The History and Scholarship of the Novel The Great Gatsby - Literature review Example

Lecturer: Inner Emptiness in the Great Gatsby Thesis: The Great Gatsby reveals the society of roaring twenties, condemning the inner emptiness of the upper class. Introduction I am conducting a research on the novel The Great Gatsby. The Great Gatsby is a novel written in 1925 by F. Scott Fitzgerald, an American author. The novel involves a follow up on a cast of characters residing in the imaginary town of West Egg on wealthy Long Island during the summer of 1922. The novel is generally a story of a young and enigmatic millionaire Jay Gatsby and his unrealistic desire for the gorgeous woman Daisy Buchanan(Fitzgerald, 2012,pg.10). This research will involve conducting an extensive investigation to acquire all the relevant information related to the novel The Great Gatsby. Information will be collected from all significant angles to know the history and scholarship of the novel The Great Gatsby. This novel is of great significance since it focuses on the topics of idealism, opposition to change and social mayhem. The novel constructs a depiction of the society of the Roaring Twenties, which has been labeled as a deterrent tale concerning the American dream. It unravels the society of the roaring twenties, where the inner emptiness of the rich is condemned. This research will aim to prove that by writing this novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald wanted to show that inner emptiness was a significant issue during the 1920s. He purposefully wrote the novel The Great Gatsby show that inner emptiness had major effects on the behaviors and activities of the society in 1920s. Main Body Inner emptiness influenced the society in the 1920s and this is the purpose of writing the novel “The Great Gatsby”. Emptiness, when viewed as a condition in human beings, is defined as the state of overall boredom, lifelessness, and social isolation. However, in this context, inner emptiness implies a situation where a person lives in such a way that his behaviors and values do not follow the real essence of life. Inner emptiness influences the way a person behaves and therefore the character of people experiencing inner emptiness is different from the character of normal people experiencing inner fulfillment. The rich people for instance may tend to behave in a different manner from the normal people because their wealth has influenced their character and therefore their way of life may tend to deviate from the real way of life. The novel The Great Gatsby portrays 1920s as a period of moral and social values decadency. This is demonstrated by the predominant skepticism, greediness, and hollow quest for pleasure that characterized the society at that time. Jay Gatsby throws opulent parties every Saturday night, this epitomizes the reckless jubilance had resulted to decadent parties and wild jazz music. This behavior was because of emptiness that existed among the rich in the 1920s. This emptiness ultimately led to the corruption of the American dream in 1920s. The wild craving for wealth and pleasure had surpassed the desire for noble and decent goals. After the end of the World War I in 1918, the young American men who had fought in the war formed a large part of the young rich generation at that time (Pizer,1995,pg.14). The brutal carnage they had experienced during the war made them completely disillusioned. The social morality of American society in the 1920s therefore became a show of empty hypocrisy. The inner emptiness among the rich was very evident during that period. In the novel, the great Gatsby Nick places a quote after daisy leaves Gatsby. The quote “material without being real” is used to portray the existence of emptiness, where one lives in the pursuit of unrealistic goals (Berman, Ronald, 1996, pg.78). Gatsby life and behaviors are defined by his pursuit of Daisy. Although Gatsby always wanted to be rich, his key drive to acquisition of his riches was his love for Daisy Buchanan. Jay Gatsby met Daisy when he was a young man who served as a military officer in Louisville. Gatsby was quick to fall in love with impression of extravagance, elegance, and charisma, which Daisy possessed. However, Gatsby had to make up lies about his background so that he could persuade Daisy that he was the perfect man for her. After a short while, Gatsby had to leave for the war, Daisy promised Gatsby that she would wait for him to return from the war. Daisy does not live up to his promise and in 1919 while Gatsby was studying in Oxford after the war, Daisy goes on to marry Tom Buchanan. When Gatsby realized what had transpired, he dedicated his all his life activities towards realization of one main goal. Gatsby acquires a lot of wealth, purchases a glitzy mansion in West Egg, and throws extravagant weekly parties all in the aim of winning Daisy back. Gatsby life is a portrayal of emptiness where one exists with the purpose of realization of what in reality is an unrealistic goal. Gatsby existence in