Preview

Values In The Great Gatsby

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
697 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Values In The Great Gatsby
The 1920s was a booming decade for the people in America. The economy was up and many Americans became very successful. The novel, The Great Gatsby especially highlights the upper class. The characters in the book that fit this role are Tom, Daisy and Gatsby. The author F. Scott Fitzgerald connected the values and goals of the characters and the theme of the book with the theme of the 1920s. The values of the characters in The Great Gatsby are very important to the overall plot of the book. The characters values seem to only be about money and love . The love for money is best represented by Tom. Tom is a man who is very wealthy and he uses his wealth and power to be atop of everybody else. The characters that represent the value of love …show more content…
The first example of a goal a character had was Gatsby. Gatsby's main goal in the book was to be rich. The way he accomplished this is, he pushed his way to the top and he wasn't afraid of who he pushed over to get him to the top. I feel like he was so aggressive about his approach because growing up Gatsby was very poor and he didn't want to live a life like he did in his childhood."He's a bootlegger,"(61) This quote is referring to what Gatsby did to make his money. Bootlegger was a term used for people who illegally sold alcohol. In the 1920s alcohol was illegal. In the book Daisy also had a goal. Her main goal was to get back at Tom for cheating on her. Daisy did this in a very secretive matter. The first thing she did was that she started to be a jerk to Tom to tip him off that she knew he had cheated on her. Secondly, she cheated on Tom by getting back together with Gatsby in order to get back at Tom. Tom then started to figure out Daisy and Gatsby were having an affair. He became angry with Gatsby and wanted him to back off. The last thing Daisy did was kill Tom's mistress by running her over with her car. However, it backfired because Myrtle's husband ended up killing

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” the narrator, Nick Carraway, moves to West Egg to work as a bond trader in Manhattan. He grew up in a prominent family. He came from an old money family in Chicago. He attended Yale University and is known as a very well rounded man. This novel is based off of the 1920’s era. It was named the Roaring Twenties after the Great War when the United States underwent a change in radical and social reform. During this period, society was torn apart due to the clash between old and new money. The Great Gatsby reflects the American society during this period and undoubtedly depicts the difference between traditional and corrupted values. The Great Gatsby is a great depiction of the Roaring Twenties because of greed, parties, and fast women.…

    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Roaring Twenties was the time period right after World War II. During this time period new technology was becoming produced such as the vacuum cleaner, motion pictures and the refrigerator. The American Dream, in the 20s’, was a belief of the Americans that everyone deserves a chance to be successful and more equality. Women started to protest more and take action on their inequality because of this women were becoming more involved in the labor force, politics and they were now able to vote. Francis Scott Fitzgerald was a writer during The Roaring Twenties. Fitzgerald was an alcoholic so when prohibition was passed in the US, him and his wife moved to Europe, where he wrote “The Great Gatsby”. Fitzgerald wrote about characters that he could live through. Many of his works had to deal with men and women relationships. Francis Scott Fitzgerald's writing was a reflection of what was happening in that time period, “The Roaring Twenties”, because he was able to capture the mood of the 20s’ and it also reflected greatly on the the American dream.…

    • 1222 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jeff Benzos said “I don’t think wealth actually changes people”. To me, this quotation means…

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby surrounds three main characters: Daisy Buchanan, Jay Gatsby, and Nick Carraway. Daisy represents the carelessness of Americans during that time. She admires material things and is attracted to success. Comfort is considerably more important to her than making honorable decisions. Despite her flaws Gatsby loved her even though she was out of his reach. When they were younger, he was not wealthy enough to marry her. To solve this problem, he becomes involved in bootlegging, selling alcohol illegally. He attempts to “recreate” himself, by throwing lavish parties and purchasing ridiculous amounts of material items. Masses sought to remake themselves during the 1920s. Goals seemed more attainable, as did prosperity. Nick Carraway acts as an observer. He watches the way everything plays out, up to Gatsby’s downfall. He is very critical of the way other characters chose to live and can see the corruption beneath their wealth. Since Fitzgerald was writing from experience, the Great Gatsby accurately portrays America in the…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Roaring Twenties were full of marvels and mysteries; good and bad. The truth in society is unveiled in The Great Gatsby in terms of wealth and The American dream. The rich people in the story are extremely wealthy, and what they say about their backstory may not be what it is in reality. Rich people have easy lives in terms of money, but the middle class and lower class workers must to toil to make ends meet. There are times where it is ugly for the poor, and Fitzgerald makes it clear. Fitzgerald also makes it clear that there really is no American Dream, or at least, The American Dream is not what it is hyped up to be. Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby shows the many faces of society in the Roaring Twenties and reveals the dark truth under them.…

    • 1258 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The movie “The Great Gatsby” shows life in the 1920s, but there are some inaccuracies between characteristics of the time period and the movie. Despite these inaccuracies, most of the movie stays true to the time period. It accurately shows the imbalance of power during that time. Although the United States was industrializing, only a select group of people became wealthy. The workers, on the other hand, were dirt poor and had a much lower of standard of living. This contrast can be seen by Gatsby’s life and the life of the workers in the Valley of Ashes. The movie also accurately shows the cultural aspects of the 1920s, for the most part. The attire of the people is accurate. It is full of flapper dresses and gaudy accessories, which is what a normal party outfit consisted of then. It also does a good job of focusing on the music then. Music was a major part of that time period as it was being to emerge more. One inaccuracy was the style of music used. For the movie, they imitated the style of music but they modernized it and changed it to fit in this time period. The city was also incorrect. For the movie, they added many colors and there was always something new to be seen. They added onto the city for the movie to make it seem better and larger than life, when a city during that time period was still exciting but not as over the top. Despite these differences, the movie has many aspects that are accurate to the time period.…

