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Need to write about a theme for a Great Gatsby assignment or just curious about what exactly a theme is? Not sure where to start? Learn here what a theme is, what the main themes in The Great Gatsby are, and what the best tips for writing about themes for your English/Language Arts class essays are.

We will also link to our specific articles on each theme so you can learn even more in-depth about themes central to Gatsby .

What Is a Theme? Why Should You Care?

First things first: what exactly is a theme? In literature, a theme is a central topic a book deals with. This central topic is revealed through plot events, the actions and dialogue of the characters, and even the narrator's tone. Themes can be very broad, like love, money, or death, or more specific, like people versus technology, racial discrimination, or the American Dream.

In short, a book's theme can usually answer the question, "what's the point of this book?". They're the "so what?" of literary analysis. Also, note that books can definitely have more than one major theme —in Gatsby we identify seven!

Knowing a book's major theme(s) is crucial to writing essays, since many assignments want you to connect your argument to a book's theme. For example, you might be asked to write an essay about a prompt like this: "How does the life of Jay Gatsby exemplify (or deconstruct) the idea of the American Dream?" This prompt has you connect specific details in Jay Gatsby's life to the larger theme of the American Dream. This is why many teachers love theme essays: because they encourage you to connect small details to big ideas!

Furthermore, the AP English Literature test always has an essay question that has you analyze some aspect of a book and then "compare it to the theme of the work as a whole." (If you want specific examples you can access the last 15 years of AP English Literature free response questions here , using your College Board account.) So this skill won't just help you in your English classes, it will also help you pass the AP English Literature test if you're taking it!

So keep reading to learn about the major themes in Gatsby and how they are revealed in the book, and also to get links to our in-depth articles about each theme.

Overview of Key Themes in The Great Gatsby

Before we introduce our seven main themes, we'll briefly describe how the story and characters suggest the major Great Gatsby themes. Remember that the story is set in the 1920s, a period when America's economy was booming, and takes place in New York: specifically the wealthy Long Island towns of West Egg and East Egg, as well as Manhattan and Queens.

As you should know from the book ( check out our summary if you're still hazy on the details!), The Great Gatsby tells the story of James Gatz , a poor farm boy who manages to reinvent himself as the fabulously rich Jay Gatsby, only to be killed after an attempt to win over his old love Daisy Buchanan . Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan , and they're both from old money, causing them to look down Gatsby's newly rich crowd (and for Tom to look down at Gatsby himself).

Meanwhile, Tom is having an affair with Myrtle Wilson , the wife of mechanic George Wilson . Through the Wilsons, we see the struggles of the working class in dismal Queens , NY. As if they didn't already have it hard enough, Myrtle is killed in a hit-and-run accident (caused by Daisy Buchanan), and George, who's manipulated by Tom to believe that Jay Gatsby was both his wife's lover and her murderer, ends up shooting Gatsby and then himself.

The whole story is told by Nick Carraway , a second cousin of Daisy's and classmate of Tom's who moves in next to Gatsby's mansion and eventually befriends Jay -- and then comes to deeply admire him, despite or perhaps because of Jay's fervent desire to repeat his past with Daisy. The tragic chain of events at the novel's climax, along with the fact that both the Buchanans can easily retreat from the damage they caused, causes Nick to become disillusioned with life in New York and retreat back to his hometown in the Midwest.

Aside from having a very unhappy ending, the novel might just ruin swimming pools for you as well.

The fact that the major characters come from three distinct class backgrounds (working class, newly rich, and old money) suggests that class is a major theme. But the rampant materialism and the sheer amount of money spent by Gatsby himself is a huge issue and its own theme. Related to money and class, the fact that both Gatsby and the Wilsons strive to improve their positions in American society, only to end up dead, also suggests that the American Dream -- and specifically its hollowness -- is a key theme in the book as well.

But there are other themes at play here, too. Every major character is involved in at least one romantic relationship , revealing that they are all driven by love, sex, and desire -- a major theme. Also, the rampant bad behavior (crime, cheating, and finally murder) and lack of real justice makes ethics and morality a key theme. Death also looms large over the novel's plot, alongside the threat of failure.

And finally, a strong undercurrent to all of these themes is identity itself: can James Gatz really become Jay Gatsby, or was he doomed from the start? Can someone who is not from old money ever blend in with that crowd? Could Gatsby really aspire to repeat his past with Daisy, or is that past self gone forever?

In short, just by looking at the novel's plot, characters, and ending, we can already get a strong sense of Gatsby's major themes. Let's now look at each of those themes one by one (and be sure to check out the links to our full theme breakdowns!).

