Great Gatsby Is Indisputably One

¶ … GREAT GATSBY is indisputably one of the greatest novels of the 20th century. Written by Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, the novel described the disillusioned and rather surreal life in 1920s America. This was the time of dramatic social and economic changes. The Roaring twenties is the title used to define this era when everyone was making money and it seemed that American Dream was realizable for everyone.

Before we talk in depth about this book particularly, we must discuss the author briefly for this might help us understand the novel in a better manner. Born in 1896, Fitzgerald was the product of the age that he has written about. Just like the main characters Nick and Jay, Fitzgerald is also disillusioned about love and money in America. He translates his experiences into a classic and his book can be seen as an authentic source of information on the Jazz era. Fitzgerald had fallen in love with a rich girl and had little money himself. In his pursuit of love, he went to New York so that one day he could marry the rich girl but unfortunately for him, he ends up with some odd jobs here and there and his engagement with the girl ended. That must have disappointed him considerably but on a deeper level, it made him think about the connection between love and money and if one really exists.

Nick Carraway is used as the main voice of the novel. From the novel, you get a clear feel of the 1920s when there were no motion pictures and words played an important role in communication. Nick does a great job as the narrator. He tries to convince us of his complete objectivity but whether we are really convinced or not is up to the individual reader. The novel's main theme is the corruption of soul and self that comes from wealth. Nick believes that Jay Gatsby was relentlessly pursuing money and in this quest, he had attained the biggest and the best of everything. But this accumulation of wealth had turned him corrupt to a large extent.

Nick Carraway working as the main voice tells us two stories. Both distinct and interrelated at the same time- one is the story of his fabulous neighbor, the other, less conspicuous one about himself. This is the story of a man who in his relentless pursuit of wealth has got corrupted. This is also a story of someone who doesn't accept his present as it is and instead tries to reinvent his life. According to Michel Foucault the essence of such romantic novels is a "man who tries to invent himself," and who is compelled "to face the task of producing himself" (p. 42). This person is called a modern man for he wants to see beyond his present circumstances "to imagine it otherwise than it is" (p. 41).

Jay Gatsby is a mysterious character. No one knows exactly where he came from and who his forefathers were but there are some rumors circulating. Nick finally manages to learn the truth that Gatsby is the son of "shiftless and unsuccessful farm people" from North Dakota (p. 104). In love with Daisy, Gatsby is willing to do anything to get him the object of his affection. He wants to be with Daisy forever but fate seems to keep them apart. For him Daisy is the symbol of ultimate success. Her wealth and social standing makes her the incarnation of "unutterable visions" (p. 117). In loving her Gatsby "committed himself to the following of a grail" (p. 156); that Daisy was "high in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl" (p. 127). But Gatsby himself is not wealthy enough and thus Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan, a wealthier suitor.

To Gatsby, this was the biggest failure and he was not willing to accept defeat. Though he finally realizes that Daisy's enticing voice-that "low, thrilling" siren's voice with its "singing compulsion" (p.14) that "couldn't be over dreamed" (p. 101) was actually nothing "full of money." (p. 127). The dreams of his future were the dreams that sustained Gatsby. "For a while these reveries provided an outlet for his imagination; they were a satisfactory hint of the unreality of reality, a promise that the rock of the world was founded securely on a fairy's wing." (P. 105)

The story is simple to read and follow. But underlying themes are more important than the obvious plot. The story reveals the tension of social class and capitalism that had started with the accumulation of wealth by industrialists in 1920s America. This was a massive time of dramatic changes for the United States and social class system had become very pronounced just like it had once been in Britain.

Jay Gatsby had become aware of this difference and this is what had almost killed him in his pursuit of wealth. All the time when he thinks he is pursuing Daisy, the truth is that he is pursuing that elusive dream called the American Dream. He is chasing something that even he is not aware of and he only symbolizes it with Daisy. Attaining Daisy would have meant attaining that elusive dream and when he is unable to do that, it literally brings an end to his life.

The extent to which a person would go to attain something is clear from this story. But Gatsby is not sure what he wants. Had he been clearer, he could see that Daisy was not his dream, she was only a symbol of what he had wanted like a fancy car and a mansion. But unfortunately he fails to understand the difference and is tricked into killing someone just for the sake of getting Daisy.