Hey,
I wrote this essay on The Great Gatsby and I was wondering if someone could please have a look at it?
I would appreciate any thoughts?
Examine the ways in which writers shape and adapt generic conventions to reflect and expose particular value systems. In your response, you must make reference to at least one literary text.
By Maryam Qureshi
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Set during the post World War 1 economic boom of the 1920’s, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby (1926), is often referred to as a chronicle of the American Dream, exploring a point of the nation’s history when capitalism and economic opportunity for all was at it’s peak. The Great American Dream incorporated the belief that anyone, regardless of where they were born, could obtain prosperity and success. Deep-rooted in the Declaration of Independence, the American Dream was the proclamation that ‘all men are equal’, with full right to ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’ Perhaps one the best works of literature, representing the American Dream is the Great Gatsby. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald contextualizes a gripping antithesis regarding the Great American Dream, through a contrast and disclosure of societies key value systems, including the emphasis upon materialism and commodification. The Great Gatsby juxtaposes characters born in the upper echelons of society, with Myrtle and Gatsby, who attempt to transcend the class boundaries but ultimately become ‘incoherent failures’. The novel displays ‘how dreaming can be tainted by reality, and that if you don’t compromise, you may suffer’(Azar Nifisi). Fitzgerald’s text exposes the key value systems prevalent within society through an adaption of generic conventions, reflecting the misery of a modern capitalist society.
Employing the first person point of view, Fitzgerald conveys the entire story of Gatsby from the memories of Nick. Through this utilisation of Nick as first person narrator, the novel’s integrity strengthens as all key characters are neatly tied together, through Nick, in the position of ‘Daisy’s second cousin’, ‘Gatsby’s neighbour’ and ‘Tom‘s [acquaintance] in college’. It is arguable that, despite Nick claiming that he is ‘inclined to reserve all judgements’, Fitzgerald, in essence, is providing readers with over 150 pages of judgement. Notwithstanding this confession, Nick is employed as a reliable narrator so that ‘life is successfully looked at through a single window’. Nick is taken out of any story line within the novel, hereby, creating an unswerving attitude towards the contradictions and conflicts which drive the plot. Through ‘employing a narrator who is more of a spectator than an actor’ (Maxwell E. Perkins, editor of The Great Gatsby in a letter), Nick becomes an observer, however, not an impartial one. Consequently, through Nick’s eyes, Fitzgerald exposes the ‘ruin of society’ and degeneration of the upper echelons; as Nick depicts in vivid imagery, the ‘behaviour [of the guests] associated with amusement parks’, and the prevalence of meaningless indulgence within society. Though this first person point of view can provide vivid imagery, Nick can’t provide detailed knowledge of other characters thoughts and feelings. In chapter five, Fitzgerald employs transgression point of view to surpass that narrative limits on a first person narrator. Nick comments upon Gatsby as he goes ‘over to say goodbye’ and sees the ‘expression of bewilderment [which] had come back into Gatsby’s face…Almost five years! There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams.’ In this comment, Nick creates a supposition to Gatsby’s mind, as the statement, ‘Almost five years’, appears as though it has come directly from the mind of Gatsby. Thus, the narrator transcends the limits of the ‘I’ witness point of view. This transgressed point of view serves importantly in conveying meaning within the novel as readers find motive in Gatsby feeling ‘a faint doubt’ regarding the meeting. Focussing upon Gatsby’s feelings and actions provides Fitzgerald opportunity to idolise those with wealth and power portraying the emphasise society placed upon the wealth; contextualising the era as one with ‘parties [which] were bigger, a pace [which was faster] and morals which were looser.’
Additionally to the transgression of the point of view, Fitzgerald employs shifts within the narration to view one event alongside another for long periods of time. Within The Great Gatsby, the shifts are predominantly presented in first person narration, however, they are of limited essence; being omniscient or partially omniscient. This is evidenced when Tom takes Nick to ‘see [his] girl’. As it is only rumoured and ‘insisted upon’ that Tom has a mistress, it is reasonable for Nick to utilise the omniscient view as he deems it ‘supercilious’ for him to visit Myrtle. Fitzgerald then quickly shifts Nick’s point of view to first person narrative as he becomes ‘curious to see her’. Here, this change enables the main focus of the novel’s plot to be centred around Gatsby, and not Tom, changing the attention focus more upon what Nick’s thought are, rather than the story of Tom. The shift from one point of view to another allows an observation of each character’s thoughts and feelings; sanctioning the development of plot and narrative truth. Nick becomes a vehicle for the author’s final judgement. Thus, through an adaptation of the generic convention of point of view, Fitzgerald shapes audiences to view Nick as an acumen and reliable narrator, so that he is placed in a position to successfully depict the place of commodification and materialism within society.
