Introduction

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote 'The Great Gatsby' in 1925. It follows a series of individuals living on Long Island, New York, through the summer of 1922. On the surface, this is a love story: a tale of unsatisfied relationships and thwarted lovers. However, on a deeper level, the characters - their dreams, aspirations, and actions - represent the changing America of the 1920s. Fitzgerald reflects on the shifting ideals of a newly wealthy population, on the perpetuation of class as a defining influence on happiness, and on the fading relevance of the American Dream. His colorful, vivid prose, cynical humor and larger-than-life characters created a timeless masterpiece which is, still, very much a mark of its time.

Program of Reading

Context

• The American Dream

This concept speaks to the ideals with which European settlers arrived to the continent, and to the dreams and hopes they had for the future of this 'New World', including democracy and the potential of all to progress with hard work. This original outlook developed into a shared cultural fantasy, which persisted into American society, and arguably still exists today.

• World War I

This book was written - and is set - just after World War One, which ended in 1918. This context is important; many of the characters (Nick & Gatsby) had fought in the war, and it was the horrors of warfare that helped to prompt the cynicism which perpetrates the tone of Fitzgerald's prose. The war also led to a rejection of the old Victorian-based morality which previously saturated American life; many had died, thousands risked their lives, now people wanted to be able to enjoy themselves. The heady reckless pleasure-seeking, and jazz movement enjoyed in the novel can be seen as a symptom of this.

• Abstinence & Bootlegging

In 1919 the Eighteenth Amendment was passed, which made the selling of alcohol illegal. This in turn led to the rise of an illegal, underground scene of its trade and consumption. 'Bootlegging' refers to the illegal trade of alcohol. 'Speakeasies' were undergroud, secret establishments for its consumption. This context facilitated the illicit making of money in secret channels, exemplified in the characters of Meyer Wolfshiem and of Gatsby himself.

Main Characters

Themes

• The Decline of the American Dream

The Great Gatsby' represents the decline of the 'American Dream' as a shared cultural fantasy, where the original values - of discovery, individualism, and the pursuit of happiness - are seen to have been corrupted and lost. The unbridled materialism and empty pursuit of pleasure of the 1920s - epitomized in Gatsby's parties - are shown to have replaced the original, more noble values of the US. New economic prosperity led to a 'get-rich-quick' mindset, with many seeking illegal ways to make money (Wolfshiem & Gatsby). The novel questions the continued relevance or possibility of realizing the original American Dream as Gatsby fails to recapture a lost past with Daisy, a past which, like the class and aristocracy she represents, is inevitably out of his reach.

• Old Money' vs 'New Money'

In the novel we see tension between 'old money' - the American aristocracy, or families with inherited wealth and the morals they uphold - and 'new money' - wealth recently gained in the new economic prosperity of the US. These seperate spheres are represented in the geography of West and East Egg: two distinct areas within eyesight, yet seperated by a bay. The Buchanans epitomize 'old money': proud, classy and elegant; the people at Gatsby's parties (who disgust the Buchanans) illustrate the contemporary mad scramble for success and wealth; whilst Gatsby (and his business associate Wolfshiem) personify those who have become recently wealthy through immoral means. The book shows us that the two worlds cannot be reconciled, despite Gatsby's ambitions.

• Class

Fitzgerald suggests to the reader that class dictates everything in society, especially romantic relationships. Gatsby only feels he is able to court Daisy once he has amassed a huge fortune, and, in the end, it is class dynamics which determine which couples will get their happy ending. Class also determines accountability; the elite status of the Buchanans allows them to evade responsibility for their actions, whilst those of lower social status (such as the Wilsons) suffer tragically for others' transgressions.

Symbols

• The Green Light

The green light that shines at the end of the Buchanans' dock, which can be seen from Gatsby's garden, represents, for Gatsby, his dreams and aspirations for the future. In particular, it represents his love for Daisy, and his ambition to marry her and so join the aristocracy. In a broader sense, the light represents the American dream; at one moment Nick compares it to America, rising out of the ocean to meet the early settlers.

• The Valley of Ashes

This desolate stretch of land that lies between East and West Egg, the product of industrial pollution, represents the moral and social waste and ruin which results from the thoughtless consumption and materialism of the rich. It also speaks to the fate of the poor, who suffer unjustly and unequally whilst the rich enjoy themselves.

• The Eyes of Dr T. J. Eckleburg

For George Wilson, the eyes of Dr T.J. Eckleburg (an old advertisement in the valley of ashes) represent the eyes of God, observing and judging all. Fitzgerald himself doesn't make this connection, or seem to agree with George, and shows us the way in which often things are imbued with meaning only in the eyes of individuals. We instill meaning into things in the way we understand them. The eyes essentially do not mean anything, and it is entirely arbitrary the process by which we invest meaning into objects. In turn, this reflects back to a central theme of the novel, that of the emptiness of symbols and dreams, and decline of the American Dream. Just as the early settlers invested in America meaning and purpose, so too do characters in Fitzgerald's novel instill meaning into otherwise-meaningless objects.