Great Gatsby :: essays papers

Great Gatsby 4 When F. Scott Fitzgerald first published The Great Gatsby, it was named Under the Red, White, and Blue. However, after having revised the novel many times with his many editors, publishers, and personal advisors, Fitzgerald eventually released the book under its contemporary title. Why did Fitzgerald make the change? Under the red white and blue referred to the life of people in America, or under the American flag. His novel is focused on the corruption of the American dream, and the corruption of those residing within. The great Gatsby referred to one of the principle characters in the novel, Jay Gatsby. Why was Gatsby so great that the book was named after him? Jay Gatsby was portrayed by Fitzgerald as the son of God, or of a God. Fitzgerald reminds us of this throughout the novel, and from beginning to end he fills the text with hints as he alludes to Gatsby^s divine spirit. The ^Great Gatsby^ was a great man- Fitzgerald tells the reader that Gatsby was so great he could not have been a man- that he was a heavenly figure. Fitzgerald wanted the reader to believe that the American dream had died, and to further ingrain his belief in our minds, he destroys religion and morality^ but the final and most dismal reality Fitzgerald faces us with is that no man is a great man- the only great man encountered in The Great Gatsby is the son of God- who is superior to man, and cannot be judged by the same rules. An author uses imagery to convey specific thoughts and emotions from his readers. Fitzgerald constantly reminds us that Gatsby is a heavenly figure by associating Gatsby with the moon. The moon is a heavenly body; therefore, Gatsby^s presence brings out the heavens. The first time the narrator, Nick, meets Gatsby, it is at one of Gatsby^s gaudy parties, and ^the moon had risen higher.^(Fitzgerald p.51) just before Nick met Gatsby. When Nick leaves the party, ^a wafer of a moon was shining over Gatsby^s house.^(p.60) After Myrtle had been run over by Daisy, Nick speaks to Gatsby outside Daisy^s house, and Nick ^could think of nothing except the luminosity of his pink suit under the moon.^ The imagery in this location suggests that Gatsby is innocent of the crime he is implicated in, which is the murder of Myrtle. The moon shining down on Gatsby, making his suit radiate, suggests that heaven looks with favor upon Gatsby. Gatsby is linked with the heavens occurs when he describe! d having kissed Daisy for the first time.