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Jay Gatsby: A Warning to us all F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby twists through flashbacks of the characters perplexing pasts, frivolous conversation and parties, and bouts of frustration with the culture of the Roaring Twenties. It was a novel progressive for its time, and is now regarded as one of the most accurate depictions of the 1920’s. After WWI America became a prosperous nation for a time. The nation was in a state of celebration. The realm of the twenties was one primarily concerned with that of excess, imprudence, and gratification. It is a world where people are so concerned with seizing the occasion that they have lost touch with any sense of morality and have developed a disregard for how their actions affect others. As a result they resort to crime, adultery and other corrupt acts in attempts to satisfy their appetites. Fitzgerald's book proves to be an accurate observation of the time, capturing the anxiety and melancholy prowling beneath the roar. The age was glamorous and romantic and was more concerned with image and how one appeared to others than anything else. Jay Gatsby is set up at the beginning of the novel to be the picture of the American Dream, but when his dreams crumble beneath him, this image ceases to exist. Fitzgerald meant his novel to be a commentary on the problem with setting ones sights on a single thing. Just as in Gatsby’s case, it is possible to lose that very thing we have worked so hard for, and as a result are ultimately left with nothing. Many consider the general philosophy of the Roaring Twenties to be Modernism. Modernism in literature was an artistic trend whose writers sought to find new ways to communicate to their audiences. Throughout this trend writers stripped away descriptions of characters and setting and avoided direct statement of themes and resolutions. Part of the beauty of this fragmented style of writing was that it enabled the reader to choose a meaning for himself. These techniques and many others are apparent in The Great Gatsby, which is why it is now considered to be one of the great American novels. The sometimes-ambiguous nature of text of the time period, became a trademark for many famous writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald. His characters develop along lines of self-indulgence, ignorance, and disregard for those outside of their realm. The events of the novel unfold in a realistic manner As discussed above the story stresses the problem with having a single dream. All of Jay’s efforts were focused and wasted on Daisy, and when her love for him doesn’t prove resilient, his whole life begins to deteriorate. In this way Jay’s ambition became his tragic flaw. Fitzgerald is warning us that if one puts everything they have into attaining one thing, and in the end don’t achieve what it is they want, they will be left with nothing. The book serves as a commentary of Americans of the day, and in a way can be seen as a foreshadowing of the Great Depression. Being completely irresponsible and frivolous can be fun for a while but, as seen through the events of the novel, will not prove to have positive results. Jay Gatsby serves as a warning to all Americans. One of the most significant symbols in the novel is the green light emanating from the end of Daisy Buchanan’s dock. The green paint at the center of both canvases unites the separate works into one and acts as the focal point of my artwork. It discernibly symbolizes the green

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Page 1: Jay Gatsby: A Warning to us alltheaolson.weebly.com/uploads/1/8/9/5/18953789/jay_gatsby.pdf · Jay Gatsby: A Warning to us all F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby twists through

Jay Gatsby: A Warning to us all

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby twists through flashbacks of the characters perplexing pasts, frivolous conversation and parties, and bouts of frustration with the culture of the Roaring Twenties. It was a novel progressive for its time, and is now regarded as one of the most accurate depictions of the 1920’s. After WWI America became a prosperous nation for a time. The nation was in a state of celebration. The realm of the twenties was one primarily concerned with that of excess, imprudence, and gratification. It is a world where people are so concerned with seizing the occasion that they have lost touch with any sense of morality and have developed a disregard for how their actions affect others. As a result they resort to crime, adultery and other corrupt acts in attempts to satisfy their appetites. Fitzgerald's book proves to be an accurate observation of the time, capturing the anxiety and melancholy prowling beneath the roar. The age was glamorous and romantic and was more concerned with image and how one appeared to others than anything else. Jay Gatsby is set up at the beginning of the novel to be the picture of the American Dream, but when his dreams crumble beneath him, this image ceases to exist. Fitzgerald meant his novel to be a commentary on the problem with setting ones sights on a single thing. Just as in Gatsby’s case, it is possible to lose that very thing we have worked so hard for, and as a result are ultimately left with nothing.

Many consider the general philosophy of the Roaring Twenties to be Modernism.

Modernism in literature was an artistic trend whose writers sought to find new ways to communicate to their audiences. Throughout this trend writers stripped away descriptions of characters and setting and avoided direct statement of themes and resolutions. Part of the beauty of this fragmented style of writing was that it enabled the reader to choose a meaning for himself. These techniques and many others are apparent in The Great Gatsby, which is why it is now considered to be one of the great American novels. The sometimes-ambiguous nature of text of the time period, became a trademark for many famous writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald. His characters develop along lines of self-indulgence, ignorance, and disregard for those outside of their realm. The events of the novel unfold in a realistic manner

As discussed above the story stresses the problem with having a single dream. All of

Jay’s efforts were focused and wasted on Daisy, and when her love for him doesn’t prove resilient, his whole life begins to deteriorate. In this way Jay’s ambition became his tragic flaw. Fitzgerald is warning us that if one puts everything they have into attaining one thing, and in the end don’t achieve what it is they want, they will be left with nothing. The book serves as a commentary of Americans of the day, and in a way can be seen as a foreshadowing of the Great Depression. Being completely irresponsible and frivolous can be fun for a while but, as seen through the events of the novel, will not prove to have positive results. Jay Gatsby serves as a warning to all Americans.