The 7 Major Great Gatsby Themes

Money and Materialism : Everyone in the novel is money-obsessed, whether they were born with money (Tom, Daisy, Jordan, and Nick to a lesser extent), whether they made a fortune (Gatsby), or whether they're eager for more (Myrtle and George). So why are the characters so materialistic? How does their materialism affect their choices? Get a guide to each of the characters' material motivations and how they shape the novel.

Society and Class: Building on the money and materialism theme, the novel draws clear distinctions between the kind of money you have: old money (inherited) or new money (earned). And there is also a clear difference between the lifestyles of the wealthy, who live on Long Island and commute freely to Manhattan, and the working class people stuck in between, mired in Queens. By the end of the novel, our main characters who are not old money (Gatsby, Myrtle, and George) are all dead, while the inherited-money club is still alive. What does this say about class in Gatsby? Why is their society so rigidly classist? Learn more about the various social classes in Gatsby and how they affect the novel's outcome.

The American Dream : The American Dream is the idea anyone can make it in America (e.g. gain fame, fortune, and success) through enough hard work and determination. So is Jay Gatsby an example of the dream? Or does his involvement in crime suggest the Dream isn't actually real? And where does this leave the Wilsons, who are also eager to improve their lot in life but don't make it out of the novel alive? Finally, do the closing pages of the novel endorse the American Dream or write it off as a fantasy? Learn what the American Dream is and how the novel sometimes believes in it, and sometimes sees it as a reckless fantasy.

Love, Desire, and Relationships : All of the major characters are driven by love, desire, or both, but only Tom and Daisy's marriage lasts out of the novel's five major relationships and affairs. So is love an inherently unstable force? Or do the characters just experience it in the wrong way? Get an in-depth guide to each of Gatsby's major relationships.

Death and Failure: Nick narrates Gatsby two years after the events in question, and since he's obviously aware of the tragedy awaiting not only Gatsby but Myrtle and George as well, the novel has a sad, reflective, even mournful tone. Is the novel saying that ambition is inherently dangerous (especially in a classist society like 1920s America), or is it more concerned with the danger of Gatsby's intense desire to reclaim the past? Explore those questions here.

Morality and Ethics: The novel is full of bad behavior: lying, cheating, physical abuse, crime, and finally murder. Yet none of the characters ever answer to the law, and God is only mentioned as an exclamation, or briefly projected onto an advertisement . Does the novel push for the need to fix this lack of morality, or does it accept it as the normal state of affairs in the "wild, wild East"?

The Mutability of Identity: Mutability just means "subject to change," so this theme is about how changeable (or not!) personal identity is. Do people really change? Or are our past selves always with us? And how would this shape our desire to reclaim parts of our past? Gatsby wants to have it both ways: to change himself from James Gatz into the sophisticated, wealthy Jay Gatsby, but also to preserve his past with Daisy. Does he fail because it's impossible to change? Because it's impossible to repeat the past? Or both?

How to Write About The Great Gatsby Themes

So now that you know about the major themes of The Great Gatsby , how can you go about writing about them? First up: look closely at your prompt.

Sometimes an essay prompt will come right out and ask you to write about a theme , for example "is The American Dream in Gatsby alive or dead?" or "Write about the relationships in Gatsby. What is the novel saying about the nature of love and desire?" For those essays, you will obviously be writing about one of the novel's major themes. But even though those prompts have big-picture questions, make sure to find small supporting details to help make your argument.

For example, if you're discussing the American Dream and arguing it's dead in the novel, don't just make that claim and be done with it. Instead, you can explore Gatsby's past as James Gatz, George Wilson's exhausted complacency, and Myrtle's treatment at the hands of Tom as examples of how the American Dream is treated in the novel. Obviously those examples are far from exhaustive, but hopefully you get the idea: find smaller details to support the larger argument.

On the other hand, many essay prompts about Gatsby will look like a question about something specific, like a character or symbol:

• Explore Tom and Daisy as people who 'retreat into their money.'
• What does the green light at the end of Daisy's dock represent? How does its meaning change throughout the novel?
• Show how Fitzgerald uses clothing (and the changing of costumes) to tell the reader more about the characters and/or express theme(s).

These prompts are actually a chance for you to take that detailed analysis and connect it to one of the larger themes—in other words, even though the prompt doesn't state it explicitly, you should still be connecting those more focused topics to one of the big-picture themes.

