New Historicism: The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Saloni Mehra
Mr. Johansen
AP English and Language Composition
12.1.14
The Great Gatsby
New Historicism Literary Theory

As seen from the New Historicism point of view, F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is a reflection of not only himself, but of his era as well. Fitzgerald draws from his personal experiences to depict Gatsby’s nature and encounters in life, as well as to depict the roles and personalities of the other main characters: Daisy Buchanan, Tom Buchanan, and Nick Carraway. Fitzgerald also portrays the novel through careful depiction of the Roaring Twenties itself, including societal and economic ordeals, concerns, and controversies.
F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in Minnesota in 1896 and moved to New York with his parents,
Fitzgerald accredited his achievements to “his material,” his “solid gold bar” or “stamp,” and his “double vision” which were his social experiences, his attitude of “taking thing’s hard,” and his “artistic perspective” that changed and grew to be more objective with time (Mangum). This frame of mind is distinctly seen in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, among his other novels and works. The characters in The Great Gatsby mirror Fitzgerald’s encounters with the people in his life and the social and economic uplifts and downfalls Fitzgerald experienced throughout his life’s journey. James Gatz, who later became Jay Gatsby, was also a man of acquired wealth who began life as member of the lower middle class and strove to become affluent. Gatsby, similar to Fitzgerald, enlisted in the army when he was younger and was not very financially stable. While stationed near Kentucky before being shipped off to the war, he met Daisy, the woman he would soon fall in love with. Daisy was a wealthy, beautiful young woman who captured Gatsby’s attention at once. However, like Fitzgerald’s experience with Zelda, Gatsby was turned down until he was able to financially support Daisy. Gatsby, like Fitzgerald, was hurt at first but became even more determined to win her over by acquiring wealth. Daisy, a part of the
In the previous century, it was ideal to believe in the hope and nobility. Those with money would throw their money on lavish items and parties; it was an era of carelessness and recklessness. Wild parties, illegal consumption and selling of alcohol. Consequently, this generation became known as the “Lost Generation.” Those in their young age around this time seemed to become emotionally lacking as their obsessions with materialistic ideals grew. (“Jazz Age”). As prosperity rose, this also marked the decline of the American Dream. The essence of The Great Gatsby is manifested in the decline of the American Dream which emphasized hope and the promises of life. The American Dream holds that “all, not just the privileged few, share that promise” of freedom (Hearne). Through Nick’s characterization, Gatsby is the epitome of the American Dream, as he represents the sense of falsifying the horrors of reality, as well as the corrupted values of the new age society. Fitzgerald implies that this illusion and cutting reality are deeply connected to the “American Identity” (Hearne). Through Nick, Fitzgerald’s view of the American Dream is depicted in a way that shows that no matter what the situation, as one rises to success, another falls, and that morals, more often than not, are not adhered to by