The Tragedy of Gatsby

Abstract

an introduction of the author

plot

analysis of the characters

comment

conclusion

Key words: love, collapse of American Dream, Jazz Age, moral corruption

An introduction of the author

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost Generation" of the 1920s. He finished four novels, This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and Damned, Tender is the Night and his most famous, The Great Gatsby. A fifth, unfinished novel, The Love of the Last Tycoon was published posthumously. Fitzgerald also wrote many short stories that treat themes of youth and promise along with despair and age. Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to an upper middle class Irish Catholic family, Fitzgerald was named after his famous second cousin, three times removed, Francis Scott Key, but was referred to as "Scott". He was also named after his deceased sister, Jean Scott, one of two sisters who died shortly before his birth. He spent 1898–1901 in Syracuse and 1903–1908 in Buffalo, New York, where he attended Nardin Academy. When his father was fired from Procter & Gamble, the family returned to Minnesota, where Fitzgerald attended St. Paul Academy in St. Paul from 1908–1911. His first literary effort, a detective story, was published in a school newspaper when he was 13. When he was 16, he was expelled from St. Paul Academy for neglecting his studies. He attended Newman School, a prep school in Hackensack, New Jersey, in 1911–1912, and entered Princeton University in 1913 as a member of the Class of 1917. There he became friends with future critics and writers Edmund Wilson (Class of 1916) and John Peale Bishop (Class of 1917), and wrote for the Princeton Triangle Club. His absorption in the Triangle—a kind of musical-comedy society—led to his submission of a novel to Charles Scribner's Sons where the editor praised the writing but ultimately rejected the book. He was a member of the University Cottage Club, which still displays Fitzgerald's desk and writing materials in its library. A poor student, Fitzgerald left Princeton to enlist in the US Army during World War I; however, the war ended shortly after Fitzgerald's enlistment.

Plot

In my opinion, the novel may also be interpreted as the tragedy of Gatsby. Gatsby used to serve in the army. In Louisville, 1917, he met a beautiful young girl named Daisy who was from a rich family. Soon, they fell in love with each other. But with the outbreak of the war, he was dispatched to another country. After the Armistice, because of some complication or misunderstanding, he could not go back home to see Daisy. Instead, he was sent to Oxford. But during this time, Daisy failed to adhere to their love. Finally, she married Tom Buchanan, a wealthy man from a solid and aristocratic family, for money. From that moment on, Gatsby dedicated him in making money as well as winning Daisy back. He purchased a deluxe mansion in the West Egg. He held extravagant parties every Saturday night in order to draw the attention of Daisy who lived in the nearby East Egg. But Daisy never came. One day, he found Nick, a remote cousin of Daisy, and asked whether Nick could help to arrange a reunion between him and Daisy. After the reunion, Gatsby and Daisy reestablished their connection. After a short time, Tom began to become suspicious of the relationship between Gatsby and his wife. One hot afternoon, the group went to New York. In a hotel, Tom declared to expose all the things he knew about Gatsby. Soon it turned out to be battle between Tom and Gatsby. At last, Tom forced Daisy to back to the East Egg with Gatsby, attempting to show that Gatsby can not hurt him. Daisy drove the car, but she killed Tom’s mistress Myrtle by accident. Tom told Myrtle’s husband that Gatsby was the driver. Taken in by Tom, Wilson thought Gatsby must be Myrtle’s lover. He found Gatsby in the pool and shot him dead. Then Wilson committed suicide.