For example, if you talk about Tom and Daisy Buchanan, you will definitely end up talking about society and class. If you talk about the green light, you will end up talking about dreams and goals, specifically the American Dream. And if you discuss clothing to talk about the characters, you will definitely touch on money and materialism, as well as society and class (like how Gatsby's pink suit makes him stand out as new money to Tom Buchanan, or how Myrtle adopts a different dress to play at being wealthy and sophisticated).

In short, for these more specific prompts, you start from the ground (small details and observations) and build up to discussing the larger themes, even if the prompt doesn't say to do so explicitly!

What's Next?

Now you're an expert on themes, but what about symbols? If you need to write about the important symbols in The Great Gatsby, check out our symbols overview for a complete guide.

Want a full analysis of Jay Gatsby and his backstory? Not sure how his story connects with the American Dream? Get the details here .

Want to go back to square one? Get started with Chapter 1 of our Great Gatsby plot summary.

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The Great Gatsby

F. scott fitzgerald, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

The Great Gatsby: Introduction

The great gatsby: plot summary, the great gatsby: detailed summary & analysis, the great gatsby: themes, the great gatsby: quotes, the great gatsby: characters, the great gatsby: symbols, the great gatsby: literary devices, the great gatsby: quizzes, the great gatsby: theme wheel, brief biography of f. scott fitzgerald.

Historical Context of The Great Gatsby

Other books related to the great gatsby.

• Full Title: The Great Gatsby
• Where Written: Paris and the US, in 1924
• When Published: 1925
• Literary Period: Modernism
• Genre: Novel
• Setting: Long Island, Queens, and Manhattan, New York in the summer of 1922
• Climax: The showdown between Gatsby and Tom over Daisy
• Point of View: First person

Extra Credit for The Great Gatsby

Puttin' on the Fitz. Fitzgerald spent most of his adult life in debt, often relying on loans from his publisher, and even his editor, Maxwell Perkins, in order to pay the bills. The money he made from his novels could not support the high-flying cosmopolitan life his wife desired, so Fitzgerald turned to more lucrative short story writing for magazines like Esquire. Fitzgerald spent his final three years writing screenplays in Hollywood.

Another Failed Screenwriter. Fitzgerald was an alcoholic and his wife Zelda suffered from serious mental illness. In the final years of their marriage as their debts piled up, Zelda stayed in a series of mental institutions on the East coast while Fitzgerald tried, and largely failed, to make money writing movie scripts in Hollywood.

The Great Gatsby Themes

Fitzgerald’s novel  The Great Gatsby  depicts life in America in the 1920s focusing on the relationship between different classes and their representatives. The main character, Jay Gatsby, starts his life as a poor farm boy and earns his position in society and wealth through perseverance, commitment to his dreams, and hard work. This concept of the personal development of an individual is presented through a variety of themes that help to characterize the period of the 1920s in the United States. The themes of class privileges, the depravity of the era, morality and materialism, the role of the past, the American dream, and love are the central themes of the novel.

The theme of class privileges occupies a central place in the novel. The society is divided into several groups: Tom and Daisy represent the aristocrats, Gatsby belongs to the new wealthy group, and the family of Wilson embodies the lower-class society. The highborn class has the most privileges in the novel because they are wealthy, enjoy the recognition of their superiority, and allow themselves to play with the destinies of others. Mainly, Tom dares to use Myrtle Wilson for intimate relationships, and Daisy exploits Gatsby to realize her romantic dreams. The author mentions that Daisy’s look seems like there exists a “secret society to which she and Tom” belong (Fitzgerald, 2007, p. 77). This comment demonstrates how the aristocrats behave in the novel and how they use their position in society to satisfy their desires, knowing that other people allow them to conduct themselves as they wish.

The theme of carelessness and depravity of the era between the two World Wars is the second essential topic in the novel. The author depicts the impressive parties where people do not care about the host, entertainment in the city hotel, drinking of alcohol, and the acts of adultery creating the picture of the wealthy Americans’ behavior. Mainly, in the 1920s, the wealthy Americans accepted life as a continuous party, playing with the lives of others and searching for new ways to entertain themselves and satisfy their vanity. Wakefield (2018) emphasizes that Gatsby’s lifestyle is based on the components of injustice, inequality, and oppression that characterize the history of the prosperity of the United States. The scholar focuses on Gatsby’s desire to plunge into a frivolous style of life, considering it the way to forget about the source of his success. This idea demonstrates how the theme of recklessness develops throughout the story.

