A Textual Analysis of The Great Gatsby - Essay Example

A Textual Analysis of “The Great Gatsby” Introduction Literature plays a major role in shaping social life and humanity. As the human race strives for development in all aspects, different issues impact on social integration and interaction. Literature pinpoints such issues, analyses their influence on humanity and the virtues that define it, and shuns and promotes them depending on their influence on the society. Literary artists apply different literary devices and techniques to bring out different themes in their work. Written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, pointed out the major issues that influenced life in the early 20th century. Fitzgerald, however, depicts timelessness in the work by handling themes that remain highly relevant hitherto. The author tackles the themes of love, gender/gender roles, and sex, social decadence, wealth and commodification among others. Through the themes, the author manages to articulately bring out the major issues of concern in the society, while at the same time enhancing characterization. Analysis In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald depicts great expertise in the way he develops the story through characterization, proper thematic development, and an effective fictional setting. He follows the life of Gatsby and other characters keenly, their quest to live a fulfilling life, their thoughts and plans, and the different issues that influence their relations. Success in the presentation of the life in the society at the time is brought by the application of a narrator’s voice, which mainly follows the life Jay Gatsby, Nick Caraway, Daisy Fay Buchanan, and Tom. The issue of interest in the work is the way the author intertwines the story and characterization, giving it an exquisite flow, and a touch that makes it an exciting read. For instance, the relationship between Gatsby, who is deeply in love with Daisy (Tom’s wife), Tom, and Nick, is well outlined, and serves to develop different themes and characters. Fitzgerald tackles the issues of relationships, love, sex, and marriage in depth. As existential psychology dictates, these issues form the social cord upon which the society/humanity is built (Bullough, Faan and Bullough 222). As individuals focus on full development of self, relationships, friendship and love are of great essence. Through the life of Gatsby, Fitzgerald explores the insatiable quest by the human race to find love, concern, and care. These virtues lead to the development of relationships that make life fulfilling. Gatsby strives to revive the romantic relationship with Daisy, a woman he once loved. Despite the existing challenges, Gatsby relentlessly finds all possible ways to win Daisy back. He is willing to live a lavish life unwillingly in order to impress her, though with the knowledge that she is already married (The New York World 195). The efforts reveal the value of love, the importance of relationship, and the struggle for man to belong. Moreover, it reveals the extent to which the society undermined marriage, as both Daisy and Tom have affairs, though married. Through the life of Gatsby, the author analyses the issue of wealth and commodification to a great depth. By covering these issues, the author tackled a social concern that existed since antiquity hitherto. People strive to achieve success in all aspects. However, the accumulation of material wealth remains a driving goal for most people. This leads to the adoption of different ways for amassing wealth, some dubious some genuine. In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby, is a wealthy man who uses his money extravagantly on parties. In addition, the means of his income is uncertain to people. Tom insinuates that he is into bootlegging. According to this, Tom asks, “Who is this Gatsby anyhow?...Some big bootlegger?” (Fitzgerald 115). Moreover, some ladies inform us of the same issue. To this they say, “he’s a bootlegger…one time he killed a man who had found out he was nephew to Hindenburg and second cousin to the devil” (F. Fitzgerald 62). All notwithstanding, Gatsby uses his wealth as a tool to attract Daisy. This reveals the height to which people can go to attain wealth, how they misuse it, and the extent of commodification within the society. The issues of gender, gender roles, and sexuality are clearly outlined in The Great Gatsby, painting the society as it was then until now. For long, gender and sexuality have remained key issues that influence social interaction and integration. The human life seems to be defined by gender and sexuality (Lopata and Levy 46). Different perceptions exist that outline how people from the two genders should live and interact. While this is the case, gender influences the roles each individual in the society plays. While certain issues are a norm among the male gender, the same are perceived as unacceptable among the female gender. For instance, while in an affair with Myrtle Wilson, Tom is offended when he finds out that Daisy was having an affair with Gatsby. The same issue is evident in today’s society. Moreover, other issues such as gender stereotypes, which mostly seem to affect women are issues of concern (Berman 144). Conclusion Through The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald manages to point out the major issues of concern within the society with admirable timelessness. Such issues as gender and gender roles, sex, love, and marriage are of great concern to the society. Some like love and relationships influence the development of selves and the society in a significant way. The author tackles the issues articulately, making sure that the audience receives the message with the weight it carries. The achievement of the author’s objective was dependent on different stylistic devices, character development, and an effective setting. Works Cited Berman, Ronald. The great Gatsby and Fitzgeralds world of ideas. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1997. Print Bullough, Vern L, ‎Vern L. Faan and ‎Bonnie Bullough. Human Sexuality: An Encyclopedia. Abingdon: Routledge, 2014.Print Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Lisboa: Atlântico Press, 2012.Print Fitzgerald, F.Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Kiddy Monster Publisher, 2014.Print Lopata, Helena Znaniecka and Judith A Levy. Social problems across the life course. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2003.Print The New York World. The Great Gatsby. New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1925.Print Read More