In this article, Twenties Today will reveal to the readers three major themes in the great American novel, The Great Gatsby.
The American Dream Ruined
The American dream was originally supposed to be prosperity, success, having a family, and being able to provide for that family without worry. Money was acquired through hard work and honesty, but The Great Gatsby presents an entirely different perspective on this dream. One example from the book is the way Gatsby gets his money--through bootlegging. He steped completely out of the guidelines of the American Dream. The American Dream was not meant to be corrupt, but during the 1920s, people like Gatsby used organized crime and other immorally wrong ways to gain their wealth. F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby shows through his descriptions of the characters that the rich are, in general, morally corrupt. The Ruined American Dream presented in the 1920s is corrupt and focused on getting rich quick. Through his book, Fitzgerald is telling us not to follow this dream.
Following the Past
In the novel, it is made clear through many symbols that Gatsby lives for the past. He had an affair with Daisy in 1917 and ever since then he had been aspiring to get her back. He earns money, buys a house across the bay from hers, fixes it up to impress her, and throws parties every week in hopes that she will stop by one. He lives for the feelings that he felt all those years ago. The pain he feels is awful, because he has done so much for her and put so much effort into impressing her and received nothing in return; she barely knows he stil existed. Of course, when she sees him again, she falls back in love with him. But Gatsby's years of anticipation for being with her made him almost disappointed with who she was. In his mind he had imagined her to be perfect-but she was not. Through this theme, we should learn not to build our hopes on the past, but look forward to the future.
Doomed to Blindness
We are all blind in our own ways, not seeing what is right in front of us. Rarely do we see the big picture. The Great Gatsby contains characters that see as well as characters that are blind to the obvious. Nick gets the big picture, having observed everything from a slightly outside point of veiw. He seems to understand everything differently than the rest. He is friends with all the other characters, but is still very observant to their lifestyle. Owl Eyes is another character that sees things as they really are. He discovered that the books in Gatsby's library were "real." Other characters, like Gatsby, only see the past, or characters like Daisy and Jordan only see their own little world and are trapped in it. Its like a haze-they walk around in it because its comfortable, but they fail to realize what is going on outside their social circle, and often times they don't understand their own comfort zone. Daisy, along with everyone else, chooses to be blind to her husband's affair. This last theme is telling us not to shut things out because they are painful. We need to see the truth for what it is and not attempt to mask it.
In conclusion, there are many things we can learn from The Great Gatsby. They are meant to help us out and give us a lesson that someone has learned. Lets not make the same mistakes that they did.
