The Corruption Of The American Dream.
"The Great Gatsby" is a novel written by F. The novel was completed by 1925 and published in 1926. Fitzgerald lived in a community similar to that of careless and materialistic ways of West Egg, so he had the opportunity to witness the homes and lifestyles of the rich, although he himself did not exactly have the "perfect" lifestyle, this making me relate to the story and making it have a deep influence on me. .
The main themes of the novel are materialism, corruption and The American Dream.
The American Dream started out as more than just materialistic desire, it also had foundations in spirituality in relation to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". This spiritual aspect of the Dream was soon ditched for the more attainable and quicker materialistic aspect of the Dream. .
I am going to show how effective Fitzgerald is at portraying the materialism in the American society throughout his novel "The great Gatsby".
Fitzgerald illustrates the corruption of the dream through his portrayal of the characters lives and relationships with each other. The main characters in Fitzgerald's novel are symbols of some aspects of the American Dream.
This is a first person narrative; due to this a more intensifying atmosphere is created; there is also a much greater feeling of immediacy conveyed throughout the novel; also allows the reader to relate more accurately to the plot. It is narrated by Nick Carraway, his morality and neutrality causes the reader to be more sympathetic to his views.
The structure of the story relates to the characters reaching for the American Dream and how they climb towards their goals. One the Dream is reached, the corruption of the dream is most apparent.
The Great Gatsby was set in the 1920s "The Jazz Age", in the very rich areas of West and East Egg- these two adjacent egg shaped land formations, contrast each other. Both Eggs are rich communities although the way this manifests itself is very different.