The Great Gatsby Essay Examples - Argumentative Topics for Research Papers

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Jay Gatsby

Daisy Buchanan

American Dream

Roaring Twenties

The Great Gatsby and Prohibition

The 1920s in America was an era of excess, a time when the free market thrived and could be afforded. Even products that were declared illegal could be bought from the underground. One product in particular was alcohol, a product restricted by prohibition. Prohibition stated that the production, distribution, and purchase of alcohol was illegal (Kelly). This policy had been built up by a variety of organizations across the nation, looking to dry America. By the 1920s, their efforts brought […]

Feminist Criticism in the Great Gatsby

The focus on how women are depicted in literature is crucial and it is seen in the works of Fitzgerald in his book “The Great Gatsby”, for it was one of the many ideas that were discussed in his book. Furthermore, the idea of the feminist perspective is that it deals with the traditional impression of a man as the commanding and influencing subject who is thought to represent humanity since it is depicted that the male had overpowered females […]

The Great Gatsby Morality

The lower class characters – Gatsby, Myrtle, and George – are all so consumed by their own illusions that they fail to recognize the flaws in their society. All three characters are dreamers but fail to be successful due to the social pressure implanted by the upper class that prevents them from co-existing with old money. All the beauty they see in East Egg – wealth, pedigree, sophistication – contribute to their desire of gaining social mobility. However, dreamers can […]

Gatsby’s Life Tragedy

The book, The Great Gatsby, is a historical fiction novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald which was published on April 10, 1925. This novel was set right after World War I and this period of time was called the Roaring Twenties or the Jazz Age, a time filled with dramatic social and political change. The 1920s was a time where women gained more rights, Americans had more money, and people were freer to do the things they wanted to do. […]

Characteristic of Tom Buchanan

Indirect characterization is when the author reveals knowledge about characters through their words, thoughts, actions and appearances. When reading a book or watching a movie you can usually interpret what type of character you are introduced to, based on the character behaviors, actions and reactions in different settings. It is very important to perceive the characters personalities’ and behaviors throughout the novel. This will help you understand the novel and each characters different meaning to contribute. Fitzgerald uses indirect characterization […]

A Bad Reputation of Tom Buchanan

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. It is the 1920’s, or the roaring 20’s. At that time, a lot of people were thriving and the economy was booming, the stock market was going up, and it was a time of prosperity. There were a lot of wealthy men at that time, and they can be very unpredictable. They can be a caring gentleman, or abusive and controlling to women. There were a […]

Great Gatsby Materialism Essay

Status and money can influence a person’s love, caused the Platonism divides love into three stages, the first one “Eros” which is Sensual love or sexual love, the second one “Philia” which is platonic love or friendship, the third one “Agape” which is “an intimate companionship or relationship, especially between two persons of the opposite sex, that is characterized by the absence of sexual involvement; a spiritual affection.”(Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. […]

Yellow in the Great Gatsby

The colors gold and yellow stress a great importance of representation in fortune in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. Throughout this novel, Fitzgerald makes the connection of yellow to sickness, fraud, and dying. Despite the slight difference in color, he objectively relates gold to the “superior” wealthy. He makes it evident throughout the book that fake fortune represents a declining future and genuine fortune represents a partially secure future. Before Fitzgerald begins his novel, he explains the meaning […]

The True Identity of Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is not the type of 1920s novel that encompasses the American Dream and the glitz and glam that came along with it. Yes, there are multiple examples of fancy cars and extravagant parties which fit the 20s aspect of the book, but this is not a traditional the 1920s were so amazing! novel. It shows the true good, bad, and ugly that usually are absent from other books written at the time. F. Scott Fitzgerald took a […]

A Portrait of Daisy Buchanan

In the book The Great Gatsby novel written by F. Scott. Fitzgerald, Daisy B is portrayed as a manipulative character. Throughout the whole book this is shown in various ways from the ups and downs in emotion, the naive mind in her scandalous relationship, and to her own actual affair that set her free from hurt. Daisy Buchanan, born Daisy Fay, is from a wealthy family in Louisville, Kentucky. Popular and beautiful, she was stunning to officers during World War […]

Why does Daisy Choose Tom?

