Failure and the Degeneration of America in Fitzgerald’s...

The Great Gatsby is a bold and damning social commentary of America which critiques its degeneration from a nation of infinite hope and opportunity to a place of moral destitution. The novel is set during the Roaring Twenties, an era of outrageous excesses, wild lavish parties and sadly, an era of regret and lost potential. As the audience, they take us on a journey guided and influenced by the moral voice of Nick Carraway, a character who is simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life. Nevertheless, when Carraway rejects the East, returning to the comparatively secure morality of his ancestral West, we realize that gaiety was merely a thin facade, and that behind it†¦show more content†¦All Gatsby wants is to seize the green light in his fingers but light is intangible, and like Gatsbys dream, it will always remain beyond his grasp. Gatsby is trapped in a state of timelessness where his future is an illusory reflection of this past. His unbridled imagination has created a world in which reality is undefined to itself and thus through this wilderness of illusions, Gatsby attempts to realize the possibilities of life. Such was the colossal vitality of Gatsbys illusion that he believed that his social status could recreate the past. Why of course you can, was his automatic response. Yet once the party was over, reality begins to dominate and tragically, Gatsby falls to his demise. Gatsby finds himself in a world material without real and as he looked up at an unfamiliar sky through frightening leaves... he found what a grotesque thing a rose is and how raw the sunlight was upon the scarcely created grass. Confronted by reality, Gatsby realizes how disgusting it really is compared to his world of illusions. Yet while the whole caravansary had fallen in like a card house, Fitzgerald questions the essence of reality and asks us if it is really worth sanctifying. He demonstrates that given the ugliness of Gatsbys surroundings, his dream served a purpose, though it led to utter destruction. Fitzgerald parallels Gatsbys demise with the degenerationShow MoreRelatedAnalytical Essay On The Great Gatsby1048 Words   |  5 PagesThe Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, is hailed as a masterpiece of American fiction. The author, F. Scott Fitzgerald offers up a commentary on the American society of which he was a part. He successfully encapsulates the mood of a generation during a politically and socially crucial and chaotic period of American history. In fact, The Great Gatsby stands as a brilliant piece of English literature, offering a vivid peek into American life in the 1920s. Fitzgerald carefully setsRead MoreANALIZ TEXT INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS28843 Words   |  116 Pagesthe text reveals under close examination. Any literary work is unique. It is created by the author in accordance with his vision and is permeated with his idea of the world. The reader’s interpretation is also highly individual and depends to a great extent on his knowledge and personal experience. That’s why one cannot lay down a fixed â€Å"model† for a piece of critical appreciation. Nevertheless, one can give information and suggestions that may prove helpful. PLOT The Elements of Plot When we