One of the most significant symbols in the novel is the green light emanating from the

end of Daisy Buchanan’s dock. The green paint at the center of both canvases unites the separate works into one and acts as the focal point of my artwork. It discernibly symbolizes the green

 

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light from the novel and acts as the catalyst to the remainder of the incidents in the novel, some of which are represented in different sections of the work. Throughout the novels events, the audience discovers that the green light isn’t solely a light, but acts as a symbol; a symbol which represents Gatsby’s aspirations for the future. Jay Gatsby’s blind pursual of this dream is what finally leads to his demise. In general, all symbols in the novel are intimately connected to dreams: Gatsby’s dream of Daisy causes him to associate her image with everything he values, just as he associates the green light with his dream for the future.

The artwork, which I created to represent aspects and symbols of the great Gatsby can be

read and analyzed best if read clockwise. In the top left section of the artwork I created, the red handprints represent the crime and shady dealings that Gatsby resorts to in attempts to gain wealth and leave his past of meager fortune and hard work behind him. The fact that Gatsby resorts to crime is the first indication that the cards will not come out in his favor. Underneath the splotchy handprints lay scrapings of charcoal. The smeared charcoal represents Gatsby’s past and the obvious attempts to erase the charcoal depict Gatsby’s great desire to move away from his background of humble means. The stark contrasts against the black charcoal of the red handprints underlines the futility of Gatsby’s attempts. Trying to escape his past through dishonest means can only lead to disaster.

From left to right, daisies trail across the canvas indicating that Gatsby made the drastic

changes in his life and lifestyles solely for Daisy. In the top right area of the work, the viewer can see a mess of extravagant objects. The sponge painted mask further denotes Gatsby’s efforts to make himself into something he perceptibly is not. Throughout the novel the reader might interpret Gatsby’s “mysterious” nature simply as something that indicates his inability to copiously fit in with the upper class. The jumble and disarray of color and assortments of textures further suggests Jay’s overcompensation for his modest past. The peacock feathers are representative of the times in that they convey frivolity and pretentiousness. The randomly dispersed pieces of mirror further denote the vanity of the people who attend Gatsby’s parties and of those who buy into Jay’s spectacle. If this artwork were to emit sound, this section would release a sound representative of the roar of the Roaring Twenties.

At the commencement of chapter three in the novel Fitzgerald provides his audience with

a depiction of the great measures Gatsby goes to in order to bring about one of his extravagant parties. Nick goes into specific detail about “… a machine in the kitchen which could extract juice of two hundred oranges in half an hour if a little button was pressed two hundred times by a butler’s thumb (pg. 45).”This particular observation is evidence that Nick is beginning to buy into the frivolity just as the other party attendants. The way Nick barely comments on and almost dismisses the fact that the butler would have to monotonously push the button two hundred times is the epitome of the mindset of the privileged class, in that the hard work of others is made out to be unimportant. Nick's attitude toward Gatsby is paradoxical: early in the novel he seems to frown at Gatsby's excess and lack of manners, but later in the novel he admires, and even romanticizes Gatsby’s life style as in this passage. This portrayal can be tied to the idea of how disposable all the wealth really was.

Fading from the chaotically baroque section of the canvas is the section depicting where

everything begins to fall apart in the novel. The scattered remnants of peacock feathers suggest

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the disintegration of Gatsby’s image. The foremost point in the novel where this deterioration of Gatsby’s grandiose character is after Daisy smashes Myrtle while recklessly driving Gatsby’s yellow automobile. Gatsby, without hesitation, wishes to take the fall for his beloved, and Daisy shamelessly uses him finally illuminating how little he means to her. In this way Gatsby become disposable. The band of tiffany blue and silver paper represents Gatsby’s concealer of wealth. The rips and tears in the paper indicate the revealing of Gatsby’s true nature. What is ultimately revealed to be beneath is blank canvas, which portrays the man Jay has unknowingly made himself become; a man who hasn’t lived for himself, and therefore hasn’t lived.

The last lines of the book discuss the green light and reiterate how they exemplify Gatsby’s dream. The lines read:

Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther ... And then one fine morning— So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past (pg. 186).

These words beautifully close the novel and somehow leave the audience with more to ponder rather than with resolution. Through Nick’s thoughts, Fitzgerald is urging his audience to examine their own lives. We as humans are constantly drawn down by our pasts even as we strive to sail forward towards our goals. We often find it hard to let our pasts remain in the past, and in this way they begin to define us. As in Fitzgerald’s characters, we become trapped by our pasts when we become more concerned with recreating them than having new experiences and creating new memories. Gatsby begins to let his past affairs with Daisy outline his ideas about what the future will bear. In this way Fitzgerald crafts Gatsby into a model for the American dream and then utterly shatters this idea when it all falls apart for Gatsby. The image that the quote instills of vessels pushing on against the current is one that beautifully embodies the struggle of life.

All the events of the book can all be tied to the final quote relating to the moment when

Gatsby is seen reaching with his arms outstretched for the green light. The more Gatsby endeavored to acquire, the less he was left with, which is what Fitzgerald is primarily advising his readers to be wary of. Like with the green light, the opportunity and glamour of the times in America began to recede before the publics’ eyes as the Great Depression came about. In this way the themes in Great Gatsby can be tied to the events occurring in America at the time. The 1920s marked a time of great post-war economic progress, and Fitzgerald depicts the frenzy of society with striking accuracy. Though, Fitzgerald could have no way of foreseeing the stock market crash of 1929, the world he presents in The Great Gatsby seems clearly to be headed for disaster. In this way Fitzgerald’s novel became an even more accurate depiction of the times than he realized; the people of America thought they were unassailable just as Gatsby did, and then came the stock market crash