Utilising the generic convention of point of view, Fitzgerald exposes the failure of the American Dream and the drive for a materialistic lifestyle, through the eyes of Nick Caraway. When Tom takes Nick to the Valley of Ashes to meet his ‘mistress’, Myrtle, Nick likens the area to a ‘wasteland’, portraying the ‘desolate area of land’ as plagued with destitution and dilapidation. Nick’s point of view of the ‘ash grey men’, allows for Fitzgerald’s exposure of the flip side of materialism, revealing the detrimental outcomes, which ensue when all items are produced to facilitate the wealthy. Despite the outward appearance of excessive wealth, only a very small minority of the 1920’s society lived the ideology of the American Dream, while a large proportion of society lived in poverty. This was perhaps the first hint of the failure of the American Dream, which incorporated the idea of all men being able to attain wealth. Society’s emphasise upon materialism is realised through the stagnated aspect of the inhabitants of the Valley of Ashes, who Nick categorically describes them as ‘spiritless and anaemic’. Despite the ‘ghastly’ description Nick gives to every other aspect of the Valley, he depicts a slightly jovial picture of Myrtle; displaying her as one of ‘perceptible vitality’ and ‘sensuous [ness]’. Notwithstanding this early optimistic connotation, as Nick spends time with her, the first person point of view begins to mock her attempts to behave as a host, describing her as ‘violently affected’. Fitzgerald reflects, through an adaptation of point of view that society within the twentieth century placed great emphasis upon materialism and commodification. This is indicated through Nick’s mockery of Myrtle’s ‘incessant’ and ‘immoderate’ movements, revealing much about society’s values as Nick ignores her infidelity and criticizes her for only her working class pretensions. On the other hand, through a combination of point of view and characterisation, Fitzgerald exposes the American Dream as un-attainable. As Myrtle tries to move up the social rungs of this apparent ‘meritocracy’ through her association with the ‘wealthy’ Tom, she is condemned, mocked and eventually killed; positioning her as the collateral flip side to materialism. This convention allows focus upon the key value systems prevalent in society during the early twenties’; conveying a society, which valued monetary contempt above all else.
The novel provides an insight into the outwardly heady capitalist culture, exposing its dark underbelly and it’s impact upon personal value systems. The deceptive ‘inexhaustible’ charm of a life ‘full of money’ gives rise to a large contribution towards the decay of personal values. Fitzgerald utilizes many generic conventions to portray this ideology, however, none so powerful as the characterization of the wealthy Tom Buchannan, the bourgeois figure of the story. The ‘bourgeois respectability’, as it was called, incorporated ideas of financial success free of debt and a high morale patriarchal society. As a member of an ‘enormously wealthy [family]’ , Tom relates to the world majorly through his money, the one exception being his expression of ‘love’ for Daisy. For Tom, all things are commodities. Even his marriage to Daisy Fay was an exchange of beauty and social standing for the image of Tom’s strength, stability and power; all of which imparted him. This was an idea symbolized through the ‘string of pearls valued at three hundred and fifty thousand dollars’, Tom gifted to his bride-to-be. Though it is not necessary, or custom to spend excessive amounts of money on a necklace, Tom does this to draw attention to his affluence. Similarly, Tom utilizes his socioeconomic status to seduce Myrtle and his other mistresses, whom, like the guests at Gatsby’s party, are drawn to him ‘like moths to a flame’. His consistent infatuation in lower class woman can be explained through the commoditized view the world upheld in the 1920s. Tom promotes his wealth to women who are most desperate for it, satisfying himself at a level unaffected by logic, reality or the everyday world. This id level of satisfaction manifests itself in the desire to ‘purchase’ numerous working class women; including the ‘common, but pretty’ woman he interacts with, just metres from his wife. Thus, Fitzgerald, by exposing audiences to the nature of the prosperous, divulges the key value system within the hedonistic society through a reflection upon the detrimental side-effects and thinking of the monetary driven.
