Marxist View of the Great Gatsby - 1905 Words

The Great Gatsby- Marxist Readings Tabatha Turner In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel of The Great Gatsby, he creates an artificial world where each character’s sole purpose in life is money, and the essence of desire is wealth. It is clear within the text that the characters feel as if they are totally limited by the amount of money they make, therefore, their view of being satisfied and achieving in life is depicted against their financial status. Poverty limits decision and action. The novel is set in the 1920’s when the newly founded ‘American Dream’ was being strived for, the idea that if one worked hard, they would ‘reap’ the rewards, no matter their†¦show more content†¦The fact that Nick moves back to Minnesota to search for a quieter and more probable life shows the pure extravagance and materialism of the other characters. Relationships within the novel are somewhat questionable, as cases of characters appreciating their material possessions more than their associations show complete covetousness and greed. However, it is evident within the text that the possession of material love cannot replace true happiness and devotion. Two characters within the novel show utter materialism throughout the text, Daisy and Gatsby. Daisy Buchanan’s life expresses these values more than any other character, her pure desire to lay in a high-class society is so intense that she puts her happiness aside, this is evident when she reveals of her past decisions, ‘She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me. It was a terrible mistake, but in her heart she never loved anyone except me’. Although love was important to Daisy, it didn’t stop her from marrying Tom for his money, they do not have a loving relationship but a materialistic one, ‘They were careless peop le, Tom and Daisy, they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made’. Daisy’s child is a symbolShow MoreRelatedDeath Of Salesman By F. Scott Fitzgerald1515 Words   |  7 Pagesson, Biff Loman. Nevertheless, in the novel, The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, the protagonist, Jay Gatsby undergoes a major change in life; he goes from being a poor man to West Egg’s richest man. Gatsby believes that his wealth would help him get the love of his life back—Daisy Buchanan. In this paper, the Marxist theory will be used to describe how the idea of achieving the American Dream lead to the deaths of Willy Loman and Jay Gatsby—their corrupt versions of the American Dream. NonethelessRead MoreA Marxist Critical Approach to Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby Essay example1597 Words   |  7 Pages consciousness 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 armâ⠂¬â„¢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 More A Marxist Look at The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald Essay587 Words   |  3 PagesA Marxist Look at â€Å"The Great Gatsby,† by F. Scott Fitzgerald   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout â€Å"The Great Gatsby,† F. Scott Fitzgerald characterizes the citizens of East Egg as careless in some form. This relates to the prominent class issue seen all through â€Å"Gatsby.† It seems as though Daisy and Tom almost look down upon others. At one point in the book, Nick says â€Å"in a moment she looked at me with an absolute smirk on her lovely face as if she had asserted her membership in a rather distinguished secret societyRead MoreThe Representation Of The American Dream Essay1535 Words   |  7 PagesThe Representation of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby The American Dream is the dream of achieving success and opportunity, but The Great Gatsby defines the American Dream as unachievable. The characters in the novel are portrayed as the cause of corruption, materialism, and immorality within society. The novel takes place during the 1920’s, an era of prosperity. After World War One, many believed one can achieve the American Dream through any social class. In the novel, the dream is portrayedRead 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 MoreComparing Marber And Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby1257 Words   |  6 Pagesrelationships between individuals, can be connoted as ‘forbidden’ such as Daisy, Gatsby, Tom and Myrtle. Comparably, in ‘Closer’ the relationships of Alice, Dan, Larry and Anna. On the contrary, you could say that there is also an element of underlying homosexuality in both the book and the play as Nick idolises Gatsby because of his ‘sensitivity to the promises of life’ and Dan and Larry’s chatroom scene. ‘The Great Gatsby’ written by Scott Fitzgerald was set in 1922 and published in 1925. This novelRead 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 More Narrators Role in Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby and Kerouacs On The Road1256 Words   |  6 PagesNarrators Role in Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby and Kerouacs On The Road Over the last fifty years, since the release of On The Road in 1957, it has not been uncommon for critics to draw parallels between Kerouac’s semi-autobiographical novel and Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, released thirty-two years previously. It is for certain that both the novels share many similar traits, both examine concepts of American ideals and The American Dream, both are heavily influenced by the jazz ageRead MoreOm and M2457 Words   |  10 Pagesnovels comment and criticise on the societies which they are set in.  Ã‚      We are introduced to both novels in the 1920s elite society where both authors; Waugh and Fitzgerald are from an upper class society. Fitzgerald cultivates the character Jay Gatsby who we perceive purely from Nick who is an onlooker throughout the novella. Readers interpret Gatsby’s social structure as a triangle and we learn to commiserate him whereas Waugh invents the character Paul Pennyfeather who is a naà ¯ve, passive character