The theme of morality and materialism is presented through the life of the upper-class society. The author describes the details of the privileged class’ life, distinguishing the immorality of the behavior of people belonging to it. Mainly, Tom, as one of the representatives of this society, has a mistress. He introduces his mistress, Myrtle, to Nick by referring to her “my girl” (Fitzgerald, 2007, p. 65). In addition, he overuses alcohol and lies to his wife, making her suffer from this attitude. Moreover, Tom’s interest in Gatsby’s income and the general style of life of the upper society that is associated with luxurious things display the level of materialism that governs the era. This description of the obsessions with entertainment and materialistic welfare reveals the moral decadence of high society.

Also, Fitzgerald presents the theme of the past demonstrating how it can influence the life of a person. Gatsby’s past is one of the most significant elements of the story because it defines how the life of the main character develops. Gatsby still remembers his past because it is associated with the transformation of the man from the poor son of the farmers into one of the wealthiest people in the region. The main character fears that his past may interfere with his plans regarding the future with Daisy. Mainly, he invents a story about his rich ancestors describing himself to Nick as “the son of some wealthy people” (Fitzgerald, 2007, p. 94). In this situation, Gatsby uses this image as the method to convince Nick to introduce him to Daisy. This attempt to embellish his origin demonstrates that he fears that the past may impede his future.

Besides, the theme of the American dream, which is embodied in the character of Gatsby, is a significant part of the story. The American dream is a concept that explains the desire and ability of lower-class people to gain status and financial prosperity through hard work, determination, and ambition. In the novel, the writer presents this belief through the life experience of Gatsby who manages to convert “invented sort of Jay Gatsby” into a real wealthy individual (Fitzgerald, 2007, p. 118). However, although the main character makes his dreams a reality, he has to realize that the society he aspires to become a part of is corrupt and frivolous. According to Mohammadi and Mohammadi (2020), the problem of the main character is that “nothing is ever enough” for him (p. 1198). In particular, he is not able to enjoy the life he has. Although he becomes rich, it appears that it is still not sufficient and he continues to pursue the goals that might prove his worthiness of the upper class. The fate of the man becomes the personification of the concept of the American dream, which makes people always aspire toward something beyond their reach.

Finally, the theme of love impacts the story considerably, allowing the author to demonstrate how this feeling is also influenced by the relationship between the classes. The theme of love is presented by the feelings of Daisy and Gatsby and the love affair between Tom and Myrtle. Both of these love stories are tragic because the characters suffer from their feelings and Gatsby and Myrtle die. In Sun’s (2020) analysis, Gatsby’s love for Daisy is characterized as “insane” and as the reason of the tragic events that lead the main character to death (p. 32). This observation reveals how the feeling of love leads the main character to death because he ignores the immorality of the upper class, focusing only on the positive qualities of his beloved woman. Besides, Gatsby suffers from Daisy’s indifference because her origin makes her consider herself as privileged and deserving of the sacrifice of the man originating from the lower-class society. Myrtle also dies because she believes in the truthfulness of Tom’s love. These tragic events reveal that even love is subject to the corruption and recklessness of upper society.

Thus, the themes of liberties of the high class, the recklessness of the era of the 1920s, immoral behavior, the significance of the past, the American dream, and love are the core themes in the novel. Fitzgerald uses the story about the relationship between people of different classes to reveal how the aristocrats abuse their power and immerse themselves in entertainment and frivolous lifestyles, ignoring the norms of morality. Besides, he uses Gatsby’s story of life to demonstrate how the man’s poor childhood influences his desire and determination to become a part of the privileged society, which eventually leads him to tragedy. Therefore, these themes play an essential role in the description of the role of social relationships in the 1920s. Mainly, they help to explain that it was the period when aristocrats used the desire of the lower classes to reach the privileges of the rich to satisfy their desires and vanity.

Fitzgerald, F. (2007). The Great Gatsby . (M. Nowlin, Ed.). Broadview Press.

Mohammadi, A., & Mohammadi, A. (2020). The Great Gatsby: an ostensibly fulfilled dream in an unfulfilled society. International Journal of Science and Research, 9 (5), 1196-1202.

Sun, Q. (2020). Study on stylistic effects of three-word clusters in The Great Gatsby from the perspective of corpus stylistics. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 9 (4), 29. Web.

Wakefield, P. W. (2018). Catastrophe and decadence in The Great Gatsby. In D. J. Rosner (Ed.), Catastrophe and Philosophy (pp. 239-252). Lexington Books.

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'The Great Gatsby' Themes

Wealth, class, and society, love and romance, the loss of idealism, the failure of the american dream.

• M.F.A, Dramatic Writing, Arizona State University
• B.A., English Literature, Arizona State University
• B.A., Political Science, Arizona State University

The Great Gatsby , by F. Scott Fitzgerald, presents a critical portrait of the American dream through its portrayal of the 1920s New York elite. By exploring themes of wealth, class, love and idealism, The Great Gatsby raises powerful questions about American ideas and society.