Characters

Jay Gatsby

Gatsby is the protagonist of the novel. He is a fabulously wealthy young man living in the West Egg. He is famous for holding lavish parties every Saturday night. In terms of his speaking habit, Gatsby is affected by British accent and he is accustomed to call all the people he meets “old sport”. Fitzgerald uses these words to describe the appearance of Gatsby “his tanned skin was drawn attractively tight on his face and his short hair looked as though it were trimmed every day”. We can indicate from it that Gatsby is energetic and full of experience. Actually he is. Gatsby is born in a poor family in North Dakota. His parents are famers. But obviously, he can not tolerate to live a tranquil life as his parents’. Young Gatsby worships treasure. At the age of 17, he changes his name from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby. He works for a millionaire and it kindles his desire of wealth. Gatsby falls in love with Daisy in Louisville when he is trained there. I think it is the love that becomes Gatsby’s burden. In order to achieve it, he even takes risks to engage in criminal activities. Gatsby is a contradictory combination. He is a bootlegger, a profiteer. These identities arouse our stereotype towards these kinds of people. We may think that he must be vulgar, ignoble and sinister. In the first chapter, Nick says that Gatsby represents everything for which he has an unaffected scorn. But at last, Nick praises Gatsby sincerely. “They are a rotten crowd, you’re worth the whole damn bunch put together”. The transformation of Nick’s attitude must imply that Gatsby has some shining points in his personality. Gatsby owes a romantic readiness which Nick has never found in any other person and which is not likely ever to be found again. Gatsby also has one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. Just because of Gatsby, Nick can see clearly the so-called upper-class as well as their flaws and hypocrisy. But maybe Fitzgerald deliberately insults Gatsby at first and his comments will arouse readers’ interest to go on reading until at last they themselves find a real Gatsby with flesh and blood. They will be surprised to discover that the “notorious” Gatsby is actually much nobler than this “genteel” upper-class. How ironic it is!

Gatsby is an ingenuous, elegant, refined and kind-hearted person. Even though he holds extravagant parties, he actually does not participate in it and seems detached from the carousal. In the fifth chapter, Nick describes Gatsby’s bedroom as the simplest room of all-----except where the dresser was garnished with a toilet set of pour dull gold. Compared with the magnificent decoration of Gatsby’s sumptuous mansion, his bedroom is quite ordinary. Gatsby is not a luxurious person in nature. Showing off his property is just a part of his plan to win Daisy back. Since he attributes Daisy’s treachery to his lack of money, he instinctively believes that as long as he is well-off, Daisy will return to his side and the past memories can be called back. In the aspect, Gatsby is innocent, even childish and naive. He fails to realize the power of time. Time can destroy everything and reshape them.

In the beginning of the novel, Fitzgerald deliberately creates suspense to make Gatsby a mysterious person. In Daisy’s house, Jordan asks Nick whether he knows Gatsby. In Myrtle’s apartment, her sister Catherine also talks Nick about Gatsby when she finds that Nick is from the West Egg. All these coincidences enhance Nick’s interest in Gatsby as well as readers’ interest in him. While I am reading the first two chapters, I can not help thinking what kind of person Gatsby is. Before Gatsby’s debut in the novel, I already have conceived many characteristics about him. By doing this, Fitzgerald leaves readers the space for imagination. When Gatsby first appears in the third chapter, all our hypothesis is going to be approved or denied.

Daisy Buchanan

Daisy is Nick’s cousin, Tom’s wife and the woman Gatsby loves. As a very popular young girl before the war in Louisville, she is courted by many officers, including Gatsby. She accepts Gatsby’s proposal and promises to wait until Gatsby returns from the frontline. However, because of some practical reasons, Daisy chooses to marry Tom Buchanan who comes from a prominent family. Unfortunately, her marriage with Tom is not a plain sailing. Tom commits out-of-marriage affairs. Daisy hates Tom’s behaviour, but she takes no actions to confront her treacherous husband and just let it go. It seems to Nick that the thing for Daisy to do should be to rush out of the house, child in arms---but apparently there is no such intention in Daisy’s head. The only comfort and pleasure she has is to satirize her husband in daily life as a way to save some of her dignity. Because of this, Daisy becomes cynical, superficial, pessimistic and selfish. She even hopes her daughter can be a fool because she thinks this is the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool just like her. In fact, she really acts like a fool in dealing with her husband’s affair. From the association between Nick and Daisy, we can find that Daisy is not sincere, and in most of the time, she just pretends to be courteous and well-bred. In terms of his relationship with Gatsby, she never takes it seriously. She makes use of the relation as a tool to revenge her husband as well as to find something exciting in life. She is not stalwart to their love no matter five years ago or later. When Tom confronts Gatsby in the suite in New York, Daisy first stands on the side of Gatsby and refutes Tom with thrilling scorn. But soon she hesitates and speaks with perceptible reluctance. Then her voice is cold, but the rancour is gone from it. She becomes so nervous that her hands are trembling. She begins to sob helplessly and finally her frightened eyes tell Tom whatever intentions, what courage she has had, are definitely gone. This is the process how Daisy totally abandons Gatsby.

