel is a wealthy man who lives on the West Egg. Gatsby lies about who he is however, the one thing he does not lie about is his feelings towards Daisy. Although, what Gatsby feels for Daisy might be love, Gatsby’s actions suggest he may not have loved Daisy at all but was rather obsessed.
Throughout the novel “ The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald it becomes more and more evident that Daisy is the biggest user and manipulator than the rest of the characters. Daisy is the type of character who seems and feigns innocence but this is to derail and confuse people of who she really is as a person. Not only does she use and string Gatsby along but she does the same with Tom. Daisy seems to be in control in situations when it may seem very unlikely that she is.
Gatsby Analytical Essay Author F. Scott Fitzgerald has deftly woven dozens of themes and motifs throughout his relatively short novel The Great Gatsby. One theme that resonates in particular is that of isolation. This theme pervades the entire book, and without it, nothing in Gatsby’s world would be the same. Every character must realize that he or she isn’t capable of truly connecting with any other character in the book, or else the carelessness and selfishness that leads to so many of the book’s vital events would not exist. Fitzgerald develops the feeling of isolation and aloneness by his use of the motif of careless self-absorption, a behavior we see many characters exhibiting.
(141) said Tom, blaming Myrtle's death on Gatsby. George goes on to kill Gatsby thinking he is the reason that Myrtle is dead but it’s really Tom’s. This proves most importantly how Gatsby didn’t deserve to get murdered and it was an unfair
When one in-visons the golden and all-powerful idea that is known simply as The American Dream it is only human to immediately think of the “grand” result of achieving the stereotypical dream, portrayed in a vast majority of pieces of media are the struggle and often overlooked deception that gaining and earning this idea of the dream costs. In most cases (and always in the cliché), the end all result of “working one’s entire life to earn the American dream” is seen as an ultimate bliss or euphoria because it means that one is earned the life they now have by putting in blood, sweat, and tears. Those claims quite possibly and a lot of the times accurate but what is almost always ignored is the journey to the dream. This journey is the complete opposite of the dream
The Great Gatsby Greed can ruin a person’s life. F. Scott Fitzgerald shows this in his classic novel, The Great Gatsby, a sad love story about the rich title character, Jay Gatsby, and his obsession to win back the love of the now married Daisy Buchanan, his former girlfriend. The extravagant lifestyles of Gatsby and the wealthy socialites who attend his parties lead to lost dreams and wasted lives. These men and women are absorbed by material pursuits. In Jay Gatsby’s case, all the money in the world could not replace what he truly desires, Daisy.
A Failed Dream: How Inauthenticity Leads to an Empty Life Money is the root of all evil. While Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is not necessarily and evil character, he loses part of himself in the desire for wealth as he attempts to attract the attention of Daisy Buchanan, a wealthy woman who married into a prestigious family. Gatsby is an inauthentic character because his shallow love of Daisy leads to a false sense of the reality of his relationship with her; thus he does not achieve the American Dream through his failure to achieve happiness along with his wealth Gatsby’s inauthenticity is rooted in how his love of Daisy is surface level and relies heavily on Daisy’s status in society showing how his
Although the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald emphasizes the parties and prosperity of the American 1920's, it reveals many major characters meeting tragic ends. The characters who meet these ends - Jay Gatsby, Myrtle Wilson, and George Wilson - possess the same tragic characteristic: they endeavor for something more out of their lives than what they have. This ambition for what they could not have ultimately spelled their doom: Gatsby wanted money and Daisy; Myrtle wanted wealth and luxury, and sought it from Tom Buchanan; Wilson earned what he could only to please Myrtle. The Great Gatsby reveals a tragic nature through the trials and tribulations these characters endure to progress and prosper, only to receive death for their ambition. The exciting and wild time period of the "Roaring Twenties" provides a stark contrast to the deaths in order to further highlight the tragic nature of the novel, and leaves a theme that even those with the most hope and strong ambitions can fail and die miserably, no matter how much money they have.
He loses his sense of clear judgement, just as Oedipus was blinded by his tragic flaw. Gatsby portrays his blindness when he says, “Can’t repeat the past … Why of course you can!” (Fitzgerald 118). Even after Daisy shows that she is not willing to give up her life and be with him, Gatsby is so far disillusioned that he does not give up. Fitzgerald uses the tragic hero characteristic of a tragic flaw both to link Gatsby as a modern tragic hero to tragic heroes of old and to set up this central character’s final
When Tom Buchanan has an affair with Myrtle, he leads her astray for her to believe that he loves her, even though he does not, resulting in her death. When Daisy does not show up to Gatsby’s funeral, she proves to her cousin that she is nothing but childish. Based on the outcomes of the careless actions of these