Destruction and Failure of a Generation in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsb

The Great Gatsby and the Destruction of a Generation      Ã‚   The beauty and splendor of Gatsby's parties masks the decay and corruption that lay at the heart of the Roaring Twenties. The society of the Jazz Age, as observed by Fitzgerald, is morally bankrupt, and thus continually plagued by a crisis of character. Jay Gatsby, though he struggles to be a part of this world, remains unalterably an outsider. His life is a grand irony, in that it is a caricature of Twenties-style ostentation: his closet overflows with custom-made shirts; his lawn teems with "the right people," all engaged in the serious work of absolute triviality; his mannerisms (his false British accent, his old-boy friendliness) are laughably affected. Despite all this, he can never be truly a part of the corruption that surrounds him: he remains intrinsically "great." Nick Carrway reflects that Gatsby's determination, his lofty goals, and most importantly the grand character of his dreams sets him above his vulgar contemporaries. F. Scott Fitzgerald constructs Gatsby a s a true American dreamer, set against the decay of American society during the 1920s. By eulogizing the tragic fate of dreamers, Fitzgerald thereby denounces 1920s America as an age of blindness and greed an age hostile to the work of dreaming. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald heralds the ruin of his own generation.    Since America has always held its entrepreneurs in the highest regard, one might expect Fitzgerald to glorify this heroic version of the American Dreamer in the pages of his novel. Instead, Fitzgerald suggests that the societal corruption which prevailed in the 1920s was uniquely inhospitable to dreamers; in fact, it was these men who led the most unfortunate lives of all... ...ible Honesty: Mongrel Manhattan in the 1920s. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1995. Fielder, Leslie. "Some Notes on F. Scott Fitzgerald." Mizener 70-76. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. 1925. New York: Scribner Classic, 1986. Hobsbawm, Eric. The Age of Extremes. New York: Pantheon, 1994. Posnock, Ross. "'A New World, Material Without Being Real': Fitzgerald's Critique of Capitalism in The Great Gatsby." Critical Essays on Scott Fitzgerald's "Great Gatsby." Ed. Scott Donaldson. Boston: Hall, 1984. 201-13. Raleigh, John Henry. "F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby." Mizener 99-103. Spindler, Michael. American Literature and Social Change. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1983. Trilling, Lionel. "F. Scott Fitzgerald." Critical Essays on Scott Fitzgerald's "Great Gatsby." Ed. Scott Donaldson. Boston: Hall, 1984. 13-20.   

Cassius Analysis

Edgar KarapetyanKarapetyan 1 1 October 2012 Cassius vs. Rome Character Analysis Essay â€Å"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him. † In William Shakespeare’s â€Å"The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar†, there are many dangerous people who are around Caesar. Cassius, supposedly one of Caesars close friends, devises a group called the Conspirators to end Caesars time of rule. This play shows how they kill him, and how Rome goes through chaos as a result.Cassius is a fascinating character created by Shakespeare. Although Antony shows many characteristics of an intelligent person, Cassius is the smartest character in this play because he has more admirable traits. A great trait to have as an individual is the power to manipulate people into doing whatever you want. Fortunately, Cassius has that ability. After devising a plan to assassinate Caesar, he searched for a particular group of people who were powerful and had the same wish he had. The most important person for his team was Brutus. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings†(28) is what Cassius tells Brutus to try and pursue him to join the conspirators. He said that Caesars rise is their fault because they are not doing anything to stop it. Cassius used his smart, clever, and manipulative ways to tell Brutus that basically, you are helping Rome by killing Caesar. â€Å"And since you know you cannot see yourself/ so well as by reflection, I, your glass/ Will modestly discover to yourself†(25) is said to Brutus to persuade him to join the conspiracy because Cassius will help him find himself.It is this manipulative ability that allows Cassius to carry out his plan and, ultimately, kill Caesar. Imagine how difficult it would be to kill a ruler. It is practically impossible unless you have the mind of a genius and the sharpness of a killer. Thanks to Cassius’ clever mind and precise planning, he accomplished this goal. Even though he ended up killing himself, he successfully completed his mission. . â€Å"He reads much;/He is a great observer, and he looks/ Quite through the deeds of men†(30-31) is said by Julius Caesar to describe Cassius. This shows that even though Julius Caesar is a stubborn, selfish person, he sees Cassius’ power.Cassius was like Michael Jordan in the 1991 NBA Finals. He was committed to succeeding his mission no matter what it took. â€Å"Yond' Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much: such men are dangerous†(30). Based on what Caesar said about Cassius, this shows that he is so focused, other people can easily see it in his face. Cassius used his skills for the wrong reasons, but you can definitely see what kind of person he really is. The flaw that Cassius has that is very easily seen throughout this play is his jealousy of Caesar. Cassius wants the people to look at him the way they look at Ca esar. ‘But in ourselves, that we are underlings. Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that ’Caesar’? Why should that name be sounded more than yours? ’ (28). By trying to kill him, he thought that they would see him and Brutus as their saviors, but, instead, they saw them as traitors of Rome due to Antony’s words. â€Å"I was born free as Caesar; so were you: / we both have fed as well, and we can both / Endure the winter's cold as well as he†(27) is what Cassius says about Caesar. Cassius believes that he is just as great as Caesar and does not think that Caesar should be treated specially.Cassius’ eye for power is what causes him to kill himself. He saw that his plan had gone too far and that he would be captured so he committed suicide. Unlike Cassius, Brutus had killed Caesar for the love of Rome. Cassius is truly the villain in this story by Shakespeare. â€Å"The only thing necessary for the triumph of villains is for good men t o do nothing† Edmund burke. In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar, the good men of Rome do not allow the villain, which in this case is Cassius, to go without being punished.They pursue him until he is forced to commit suicide. Among these good people, there is Octavius, Lepidus, and most importantly, Antony. Sometimes, the smartest character is not necessarily the good guy. Through his cleverness, manipulative ability and hate for Caesar, Cassius accomplished what was practically impossible†¦ to kill a God. Works Cited â€Å"Notable Quotes in Julius Caesar. † Notable Quotes in Julius Caesar. N. p. , n. d. Web. 08 Oct. 2012. ;http://www. shakespeare-navigators. com/JC_Navigator/notable_quotes. html;.