the unrealistic pursuit of Daisy and his materialistic fragility was not worth putting all those efforts as he did. However, the Inner emptiness in Gatsby’s life justifies his idealistic efforts. His dream of winning back Daisy crumbles when he is shot dead. This serves as an indicator of the worthlessness of his goal. F. Scott Fitzgerald in his shaping of the character of Jay Gatsby, he wanted to portray the Inner emptiness among the rich in the society of the 1920s. Most of the rich people at that time employed all means possible to make sure they acquired riches. They acquired those riches for various reasons. However, what was common among them was the fact that most of these reasons were unrealistic. The death of Jay Gatsby at the end reveals the corruption that is caused by wealth. The author portrays the disintegrating American dream of 1920s caused by the unethical quest for riches. This unethical quest for riches was influenced by the inner emptiness in the society of 1920s (Matterson, Stephen, 1990, pg.44). The novel The Great Gatsby proves that even though the upper class possess riches, they are not happy as expected. There is emptiness among the rich that cannot be filled even by their wealth (Fitzgerald & Edmund, 2009, “The Rich Boy” paragraph 3). The saying “money cannot buy happiness” is therefore justified. While Gatsby was furthering his education in Oxford, Daisy marries Tom Buchanan. Daisy did not marry Tom out of love but instead married him because Tom came from the a wealthy family. Daisy still loved Jay Gatsby. Tom uses his riches to lure Daisy into a marriage with him. However, Tom does not experience the happiness he had hoped for when he married Daisy. Tom has an affair outside his marriage. He has an extramarital affair with Myrtle. This is seen as a desperate move in quest for happiness which he does not get in his marriage to Daisy. Jay Gatsby even after acquiring all his riches, he is not happy. He has an emptiness which only Daisy can fill. Gatsby attaches his happiness to Daisy and would not find happiness until Daisy agrees to leave Tom and get back to him. He sees Daisy greater than she actually is. However, he finally realizes daisy will not leave Tom but still harbors hopes that Daisy will change her mind. The novel The Great Gatsby greatly explores the relationships among the rich people. The author explores the contrast and relations between the new millionaires of the 1920s and the old nobility of the richest families in the country. There are two contrasting sides in the novel, the East Egg and the West Egg. The East Egg and its surroundings portray the old nobility. The Buchanan family comes from East Egg. The West Egg on the other side is a portrayal of the new millionaires. The old nobility retains elegance and social stylishness(Bruccoli,1985,pg.41). An example is the flowing white dress worn by Jordan Baker as well as the stylish home owned by the Buchanans .On the other side , the new millionaires are presented as being uncouth, flamboyant and they do not possess social stylishness. An example of the new millionaires is Jay Gatsby. He lives in a large glitzy mansion, drives a Rolls-Royce, and does not regard social signals for instance the deviousness of Sloanes’ lunch invitation. These contrasting behaviors between the old nobility and the new millionaires are a result of inner emptiness in each of them. They are driven by illusions, which influence their behaviors and way of life. The old nobility believe that more wealth has the ability to ease their mind since they can afford a more elegant life(Chastain, Emma,2004, pg.316). They are portrayed as being inhuman, they do not mind about other people. When Gatsby dies for instance, the Buchanas do not seem to mind about this and instead of attending his funeral, they move to a new house located in a far location. The new millionaires for instance on their side are driven by imaginary desires and do not for a moment imagine failure. Jay Gatsby’s behavior is as a result of his unrealistic pursuit of Daisy, he gets killed at the end signifying a failure of his imaginary pursuit. Inner emptiness was the major influence on the way the two groups of the wealthy people of 1920s behaved in their life. They disregarded most normal way of life and followed life in their own definition so as to achieve their unrealistic goals. This pursuit of unrealistic goals led to desire for more wealth and therefore increase in illegal money acquisition activities. This is why the American dream of 1920s turned out to be a mere illusion that could not thrive in such a corrupt society. The dizzying growth of the stock market after the World War I had ended resulted to a continued rise in national wealth(Newton, Mitchell,2009,pg.201). This rise in national wealth led to newfound desire in the society, for riches and pleasure. The society at this time lacked social and moral values. They became completely disillusioned and people became extravagant, spending, and consuming at extraordinary levels. This way, the