Brothers,
I would like you to spend some time constructing a reflective piece on Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Please do not feel threatened by the assignment. The purpose of this is to guage your response to a novel rich with imagery, theme, conflict, and symbol.
Really, what I want to know is whether or not this resonated at all with your own experience of life up to this point. Or, in reading it, what does it inspire you to say about society, about life, about relationships? What's your take? Philosophize, theorize, vent--just do it with some formality and dignity.
Below is my own reaction, mixing some literary analysis with social critique and personal response.
Write away,
BRob
Br. Rob Peach
Br. Rob Peach
ENG 320 Section 4
17 April 2007
Reaction Sheet, re: The Great Gatsby
A Search for the Soul in Gatsby's Shadow
I think we've all been there--that place of loneliness, longing, and searching into which we peer in the eyes of such characters as Daisy, Gatsby, and Nick. The question for all of us, including the characters involved in a complex network of relationships, is not so much "What do I want out of life?" but "How will I answer and respond to my own emptiness?" For Gatsby, it is not necessarily about getting what he desires as it is about filling the void of his lover's absence. For Nick, his move to West Egg is fueled by the desire to appease his restlessness after taking part in the First World War. Unfortunately, both of these men find an answer to their longing in superficialities, mechanincally maneuvering their way into a society crowded with unfamiliar faces and bookshelves of unread materials.
In an instance of irony providing us with a foreshadowy sense of false hope and, as we realize by the end of the novel, an unrealizable ideal, Nick claims, "And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer" (4). Certainly there is some potential for personal growth, and perhaps Nick ultimately does recognize his role as the one, faithful friend that Gatsby has (or had). Yet even still, Nick goes about buying into the one lifestyle that he scorned and which Gatsby, in his frivolity, represents: senseless hedonism. We should keep in mind, too, that Daisy and the rest are no less guilty of living such an illusion which is magnified by lies, deceit, and undisclosed secrets of the past.
And so the future seemingly offers no hope for change in a world deadened like the ashy wasteland that leads into the city. Like the eyes of the distant observer, Dr. T. J. Eckleberg, this land is empty. It is devoid of meaning, and even where there is a glimpse of hope, as with the green light blinking at the edge of Daisy's dock, jealousy seems all the world has to offer.
Thus the question becomes, "How will you fill the void?" We can easily fill our life with distractions; I cannot plead innocent in this matter myself. But with some honesty and a healthy dose of self-awareness, we certianly have greater possibility in finding that one thing that Gatsby and his cohorts are lacking: a soul. Whether they know it or not, the characters in Fitzgerald's masterpiece are searching for exactly that. Unfortunately, they never seem to find it, their vision obscured in the shadows of an illusion that leads backwards despite the promise of the future. In the end it is as Nick suggests when he says, "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessy into the past" (180).
11 comments:
This novel realy didn't relate itself that much at all to my life because Gats really is a different character then me. I do think this book should serve to show that people to should think more of others and their relationships instead of just trying to do what you want(after all that is the main principal of satanism). This novel should also seem prevanlent considering the recent shootings of the past year since as the ending of the book will show, killing others and yourself is not the answer to problems and can be wrongly done as in the killing of the wrong person AKA Gatsby. This is not to say that any shooting is not wrongly done but only to show that killing is not the answer.
Tyler Knarr
Brother Peach
English
April 19, 2007
Reading the Great Gatsby caused me to take a deeper look at society and the relationships people have with each other. Fitzgerald’s novel did a superb job in inspiring me to examine how I live and of how people are around me. In looking at the many dishonest relationships and deceitful spouses in the novel made me question if this was a reality. It made me question the reasoning for why people then and now get married. It made me realize that to often relationships between people are bound on superficial standards such as how wealthy they are or where they fall in the social latter. A statistic I heard not to long ago that I felt coincided with the novel was the fact that nearly eighty percent of marriages in the United States end in divorce. This appalling number like the Great Gatsby makes me recognize how petty and superficial people can be. When that many marriages are failing clearly people are getting married for the wrong reason which I found also to be the case in the Great Gatsby.
