There are many ways in which Jay Gatsby is portrayed as the physical embodiment of the American Dream, is his death Fitzgerald's way of criticising the changing idea of the American Dream, or its delusion/reality or the changing of American values in some way?
This is a good topic, but it is also an incredibly overdone topic - this is in fact the basis of final year high school essays the world over. However, that said it does not diminish the fact that this topic is one that continues to resonate. The idea of the death of the American Dream has been going on since the 20s. I think a more pertinent question at this point would be to ask is the American Dream actually dead? If so why is it still at the heart of so much popular culture? – SaraiMW7 years ago
Analyze what makes The Great Gatsby such an enduring piece of literature — the 1920s was long ago, as is its culture, and yet we continue to read the book and see pieces of ourselves in the characters. What is it about the writing, the scenario, or the characters that continue relentlessly, beat on, boats against the current?
I think it might be useful/helpful to think about if any core themes of the novel still resonate with readers today. I would argue that despite the many changes have occurred in America in the past 90 years, there are still fundamental themes and ideas at the center of Gatsby that remain core/essential to the American experience today.
Also, the writing is immensely beautiful. – SeanGadus8 years ago
I think the 'tickle in the fancy' with the Gatsby is that we can all relate to the images that emanate from the rituals of the not-so-common part of society. If we were to look more closely, even the lower strata of society would have its own version of the 'Ghetto ' Gatsby and that's what I feel draws the reader (or the viewer) into the appealing characters, happenstance, and yearning for abundance in generous times. Shakespearean drama took place even earlier than the 1920s; yet, the plays cry out to our past failures, future hopes in ways that seem more contemporary than distant. I guess, Mario Puzo is the best analogy I can give to the effect that Gatsby has on the unsuspecting reader, the discerning writer, and the public at large; through his Godfather saga. – lofreire7 years ago
This topic calls for an analysis of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, specifically in regards to how both wealth and poverty are portrayed within the novel. How do the rich live in East and West Egg as opposed to the poor in the Valley of Ashes? What is implied by this portrayal? What can readers learn from Fitzgerald's portrayal about attitudes about class in the 1920s?
Wealth and poverty have always been tangled together in the landscape of the class struggles of the 1920s. The way they are depicted in the novel is a brutal, realistic representation of the realities of the time. – Kaya8 years ago
