The Great Gatsby A Marxist Approach - 1398 Words

The Great Gatsby, originally written with the intention to portray its foremost character’s life throughout the 1920s, is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s award-winning novel exploring the American dream through the main character, Jay Gatsby. Gatsby, along with additional characters, appears as though he is pursing the American dream throughout the story. While many consider The Great Gatsby simply the narrative of a gentleman chasing the American dream, Fitzgerald utilizes a Marxist approach to discuss the dangers associated with capitalism. Originally, the discrepancy between the affluent class and the destitute class becomes evident in the contrast between countless cities, primarily East Egg and West Egg. When Nick Carraway relocates to the East coast, he â€Å"lived at West Egg, the- less fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them† (5). Nick establishes a clear contrast between E ast Egg and West Egg; from the beginning, Fitzgerald establishes a distinction between the â€Å"old money† and the â€Å"new money†. Fitzgerald portrays the members of West Egg, the â€Å"new money†, as pompous and careless while spending their money; in contrast, he portrays the members of East Egg, the â€Å"old money†, as responsible and capable of handling their money. Fitzgerald utilizes the contrast between these two cities to explore the diversity of the two leading social classes. Additionally, introducing the Valley of AshesShow MoreRelatedA Marxist Critical Approach to Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby Essay example1597 Words   |  7 Pagesconsciousness of men that determines their existence but their social existence that determines their consciousness†. By stating this, Marx sheds light into the workings of ‘The Great Gatsby’ thus showing that the social circumstances in which the characters find themselves define them , and that these circumstances consist of core Marxist principles a Capitalistic society. These principles being ‘commodity fetishism’ and ‘reification’ are useful aids in interpreting and understanding the core themes thatRead MoreIn The Great Gatsby, a novel written and set during the post-World War II society of the 1920’s,600 Words   |  3 PagesIn The Great Gatsby, a novel written and set during the post-World War II society of the 1920’s, author F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates what life was like for those thriving to reach the American dream. Economic prosperity appeared open to all and the dream of leading a rich life was within arm’s reach for many. While the Roaring 20’s appear to have been a time of social and economic prosperity, a Marxist interpretation of the time and novel may suggest the opposite. Marxism, or the Marxist approachRead MoreMarxist Criticism Of The Great Gatsby1588 Words   |  7 PagesAmerican Lit erature 14 April 2015 Marxist Criticism of The Great Gatsby Society has evolved to the point where money is the biggest factor in our lives. People spend an incredible amount of time at their workplace for that miniscule pay raise. Money also plays a role in our relationships with the people around us, seen in the fact that people of similar economic status tend to congregate. This desire to gain more money causes conflict, mainly between people who have a great deal of money, and the peopleRead MoreThe Great Gatsby Character Analysis1458 Words   |  6 PagesF. Scott’s Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel, â€Å"The Great Gatsby†, features the affluent, upper-class characters of Jay Gatsby, Daisy and Tom Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and the lead, Nick Carraway, and follows them throughout their New York lives in the summer of 1922. Nick is presumably so tolerant and willing to be around these people even when he discovers major character flaws because of their similarity with social placement. As this novel took place in the midst of the â€Å"roaring twenties†, which was filledRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald2082 Words   |  9 PagesF. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby reflects the 19th century ideals of political theorist Karl Marx and his predicted clashing of the wealthy poor. Using Marxist literary theory we see that Fitzgerald powerfully condemns this class-based oppression. Gyorgy Lukacs in Reification and The Consciousness of the Proletariat states â€Å"our intention here is to base ourselves on Marx’s economic analyses and to proceed from there to a discussion of the problems growing out of the fetish character ofRead MoreThe American Dream1823 Words   |  8 Pagesdream†. The American Dream is the â€Å"ideology that states that if people work really hard and are determined to achieve their financial goals, they will attain financial success† (Tyson). The Marxist belief that the American Dream is a restrained belief system is widely evident in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. The means by which some people pursue this dream ultimately results in the destruction of the dream itself. This is explored through the narcissist attitudes of the individuals who are livingRead MoreExploring The Destruction Of True Love2134 Words   |  9 Pageslove in a capitalist society: A Marxist Approach to â€Å"The Great Gatsby† Love can be defined as honesty, trust and respect; it occurs when two people touch each other s soul. Every series, every story and every movie speaks about how two people fall in love and live happily ever after. All stories come to that same conclusion but what happens when two people don’t belong to the same social class. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a story about Jay Gatsby, a man who is part of the workingRead MoreDeath Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller2091 Words   |  9 Pagesprosperity through hard work. Both in Arthur Miller s Death of a Salesman and F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the American Dream is a strong theme throughout, as ultimately the protagonists in the novel and play fail to achieve their dream. As a result, the reader is forced to consider whether the American Dream is an unattainable concept or if it is due to personal interpretation. The Great Gatsby written in 1925 and Death of a Salesman 1949, gives a slightly different p erspective being post WW1Read MoreFeminist/Marxist Analysis of the Hunger Games Essay examples4753 Words   |  20 Pagesher bread when her family was starving† (Wikipedia 1). There are strong literary themes throughout this work that readily lend themselves to various forms of critique. This paper will focus on two main genres of literary criticism. The first is Marxist criticism, for which there is plenty of material that reveals the novel’s explicitly anti-imperialist agenda. There is a strong oppression of the poor by the rich, and socioeconomic subjugation is responsible for the huge disparity between the â€Å"haves†Read MoreTracing Theoretical Approaches to Crime and Social Control: from Functionalism to Postmodernism16559 Words   |  67 Pages.. 26 CAPITALISM AND MARXIST THEORY .......................................................................... 26-41 Conflict Criminology theory: Karl Marx ................................................................... 29 Critical Criminology .................................................................................................. 31 Critical Criminology: Richard Quinney ..................................................................... 33 Neo-Marxist Critical theory: The Frankfurt