Another thought provoking theme in the novel is the presence of how money and class cause people to do such petty things. This was apparent in how Gatsby felt like if he could gain enough wealth and live an extravagant lifestyle he could win back the heart of his former lover Daisy. He even had resorted to some criminal acts in order to gain money to impress her. Money and class also caused Gatsby to be ashamed of his past he had hidden the fact that he grew up a relatively poor man who had been forced to take part in some organized crime in order to make some money. Fitzgerald in this novel clearly demonstrated the fact that the idea of money and social status causes people to pretend to be people they are not truly. It causes many people who are good at heart to do bad things and become less or people in order to gain more money and gain a higher status in the social ladder. This was most apparent in Gatsby’s attempts to gain wealth because he felt it’d help him gain the heart of Daisy.
One of the most important themes that I found Fitzgerald to have exemplified in the novel is the idea of how true loyalty is so sparse in American society, and so often people are loyal to other people simply for the benefit of themselves. This theme was seen in almost every single relationship that Fitzgerald created in the Novel. Daisy was disloyal to Gatsby when she married someone else when he was off at war. Daisy was disloyal to Tom when she went back to being with Gatsby, and Tom was disloyal to Daisy since he was holding an adulterous relationship with Myrtle. Disloyalty was not only seen in the martial relationships between people but also in the accidental killing of Myrtle how Tom had told Wilson that it was Gatsby’s car that killed her. The many untrue relationships in this story caused me to take a deeper look at the relationships I have with people and try and be the most loyal person I can, not only when its for my own benefit.
The Great Gatsby examines the many social problems with society and demonstrates the way many people are. It is a very well written, thought provoking novel that I feel Fitzgerald wrote in his own disgust for the pettiness of people. I feel he wrote it in order to cause readers to take a deeper examination of themselves and to help improve the relationships the readers hold. In my case reading this novel really caused me to examine society and my own actions in relationship to society.
The novel caused me too look into my everyday actions and refelect apon the long term effects they may have on. In the novel gatsby is a selfmade wealthy person, yet once he made a good life for himself, a life where he could be happy and enjoy anything he wanted to explore, gatsby wasted all his time and on petty and stupid matter. All of the people in the novel are obsessed with money and material possesions but do nothing to better themselves or improve the world around them. The people are also lacking morals in general, stemming from the adultery and organized crime aspects of the novel.
o yeh... that pertains my life becuase it is important not to be obsessed with superficial things, and to not get involved in things that will ruin your life and in the case of gatsby lead to great tradgedy.
Reading the Great Gatsby caused myself to reflect upon everything in my life now presently and in the future. I think it is interesting how Gatsby and Daisy are in love but while Gatsby is at war, she marrys Tom. Gatsby does very bad things and becomes rich enough to win Daisys heart. Daisy cheats on Tom with Gatsby.....Thats against my religion and just messed up man! Also it is funny that TOm is cheating on his wife with Myrtle. Myrtle dies and gatsby ends up getting shot.
The plot in the story helps me to understand that money isn't everything in life. And that you shouldn't cheat on your loved ones because you could randomly get shot one day by an upset husband. It also shows that killing, betrayel, and money is not the answer to your problems.
In a country where its all
about pleasure through material things, this novel really connects to to our society. I think everyones trying to become rich and happy. We see this very well through Gatsby's chase of Daisy. Gatsby`s throws his parties just so he can meet daisy.He thinks he can win Daisy back just because of his wealth. And maybe that is why she likes him again not for him but for his money. Which happens very often in our society today people are getting married and then divorced you wonder why they even married in the first place. Then there is Tom who betrays his wife and Gatsby, he cheats on his wife with Myrtle and then blames Gatsby for the killing of Myrtle. This shows what people can do just so they don't get in t rouble for it. This novel can teach you what to live for and to be faithful to your friends and know that they will be bakc to you.
