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The Great Gatsby. By: F. Scott Fitzgerald. “’Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.’” –Nick Carraway, The Great Gatsby. F. Scott Fitzgerald.
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The Great Gatsby By: F. Scott Fitzgerald “’Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.’” –Nick Carraway, The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald • Born September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota. • Second cousin to Francis Scott Key, author of the National Anthem. • Attended Princeton University in 1913. • Met wife Zelda while stationed with the Army at camp Sheridan. • Wrote many books including The Great Gatsby, This Side of Paradise, and The Romantic Egotist.
Summary • Nick Carraway, the narrator of the novel, moves to New York in the summer of 1922. There, he eventually meets the legendary Jay Gatsby. Gatsby makes it known that he is in love with a neighbor in west egg, Daisy Buchanan. The elaborate parties he throws and all the lavish things he has are just an attempt to impress Daisy. They eventually start an affair.
Summary, Cont. Daisy’s husband, Tom, finds out about the affair and is outraged (even though he is having an affair with Myrtle). He confronts Gatsby in New York. Daisy drove Gatsby’s car home and hit Myrtle. Myrtle died and the blame was placed on Gatsby. He was shot and killed by Myrtle’s husband, George, who killed himself shortly after.
Attention Getter Have you ever wondered when exactly our good and wholesome America was lead astray?
Thesis The Great Gatsby shows a changing America because it portrays themes of moral corruption, culture clash, and chasing the American dream.
Moral Corruption • Americans began to do whatever it took to get rich quick. • Bootlegging and gambling became popular. • People ditched their religious values for immoral things that made them money.
Moral Corruption • Hollow friendships were made. • The characters in the book wanted so badly to have friends, but only to make them look better. • People would go to parties to make an appearance, and never greet the host. • When Gatsby dies, no one goes to his funeral.
Culture Clash • East Egg versus West Egg • The East represented the old aristocracy. • The people of the East were born into their wealth and didn’t do much to keep it. • The West represented the self-made rich. • These people gained money usually through illegal activity like bootlegging.
Culture Clash • The old aristocracy looked down on the newly, self-made rich. • The people of West Egg were believed to be not as sophisticated, tasteful, or as well-rounded as the East Eggers. • Fitzgerald used the geographical difference in the book to represent the bigger picture: America. • He showed how the nation is separated into two parts, the east and the west. The people in the east part of the country were more snobby, while people of the west were more laid-back.
Chasing the American Dream • “Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values, evidenced in its overarching cynicism, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure.” • People were in constant search of the American dream, only to realize that it was self-made.
Chasing the American Dream • The American dream was an American's promise that their life would someday be perfect. • It was sought after, but people went about it the wrong way. • Instead of doing things in a good, moral sense, people were indecent and immoral, and, therefore, never reached the dream.
Excerpt • “Gatsby’s eyes floated toward her. ‘Ah,’ she cried, ‘you look so cool.’ Their eyes met, and they stared at each other, alone in space… ‘You always look so cool,’ she repeated. She had told him that she loved him, and Tom Buchunan saw.” – Daisy to Gatsby
Excerpt Breakdown • That part of the book in chapter seven basically shows the love affair between Daisy and Jay. The two are always caught in a locked, passionate gaze. People began to take notice, as it said Tom knew she loved Jay Gatsby.
Re-stated Thesis Moral corruption, culture clash, and the never-ending pursuit of the American dream lead to a revolutionized nation.
Conclusion • While the people of the 1920s were not solely responsible for the turn-for-the-worse America took, they did help set it in motion. • Greed, dishonesty, and immorality may work at the time, but will not get you far in the long-run.
Bibliography • www.sparknotes.com • www.cliffsnotes.com • The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