The Great Gatsby 's characters represent the wealthiest members of 1920s New York society . Despite their money, however, they are not portrayed as particularly aspirational. Instead, the rich characters' negative qualities are put on display: wastefulness, hedonism, and carelessness.

The novel also suggests that wealth is not equivalent to social class. Tom Buchanan comes from the old money elite, while Jay Gatsby is a self-made millionaire. Gatsby, self-conscious about his "new money" social status, throws unbelievably lavish parties in hopes of catching Daisy Buchanan's attention. However, at the novel's conclusion, Daisy chooses to stay with Tom despite the fact that she genuinely loves Gatsby; her reasoning is that she could not bear to lose the social status that her marriage to Tom affords her. With this conclusion, Fitzgerald suggests that wealth alone does not guarantee entrance into the upper echelons of elite society.

In The Great Gatsby , love is intrinsically tied to class. As a young military officer, Gatsby fell quickly for debutante Daisy, who promised to wait for him after the war. However, any chance at a real relationship was precluded by Gatsby's lower social status. Instead of waiting for Gatsby, Daisy married Tom Buchanan, an old-money East Coast elite. It is an unhappy marriage of convenience: Tom has affairs and seems just as romantically uninterested in Daisy as she is in him.

The idea of unhappy marriages of convenience isn’t limited to the upper class. Tom’s mistress, Myrtle Wilson, is a spirited woman in a seriously mismatched marriage to a suspicious, dull man. The novel suggests that she married him in hopes of being upwardly mobile, but instead the marriage is simply miserable, and Myrtle herself ends up dead. Indeed, the only unhappy couple to survive "unscathed" is Daisy and Tom, who eventually decide to retreat into the cocoon of wealth despite their marital problems.

In general, the novel takes a fairly cynical view of love. Even the central romance between Daisy and Gatsby is less a true love story and more a depiction of Gatsby's obsessive desire to relive—or even redo —his own past. He loves the image of Daisy more than the woman in front of him . Romantic love is not a powerful force in the world of The Great Gatsby .

Jay Gatsby is perhaps one of the most idealistic characters in literature. Nothing can deter him from his belief in the possibility of dreams and romance. In fact, his entire pursuit of wealth and influence is carried out in hopes of making his dreams come true. However, Gatsby's single-minded pursuit of those dreams—particularly his pursuit of the idealized Daisy—is the quality that ultimately destroys him. After Gatsby's death, his funeral is attended by just three guests; the cynical "real world" moves on as though he'd never lived at all.

Nick Carraway also represents the failures of idealism through his journey from naïve Everyman observer to burgeoning cynic. At first, Nick buys into the plan reunite Daisy and Gatsby, as he believes in the power of love to conquer class differences. The more involved he becomes in the social world of Gatsby and the Buchanans, however, the more his idealism falters. He begins to see the elite social circle as careless and hurtful. By the end of the novel, when he finds out the role Tom cheerfully played in Gatsby’s death, he loses any remaining trace of idealization of elite society.

The American dream posits that anyone, no matter their origins, can work hard and achieve upward mobility in the United States. The Great Gatsby questions this idea through the rise and fall of Jay Gatsby. From the outside, Gatsby appears to be proof of the American dream: he is a man of humble origins who accumulated vast wealth. However, Gatsby is miserable. His life is devoid of meaningful connection. And because of his humble background, he remains an outsider in the eyes of elite society. Monetary gain is possible, Fitzgerald suggests, but class mobility is not so simple, and wealth accumulation does not guarantee a good life.

Fitzgerald specifically critiques the American dream within the context of the Roaring Twenties , a time when growing affluence and changing morals led to a culture of materialism. Consequently, the characters of The Great Gatsby equate the American dream with material goods, despite the fact that the original idea did not have such an explicitly materialistic intent. The novel suggests that rampant consumerism and the desire to consume has corroded the American social landscape and corrupted one of the country's foundational ideas.

• 'The Great Gatsby' Overview
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• Critical Overview of "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• F. Scott Fitzgerald's Inspiration for 'The Great Gatsby'
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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Scott Fitzgerald — “The Great Gatsby”: Theme and Symbols

"The Great Gatsby": Theme and Symbols

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Published: Dec 5, 2018

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Compare and Contrast how to Read Literature Like a Professor and the Great Gatsby

This essay about the comparison between F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” and Thomas C. Foster’s “How to Read Literature Like a Professor” explores how literary analysis can deepen our understanding of literature’s societal critiques. It examines how Fitzgerald’s novel critiques the American Dream while Foster’s guide equips readers with tools to uncover layers of meaning in literary works. By analyzing how Foster’s concepts, like symbolism and the ‘quest’ motif, apply to “The Great Gatsby,” the essay illustrates how these two works complement each other, enhancing our appreciation of literature’s ability to reflect and critique society.