    • 266 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The 1920s, also known as the Roaring Twenties, was a time period full of decadent parties and an abundance of hope and reform. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, described this time period in New York directly following World War I. It portrays the exciting social and economic changes that came with the 1920s through a complicated love story that eventually leads to a bitter end to an American Dream. He uses his writing throughout the novel to evaluate the lifestyle of the 1920s.…

    • 2015 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the 1920s, the American Dream gave people the idea they could achieve everything they hoped for with a little hard work. It also embodied the idea of honest, self-sufficient, intelligent people with happy successful families living in America. The Great Gatsby tells a story of a man named Nick Carraway who moves to New York in the summer of 1922. He meets his cousin Daisy Buchanan, her husband Tom Buchanan, and James Gatsby. The four of them spend most of the summer together. Gatsby attempts to win Daisy back from Tom, as they had a relationship together in the past. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates the corruption of the American Dream through the characters of Daisy, Gatsby, and the marriage of Tom and Daisy.…

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jay Gatsby Selfish

    • 1128 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The 1920s was a time of jazz, modernization, and change (history). "That Great Gatsby" written by F. Scott Fitzgerald was published in 1925. Since then over 25 million copies have been sold throughout the world. The book overall is about the American Dream and it is explained through Gatsby. Gatsby was in love with Daisy and he left her because of money. His real name was James Gatz and he came from a poor family. He went to the military and he changed his name to Jay Gatsby. After five years he came back very rich but Daisy was married and he still had hopes of being together with her. "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald presents Jay Gatsby as a "great", mysterious, and idealistic man who dedicated his life for his love for the selfish…

    • 1128 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The 1920s was a time in history defined largely by Prohibition and organized crime. In The Great Gatsby, life back then is perfectly illustrated from the wild parties to the behind the scene drug deals. Throughout the novel Fitzgerald is constantly showing you that behind the elegant parties and extreme wealth, America is not what it claims to be.…

    • 944 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald illustrates the destructions and immorality, caused by the unrestrained pursuit of wealth, through the symbolism of the village of ashes and Gatsby’s feelings for Daisy.…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Daisy Buchannan

    • 863 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Gatsby’s abstract idea of who he wants to be takes form in Daisy. Since he was a young boy, he wanted to rise up from his lower class roots and become a successful, wealthy man. When he fell in love with Daisy, he fell in love with money. “[Her voice] was full of money—that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song of it…high in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl” (120). Daisy represents everything Gatsby has wanted to obtain since he was a little boy. She has an aura of ease, wealth, and aristocracy, which is what initially attracted him to her. Being back together with her would crystalize his success in the world. He puts Daisy up on a pedestal of innocence and materialism that she does not deserve. Gatsby is blind to her limitations because his dreams of money have so far had no limits. He was able to move up the economic ladder, build a gaudy, lavish house, and obtain celebrity status, in order to become closer to Daisy. Without Daisy, it would all be for nothing. He invests all his dreams into the love from Daisy. The problem is that Daisy is not able to live up to his fantasy. In reality, she is shallow and fickle. When the dream of her is taken away from him, Gatsby is left to see all the corruption in the world of…

    • 863 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Scott Fitzgerald outlined the events and lifestyles of the roaring 20s through his writings “The Great Gatsby” and “The Jelly Bean”, readers learn that wealth and class effected all the decisions and events that occurred. Jim and Gatsby, from the two works, had drastically different lives but had a lot in common when it came to people and how their story ended. Both used wealth and status as a way of gauging someone’s worth, both of them saw wealth and property as a way to get the girl and both ended up losing it all together. By using foreshadowing, irony and symbolism, F. Scott Fitzgerald captures the way of life during the 1920’s and the importance of…

    • 1332 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Great Gatsby Analysis

    • 1125 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is often referred to as the great American novel. The book’s immense symbolism and its many messages make The Great Gatsby a novel that has the ability to appeal to all who read it. Religion plays a key role in the book. For instance, religious beliefs in the 1920s influenced the main characters of the story in a significant way. The Valley of Ashes that is described in chapter two may also help to represent the moral dilapidation that the rich undergo in the 1920s. Lastly, Gatsby seems to represent Jesus in the novel, while T.J. Eckleburg represents God Himself and Wilson represents Judas. Overall, while there are many symbols in the Great Gatsby, religion is one that seems to come up…

    • 1125 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Money In The Great Gatsby

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Money plays an extremely important role in “The Grape Gatsby”, and it affects the way the entire plot plays out. Money is seen as a source of power, and people with money are more respected. Often, the characters are more concerned about money than happiness. They will do anything for money, and to be able to buy the “perfect life”. However, this is not possible, and the flaws are evident throughout the text. In the book "The Great Gatsby", the characters value money more than anything else, and it is their source of influence as well as their flaws.…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays