Gatsby is a very sentimental man; it’s shown though his name. If Gatsby didn’t want to keep a part of his old identity he would of completely invented a new identity, but instead Gatsby just changes his name from James Gatz to jay Gatsby the names are roughly the same. However the main part of how Gatsby is sentimental is how he wont let go of his past with daisy. Gatsby is determined to rekindle his love with daisy just how it was before “‘cant repeat the past? He cried incredulously.
Not once does F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the words “American Dream”, but it is inevitable that he shows the impossibility of achieving happiness through the American Dream because the American Dream is just a form of trickery to get people to crave greater things in life. In The Great Gatsby, one of the
Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan. “ Gatsby cannot tell his dreams; every attempt he makes to describe his love for Daisy collapses into benality, and yet we no more doubt the reality of Gatsby’s passion for Daisy than we doubt the terrible authenticity of the dying Keat’s intense desire for Fanny Brawne.” ( Bloom 7) Gatsby purchased a mansion in West Egg. West Egg is known as “new
Alec Rizzo A-1 3/14/12 Symbolic Hope in The Great Gatsby Hope is a very strong force for humans. A little bit of hope can go along way when a person is trying to achieve something out of their reach. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Gatsby was reaching for something nearly impossible, however he never get up, and this was shown through the symbols in the book. The Green Light, Gatsby’s money, and the character Nick are all symbols that show Gatsby’s hope that he can win Daisy back. Fitzgerald uses symbols in The Great Gatsby to give Gatsby hope to get back with Daisy.
Secondly, loss of innocence is also portrayed through Erica and her nostalgia as she keeps on clinging in the past when she still has her innocence. Lastly, America as a country and its reaction on the 9/11 attack demonstrate loss of innocence as America becomes aggressively patriotic which causes conflict between nations. Hamid’s protagonist, Changez, was consumed by the luxury and power that America can offer but as the novel progresses he realises that he is not being true to himself. He has become conformed to the Americans which brought him guilt. This forces him to wake up to the reality and confront his true identity.
But, as Gatsby found out, love is like being on a battlefield and you have to fight for the person you love. Gatsby was madly in love with Daisy but when he went off to war she moved on. He didn’t necessarily get her back, but she did have an affair with him which lead him to believe he was getting his true love back. True happiness is one idea that can only be defined by each individual. Nobody really knows what true happiness is, but as long as each person is happy with themselves and their situation then they may have true happiness.
But having her does more than motivate him to become successful, because she will show him a passionate vitality and liveliness in this life. When he learns that Judy’s beauty and vitality has faded and is lost, he breaks and he is disappointed. This story is about having the American Dream, and there are certain themes such as emptiness, power and money, freedom and control, and illusions that play an important role in attaining that dream. The themes that play throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s story also play throughout contemporary society, with immigrants who want to enter into the United States to achieve the same American Dream. One of the themes that play throughout the story is emptiness.
For henry this was a personal desire which meant when Wolsey failed to achieve it, it led Henry to question his capability and power. By 1525, Catherine of Aragon was unable to bear another child thus crushing Henrys aim of keeping the Tudor line of succession through a male heir. The king also became infatuated with Anne Boleyn who resisted his gifts and kind charm, however the more she resisted the more infatuated the king became; increasing his desire for the divorce even more. With Wolsey being Cardinal, Henry presumed the divorce would be very simple due to the marriage of him and Catherine being incestuous under biblical declarations. However with Charles keeping the pope prisoner and the relations between Charles and Catherine, he declined the divorce on behalf of the pope.
In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is blinded by his love for Daisy to the point that he will go to any length to protect her. His love and devotion for Daisy resulted in him overlooking the reality before him, and would ultimately get him killed. Holden Caulfield and Jay Gatsby both make the effort to generate what they have idealized in their dreams a reality, but doing so is not possible, as their realities cannot be changed. In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield struggles with accepting that what his ideals are in his life are not what actually exist in the outside world.
Over 170 years ago Tocqueville was befuddled at the tendency for Americans to be discontent and unhappy because they “dream constantly of the goods that they do not have” (ibid, p. 180). He stated that an American behaves as though his singular concern is to “distract himself from the happiness that is his” (ibid, p. 180). He worried that a people who initially treasured freedom and liberty would allow a taste for comfort and materialism to stupefy them into losing the ability or inclination to use their will in meaningful pursuits (ibid, p. 184). Tocqueville’s prescient insights serve as a piercingly accurate description of our society. The scriptures teach that in the last days “the love of many shall wax cold” (Matthew 24:12) and that Satan will pacify and lull many away into carnal security (2 Nephi 28:21).