Themes of The Great Gatsby

1. Themes of The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

2. The Decline of the American Dream in the 1920s • The disintegration of the American Dream in an era of prosperity and material excess • Unrestrained desire for money and pleasure surpassed more noble goals • Americans who fought in the War, disillusioned • New Wealth scorned by old wealth • Rich industrialists, speculators and bootleggers vs. old wealth

3. Decline--continued • American Dream—discovery, individualism and pursuit of happiness • 1920s, as portrayed in The Great Gatsby, easy money and relaxed social values have corrupted this dream—on East Coast • Gatsby’s dream of loving Daisy is ruined by social class status • He needs to resort to crime to impress her • She needs rampant materialism to support her lifestyle

4. The Meaning of the Past • The Past holds something that both Gatsby and Nick long for: • A simpler, better, nobler time • Tom, Daisy and Jordan are creatures of the present—so attractive, but so rootless and spiritually empty

5. The Hollowness of the Upper Class • East Egg—old aristocracy • West Egg—newly rich, vulgar, ostentatious and lacking social graces and taste • Gatsby—ornate mansion, pink suit, Rolls-Royce, but does not pick up on the insincerity of the Sloanes’ invitation to lunch • Old aristocracy—grace, taste, elegance epitomized by the Buchanans’ tasteful home, flowing white dresses

6. The Hollowness--continued • Old aristocracy—lack heart—careless, inconsiderate bullies; don’t worry about hurting others • The Buchanans purchase a new house at the end; fickle and uncaring • West Eggers—Gatsby, sincere and loyal heart

7. The Education of a Young Man • The Great Gatsby, a story of Nick’s initiation into life • Trip East gives him the education he needs to grow up • He hits 30, he realizes his youth is over, and he needs to reevaluate his choices • Nick, writes The Great Gatsby to show us what he learned

8. The Great Gatsby: Point of View • The “I” of the novel becomes ourselves, and we, like Nick, wonder who Gatsby is • By writing from limited first person point of view, gives it an air of realism • We find out more about Gatsby because Nick does • We care about Gatsby because Nick does

9. Motifs in The Great Gatsby • Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes • Geography—places and settings epitomize aspects of the 1920s American society • Weather—the weather in the novel matches the emotional and narrative tone of the story • Rain (melancholy), sun (love reawakens), hottest day (confrontation)

10. Symbols • The Green Light • The Valley of Ashes • The Eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg--?