Why Did Daisy Stay With Tom? There’s always a reason for someone to cheat, for Tom there must have been a wonderful reason for why he cheated of Daisy with Myrtle who was younger then both Tom. Daisy Buchanan was a real beauty, many men, even the Great Gatsby wanted her. She even gave Tom a child. Tom had it all money, power, and daisy a beautiful young woman. Tom did not love her as much as she thought he […]

Immoral Daisy Buchanan

The novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is told by Nick Carraway who lived on Long Island next to a man named Jay Gatsby who lived in a huge mansion. Nick became very curious about Gatsby after being the only person to receive an invitation to one of his huge parties. He later finds out he is in love with his cousin Daisy Buchanan, who is married to Tom Buchanan. The two meet again and start seeing each […]

Today’s Society in the Great Gatsby

Could you imagine living in a time where racism and wealth affects people’s opinion on you? In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the reader begins to pick up on flaws in that society that relate to today’s society. There are many flaws that can be touched on, but I am only going to talk about two of them. One flaw is that only the rich have a say in what goes on. The second flaw is […]

F. Scott Fitzgerald Jazz Age Author of NYC

Born on September 24, 1896, F. Scott Fitzgerald is widely regarded as one of the greatest authors in American history. His novels and collections of short stories all highlight the flamboyance and fervor of the American Jazz Age during the 1920s. While he is famous for his extended stays in Europe, where he wrote prolifically and made friends with many other American writers, Fitzgerald also spent a great deal of time in New York City. His experience with the opportunities […]

Fitzgerald’s from Rags to Riches

Happiness is the key to a fulfilled life; but in many cases this pursuit is hard to attain. The American Dream is an etho of the United States. It is the ideal that prosperity will bring you life, liberty and happiness. To many, the American Dream has become the pursuit of material prosperity; it has brought inferior outcomes, more working hours for big investments and less hours to enjoy their success. The term, rags to riches is usually intertwined with […]

The Legacy of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, For centuries the words of William Shakespeare’s character Jaques in As You Like It have resounded with audiences and readers. Surely these words also resounded with philosophers, writers, and great thinkers such as Benjamin Franklin or F. Scott Fitzgerald. Because Franklin spent the vast majority of his life immersed […]

An Analysis of Societal Disparities in the Great Gatsby, the Crucible, Fahrenheit 451 and One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Exploring the Separation in Societies Upon reading four novels where the subjects often contain assorted scenarios, it became undeniably coherent that disagreements occur often in societies, leading others to branch out, or abandon said community completely. Society has never been an facile group of people to control; throughout history, and currently, there are obstacles that stand in the way of a community operating peacefully, and without hostility. Whether the reason be because a tyrannical leader refuses to confirm to the […]

The Interpretation of the American Dream in the Song of Solomon and the Great Gatsby

Monetary Wealth and Materialism Monetary Wealth and materialism are two components that both, The Song of Solomon as well as The Great Gatsby share. These stories translate “The American Dream” and consequently emphasize the importance of the function that cash plays in each of their character’s lives. Within each of these stories, the presence of a yearning for wealth within the personalities as well as their decisions ex lover- ists as a way of social criticism that exhibits the corruption […]

Materialism in the Great Gatsby

In The Great Gatsby, author F. Scott Fitzgerald captures and transmits with multiple uses of stylistic choices by demonstrating materialism and non-materialism by which American culture was swept away during the golden twenties, a time of sudden economic status. In doing so, he provides readers with the hollowness of materialistic culture. Throughout the essay, the author emphasizes the American way by illustrating the use of descriptive imagery by analyzing the book The Great Gatsby. ‘Every Friday five crates of oranges […]

“The Great Gatsby” – Psychological Drama of Dysfunctional Love

The Roaring Twenties was a revolutionary period that brought about great cultural and societal changes in American history, including the emergence of the concept of the American dream. The journey to achieve the American dream consists of working hard for this idea of success, which is usually defined by an abundance of materialistic goods, wealth, and high social class. However, this desire to achieve the American dream often comes at a cost. In the case of the character Daisy Buchanan […]