I think the book is dealing with how the "great american dream" got corrupted during Gatsby's time. Gatsby thinks he's living this great pure thing but he begins to realize what he has is not truly what he set out for. His whole goal in life was to get daisy back and impress her. To do this Gatsby basically sells himself out and devotes all his time to making money and throwing this huge parties just to meet up with Daisy again. When he does get back with her its not as great as he thought it would be. The whole thing is just a let down. Gatsbys only way to be completely happy is to be dishonest. Yet this dishonesty is nothing new for him as he had a life in crime and has covered up his poor background. Even though he seems like a bad person Gatsby ultimately ends up dying not for his "hedonistic" actions but rather for loving daisy enough to take the blame for murder so she wouldnt get punished. The book really shows how the original american dream gets corrupted and the lifestyles of the upper class become deceit and selfishness. This book doesnt really pertain to my personal life that much because i don't really deal with rich guys in mansions who cheat on their wives and then go around killing people. but the symbolic message of the book can be applied somewhat to present day america.
Looking back at my youth (and even today) I can relate to Jay Gatsby. Gatsby grew up working for a millionaire. He gained his wealth by inheriting money and gambling. I also have grown up in a wealthy family where money wasn't really a concern. Gatsby was too caught up in his fantasies about Daisy to realize there were people that were not as fortunate as he. At times I forget that there are people who are struggling to get by. There are ways to help these people that are less fortunate. Getting to know these people and learning about their struggles would push me to be more proactive in ways to help them. By helping the less fortunate I educate myself to take in consideration that people might be the way they are becasue of struggles that they face.
When reading the Great Gatsby, it made me look into our on society and how it was similar. In the novel is shows what the "american dream" really is. I think the novel exposes that the american dream only has to becoming sucesful in wealth and material posesions. I think the American Dream is just a false representation of what we really want. We can only be so happy with the material possesions that come along in the "American Dream." This is evident in the novel in the life of Jay Gatsby. Jay wants to be seen as living the american dream by throwing lavish parties when the real reason for this is just to see what woud make him really happy, Daisy. Daisy is the only thing that will make him truly happy.
Another thing that stood out to me and in some ways was related to me, was the relatiionships between characters. There was a sense of disloyalty that can be related to society today. Many relationships that ive been around have ended in the disloyalty like in the novel.
Fitzgerald does a great job in using symbols in his novel to deepen and intensify the plot of the story. He depicts several characters, all of whom are somehow intertwined, that represent people or relate to people that have influenced us in our own lives. The book has caused me to understand that even though people are in a relationship or even in marriage and they think nothing of it-they enter into other affairs because of their selfishness and desire for what seems better but, in reality could actually be worse. For the most part, people in today's world judge people by they're appearance, get locked into a realtionship, and are dissatisfied when they realize what they're personalities are like-subconciously expecting them (personalities) to parallel with they're appearance. I feel that fitzgerald does a wonderful job of illustrating the various flaws in the characters "love" connections; all the characters almost seem to have a false love for each other which gives them reason to have affairs with others. Gatsby attempts to win Daisy by showing off his extravagance and wealth which he had attained by mere luck. This only shows Gatsby's desire for Daisy and Daisy's possible desire for money.
The Great Gatsby has been known as a great American novel since it was published and I do not disagree with that at all. The story is an expression of one man searching for happiness in wealth when all he really needs is the somebody's love. It's a classic basis for a story and it is played out semmingly flawlessly in this novel. Fitzgerald really accentuates his key themes with extraordinary imagery and overwhelming detail to his character's every thought, action, and word. One of the themes that I was interested in most was the theme of obscurity. He displays this theme through characters such as Gatsby, Daisy/Tom, and Nick. Gatsby's luxurious lifestyle obscures the reader's view of his past, we have no idea what Gatsby is without all the wealth and whatnot. Daisy and Tom's relationship overall seems to be a big blur of deception between both parties and each of their acts leads to more obscurity of their prior love (if they ever loved each other at all). Overall, the Great Gatsby is a classic American novel with good emphasis on themes and imagery and an interesting story to go along with it all.
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