However, ‘Tom’s commodity psychology is not wholly limited to his relationships with women’ (L.Tyson). Rather, it branches to encompass all aspects of the ‘you are what you own’ capitalist thinking exhibited through the ‘fantastic dream’ of the decade’s sustained prosperity and dizzying technological advancements. Fitzgerald conveys this key drive within society thorough an emphasis of Tom’s characterisation, incorporating the notion of Tom’s own sense of identity linked to how others see him. The importance of social status within society is disclosed with Tom’s discourse and his need to divulge the ‘nice place’ he has. Following this idea, Tom further embodies the consumerist attitude of society by mentioning that the house ‘belonged to Demaine, the oil man’, and thus, denoting that the house pedigree itself is of ‘old-money’ lineage. This convention of the wealthy displaying their wealth is evident again when Tom toys with George Wilson regarding the sale of the ‘car’. Financially, the matter of ‘sell[ing] that car’ means very little to the wealthy Tom, however, it is of great value to the impoverished George. It can be presumed that there isn’t even a ‘man working on’ the car, and Tom is merely dangling his considerable wealth in front of Wilson so he has an excuse to see Myrtle. Fitzgerald conveys the failure of the American dream, through Tom’s behaviour with the impoverished George. As the dream incorporated the idea of hard work providing success, it is interesting to observe that George, who was a ‘proprietor’ running his own ‘business’, is presented as the weaker and ridiculed, comparatively to Tom, who is given no indication of even working a day in his life and is given a position of dominance. Through this, Fitzgerald conveys the power of the upper class of the weaker class; denoting that the weaker are at the mercy of consumerist value system. Tom’s agonistic nature becomes a medium through which Fitzgerald ridicules the American dream; disclosed through the generic convention of discourse in Nick’s description of his ‘careless [ness]’ and his tendency to ‘smash up things and retreat back to [his] money or vast carelessness.’ Though Tom is living a life most people in the twenties would consider a dream, he ends up ‘smash[ing]’ up those who wish to become like him. In Tom’s case, Myrtle’s death becomes the method of ‘cleaning up [his] mess’. Subsequently, Fitzgerald exposes the unfair nature of and the respect those with ‘wealth’ demand, through a condemnation of the values of those who are born into ‘old money’. Through the generic convention of the characterisation of Tom, Fitzgerald exposes the excessive underlying importance society in the 1920’s placed on commodification, and it’s key place at the very core of the American Dream.
Fitzgerald critiques the consumerist lifestyle through a stark separation between key settings within the novel. These setting segregations juxtapose the classes of ‘old money’, ‘new money’ and impoverished working class. The consumerist culture exhibited in The Great Gatsby was possible through the growth of the upper class in the early twentieth century. This growth brought with it value upon the display of wealth and an era characterised by Republican notions of rugged individualism. According to this theory, the abundant wealth in the possession of Gatsby should have ensured the outcome of the American Dream. However, one quality that undermines self-made wealth, was wealth which was inherited and the result of an ‘enormously wealthy family’. This became a point of conflict between ‘old money’ and ‘new money’; severely criticising the idea in the American Dream of the value of hard work. In a culture manifested with pecuniary emulation, the most common method in which to declare ones wealth was through possessions. It is through the expression of the generic convention setting, that Fitzgerald exposes the consumerist lifestyle evident amongst society at the time. This notion is perhaps most evident in in Louisville where ‘the largest of the banners and the largest of the lawns belonged to the Fay house’. The intense importance of commodification is realised through the discourse of the home itself having ‘belong [ings]’, which is portrayed as desirable by also housing Daisy who is ‘the most popular of all the young girls’. Here, Fitzgerald introduces another value system, which is prevalent not only within the 20th century, but also prevalent in the modern day. Immediately proceeding the ‘belong [ings]’ of the Fay house, Daisy is introduced in a similar fashion; exposing that women themselves had becomes possessions. This notion is supported by the generic convention of Nick’s dialogue as he describes the effect on Gatsby upon loosing Daisy as ‘his enchanted objects diminish[ing] by one’. The Fay house is brought up again later in the novel, when Gatsby’s past is discussed. It is here again, that Fitzgerald intertwines the two generic conventions; setting and language to further emphasise upon the value society placed on commodification. The ‘ripe mystery’ of the house attracts many ‘officers’, who sensed the ‘hint of bedrooms upstairs [which were] more beautiful and cool than other bedrooms, [the] gay and radiant activities taking place through its corridors, and of romances that were not musty and laid away already in lavender but fresh and breathing and redolent of this year’s shining motor-cars…’. This sort of language can be analysed through stylistic analysis to disclose the meaning reader’s can take from the language Fitzgerald uses; ‘to find the artistic principles underlying a writers choice of language’2. Within stylistic analysis is the grammatical category of Appositional phrases and romantic, evocative imagery. The sentence is saturated with words that exhibit the sheer wealth of the Fay’s highlighting the ‘beautiful bedrooms’ the wealthy possess and the ‘radiant activities’ they engage in. Everything contained in this appositive is suggestive and works to provide the compelling, ‘ripe mystery’ of the ‘golden’ Daisy, thus depicting the rich as desirable and highlighting the importance society in the twenties placed upon material wealth. Depicting the ‘ripe mystery’ of Daisy, Fitzgerald depicts her as a commodity; exposing the dehumanisation of others that results from a society obsessed with wealth.
