“the Great Gatsby Is a Story of Infatuation and Disenchantment”. How Far and in What Ways Do You Agree with This View of the Great Gatsby and One Other Novel You Have Read.
“The Great Gatsby is a story of infatuation and disenchantment”. How far and in what ways do you agree with this view of The Great Gatsby and one other novel you have read.
The Great Gatsby is a novel that, superficially, seems like the tragic story of infatuation and misunderstanding. However, set in 1920s America, it can be read in a number of different ways. This post-war period was a time of economic boom and rapid change in technological advances led to fashionable, more affluent and carefree lives. Alcohol was banned as a direct response to hedonism of the time but ironically it encouraged corruption and a black market. The speed of change and modernity was both exciting and overwhelming. Thus we see that this was a time of glamour and corruption, excitement and emptiness, infatuation and disenchantment.
The novel satirises the hedonistic society of the past, explores the futile search for the American Dream (the idea that any person can achieve material success and therefore “happiness” through hard work) and reveals the comparisons between glittering illusion and harsh reality. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid also explores the themes of enchantment and disillusionment. Changez tells of how he became infatuated with America/ Erica and then grew disappointed and disillusioned by them. This mirrors Gatsby and Nick’s pursuit of individual dreams that fascinate at first but then prove to be unattainable and improbable i.e. initial infatuation giving way to disenchantment.
The story of Gatsby explores the rags-to-riches tale (from poor James Gatz to glamorous Jay Gatsby), appearing to demonstrate the possibility of achieving the American Dream. However, the dream is shown to be unattainable; Gatsby’s materialistic achievements are empty; he fails to win Daisy and after his death he is revealed as isolated and his dream as deluded.
The style of Gatsby is distinct; romantic and sensual. This dreamy, Keatsian prose suggests the enchantment of the
The Great Gatsby is a novel that, superficially, seems like the tragic story of infatuation and misunderstanding. However, set in 1920s America, it can be read in a number of different ways. This post-war period was a time of economic boom and rapid change in technological advances led to fashionable, more affluent and carefree lives. Alcohol was banned as a direct response to hedonism of the time but ironically it encouraged corruption and a black market. The speed of change and modernity was both exciting and overwhelming. Thus we see that this was a time of glamour and corruption, excitement and emptiness, infatuation and disenchantment.
The novel satirises the hedonistic society of the past, explores the futile search for the American Dream (the idea that any person can achieve material success and therefore “happiness” through hard work) and reveals the comparisons between glittering illusion and harsh reality. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid also explores the themes of enchantment and disillusionment. Changez tells of how he became infatuated with America/ Erica and then grew disappointed and disillusioned by them. This mirrors Gatsby and Nick’s pursuit of individual dreams that fascinate at first but then prove to be unattainable and improbable i.e. initial infatuation giving way to disenchantment.
The story of Gatsby explores the rags-to-riches tale (from poor James Gatz to glamorous Jay Gatsby), appearing to demonstrate the possibility of achieving the American Dream. However, the dream is shown to be unattainable; Gatsby’s materialistic achievements are empty; he fails to win Daisy and after his death he is revealed as isolated and his dream as deluded.
The style of Gatsby is distinct; romantic and sensual. This dreamy, Keatsian prose suggests the enchantment of the
Bibliography: 1 Mark Schorer in “Major Writers of America” (New York, 1962), P157. 2 F. Scott Fitzgerald in “The Jazz Age: ‘It was borrowed time anyhow’” from “Critical Studies: ‘The Great Gatsby’”, Page 12. 3 Lionel Trilling in “F. Scott Fitzgerald” (New York, 1953). Sources Read: -F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, Oxford World Classics -Mohsin Hamid, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Penguin Fiction -Sarah Churchwell, The Vision that made Gatsby Great, Times Newspaper, October 1, 2009