The great Gastby

Reading Notes on The Great Gatsby 1. The Illusion of the American Dream F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby dismantles the myth of the American Dream through the lens of Jay Gatsby, a self-made man who amasses wealth to reclaim his lost love, Daisy Buchanan. Set in the 1920s “Jazz Age,” the novel portrays an era of decadence and moral decay, where materialism overrides authenticity. Gatsby’s opulent parties, symbolized by “unfamiliar mouths” and “drifting couples” (Fitzgerald 41), serve as a facade for his desperate yearning to transcend his humble origins. His pursuit of Daisy, a “golden girl” (120), mirrors the broader societal chase for an idealized, unattainable vision of success. The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock, a recurring symbol, encapsulates this illusion. Gatsby “stretched out his arms” towards it (21), yet the light remains eternally out of reach—just as the Dream, corrupted by greed, eludes those who worship it. Fitzgerald underscores this through the Valley of Ashes, a desolate wasteland between West Egg and New York, where George Wilson’s garage stands as a metaphor for crushed hopes. When Gatsby is shot, his death reveals the Dream’s hollowness: “the holocaust was complete” (162), and the world moves on, indifferent to his demise. 2. Class and Morality in the Roaring Twenties The novel starkly contrasts the old money of East Egg (represented by Tom and Daisy Buchanan) with the new wealth of West Egg (Gatsby). Tom, a racist and philanderer, embodies the moral bankruptcy of inherited privilege, while Gatsby, though honest in his aspirations, resorts to bootlegging to achieve social status. This dichotomy is highlighted in the Buchanans’ casual cruelty—they flee after Myrtle Wilson’s death, leaving Gatsby to bear the blame. As Nick Carraway notes, they are “careless people” who “smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money” (179). Fitzgerald uses symbolism to critique class divisions. Gatsby’s mansion, a “colossal affair” (9), is a vulgar imitation of European aristocracy, exposing the emptiness of new money’s attempt to buy culture. In contrast, the Buchanans’ home exudes effortless elegance, yet harbors marital infidelity and moral decay. The divide is further emphasized by the “two worlds” Nick observes: the Buchanans’ casual luxury and Gatsby’s desperate striving, both ultimately corrupt in different ways. 3. The Role of Memory and Time Gatsby’s obsession with the past drives his every action. He tells Nick, “I can repeat the past” (110), a delusion that fuels his reinvention. His library, filled with unread books, symbolizes his superficial attempt to construct an identity. Daisy’s voice, which Gatsby claims is “full of money” (120), becomes a siren call to a bygone era when he loved her before the war. Fitzgerald employs time as a destructive force. The clock on Gatsby’s mantel, which Nick catches before it falls, represents the fragility of Gatsby’s attempt to freeze time. When Daisy fails to choose him over Tom, Gatsby’s illusion shatters: “his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it” (180), but time has irreversibly altered both Daisy and their relationship. The novel’s final lines, comparing humanity to “boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (180), underscore the tragic futility of trying to reclaim what is lost. 4. Narrative Perspective and Nick Carraway Nick, the narrator, positions himself as “one of the few honest people that I have ever known” (59), but his reliability is nuanced. He admires Gatsby’s “extraordinary gift for hope” (2), yet criticizes the moral decay around him. His neutrality wavers as he becomes increasingly involved in the Buchanans’ drama, eventually realizing that East Egg’s “atrocious din” (17) reflects a society rotten to its core. Nick’s journey from observer to participant highlights the novel’s theme of complicity. By the end, he rejects the East’s decadence and returns to the Midwest, but not before acknowledging that Gatsby’s dream “was already behind him” (180). His narrative serves as both an elegy for Gatsby and a critique of a society that values appearance over substance. 5. Legacy and Literary Significance The Great Gatsby endures as a cautionary tale about the perils of idealization. Gatsby’s tragedy lies not in his failure to win Daisy, but in his belief that material wealth could resurrect the past. Fitzgerald’s prose, rich with sensory imagery (e.g., the “thickly leaved” elms and “glowing” cocktails), paints a vivid portrait of an era drunk on its own success. The novel’s enduring relevance stems from its exploration of universal themes: the tension between idealism and reality, the corrupting power of money, and the human yearning to transcend one’s origins. As Gatsby’s dream collapses, Fitzgerald reminds us that the American Dream, when divorced from integrity, becomes a dangerous illusion—one that continues to resonate in modern discussions of class, ambition, and the price of success.