Nick Carraway

Nick, the narrator of this novel, is from a decent family of Minnesota. After being educated at Yale and fighting in the first World War, he goes to New York to learn the bond business. Strictly speaking, he is not a member of the orthodox upper-class, but he is familiar with some people from that echelon, like Tom and Daisy. In the beginning of the novel, Nick introduces himself to readers. “I’m inclined to reserve all judgments, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me.” This may be one of the reasons why Nick knows so many things about Gatsby and the Buchanans. His reliable nature makes him the best subject to which people pour their stories. Nick is quiet, reflective, honest, lenient and observant. These qualities make him the best person to narrate the story. Nick in the novel has a episode of romantic experience with Jordon, but when he realizes that Jordon is not the perfect spouse he wants, he breaks up with her even though he is still half in loves with her. Nick is wiser than Gatsby and he can see things into the essence. Compared with Nick, Gatsby’s love to Daisy is like a trap into which he falls and never climbs out. Nick understands where Gatsby’s tragedy lies and he will not follow suit. Nick is also a person of strong self-control. During his contact with Daisy and Tom, his moral ideology is not affected by them. On the contrary, he uses his extraordinary observation to reveal their flaws and criticize them. Nick is also compassionate. He is the one who arranges Gatsby’s funeral.

Tom Buchanan

Tom, the husband of Daisy, comes from a socially solid and aristocratic family. Tom and Nick are in the same senior society when they are in university. But it seems that Nick is not intimate with Tom nor does he like Tom at all. Tom is an arrogant, hypocritical, strong and cruel bully. “His speaking voice, a gruff husky tenor, added to the impression of fractiousness he conveyed. There was a touch of paternal contempt in it, even towards people he liked.” In my understanding, Tom always pursues the role of domination in his circle of association. He often speaks in an aggressive and authoritative tone. His robust body props him up to satisfy his strong desire. “It was a body capable of enormous leverage----a cruel body”. The function of his strong body is to defend his own right as well as to trample other’s dignity. When Tom discovers the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy，he is out of rage and says “Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institution, and next they will throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white.” The transition from libertine to prig is so complete. The real ironic thing is that Tom himself is a playboy. But to him, his affair with Myrtle seems nothing corruptive at all. He never considers conforming to the doctrines he imposes on those around him. He himself is always an exception who can discard these moral standards.

Jordan Baker

   Jordan, a competitive golfer who always wears a contemptuous expression, is a friend of Daisy as well as the woman Nick loves. She cheats in order to win her first golf tournament and continually bends the truth. Gradually, Nick discovered the things Jordon conceals under her bored haughty face. Jordon instinctively avoids clever, shrewd men because she feels safer on a plane where any divergence from a code would be thought impossible. The reason is that she is far from honest. She keeps her cool and insolent smile to the world to satisfy her desire. All her pretence is to avoid her flaws being discovered as well as to shun some responsibilities.

George Wilson

   George Wilson, the husband of Myrtle Wilson (Tom’s mistress), runs a garage-Repairs in the Valley of Ashes. He is a blonde, spiritless man, anemic and faintly handsome. Wilson is the man of his wife because he is indecisive and his wife decides almost everything. And Wilson is so tardy that he even does not discover the affair between his wife and Tom.

Myrtle Wilson

   Myrtle Wilson is the wife of Wilson and the mistress of Tom. She possesses fierce vitality and looks for ways to change her situation desperately. But at last, she is killed by Daisy accidently.