American dream of 1920s was completely forgotten as inner emptiness consumed the society. During this period, people from any class in the society could make a fortune. However, the originally rich American families for instance the Buchanans scorned the newly rich for their lack of taste and elegance. Also during this period, the Eighteenth Amendment was passed in 1919; this amendment banned the sale of alcohol(Blocker et al,2003, pg.2). This ban led to creation of an underworld cartel designed to satisfy the demand for illicit liquor in the society. Those involved in this business for instance made a lot of wealth for instance Jay Gatsby seems to be acquiring his riches from such fraudulent activities. Conclusion The novel the Great Gatsby is a portrayal of the American post World War I society(Donaldson,2001,pg.15). The author succeeds in showing how inner emptiness influenced the behaviors and activities among the rich in the American society of 1920s. He uses the character of Jay Gatsby to show how many of the young men after the World War I got lost in their pursuit of unrealistic goals. Instead of pursuing noble goals, they were consumed in materialism and desire for wealth and pleasure. Inner emptiness in Jay Gatsby leads him to a very idealistic path of pursuing a beautiful woman Daisy Buchanan. In the death of Jay Gatsby at the end, the author successfully proves the unrealism of the goals followed by the society at that time. The novel the Great Gatsby is a portrayal of the crumbling American dream of the 1920s. The society in the 1920s became disillusioned as it was consumed in the pursuit of unrealistic goals. People at that time engaged in illegal business activities to satisfy their desire of wealth. The author uses the parties that jay Gatsby throws every Saturday night to portray how the society was consumed in the pursuit of pleasure leading to the disintegration of the American dream. Inner emptiness was the main purpose of writing the novel, The Great Gatsby. This is proved by the fact that inner emptiness is the sole cause of most of the activities that take place. The unrealistic pursuit of Daisy by Jay Gatsby is because of inner emptiness in the young and rich man. Inner emptiness in the society was the main reason the American dream of the 1920 crumbled. People engage in pleasurable activities and pursuit of wealth due to the hollowness inside them. This hollowness is the reason they lack noble desires but are controlled by their unrealistic desire for wealth and pleasure. Work cited Academic sources Berman, Ronald. The Great Gatsby and Modern Times. Urbana, Ill. [u.a.: Univ. of Illinois Press, 1996. Print. http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=ERy7UWArfIoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Berman,+Ronald.+The+Great+Gatsby+and+Modern+Times&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2ryEU_GwJ8iO7AbomoDYBg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Berman%2C%20Ronald.%20The%20Great%20Gatsby%20and%20Modern%20Times&f=false Matterson, Stephen. The Great Gatsby: An Introduction to the Variety of Criticism. Basingstoke u.a: Macmillan Education, 1990. Print. http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=_ISuAAAAIAAJ&q=Matterson,+Stephen.+The+Great+Gatsby:+An+Introduction+to+the+Variety+of+Criticism&dq=Matterson,+Stephen.+The+Great+Gatsby:+An+Introduction+to+the+Variety+of+Criticism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Jr2EU6aqA-r07Ab9hoDQDA&redir_esc=y Chastain, Emma. Literature. New York, NY: Sparknotes, 2004. Print. http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=DlzwgasGc2oC&pg=PR2&dq=Chastain,+Emma.+Literature.+New+York,+NY:+Sparknotes,+2004&hl=en&sa=X&ei=bL2EU_TFF9Pe7AaZvIBg&redir_esc=y Newton-Matza, Mitchell. Jazz Age: People and Perspectives. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2009. Print. http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=MX6fLIDvWKUC&pg=PR4&dq=Newton-Matza,+Mitchell.+Jazz+Age:+People+and+Perspectives.+Santa+Barbara,+Calif:+ABC-CLIO,+%092009.&hl=en&sa=X&ei=vL2EU_jqBoit7Qbn7YCYBQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Newton-Matza%2C%20Mitchell.%20Jazz%20Age%3A%20People%20and%20Perspectives.%20Santa%20Barbara%2C%20Calif%3A%20ABC-CLIO%2C%20%092009.&f=false Other sources Fitzgerald, F S. The Great Gatsby. London: Urban Romantics, 2012. Print. Blocker, Jack S, David M. Fahey, and Ian R. Tyrrell. Alcohol and Temperance in Modern History: An International Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2003. Print. Fitzgerald, F S, and Edmund Wilson. The Crack-Up. New York: NDP, 2009. Print. Donaldson, Scott. Hemingway Vs. Fitzgerald: The Rise and Fall of a Literary Friendship. Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press, 2001. Print. Pizer, Donald. The Cambridge Companion to American Realism and Naturalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Internet resource Bruccoli, Matthew J. New Essays on the Great Gatsby. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1985. Print. Read More