The Great Gatsby and F. Scott Fitzgerald's Portrayal of the Corruption of the American Dream Through Symbolism and Theme
1997: Novels and plays often include scenes of weddings, funerals, parties, and other social occasions. Such scenes may reveal the values of the characters and the society in which they live. Select a novel or play that includes such a scene and, in a focused essay, discuss the contribution the scene makes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
The Great Gatsby and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Portrayal of the Corruption of the American Dream Through Symbolism and Theme At the house of Jay Gatsby, one can only expect the most extravagant and thrilling celebrations. While at most parties, people attend as honored guests of the host, the great Gatsby never made effort to request company, but expected company. Lavish alcohol, expensive attire and electrifying music can only hint the luxury of every party--and the current corruption of society. In The Great Gatsby, author F. Scott Fitzgerald uses parties as symbols that implicitly but accurately portray the Roaring Twenties, sustained economic prosperity of the United States and the depravity of the Pursuit of Happiness. In the United States of America, as portrayed in The Great Gatsby, only a single ideal motivates the nation to achieve opulence, success and the upward social mobility--the American dream. However, what earlier seemed as a stable push to better things, took flight in a new direction. Furthermore, the end of World War I led to a sustained increase in national wealth, newfound materialism and uncontrollable spending and consumption. The newly rich of the era were scorned by the American aristocrats, and every social gathering was implicitly a fight to prove the most wealthy. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald portrays the 1920’s as a similar age of cynicism with decaying social and moral values, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure to mirror the current social trends. Similarly, those who attend Gatsby’s parties are evidence of greedy scramblers for wealth while the war between “old money” and “new money” is
The Great Gatsby and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Portrayal of the Corruption of the American Dream Through Symbolism and Theme At the house of Jay Gatsby, one can only expect the most extravagant and thrilling celebrations. While at most parties, people attend as honored guests of the host, the great Gatsby never made effort to request company, but expected company. Lavish alcohol, expensive attire and electrifying music can only hint the luxury of every party--and the current corruption of society. In The Great Gatsby, author F. Scott Fitzgerald uses parties as symbols that implicitly but accurately portray the Roaring Twenties, sustained economic prosperity of the United States and the depravity of the Pursuit of Happiness. In the United States of America, as portrayed in The Great Gatsby, only a single ideal motivates the nation to achieve opulence, success and the upward social mobility--the American dream. However, what earlier seemed as a stable push to better things, took flight in a new direction. Furthermore, the end of World War I led to a sustained increase in national wealth, newfound materialism and uncontrollable spending and consumption. The newly rich of the era were scorned by the American aristocrats, and every social gathering was implicitly a fight to prove the most wealthy. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald portrays the 1920’s as a similar age of cynicism with decaying social and moral values, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure to mirror the current social trends. Similarly, those who attend Gatsby’s parties are evidence of greedy scramblers for wealth while the war between “old money” and “new money” is