The Great GatsbyThe Great Gatsby

Interpretation and Interpretation and SignificanceSignificance

The Great Gatsby can be viewed in one of three ways:

A veiled autobiographical account of Fitzgerald’s life

A bitter criticism of the American Dream

An allegory teaching the sinfulness of greed

I. Autobiographical I. Autobiographical NovelNovel

“To Zelda, As Always”

I. Autobiographical I. Autobiographical NovelNovel

A. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald 1896-1940B. Born in Minnesota, grew up in New JerseyC. Princeton dropout with immense literary talentD. Served in WWI military, but war ended before he

could be deployed

I. Autobiographical I. Autobiographical (cont.) (cont.)

E. Met Zelda Sayre while serving in military1. Zelda is rich, upper class southerner2. Zelda breaks off initial engagement when Fitzgerald can’t bring in

enough money

F. Publishes This Side of Paradise1. Immediate literary success.2. Zelda takes him back; they are wed

I. Autobiographical I. Autobiographical (cont.)(cont.)

G. Socialite Ex-Patriots, they lived a lavish lifestyle and Fitzgerald was frequently broke.H. Tensions between Fitzgerald and Zelda increased

1. She is schizophrenic, hospitalized at Hopkins2. He is an alcoholic, moves to Hollywood 3. He drinks himself to death; dies of a heart attack after eating a candy

bar4. She dies when her mental hospital catches on fire and she is locked in

a room awaiting electroshock therapy

Fitzgerald As Gatsby?Fitzgerald As Gatsby?

Both men are haunted by Both men are haunted by

women they could never women they could never

make happy, women make happy, women

whose greed destroyed whose greed destroyed

them. them.

II.Criticism of II.Criticism of American DreamAmerican Dream

“Gatsby had committed

himself to the following of a

grail.”

II. American DreamII. American DreamA. Grail is an unattainable,

elusive mythical object. B. Desire for the grail has

driven countless men to ruin and death.

C. Fitzgerald uses the search for the grail as a metaphor for the pursuit of the American dream. It is elusive, unattainable, and mythical.

III. Moral AllegoryIII. Moral AllegoryA. Allegory: a story meant to convey a moral lesson

(like a parable of sorts).B. The reader is meant to share in Nick’s

“unaffected scorn” for the world he sees. C. God watches humanity, judges but does not

intervene

T. J. Eckleberg’s disapproving T. J. Eckleberg’s disapproving

eyes, symbolic of God. eyes, symbolic of God.

IV. SymbolismIV. Symbolism• Great Gatsby is most commonly discussed in

terms of its inventive use of symbolism.

Key Symbols in the Key Symbols in the TextText

A. Eyes of T. J. Eckleburg1. God’s judging, disapproving perspective on humanity.

B. The Green Light1. Longing and desire for those things which are most elusive.

C. The Valley of Ashes1. Empty, lifeless valley becomes a symbol for the empty, soulless people who traverse it.

D. Gatsby’s Rolls Royce1. How appropriate that a symbol of Gatsby’s wealth becomes an instrument of death.

E. Pearl Necklace/Dog Collar1. Tom gives Myrtle a dog collar as a gift, but a pearl necklace to Daisy. Myrtle is nothing but a pet to him; a plaything that he can mistreat. It emphasizes his greed; people are like possessions to him.

Some Key Quotations Some Key Quotations in the Textin the Text

• “Gatsby paid a high price for living too long with a single dream.“

• “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

• “I am one of the few honest people I have ever met.” • “[her voice] is full of money.” • “You see, I think everything’s terrible anyhow…I’ve been

everywhere and seen everything and done everything…sophisticated, God, I’m sophisticated!”

• “Can’t repeat the past? Why, of course you can!” • Gatsby “had committed himself to the following of a grail.”• “They’re a rotten crowd…you’re worth the whole damn

bunch put together.”

Gatsby And Its Gatsby And Its Relationship To Major Relationship To Major

Literary PeriodsLiterary Periods• Age of Reason

o Gatsby, like Ben Franklin, believed in self-improvement, but his failure is that he allows his imagination to control him.

• Romanticismo Overindulgent imaginations of characters reveal dark side of humanity.

• Realismo Grim reality is revealed, as is uselessness of Romanticism. All of the

“dreams” of the characters are crushed, and they are left dead, sad, or alone.