The Great Gatsby
The Vapidity of the American Dream:
Characterization in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby
Fitzgerald’s seminal work, The Great Gatsby, offers insights into the use of literary devices in combination with brilliant narrative development. A good deal of the novel’s true genius rests in the character descriptions. For the most, they are not pleasant or sympathetic. Indeed, Wilson stated, “The only bad of it is that the characters are mostly so unpleasant in themselves that the story becomes rather bitter before one has finished with it” (Wilson 149). But Fitzgerald did not want to sugar coat his characters so that everyone would love and empathize with them. To convey the vapidity of the American Dream, Fitzgerald presents them as the type of people likely to use others and put wealth and superficial qualities above all else. With specific emphasis on descriptive phrases, the corruption of money, and valueless relationships, this essay traces Fitzgerald’s use of characterization to achieve this aim.
Fitzgerald makes excellent use of descriptive phrases and subtle character elements to demonstrate the underlining vapidity of the characters’ existences. Haupt indicates descriptive phrases used to convey this superficial lifestyle. “Bootlegged gin, cigarettes placed into mouths following the clicking shut of their golden cases, gowns, suits, chauffeurs. Games, double meanings, illicit affairs, fortunes made in mysterious ways, drinking to drown an awkward moment or the quiet disappointment of your life” (para. 1). Even from the novel’s beginning epitaph, the reader understands that money and its importance is always on Gatsby’s mind:
“Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her; If you can bounce high, bounce for her too, Till she cry "Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover, I must have you!’ – Thomas Parke D’Invilliers. “ (Fitzgerald, Epigraph) That “gold hat” includes Gatsby’s decision to change his name, Jimmy Gatz, to one that will
Characterization in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby
Fitzgerald’s seminal work, The Great Gatsby, offers insights into the use of literary devices in combination with brilliant narrative development. A good deal of the novel’s true genius rests in the character descriptions. For the most, they are not pleasant or sympathetic. Indeed, Wilson stated, “The only bad of it is that the characters are mostly so unpleasant in themselves that the story becomes rather bitter before one has finished with it” (Wilson 149). But Fitzgerald did not want to sugar coat his characters so that everyone would love and empathize with them. To convey the vapidity of the American Dream, Fitzgerald presents them as the type of people likely to use others and put wealth and superficial qualities above all else. With specific emphasis on descriptive phrases, the corruption of money, and valueless relationships, this essay traces Fitzgerald’s use of characterization to achieve this aim.
Fitzgerald makes excellent use of descriptive phrases and subtle character elements to demonstrate the underlining vapidity of the characters’ existences. Haupt indicates descriptive phrases used to convey this superficial lifestyle. “Bootlegged gin, cigarettes placed into mouths following the clicking shut of their golden cases, gowns, suits, chauffeurs. Games, double meanings, illicit affairs, fortunes made in mysterious ways, drinking to drown an awkward moment or the quiet disappointment of your life” (para. 1). Even from the novel’s beginning epitaph, the reader understands that money and its importance is always on Gatsby’s mind:
“Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her; If you can bounce high, bounce for her too, Till she cry "Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover, I must have you!’ – Thomas Parke D’Invilliers. “ (Fitzgerald, Epigraph) That “gold hat” includes Gatsby’s decision to change his name, Jimmy Gatz, to one that will
Cited: Bloom, H. Gatsby. New York: Chelsea House, 1991 Broer, L.R Fitzgerald, F.S. The Great Gatsby. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1953. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Website: Public Bookshelf Corporation, 2010. http://www.publicbookshelf.com/fiction/great-gatsby/younger-vulnerable-3 Gross, D Haupt, J. “The Great Gatsby.” The Celebrity Café.Com, Reviews, Aug. 19, 2005. http://thecelebritycafe.com/books/full_review/491.html Shmoop (Website) Straus, and Giroux, (1977). Rpt. In 20th Century Literary Criticisms, Vol 14, Dennis Paupard (ed.), Detroit: Gale, 1988