Comment

Since the name of this novel is The Great Gatsby, it is of great importance for us to discuss why Gatsby is great. Gatsby is not only a dreamer maker, but also a dream pursuer. His greatness lies in the ability to realize his dreams. The experience of Gatsby is the typical example of the realization of American dream. He starts from scratch, and only in three years, a new millionaire comes into being. His pursuit of true love also makes him great although it turns out that the one he loves is just a material girl and does not deserve his sincere love at all. It is the obsessive love that leads to Gatsby’s tragedy. Gatsby’s tragedy lies in his imagination and stubbornness. At the age of 17, he is already a dreamer-maker. When he first meets Daisy, he begins to weave the dream. But five years later, since he is so infatuated in the well-conceived dream, he refuses to wake up even though he has realized the Daisy in reality is no longer the one in his dream. Gatsby insists that they can repeat the past memories and fix everything just the way it is before even though he clearly senses that Daisy’s words are full of money. The Daisy in his imagination is the single green light in the end of the deck, minute and far away. But if viewed from other aspects, Gatsby is a man of perseverance. He holds the slim hope waiting for the perfect Daisy until the last moment of his life. Gatsby lives in the Utopia that actually does not exist in the real society.

Fitzgerald divides years between 1918---1929, the years after the First World War and before the Economic Depression, as the Jazz Age. On the one hand, the young people have just returned from the battlefield and they have witnessed the cruelty of war. Since life is so fragile, why should they be manipulated by the strict puritan doctrines all their life? It would be better to enjoy the pleasure of life when they are still alive. With these ideas in their mind, they begin to lose faith. The potency of traditional puritan values gradually wanes, and suddenly they collapse. On the other hand, American steps into a prosperous age after the war. National economy boosts quickly. As a result, hedonism wins popularity among people. In the novel, the extravagant parties held in Gatsby’s mansion reflect this social reality. Fitzgerald also permeate his own idea about the age though the angle of Nick. Nick participates in the lavish parties, but at the same time, he keeps a calm head towards it. Through his extraordinary perception, he subtly perceives people’s desire for romance, but he also senses the void and helplessness hiding behind the luxurious facade. In this way, Fitzgerald expresses his ideas through Nick’s mouth and mind. Gatsby’s party is so sumptuous and unreal that the danger of destruction lurks under it. It really forecasts the oncoming Economic Depression.

  The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States in which freedom includes a promise of the possibility of prosperity and success. Equality is the soul of American Dream. Intelligence, diligence and perseverance are the essential elements. Anyone who possesses these qualities has the chance to succeed. Gatsby is one of them. But in the special Jazz Age, American Dream is somewhat distorted by people like Gatsby. They make use of the current social situation (America bans the sale of alcohol at that time), and makes huge profit from illegal activities. Fitzgerald is good at mirroring the social realities of his time into his novels. These speculative phenomena are not fancied by Fitzgerald without supporting evidence. He disapproves this kind of behaviour. If American Dream is achieved by speculation or criminal activities, no matter how sweet and reality-like the dream is, the dream maker will wake up some day.

  The United States is said to be a melting-pot and emigrants from all over the world could be fully embraced. It also long professes itself to be a country without social hierarchy. But this is not the reality. America really has its hierarchies, even though it is more concealed than those of Britain. The upper-class is at the attack of Fitzgerald. They consider themselves the orthodox aristocracy and shows scorn to people who do not belong to their echelon. The typical representative is Tom and he is even a racialist. In Nick’s first visit to Tom’s house, at the table, he propagates his racial speech fiercely. Although Gatsby becomes a millionaire later, but the newly-rich like Gatsby still could not receive respect or approval from the traditional aristocracy just because of their inferior birth. When Tom comes to participate in Gatsby’s party, he still poses as a superior personage who humbles himself to inspect the party and people there. Tom’s affair with Myrtle implies the moral corruption of the upper-class. On the surface, they are the apologist of traditional values, but in fact, their dirty nature is covered by the appearance of a prig. They are even cold-blooded. Tom and Daisy play a trick and make use of Wilson to kill Gatsby without a shudder. “They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together and let other people clean up the mess they had made…”

Conclusion

The Great Gatsby ranks the second place among one hundred most famous novels. It is a novel of great significance and it fully shows readers the genius of Fitzgerald. While writing the book review, I refer to some materials. But in the limited length of my book review, I can not express all the ideas the author wants to convey. I just write down my own understanding and the points the impress me most.

Welcome to play the most interesting dora , we have thousands of fun games,including Jeux Dora,Juegos Dora,Jogos Dora,Dora Girls Games,Dora Puzzle Games,Barbie Make up Games,cooking games online,also we add new dora everyday,Surely the games will keep you entertained,and we pride ourselves in serving you the newest and best Makeover Games to play everyday so that you will not be disappointed.