The Great Gatsby Analysis Juan Pablo Gonzlez English HL 11.4 After reading The Great Gatsby, by F.

Scott Fitzgerald, a thorough and conscientious analysis thereof is in order. This analysis will take into account the most important aspects of the novel, and will detail their importance and significance therein. Setting There are several things to be said about the novels setting. The first is in regard to the time in which the story is set. In regards to the plot, this context is critical. The novel is set in the summer of 1922. The decade of the 1920s is an extremely eventful one in United States history. Firstly, this decade is commonly dubbed The Roaring Twenties, denoting a period of accelerated and enormous economic progress, partly brought about by the United States degree of involvement in the First World War, which up until 1917, was in the form of providing goods and war assets to the Allied countries who were in fact executing the armed conflict. America was in a state of thriving economic development, which had deep foundations in the policy of isolationism, which made a great emphasis in consuming internally-produced goods and literally isolating the US economy from external (read: European) influence. This made the 1920s a decade of enormous squandering on the part of the richer segments of the population, which is widely noted in the novel. Secondly, the 1920s were lived by the US population in the midst of Prohibition, a policy that came into law courtesy of the Temperance movement, and basically made alcoholic beverages illegal. This spawned a hugely profitable business, where bootleggers would make massive amounts of money if they successfully managed to import and distribute any sort of alcoholic beverage to the widely demanding population. It is heavily implied, from the introduction Meyer Wolfsheim, that Gatsby is or was a bootlegger. Prohibition was widely disregarded in the United States. There is heavy evidence of this throughout the book, where innocent references are made to the drinking of cocktails and other beverages, with little preoccupation or remorse; what is more, it is regarded as a normal part of social life, despite the heaviness with which the policy was enforced by the federal US government. Furthermore, the importance of the setting continues in the fact that the geographical location is Long Island sound. The East and West Eggs, which are entirely fictional, might be a reference to the Hamptons, where New York Citys rich and posh have large beach houses and go to spend the summers amid the glitz and the glitter of the high social spheres. This is entirely spoton with the shallow lives led by the people in East Egg.

Themes Shallowness The novel explores the theme of shallowness deeply. Its character set is mostly composed of upper-class, whose livelihood lies on appearing and outshining everyone else. There are two sides to this rather broad theme. The first is exemplified to the letter by the character of Tom Buchanan. Buchanan, a man whose education can be said to be inferior to that of a person of traditionally wealthy origin, like Nick, has all the characteristics of a rather chauvinistic shallowness, and the reader constantly sees him physically abusing women (like he did with Myrtle in Chapter Two), being judgmental on people (like when he condescendingly asks Nick how did he come so far to eat, as if implying that Nick certainly could not afford eating in a fancy restaurant) and, overall, having an attitude that can only be described as smug and petulant. This money-asstatus mentality is, as far as the book is concerned, typical of the new rich. The other side of the theme lies on Gatsby himself. His extravagant efforts to impress Daisy, in the form of vast, banal social gatherings that are so inert and one-dimensional that Gatsby himself claims to rarely attend, showing off his estate and his luxurious lifestyle, and attempting to conceal and compensate his overall inability as a person to have confidence in himself by using expensive silverware and keeping everything that is material perfect, are a perfect demonstration of a complete negligence to the actual value of a person as such, placing the importance on material goods instead. This is complete shallowness, and can even be seen as disrespectful to Daisy, who can be taken to be impressed by ultimately unimportant things that do not necessarily guarantee happiness, as can be seen with her relationship with Tom. The American Dream As stated before, the 1920s were a time of great prosperity in the United States. It was not uncommon to see billboards boasting that the US standard of living was the highest anywhere in the world. The novel, by displaying the great affluence of wealthy individuals, is making an important reference to this tendency, where anyone could become rich at a low cost in the form of effort. Nick himself is trying to attain this much-longed status of the American Dream, by moving to the East Coast to learn the bond business. Nicks situation, as compared to Toms and Gatsbys is a stark contrast between the process of fulfilling the dream and having gotten there already. It also displays the American Dream as having little or no personal value, in support of the overall theme of shallowness that utterly dominates the novel.

Symbols The Valley of Ashes This barren wasteland, stripped of all progress, is ultimately a stinging reminder of desolate misery. Lying between Long Island Sound and New York, its existence makes reference to the fact that major cities and glitzy summer spots are all in for the spoils of the time, leaving some

areas to shame. The characters are almost invariably shocked at the existence and state of the Valley of Ashes, which also serves as a stark predecessor to the Great Depression that would follow the Roaring Twenties. Dr. Eckleburg The billboard displaying the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, overlooking the Valley of Ashes, is a sort of all-seeing eye that involuntarily looks over the characters and gives them the impression of authority and superiority. The moral decadence displayed in the novel somewhat places the eyes of Dr. Eckleburg as an all-seeing judge on the hopeless wasteland of American morals in the 1920s, in particular with the characters of the book. Despite this strong significance, the eyes of Dr. Eckleburg go unnoticed except for Mr. Wilson, who is the only one to acknowledge their more transcendental characteristic. This the ultimate display of complete hollowness and disregard on the part of the upper, wealthier classes of the United States.

Characters Nick Carraway Nick is the storys narrator. He is a selfless man, who passes on little to no judgment to people, thanks to a timeless piece of advice given to him by his father. He is an important actor in the story, being the only one of the major characters, along with Daisy, who has a personal insight on Gatsby. He is a symbol for neutrality. He looks on the happenings of the story, particularly those of Jordan, Tom and Daisy, and, while being a part of them, doesnt really take sides. This neutrality can be mistaken for apathy or even passiveness. Nick, ultimately, is the only character that remains unchanged after the story, which is another indicator of his neutrality. Jay Gatsby Gatsby can be said to be the storys main character. His self inspires mystery and intrigue to the characters in the story, and to the reader, until Nick gets to know him. He represents a source of change for Tom and Daisy, who have led miserable lives together, mixed with the unbearable complacency derived from economic stability. His arrival marks a turning point, a diverging set of roads for Daisy, especially, who finds his presence to represent a terrible decision she has to take, having to choose between love and stability. Her decision had been made once, but Gatsbys return divides her internally to a point where she collapses. Daisy Buchanan Daisy is the perfect symbol of complacency and the pitfalls of chauvinism in the 1920s. Her most important quote is Thats the best thing a girl can be in this world. A beautiful fool. It is a perfect summary of how she would rather live unhappily and have money than pursue true happiness. She also has a rather unstable and absent mentality. The reader can get to think of her

as a sort of mentally challenged person, given her sometimes incoherent and all-over-the-place speech. She is the second main character of the story, given her past with Gatsby, and the only person capable of getting him to do anything at all. Tom Buchanan The perfect symbol of male chauvinism and primitiveness. He is a man with little to no regard for others, especially his own wife. His wealth, in his eyes, grants him the faculty of cheating on her, abusing women, escaping guilt and barge in the lives of others. A polar opposite to Nick, Tom is enormously judgmental, and his main opinions are based on peoples wealth and social standing. Despite his attitude, he is very sensitive to being wronged in similar ways, and makes it his priority to have revenge.