The History of Containment Policy

Containment was a foreign policy strategy followed by the United States during the Cold War. First laid out by George F. Kennan in 1947, the policy stated that communism needed to be contained and isolated, or else it would spread to neighboring countries. American foreign policy advisors believed that once one country fell to communism, each surrounding country would fall as well, like a row of dominoes. This view was known as the domino theory. Adherence to the policy of containment and domino theory ultimately led to U.S. intervention in Vietnam as well as in Central America and Grenada. Containment Policy The Cold War began after World War Two when nations formerly under Nazi rule ended up split between the conquests of the U.S.S.R. and the newly freed states of France, Poland, and the rest of Nazi-occupied Europe. Since the United States had been a key ally in liberating western Europe, it found itself deeply involved in this newly divided continent: Eastern Europe wasnt being turned back into free states, but rather being placed under the military and political control of the Soviet Union. Further, western European countries appeared to be wobbling in their democracies because of socialist agitation and collapsing economies, and the United States began to suspect that the Soviet Union was deliberately destabilizing these countries in an effort to bring them into the folds of communism. Even countries themselves were dividing in half over the ideas of how to move forward and recover from the last world war. This resulted in a lot of political and military turmoil for the years to come, with such extremes as the establishment of the  Berlin Wall  to separate East and West Germany due to the opposition to communism. The United States developed its policy of containment to prevent communism from spreading further into Europe and the rest of the world. The concept was first outlined in George Kennans Long Telegram, which he sent from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. The message arrived in Washington, D.C., on February 22, 1946, and was circulated widely around the White House. Later, Kennan published the document as an article titled The Sources of Soviet Conduct — which became known as X Article because Kennan used the pseudonym Mr. X. The policy of containment was adopted by President Harry Truman as part of his Truman Doctrine in 1947, which redefined Americas foreign policy as one that supports the free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressures. This came at the height of the Greek Civil War of 1946-1949 when much of the world was waiting to see which direction Greece and Turkey would go, and the United States agreed to help both countries to avoid the possibility that the Soviet Union would lead them to communism. The Creation of NATO Acting deliberately (and at times aggressively) to involve itself in the border states of the world and prevent them from turning communist, the United States spearheaded a movement that would eventually lead to the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The group alliance represented a multi-national commitment to halting the spread of communism. In response, the Soviet Union signed an agreement called the Warsaw Pact with Poland, Hungary, Romania, East Germany, and several other nations. Containment in the Cold War: Vietnam and Korea Containment remained central to American foreign policy throughout the Cold War, which saw rising tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. In 1955, the United States entered what some historians consider a proxy war with the Soviet Union, by sending troops into Vietnam to support the South Vietnamese in their battle against the communist North Vietnamese. The United States involvement in the war lasted until 1975, the year the North Vietnamese captured the city of Saigon. A similar conflict took place during the early 1950s in Korea, which was likewise divided into two states. In the fight between North Korea and South Korea, the United States backed the South, while the Soviet Union backed the North. The war ended with an armistice in 1953 and the establishment of the Korean Demilitarized Zone, a 160-mile barrier between the two states.