Lying is Necessary in the Ways we Lie and the Great Gatsby

In Stephanie Ericsson’s essay “The Ways We Lie,” she articulates the roles and consequences that lies play in American culture. Ericsson’s assertive tone provides insight into the harmful effects of different lies, while also implying that lies are necessary for daily life. However, she also cites Martin Buber, a philosopher of dialogue, to bolster her argument that the acceptance of lies has the potential to become a “cultural cancer” that will prevent society from identifying moral flaws. The act of […]

The Evil of Money and Power: Jay Gatsby, Macbeth and Tom Walker

In today’s society, the idea that money can buy happiness is prevalent in the ordinary lives of most people. As a society we often equate the attainment of money or power with happiness. In many cases obtaining wealth or power does not always guarantee happiness. Furthermore, wealth exposes people to more sadness because greedy people are never content with life. These people are constantly seeking more. In the works of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Macbeth by William […]

Gender Roles in the Great Gatsby

Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Great Gatsby is notably a self portrait of America during the 1920’s. The story unwinds in Long island and New York City following World War I, and is introduced during the era of prohibition. It is portrayed through the eyes of narrator Nick Carraway, in his adventures with the inhabitants that make up East and West egg. The 1920’s were undoubtedly a decade of great change for society, politically, socially and economically in America. It […]

The American Dream in the Great Gatsby

Looking at today’s world, people perceive their goals and desires in multiple distinctive ways whether it is having everything a person has dreamed of or just one thing a person has been striving for. One of the best-known classics of all time, The Great Gatsby, by Fitzgerald portrays a powerful and meaningful message that relates to a person’s inner thoughts about how the American Dream is unattainable. The overall message throughout the novel is that every individual has a different […]

Mental Health Issues in the Great Gatsby

The book The Great Gatsby by f. Scott Fitzgerald is a book that is famous for many reasons. Firstly, we know that it’s famous because it is still being used in the educational system of today. I believe this book is still being read today because of the lasting impact that resonates with the reader. Personally, I can relate to this book through the character jay Gatsby. Throughout The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, I believe that Jay Gatsby […]

Women in the 1920s

The first radio station, the Prohibition, and women gaining suffrage were all a part of the new emerging era – the roaring twenties. Many of these changes brought a new ideas about the female role in society allowing women to wear shorter skirts, cut their hair into bobs, and began driving. Women even began to enter the work force in small numbers with about a twenty five percent increase in fields such as teaching, social working, and nursing as a […]

Death of a Salesman and Gatsby

Stories can be told in many ways while still saying the same thing. Some are plays, some are novels, some are poems. Two such examples of stories which make similar statements in opposite modes of telling are those of a salesman’s death and a man named Gatsby. Death of a Salesman is more confined to reality than The Great Gatsby in its strangeness of characters and in the structure in which the story is formed. The characters, such as Gatsby […]

The Great Soul of Gatsby

Jazz age, as the appellation of 1920s, was one of the memorable and important time to United State. After the World war I, America profited from the selling war materials and industrial production, citizens improved their economic condition which caused the dramatically increasing of consumption level. American enjoyed the extravagant life crazier than ever before. Materialism rose in response to the this time and conditions. (Price, S, 1999). The Great Gatsby is the most famous novel illustrating this period of […]

Gatsby’s Biggest Desire

Adam Meehan psychoanalyzed The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Meehan’s article is, Repetition, race, and desire, in the Great Gatsby. In this psychoanalysis, Meehan covers desire and repetition thoroughly and does not necessarily go over race. In the novel race is not a large factor but Meehan did not necessarily cover all aspects of Gatsby’s desire. Meehan states that Gatsby chases Daisy because she is like the mother he never had and uses her to fill that void. The […]

Men in the Great Gatsby

The human brain is capable of doing many things, even the unimaginable. Ones actions may seem irrational to others, but that persons motives is the drive that initiates the action. The psychological critical theory is a perspective in biology that looks into someones mind and thoughts to better understand the forces that drive their motivation. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, author F. Scott Fitzgerald utilizes the characters Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, Tom Buchanan, and Nick Carraway to portray why […]

About the Great Gatsby
Release date:	May 16, 2013 (Netherlands)
Director:	Baz Luhrmann
Music by:	Craig Armstrong
Box office:	$353.6 million
Adapted from:	The Great Gatsby
Awards:	Academy Award for Best Production Design

Essays on The Great Gatsby

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