Critical analysis of ‘The Great Gatsby’

The Great Gatsby is an American novel by Fitzgerald which gives commentary coverage of many themes such as greed, justice, power, the American dream and betrayal among others. Social stratification however has been the most profound theme in the brilliant piece of Fitzgerald’s social commentary. He vividly peeps into the American lifestyle during the 1920s in the respective dimensions of life (Fitzgerald & David 2). In the opening pages of the novel, Fitzgerald develops the American society into distinct groups each having its privileges and problems that contend. He has strongly impressed the community by the practical illustrations he makes in the lives of different characters such as Gatsby Nick and Tom among other. Fitzgerald eventually leaves a powerful incite that reminds the readers of the precariousness of this world (Bloom 34). By coming up with distinct social classes, the concept of new money and no money has been used to send strong signals to the society of the elitism that runs everywhere. In this regard, this analysis will critically go through the major areas of concern that have been highlighted the novel.

To start with, Fitzgerald’s the setting of the novel has delineated the aspect of class difference in the American society.  He intentionally attacks the rich and arrogant members as well as the poor demoralized members of the society. Fitzgerald goes against the general perception that the rich are unified by their money in an incredible manner. In order to bring out his thoughts concerning the position of the rich in the society, he categorizes them into two groups: old money and new money people (Fitzgerald & David 54). Old money is used to refer to those people who were born in rich families especially those that were rich from their family background. Examples of such in the play are Buchanans and Jordan Baker. Old money category has been regarded as lazy people who cannot even find time to talk about business or entrepreneurship (Bloom 45). They only engage themselves in fancy and amusement during most of their hours. Gatsby on the other hand is a representation of the new money people whereby he has worked hard in order to reach where he is. His family background is however poor and but he has reached the refinement and the taste of the old money people. The fact that he has just acquired his money recently makes people like Daisy, Tom, Jordan and other many old money elites to look down on him as less fortunate (Bloom 47).

Many people tend to think that the social elite are always right. Fitzgerald however instills the audience’s minds with his opinion which terms the social elites as bad people. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald has insinuated that the people of the highest echelon in the society are so judgmental, superficial and also as people who are careless concerning the welfare of those around them (Martell & Zackary 67). Fitzgerald shows how the elite regard themselves as superior even if the condition they are boasting in is unrealistic. This claim has been sufficiently illustrated by how the Gatsby’s partygoers behave after hosting them in a party. They eat and drink but they don’t consider to at least taking time to meet their host (Fitzgerald & David 67). The preceding conduct further worsens the matter because they came into the party without being invited. After the death of Gatsby, the same people who used to party with him became busy mysteriously and never found time to visit the deceased family. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald despises the social elites due to his opinion that they only live for the sake of a moment while they indulge in every other form of excess (Martell & Zackary 67).

Fitzgerald has also conveys a strong message by using the poor people in the society. He has grouped the poor into two: honorable poor people and those that are not. In order to picture out his thought clearly, he develops a character named Nick who comes from a middle class family. He is far much behind Tom and Gatsby in terms of wealth but he regards himself as being a dignified and principled person. The community appreciates him despite his lack and therefore becomes honored than Tom who comes from a rich family. Myrtle on the other hand has been used to convey the contrast concerning the no money people. She is yearning to get at the top socioeconomically and decidedly chooses to corrupt her moral obligations as a wife. She gets into a secret affair with Tom with an aim of benefiting from the springs of wealth in Tom’s house. Her act of cheating on his husband is a representation of greedy and unprincipled behavior possessed by some poor people in the American society. On this message, Tom’s habit of taking advantage of the poor by taking their wives has been used to criticize immorality to both the rich and the poor (Martell & Zackary 68).

In as much as Fitzgerald criticizes the society on the matters concerning moral and social obligations, he takes time to illustrate the kind of people they ought to be. He suggests strong considerations as illustrated in the lives of Gatsby and Nick. Gatsby has been used to represent the world of those who are newly rich (Martell & Zackary 56). He reflects the desires of the audience or readers for every rich person in the American society. The readers have appreciated his spirit of reinvention and reclamation which is seen as he tries to redeem himself from the past struggles. He disregards any suggestion that would hold him back from moving forward by standing strong innocently and therefore thrives within a corrupt and immoral world. He is not silenced by the ridicules he faces from the old money people. The success from his hard work can be seen as metaphor for the experience of the United States which is known to be a country without a past. His excellence in making sound decisions and steps towards success in life has been post as a challenge to the ignorant, boastful and irresponsible rich people. Nick on the other hand has been developed to represent humble and principled people in the society (Martell & Zackary 70).

Fitzgerald has applied geography in his presentation of the spiritual dysfunction message. The distinct communities from the West Egg and East Egg have been dominated by immoral inhabitants despite their socioeconomic differences. The West Egg seems higher than the East Egg but in either side, no hope of redemption from the bondage of immorality. While Gatsby was alive, Nick was counted to belong in the West Egg but he was taken to the East Egg where poor people inhabited (Bloom 179). He is the one who could at least be counted to have a virtue but could not have helped the West Egg. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald has however been seen favoring the East Egg despite the overall view of it as less fashionable. He pits different regions of the country with similar moral results and this makes it clear that Midwest id the Promise land according to him (Martell & Zackary 70).  

In conclusion, Fitzgerald has an observant and keen eye of what entails the world around him. The Great Gatsby presents a very harsh picture of the 1920s’ society whose growth had been stirred up by the preceding World War I. Careless drivers have been used as metaphor for the immoral world of riches. Buchanans has been despised regardless of high social status because of his conduct. During the first scenes of the story, Nick refers Jordan as a rotten driver due to the cruel driving. The Great Gatsby strongly counteracted the notion of the society concerning elites being right. The use of geography has greatly helped the setting and plotting of the novel. It has assisted in the development of the picture into the minds of the readers in an effective way.  Lastly, Fitzgerald has expressed his view of a noble society in which men of virtue would be found. He does this by developing Gatsby and Nick and their dignified character.

 

Analysis two critics

There are two types of critics who have expressed their views concerning The Great Gatsby and Fitzgerald the author. There are those who feel impressed by the incredible excellence in this novel while some have a contrasting opinion concerning his work.

Critic 1

Mencken H. is one of the critics whose view of the novel is contrary to most. He despises the novel fundamentally due to the fact that The Great Gatsby is simply a fictional story. He argues that Fitzgerald has been so much interested in maintaining uncertainty and suspense instead of getting into understanding the true colors of people. For this reason, he sees that characters have been taken for granted because only Gatsby is real and genuine in the novel while all the others are just marionettes.

Critic 2

Anne O’Neill on the other is a critic who has expressed why she loves The Great Gatsby. She loves the novel basically because of the excellent organization and the brilliance of Fitzgerald to conjure up characters and creating emotions using a pen and a paper. She compares Fitzgerald with the old masters who used to paint powerful images to convey their message brilliantly.

 

 

 

Work cited

Fitzgerald, F S, and David Mann. The Great Gatsby. Harpenden: Oldcastle Books, 2013. Internet resource.

 

Bloom, Harold. F. Scott Fitzgerald's the Great Gatsby. New York: Bloom's Literary Criticism, 2010. Internet resource.

Martell, Jessica, and Zackary Vernon. "Of Great Gabasidy": Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim And F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby." Journal Of Modern Literature 38.3 (2015): 56-70. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Dec. 2016.