Whilst the Fay mansion laudably conveys the emphasis society placed upon materialistic possessions, it is only one of the many settings, which portray this. Nick notices that West Egg and East Egg are ‘dissimilar in every particular except shape and size’, driven by the need to constantly out-do one another. This competition became one of the most necessary plot drivers within the novel, as Gatsby and Tom fought for the materialistic Daisy. The Buchannan mansion, resides in East Egg, originated from families who have had money through inheritance and who have been categorically described as ‘old money’. East Egg of Long Island is a blatant representation of aristocracy and formality, accentuating the prominence of wealth in society. The setting concretizes ‘the sort of devouring, self-pleasuring and hypocritical materialism the stupendous and ruthless success of nineteenth century capitalism fostered and enabled’ 2 At the very beginning of the novel, Nick visits the Buchannan’s in their ‘white palace’ which he observed to ‘glitter along the water’. Coupling the generic convention of setting with language, reveals the illusion of purity the house is depicted as exuding. Fitzgerald’s choice of words, including ‘white’ and ‘glitter’, are symbolically associated with angels and a notion of purity. The constant drive within society to be above others socioeconomically becomes evident, as the house is a ‘cheerful red and white Georgian colonial mansion’, affirming the cultured European taste, placing them in patrician society. This European atmosphere the house emanates is further enriched through the use of ‘French windows’ and ‘reflected gold’. The imported commodities and foreign design of the ‘palace’ providing the Buchannan’s with an image of esteem. However this directly reputes the values of the American Dream. The ‘palaces’ give rise to the presence of class within society, an idea which directly relates to the old aristocracy present in Britain; a doctrine which conflicts with the egalitarian republic set-up of America. However, even the Buchannan mansion gives rise to the failure of the American Dream. This is bet depicted through the ‘tumultuous scene’ created from the ‘wreck’ of Owl Eyes’ drunken car crash. Tom emphasises that the house originally belonged to ‘Demaine, the oil man’, which provides Fitzgerald a deft and unobtrusive method by which to convey that the emphasise society placed upon material wealth had attained a corrupt level. The notion of oil being a reactant in destruction is again depicted when Myrtle’s life is ‘violently extinguished’. Myrtle’s death brought with it the shocking spectacle of her left breast ‘swinging loose like a flap’ after the accident, exposing those who attempted to gain wealth as debased, disfigured and violated. Thus, to hide the failure of the American Dream and expose the materialistic nature of people in the early twentieth century, Fitzgerald draws upon Europe and ‘old’ history creating a façade to dignify and hide the dangerous value systems of society.
In contrast, West Egg as a setting is an emblem of the nouveau riche, depicting the vulgar and gaudy division of society in the 1920s. As the ‘less fashionable’ of the two eggs, the inhabitants of West Egg lack social graces and are consumed by a ‘raw vigour that chafed under the old euphemisms’. Perhaps the most ludicrous of all settings within The Great Gatsby is Gatsby’s own mansion and the location of his flamboyant parties. The mansion is described as a ‘colossal affair by any standard’, imitating ‘Hotel de Ville in Normandy’ and exposing Gatsby’s all too obvious efforts to create a façade of sophistication. This exemplification of one’s socioeconomic status and highlighting the importance of it is an everlasting theme amongst literature, and subsequently, a reflection of society. The mansion, like the Buchannan house, is a symbol of excess wealth containing a ‘tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool and more than forty acres of lawn and garden’. The use of large multi-clausal sentences describe the numerous “bedrooms swathed in rose and lavender and silk and vivid with new flowers, through dressing rooms and pool rooms and bathing room with sunken baths’, the house contains. However, despite this and the ‘celebrated people’ Gatsby fills it with, the Gatsby mansion appears ‘lonely’ and lacks the elegance and sophistication present in the Buchannan house. Emphasised via the plural language, Gatsby’s mansion is filled with fatuous assets, which hold little meaning, depicting the failure of the American Dream as Gatsby creates a hollow imitation of his wealth. The need for a monstrous façade to obtain happiness is depicted as pitiable, and through Nick’s eyes, Gatsby’s quest for his ‘green light’ is romanticised. According to this notion of consumerism, Gatsby has become overwhelmed by his surroundings, to the extent that he feels no option but to submit to the socioeconomically classified society. However, even when he does, he is still considered as an outsider by his guests, many of whom leave ‘without having met Gatsby at all’. Through this Fitzgerald reveals the value system of materiality which was of major prevalence within society, however, also depicts the failure of the American Dream, as even the ‘Great’ Gatsby, who embodies the description of wealth, is still treated as an outsider since he is not of ‘old money’ lineage.
