Great Gatsby:

American literature's masterpiece

by W.T.J.S. Kaviratne, Ambalangoda Spl. Cor.

Great Gatsby was a classic of the 20th century literature. It was written by Francis Scott Fitzgerald considered one of the greatest American writers. He was born on September 24, 1896.

Scott Fitzgerald was the only son of an aristocratic father and a working-class mother.

Just after receiving his education at St. Paul Academy and Newman School he joined Princeton University where he had the opportunity to associate literary luminaries of the era.

In 1922, Scott Fitzgerald had determined to write something new, something extraordinary, beautiful, simple and intricately patterned and the result was his famous novel Great Gatsby having the features of a continuous flow of a lyrical ballad.

American dream

The Dutch explorers who landed on Long Island in America was a land in which to make a fresh start.

It was a land in which everyone would be successful and equal. It also provided opportunities to get away from religious and political intolerance and outdated ideas of Europe.

The ideal of the 'self-made man' the belief that any person could simply through hard work and innate talent achieve wealth was the " American Dream '' which according Scott Fitzgerald was abused by the young society emerged in America in the aftermath of First World War.

Lost generation

A group of intellectuals such as Scott Fitzgerald, Earnest Hemingway, Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot were among the first critics of the new American generation engrossed in false values.

The major theme of the novel Great Gatsby is the 'American Dream' and about the forces responsible for its corruption.

Fitzgerald made use of two characters to explore the American dream. Nick Carraway as the narrator and the main character Gatsby hailed from the Mid West.

They arrived in New York in search of glamour and success but became innocent victims dangerous exposed to its numerous forms of crimes and corruption paving the way for its social decadence.

Simplicity, determination, loyalty, innate sense of honesty and decency were some of the characteristics instilled in the narrator Nick Carraway of the novel Great Gatsby and to a certain extent in the protagonist Gatsby as well.

Weekend parties

Nick Carraway, a young Mid West bond trader arrived in West Egg became friendly with his next door neighbour Jay Gatsby who was an exceptionally wealthy man.

He was in the habit of hosting extravagant parties every weekend in West Egg mansion.

The gusts who came across Nick at weekend parties knew nothing about Gatsby's past but they were very inquisitive about how he gathered such great wealth and it was the subject of speculation.

Nick had paid a visit to a former college athlete Tom Bachanan who was one of his college mates and his distant cousin Daisy married to Tom. They lived in a posh mansion in East Egg.

One day Gatsby revealed to Nick that he was in the habit of throwing weekend parties with the hope of Daisy his former fiancée by chance could visit his parties.

On Gatsby's request it was Nick who was instrumental in making plans for both Gatsby and Daisy to meet each other and the resumption of their affair once again after five long years.

Things came to a turning point at a Hotel in Manhattan when Tom was able to notice Gatsby's love for his wife Daisy.

Greatly annoyed Tom accused that Gatsby was a bootlegger. During this confrontation Gatsby forced Daisy to reveal the truth that she never loved Tom.

Gatsby mistakenly believed that Daisy as he expected forget the past five years lived with Tom and come back to him.

Daisy hesitantly said what Gatsby asked her to say to Tom.

Affair

Realising the bond between Gatsby and Daisy, Tom in response ordered his wife Daisy and Gatsby to leave the hotel and drive back home in Long Island.

Tom stayed back in the Hotel for a little while and took time to reach home with Nick and Jordan Baker, a close family friend of Tom and Daisy.

Tom had an affair with Myrtle, the wife of George Wilson whose garage was on the desolate road between Manhattan and northern Long Island.

Myrtle had an argument with her husband and ran out of the house.

Gatsby's car driven at the moment by Daisy hit Myrtle and she died on the spot.

On their way back home Tom, Jordan and Nick witnessed the car accident.

Tom soon found out his mistress's death and Wilson appeared on the scene and referred to a yellow car which was stopped at his garage for gasoline when they were going to the hotel.

He said the owner of the yellow car was Gatsby. George Wilson kept awake muttering nonsense.

Wilson jumped at the conclusion that whoever drew the yellow car was the person having an affair with his wife and decided to find the owner of the yellow car.

Wilson reached Tom's house with a gun in hand when Tom was packing to escape with Daisy.

Tom gave Gatsby's whereabouts to Wilson and he reached Gatsby and shot him dead when he was in the swimming pool and Wilson committed suicide on the lawn.

Posh society

Even though hundreds of people enjoyed at the lavish weekend parties thrown by Gatsby, none of the members of that posh society attended the funeral of Gatsby except Nick, Henry C. Gatz the father of Gatsby and Owl Eyes the drunkard.

Gatsby became wealthy through questionable means and rented out a mansion in West Egg overlooking the bay where he could have a view of Daisy's mansion in East Egg and threw parties for hundreds of unknown people with the sole aim of achieving his only dream of Daisy.

Gatsby's tragic end was a premonition of the ruin of America as well.

Symbolism

Gatsby, the main character of the novel could be identified as Fitzgerald's symbolical representative of the American Dream.

Fitzgerald had used the character of Don Cody to convey that the circumstances prevailed in America in 1920s had not provided a congenial atmosphere or opportunities for the existence of self-made men.

There are many Images of Blindness in the novel. The characters in the novel except the narrator Nick were blind to the emerging incidents and strongly lacked self-knowledge neither the knowledge of each other.

The billboard of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg having a pair of eyes unattached to face or body gazing out over the wasteland was yet another symbol of Fitzgerald used in the novel as a monstrous parody of the eyes of God.

Oppressive heat

They watched but they failed to see and conveyed the message even the God was blind to the things happening under his own eyes.

Gatsby was blind to his unattainable dream of Daisy.

Fitzgerald had frequently exploited the atmospheric effects of 'heat' and 'cold ' to suit the diverse situations of the roles played by the characters and their moods portrayed in the novel.

It was the heat that forced articulation of the conflict. It became so unbearable that no one stayed cool and composed.

They left towards the city "shot off into the oppressive heat." Once inside Hotel Plaza Nick said that the room was 'large and stifling' with too few windows And through these came only 'hot shrubbery from the from the park.' Fitzgerald used 'heat' to represent the building of emotions and losing of control while 'cool' representing control in the novel Great Gatsby.

One of the popular songs of the time was played when Daisy and Gatsby drew closer and closer at his mansion.

"In the morning, in the evening, Ain't we got fun 'Got no money, but oh, honey Aren't we got fun' Daisy rejected Gatsby five years ago due to his poverty and this song conveyed a relevant message to both of them reminding of the past and Gatsby who is living in the memories of his past.

Fitzgerald had used even songs and music to convey the ill effects of materialism and its impact on the American Dream.

Values

Decay of the values and traditions of the new society emerged in America just after the First World was symbolically portrayed by the ' Valley of Ashes 'found along the road from West Egg to New York City.

Dress codes and colours were used to convey the character traits.

Daisy Buchanan was always found wearing dresses of pale white colours while Myrtle was found dresses of saturated colours.

The Green Light found on the dock behind the mansion on Daisy was the green land of America which was once a symbol of hope, now the original ideals of the American Dream destroyed by the ill effects of materialism.

Daisy, a symbol of wealth, aristocracy and sophistication and to possess her was Gatsby's dream but failed in achieving his dream which was really the death of American Dream the main theme of the novel.