The best advice I ever got about reading came from the critic and scholar Louis Menand. Back in 2005‚ I spent six months in Boston and‚ for the fun of it‚ sat in on a lit seminar he was teaching at Harvard. The week we were to read Gertrude Stein’s notoriously challenging Tender Buttons‚ one student raised her hand and asked—bravely‚ I thought—if Menand had any advice about how best to approach it. In response‚ he offered up the closest thing to a beatific smile I have ever seen on the face of a
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Correspondingly‚ Fitzgerald‚ like all authors‚ wrote The Great Gatsby for a reason more than just the 1920s life in its splendor. In the book‚ The Great Gatsby‚ characters are wealthy seemingly beyond measure. For example‚ they have cars to take them to the fanciest party in East Egg‚ and the women can afford to stay home. East Egg stands out in contrast to West Egg with its glamour and excess‚ but much of that glamour comes with a price. Jewels replaced morality‚ and money replaced relationships
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“Everyone suspects himself at least one of the cardinal virtues and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.”-Nick Carraway. Nick is an impartial‚ honest‚ and loyal character. He gives readers a detailed‚ accurate account of the events pertaining to Gatsby’s life. Nick spends time with Gatsby and Tom even though they do not like each other. In The Great Gatsby‚ by F. Scott Fitzgerald‚ the color gray is continually used to show Nick’s impartiality to the characters
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The Great Gatsby exemplifies the 1920’s as the age of deteriorated ethical beliefs‚ demonstrated through cynicism‚ self-indulgence‚ and a meaningless hunt for satisfaction. Careless glory in which followed to corrupt celebrations and crazy jazz music epitomized in The Great Gatsby. All resulting in the exploitation of the American dream‚ as the uncontrolled aspiration for money and desire exceeded additional self-sacrificing goals. Scott Fitzgerald presents the unique characteristics of the American
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The Great Gatsby by Scott F Fitzgerald is a book about a millionaire named Jay Gatsby who seeks to be with his lover‚ Daisy‚ even though she is already married. The book is narrated by Gatsby’s neighbor Nick Caraway‚ who observes Gatsby’s relationship with Daisy and the conflicts Gatsby faces along the way. Gatsby lives the American dream of being popular and wealthy‚ while Nick is a shadow who watches Gatsby’s and the other characters’ actions. As an outsider‚ Nick is able to observe the main characters
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Critic Philip Weinstein proposed that during the 18th through early 20th century‚ the west loved stories about flawed characters overcoming their problems and understanding the world. Even the worst villain could mature. Weinstein said next came the modernist movement which had authors snubbing this narrative. Characters‚ like real people‚ could never fully understand the world‚ themselves‚ or others. In The Great Gatsby‚ the characters are all very troubled. They cheat on their spouses‚ commit murder
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are the great flaws in the character of main characters and how this lead Gatsby walk into the depths of despair? Let’s start from Gatsby. Gatsby is a typical representative who tries all his life to pursue “the American dream”. First of all‚ what he followed is not “reality principle” but “pleasure principle”. That means ephemeral and harmful pleasant sensation and satisfaction happened in front of him is the only thing which he lays emphasis on. The root of his pleasant sensation is to get back the
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The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald reveals many things about society in the 1920s. Throughout the book‚ Fitzgerald suggests that people are not happy or satisfied with who they are‚ so they create perceptions around themselves to fit into society‚ whether it be for love‚ status‚ or wealth. Many people will do anything to impress those they love because the alternative is being alone. Some build their entire life and personality around those loves. For example‚ Gatsby has built his entire life
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The Great Gatsby is a magnificently written story about the loss of love‚ the problems of American wealth‚ and the reality of life. With these themes in mind‚ it is important to remember that in our complex reality‚ not all men are only sexually attracted to women as some would commonly assume. The character of Nick Carraway in F. Scott Fitzgerald ’s The Great Gatsby can be characterized as sexually ambiguous and emotionally insecure. On the one hand‚ Nick Carraway is a person who came from an upper
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The story of Jay Gatsby is deep with meaning and with many different interpretations. In The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald shows us how society acted during the roaring 20’s. He provides us with views into worlds of love‚ money‚ power‚ and moral blindness of the time by using symbols with everyday objects and occurrences. In The Great Gatsby there are many symbols but the most important symbols are the colors white‚ yellow (gold)‚ and the green light. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses these colors to symbolize
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