The opening of Chapter three provides a sensory depiction of Gatsby’s parties. Fitzgerald describes the scene as one of uncontained debauchery where inhabitants are driven purely by the pursuit of pleasure. Although Gatsby’s house is ‘full of people’ and a container for hoards of wealthy positions, it is spiritually empty, exposing the hollowness of the American Dream. Fitzgerald describes the party with an air of excessive consumption as the ‘buffet tables’ are ‘garnished with glistening hors –d’ouevre spiced backed hams…and turkeys bewitched to dark gold’. Fitzgerald again combines language with setting through narrative sentence types in the Grammatical category. The party is depicted as a kaleidoscope of movement as ‘groups change more swiftly, swell with new arrivals, dissolve and form in the same breath; already there are wanderers, confident girls who weave here and there among the stouter and more stable, become for a sharp, joyous moment the center of a group, and then, excited with triumph, glide on through the sea-change of faces and voices and color under the constantly changing light.’
. Despite being the longest sentence in the description of Gatsby’s oncoming party, there is no loss of clarity. Its first clause in a composition of four coordinated verbs; ‘change’, ‘swell’, ‘dissolve’ and ‘wonder’. The apposition of ‘confident girls’ which ‘weave’, ‘become’ and ‘glide’, provide the sentence with a description depicting quick movement from one ‘group’ to the next; hence highlighting the atmosphere of chaos and mindlessness. Gatsby held parties often, almost as if that will bring the life to him that he lacks within himself. However, the popularity this party brings him as ‘men and girls went like moths’, fails to fill the purpose of filling the emptiness within Gatsby, rendering those who follow the idea of the American Dream and build up their own wealth as outcasts of society.
However, it is not until after Gatsby’s death that the true contrast and nature of the roaring 20s is realised. The dream Nick has proceeding Gatsby’s death, unveils another side of America that had become ‘distorted’ under the glitz and glamour of riches and parties. Fitzgerald depicts a stark imagery in the setting of East Egg;
Even when East Egg excited me most…it had always for me a quality of distortion. West Egg, especially still figures in my more fantastic dreams. I see it as a night scene by el Greco: a hundred houses, at once conventional and grotesque, crouching under a sullen overhanging sky and a lusterless moon.’
Evidence of the corrupting society and the failure of the American Dream soon become apparent as East Egg is stripped bare of it’s façade. The once uncontained hedonism of a place ‘full of people’ has become a place of human alienation, with ‘a hundred houses’ that have now become ‘grotesque’ rather than ‘fashionable’ and ‘cheerful’ as they once were. The ‘drunken women’ becomes a symbol of the exhausted nature of society as she is delivered by ‘four solemn men’ who don’t even know ‘the woman’s name’. The image painted is bleak as the sky ‘overhangs’; ‘sullen’, exposing the moral decay now becoming evident. The emphasise placed upon wealth during the ’twenties has attained a status where even the woman’s ‘cold jewels’ have more ‘sparkle’ than the ‘lustreless moon’, criticising the value system that emphasized materialism above all else.
Fitzgerald exposes, through an accentuation of the generic conventions of characterisation, language, setting and dialogue; that American society within the 20th century was manifested with the value system of commodification, driven by the want for a materialistic lifestyle. Fitzgerald highlights this through a ridicule of the values of the American Dream and the resultant effects upon those who followed its incorporated concepts. Both Myrtle and Gatsby, the two characters’ striving for the attainment of the American dream suffered the severe consequence of death. In the end, Gatsby never attains ‘the green light, and the orgastic future’, despite believing in it even when it ‘eluded’ and ‘receded before [him]’. Thus, through the medium of the Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald reflects upon the American dream as unattainable and an empty promise of happiness. Despite this, society within and beyond the 20th century, places great emphasis upon materialistic wealth and commodification, a value system that is to this day, timeless. ‘That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you are not lonely an isolated from anyone. You belong.’ (Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald).