Themes of The Great Gatsby

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Themes of The Great Gatsby

• By F. Scott Fitzgerald

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The Decline of the American Dream in the 1920s

• The disintegration of the American Dream in an
  era of prosperity and material excess
• Unrestrained desire for money and pleasure
  surpassed more noble goals
• Americans who fought in the War, disillusioned
• New Wealth scorned by old wealth
• Rich industrialists, speculators and bootleggers
  vs. old wealth

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Decline--continued

• American Dreamdiscovery, individualism and
  pursuit of happiness
• 1920s, as portrayed in The Great Gatsby, easy
  money and relaxed social values have corrupted
  this dreamon East Coast
• Gatsbys dream of loving Daisy is ruined by
  social class status
• He needs to resort to crime to impress her
• She needs rampant materialism to support her
  lifestyle

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The Meaning of the Past

• The Past holds something that both Gatsby and
  Nick long for
• A simpler, better, nobler time
• Tom, Daisy and Jordan are creatures of the
  presentso attractive, but so rootless and
  spiritually empty

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The Hollowness of the Upper Class

• East Eggold aristocracy
• West Eggnewly rich, vulgar, ostentatious and
  lacking social graces and taste
• Gatsbyornate mansion, pink suit, Rolls-Royce,
  but does not pick up on the insincerity of the
  Sloanes invitation to lunch
• Old aristocracygrace, taste, elegance epitomized
  by the Buchanans tasteful home, flowing white
  dresses

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The Hollowness--continued

• Old aristocracylack heartcareless,
  inconsiderate bullies dont worry about hurting
  others
• The Buchanans purchase a new house at the end
  fickle and uncaring
• West EggersGatsby, sincere and loyal heart

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The Education of a Young Man

• The Great Gatsby, a story of Nicks initiation
  into life
• Trip East gives him the education he needs to
  grow up
• He hits 30, he realizes his youth is over, and he
  needs to reevaluate his choices
• Nick, writes The Great Gatsby to show us what he
  learned

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The Great Gatsby Point of View

• The I of the novel becomes ourselves, and we,
  like Nick, wonder who Gatsby is
• By writing from limited first person point of
  view, gives it an air of realism
• We find out more about Gatsby because Nick does
• We care about Gatsby because Nick does

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Motifs in The Great Gatsby

• Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or
  literary devices that can help to develop and
  inform the texts major themes
• Geographyplaces and settings epitomize aspects
  of the 1920s American society
• Weatherthe weather in the novel matches the
  emotional and narrative tone of the story
• Rain (melancholy), sun (love reawakens), hottest
  day (confrontation)

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Symbols

• The Green Light
• The Valley of Ashes
• The Eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg--?