How it works

When delving into American literature, few novels command the respect and analysis afforded to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” a quintessential exploration of the American Dream and its discontents. Similarly, Thomas C. Foster’s “How to Read Literature Like a Professor” offers a broad toolkit for unpacking the layers of meaning that enrich not just Fitzgerald’s work but any literary text. Comparing these two works offers fascinating insights into how literary analysis can enhance our understanding of literature’s power to mirror and critique society.

Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” is a precise and eloquent narrative set in the Roaring Twenties, a period of dramatic social and economic change. The novel’s protagonist, Jay Gatsby, is emblematic of the fierce longing and ultimate disillusionment that often accompanied the American Dream. His tragic pursuit of Daisy Buchanan, set against a backdrop of opulence and decadence, critiques the illusion of a self-made man and exposes the corruption that often underpins the American elite’s wealth.

In contrast, “How to Read Literature Like a Professor” isn’t a narrative but rather a guide that equips readers with the skills to unearth the deeper significance of literary works. Foster’s approach is pedagogical and analytical, aiming to make the reader more aware of the elements that authors use to enrich their stories. Through a series of chapters that each focus on a different literary device or pattern, Foster teaches readers to look beyond the surface of the text to the symbolic, thematic, and cultural layers beneath.

A direct comparison of these two books highlights their different purposes but also shows how one can serve as a lens through which to view the other. For instance, Foster emphasizes the importance of symbolism in literature—such as weather serving as more than just atmospheric background. In “The Great Gatsby,” Fitzgerald uses weather symbolically: the climactic confrontation between Gatsby and Tom Buchanan occurs on the hottest day of the summer, mirroring the tension and the boiling over of pent-up emotions.

Foster also sheds light on the significance of geography in literature, illustrating how locations go beyond mere settings to represent themes and character trajectories. This concept is vividly realized in “The Great Gatsby,” where the physical division between East Egg and West Egg represents the social divide between the established aristocracy and the nouveau riche, respectively. Gatsby’s mansion in West Egg symbolizes his ostentatious attempt to break into the rigid, socially stratified world of old money—a critical examination of social mobility and the American class system.

Moreover, Foster’s insights into the ‘quest’ motif in literature can be applied to Gatsby’s relentless pursuit of Daisy. This quest, however, is less about the actual achievement of his goal and more about the journey and everything it symbolizes about Gatsby’s identity and the American society of his time. Foster would likely point out that Gatsby’s journey is indicative of a deeper, more existential quest than the pursuit of a romantic interest; it’s a quest for meaning, identity, and recognition within a superficial society.

In conclusion, while “The Great Gatsby” and “How to Read Literature Like a Professor” serve very different literary functions—one as a novel and the other as a guide to literary analysis—they complement each other in deepening our understanding of how literature reflects, critiques, and influences society. Fitzgerald’s novel, through its rich symbolism and complex character dynamics, exemplifies the very concepts that Foster outlines in his analytical guide. Reading these two works in tandem not only enhances our appreciation of Fitzgerald’s craft but also enriches our capacity to discern the subtleties and significances woven into the fabric of all great literature.

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PapersOwl.com. (2024). Compare And Contrast How To Read Literature Like A Professor And The Great Gatsby . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/compare-and-contrast-how-to-read-literature-like-a-professor-and-the-great-gatsby/ [Accessed: 3 May. 2024]

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PapersOwl.com. (2024). Compare And Contrast How To Read Literature Like A Professor And The Great Gatsby . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/compare-and-contrast-how-to-read-literature-like-a-professor-and-the-great-gatsby/ [Accessed: 3-May-2024]

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Time as a Theme in The Great Gatsby Essay

Introduction, obsession with the past, unwillingness to see the problems of the present, desire to achieve a future no matter the cost.

The Great Gatsby can be considered as a form of novelized social commentary that delves into the life of Jay Gatsby, an eccentric millionaire with an unhealthy obsession with Daisy Buchanan. There are three distinct characteristics of Gatsby that can be considered his defining traits yet are the source of inevitable downfall. These traits are as follows: his obsession with the past, his unwillingness to see the problems of the present, and his desire to achieve a future no matter the cost.

