MIHAI FLORINA-DIANAANUL III, SERIA II, GRUPA6LLR-LLS (romana-engleza)

The Great Gatsby Themes

Published in 1925, the novel takes place in New York at a time when the world loses all values, everyone is looking for absolute happiness which is primarily represented by money. Money could buy anything and anyone. At first glance we might think that the main theme is love between Daisy and Gatsby, but this love is built on a basis of lies and some characters that are created over time. Coming after a period in which the emphasis was very much on feelings, exposing the reality of the poors lives, F. Scott Fitzgerald exposes us to a extravaganza world, full of grand events(lavish parties , luxurious lives), where the world is thirsty for money and a social status that enables them to do what they want. MaturisationThe expression coming at age is essential for Gatsbys story, which is an innocent young man who wants to achieve his goals. The way he makes this influences his character becoming a mature person, to have a more extensive view on life, relationships with people and even with himself. One of the characters who go through such changes is Nick Carraway, the narrator and protagonist of the book. The situations he fronts makes him more wise, giving a new sensibility to his visions, a new maturity. As Nick says in the books story he comes from the West ( where the action takes place) with ideas about what he wants to be, how he want to relate with the people, especially with the person who have money, and social status. As a result of his meeting with people, relationships, situations, he get to reach an age and understand his ideas and dreams; they are actually illusions and essentially are just wishes that cannot come true, that happiness that he not thought only possible but inevitable is in fact empty devoid of core and destroys his soul. At the beginning of the novel he turns out to be naive, is a quiet boy and sees only the bright side of things. All these qualities are evident in the way he perceives the world, for instance his opinion about cousin Daisy is one of admiration, but throughout the book he realize that she is a selfish person, who likes to play with people's hearts. The most important character who influences Nicks maturation is Gatsby who becomes like an idol for him. Putting him on a pedestal, Nick assist to his hero decay due by his ambitions too high. As a result of his meeting with people, relationships, situations, he get to reach an age and understand that his ideas, dreams, are actually illusions and essentially just wish that cannot come true, that happiness witch he no thought to be only possible but inevitable is in fact empty, devoid of core and it can destroys the soul.Same way to achieve the same kind of maturity happens to antagonist Jay Gatsby whose dreams of ideals to renew the relationship with his lover Daisy Buchanan are also devoid of essence. If Nick was not caught by the illusion of the American Dream, we cannot say the same thing about Gatsby. While Nick continues his life on a different path as a result of his achievements (maturation), Gatsby is shot by George Wilson and has no chance to change. His maturation is somehow abandoned.

True vs. Lie

Several times throughout the narrative, especially when it comes to the relationship between Nick and Jordan Baker, honesty is questioned. Nick for instance, is considered to be one of the most honest people and seems uncomfortable in a situation when it meets and/or is forced to confront the lies and distortions expressed by other characters. On the other hand, Jordan says she's honest, but ultimately too self-interested in herself to be fully sincere. The rumor that she feels like cheating in sport and it is an expression of her character and how she sees her relationship with the world (for example, the fact that no matter what it takes, her interests come first). The fact that she is not honest, makes Nick feel just a little curiosity for her, he is not in love with Jordan.Daisy is much more honest (especially when it comes to her feelings about Gatsby) than is probably good for her, while self-interested Tom righteous lives a life tissued with lies, all backed by money. This makes Gatsby, whose identity is built on the worst of a series of lies and manipulations, to be the best in a series of personal secrets about his origins and the origins of his money. But probably the most important component of a package of lies that define the identity of Gatsby is that he is aware - the lie that creates his past can be recovered, and reborn. Except Nick, all their lives were built on lies. For love, money, fame, character appeals to all methods to achieve their goal. Therefore everything destroys around them because they lie, and what they get is just an illusion. Caught up in achieving their goal, forget to enjoy and cherish thing that they have.

Past- an illusionWith all the conflicts and problems that occurs, many of the characters in The Great Gatsby think nostalgically to the past. Nick talks about it in the last chapter of the book. The most important thing that we learn from the experience is that the reader may see him as the trigger character and maturity as the reason for his return to the lonely life in the East, where he realizes that the past is an illusion. Later he discovers that any attempt to retrieve/recreate the past in the present or future defined in terms of the past, is futile. He understands that the antagonistic attitude of Jay Gatsby, is the result of what happens to him because of his behavior. Gatsby's attempt to bring back the cherished and idealized past now becomes a fiasco, perhaps a tragedy in the classic sense of the word and shows Nick that a defined life lived in present is a truly lived life. His love for Daisy gets during this period other valences. There is an illusion of what once was between the two, a love destroyed by the new values of the world. "I wouldn't ask too much of her,' I ventured. You can't repeat the past. 'Can't repeat the past?' He cried incrediously. Why of course you can!'he talked a lot about the past and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps that had gone into loving Daisy."[footnoteRef:1] The past is just an illusion, from young lover that was he gives up off all the values that a man can have, and get to see his love for Daisy as a challenge, being more like an obsession. His dream of being with Daisy is ruined by money, and the collapse of morality. [1: F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, p 118 http://www.planetebook.com/ebooks/The-Great-Gatsby.pdf]

Dispel of the American DreamAlthough at first glance we might say that the central theme of this novel is love of two young, the main theme is much deeper, representing their desire to overcome the condition. In a period of decayed of humans values, of society, and in constant search of pleasure, people do not account for anything, and they wants to fulfill their repressed desires. Easy and dishonest way to earn money, and not very high societal expectations have made peoples desires to become much greater. The main theme of the novel is Gatsby's economical rise, and winning his girlfriends love. His desires are shattered by the difference in status between the two, and of what brought him in that position (materialism, crimes, opulent life). Although Gatsby reached the top of the social class, the fact that he was not born rich and the past that he have does not allow to reach the level that Daisy wanted. With the collapse of the american dream, Gatsby's collapse takes place both literally and figuratively; he is killed, falling in the pool. We can associate this time of "loss" with the moment before Gatsby got rich, before he becoming devoid of morality. He dies with the hope that Daisy will accept to run with him, hoping to be back together as they had planned in the past.

Nick's words are those that concludes the novel integrating several topics. Past that needs to be repeated, desire to achieve certain goals even if they are among the most noble and society pushes Gatsby to become a man without values. "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."[footnoteRef:2] Being in search of an ideal, the desire to recreate the past makes people forget to be truly happy. This desire to turn ideals into reality, cannot always happen. [2: F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, p 193 http://www.planetebook.com/ebooks/The-Great-Gatsby.pdf]