In essence, it can be seen that in his pursuit of what he thinks is his “ideal” love, Gatsby is, in fact, pursuing nothing more than a false idea that he has placed on a pedestal. As such, the main thematic element of the novel is the critique of the excesses of society during the early 1920s, which is done by exposing the various negative qualities seen by the author during this era. The embodiment of these negative aspects comes in the form of Gatsby and his life, which in the end is seen as hollow and empty, just as the morals and values of the characters seen in the novel.

Gatsby’s obsession with the past can be summed up by the following quote: “If it was not for the mist, we could see your home across the bay. You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock.” This quote refers to the house of Daisy that is situated on the river directly across from Gatsby’s home. His obsession with the past is reflected in his unwillingness to give up what he thinks is his “ideal love.”

His actions related to throwing elaborate parties, illegal bootlegging activities, and even asking Daisy to cheat on her husband and be with him are all extensions of his obsession with his past relationship with Daisy and how he believes that they are meant to be together. What must be understood is that despite Gatsby being killed by a bullet, in the end, he would have inevitably been arrested by the authorities as a direct result of his illegal activities.

His fortune was built upon illegally transporting liquor, with numerous people being aware of his activities. As such, his obsession was one of the contributing factors behind his downfall. He refused to move on, to find someone else, and to go for another woman that would have suited his lifestyle more. Instead, he hung on as tight as he could to his ideal, and, like the fool that he was, died as a direct result of such actions.

The reluctance of Gatsby to understand today’s issues can be seen in the following quote, which surmises the way he lived his life: “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter — tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.”

What must be understood is that in the case of Gatsby, he seldom examined the immediate impact of his actions and mental state and instead focused the entirety of his time on thoughts related to Daisy. The cost of his parties, the legality of his acquired fortune, and the problems he was having in keeping his activities a secret were all secondary concerns in the face of his obsessive desire to have a woman that was not his.

The culmination of his unwillingness to see the problems of the present is seen when he took the blame for the car accident that killed Myrtle when it was, in fact, Daisy that was behind the wheel of the car. The fact that he might have been arrested, incarcerated for life or even killed did not seem to occur to him. From a certain perspective, he was blind to such potential futures and instead obsessively focused on the one thing that was most valuable to him, namely Daisy.

The following quote best describes the essence of Gatsby as an individual that relentlessly pursued his desired future no matter the price: “The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God . and he must be about His Father’s business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty. So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception, he was faithful to the end.”

From this quote, we see that Gatsby’s ego, his desire to make something of himself and to be better than what he was no matter the means was driving force behind him achieving his fortune through illegal means. His vision of the future involved being rich and being married to Daisy.

It is due to this that he single-mindedly pursued his goal to the extent that he became rich, bought a home across from Daisy’s, and continued to throw lavish parties to entice her to come. However, based on the other two personality traits that have been elaborated on already, his desire was ultimately self-destructive, leading him to live a hollow and empty existence with no real friends, as seen in the case of his funeral.

• Short Summary
• Summary (Chapter 1)
• Summary (Chapter 2)
• Summary (Chapter 3)
• Summary (Chapter 4)
• Summary (Chapter 5)
• Summary (Chapter 6)
• Summary (Chapter 7)
• Summary (Chapter 8)
• Summary (Chapter 9)
• Symbolism & Style
• Quotes Explained
• Essay Topics
• Essay Samples
• Questions & Answers
• F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Biography
• Chicago (A-D)
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IvyPanda. (2022, August 12). Time as a Theme in The Great Gatsby. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-great-gatsby-5/

"Time as a Theme in The Great Gatsby." IvyPanda , 12 Aug. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/the-great-gatsby-5/.

IvyPanda . (2022) 'Time as a Theme in The Great Gatsby'. 12 August.

IvyPanda . 2022. "Time as a Theme in The Great Gatsby." August 12, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-great-gatsby-5/.

1. IvyPanda . "Time as a Theme in The Great Gatsby." August 12, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-great-gatsby-5/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Time as a Theme in The Great Gatsby." August 12, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-great-gatsby-5/.

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The Great Gatsby review: A glitzy take on F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel that values spectacle over substance

Eva Noblezada and Jeremy Jordan delight as Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby, star-crossed lovers who spark up a secret romance years after they first met.

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at  Entertainment Weekly  with over five years of experience covering the latest in entertainment. A proud Kingston University alum, Emlyn has written about music, fandom, film, television, and awards for multiple outlets including MTV News,  Teen Vogue , Bustle, BuzzFeed,  Paper Magazine , Dazed, and NME. She joined EW in August 2022.

If this Broadway season has taught us anything, it’s that the book-to-film-to-musical adaptation pipeline is not only alive, but it’s thriving . In the last two months alone, Water For Elephants , The Notebook , and The Outsiders have all been transformed into productions that have reignited interest in their original texts — or, at least, inspired theatergoers to rent their film versions when they get home. Now, The Great Gatsby is the latest to throw its boater hat into the ring in a lavish new production that, sadly, values spectacle over substance. 

Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby , which opened at the Broadway Theatre on Thursday, follows bondsman Nick Carraway (Noah J. Ricketts) as he moves to West Egg and becomes neighbors-turned-unexpected-pals with self-made millionaire and resident party god Jay Gatsby (Jeremy Jordan). Plunged headfirst into an ongoing war between new and old money, Nick finds himself joining a plan to help Gatsby reunite with his old flame Daisy Buchanan (Eva Noblezada). The only problem? Daisy is married to the abusive “brute” Tom Buchanan (the stellar John Zdrojeski), setting the pair’s romance on a crash course for disaster. 

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

Despite having a heavily-dissected novel to rely upon, The Great Gatsby ’s book, written by Kait Kerrigan, doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be. Its tone swings wildly back and forth between a dramatic, straight-laced romance between Gatsby and Daisy one moment, and then a wacky comedy peppered with overly raunchy punchlines about testicles, orgies, and characters having loud, bed-squeaking sex behind a wall the next. It eventually finds its footing in the second act as it explores some of the book’s larger themes, but the significant delay causes the musical’s biggest gut-punches to fall flat because most of its characters — aside from Daisy — still remain underdeveloped sketches of themselves. 

Its music, written by Jason Howland with lyrics by Nathan Tysen, is similarly a mixed bag. While some songs come off a bit heavy-handed with their references to the text like Daisy and Gatsby’s duet “My Green Light,” there are a handful of solid tracks that offer a fresh and fun spin on the material, like mobster Wolfsheim’s (Eric Anderson) wickedly good “Shady” and Daisy’s poignant rumination on her loveless marriage, “For Better or Worse.” It also certainly helps that Gatsby has some of the best voices on Broadway performing these tracks every evening too — its soaring ballads “For Her” and “Beautiful Little Fool” might not be the strongest songs lyrically, but explode with emotion thanks to Jordan and Noblezada’s incredible vocal performances. 

Gatsby ’s Tony-nominated leads, Jordan and Noblezada, revel in the whimsical naivety and rampant toxicity that Gatsby and Daisy possess, portraying the couple as obsessed lovers caught within one another’s vortex. Pauly’s Jordan is a feminist firecracker that feels like a breath of fresh air amongst her haughty peers and, despite having his role being heavily stripped back, Rickett still manages to make Nick a witty, steadfast friend that is too pure for this world. When they’re all together onstage, Gatsby explodes with life and energy that can’t be replicated. Seriously, you know a cast is crushing it when their complicated performances make Tom seem like the most understandable guy in the room. 

Further adding to the magic is designer Linda Cho’s dazzling period costumes that, in tandem with Paul Tate DePoo III’s beautiful scenic and projection design, make Gatsby a true visual feast — complete with crackling fireworks, bedazzled flapper 'fits, and cars that frequently go for a spin across its stage. Everything comes together in sparkling detail during Gatsby’s decadent parties, where the musical’s powerful ensemble leaps, sways, and tap dances their way through Dominique Kelley’s energetic choreography. Like Kerrigan, director Marc Bruni struggles with pacing during the first act, but gets into the groove by its second as reality steps in to ruin the group's revelry.

Those attending Great Gatsby expecting nothing more than a glitzy, glamorous romp through the Roaring Twenties will find themselves satisfied, but others hoping to find a deeper take on the novel's exploration of the American dream, old money versus new money, and love will find themselves feeling adrift. The Great Gatsby is a great big Broadway extravaganza that may dazzle viewers at first but, much like the green light, perfection remains close, yet just out of reach.  C+

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Musical 'The Great Gatsby' gives an American classic the rom-com treatment

A scene from the ongoing Broadway musical "The Great Gatsby" produced by OD Company, at Broadway Theater, New York, starring Jeremy Jordan as Gatsby, left, and Eva Noblezada as Daisy [OD COMPANY]

[REVIEW] 

Thursday’s opening night of “The Great Gatsby” at Broadway Theater in New York was a historic moment for producer Shin Chun-soo, the first Korean lead producer of a Broadway musical.

Introduced by the production’s director Marc Bruni as the “man whose green light was Broadway,” referring to the iconic scene in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, Shin marched upstage through roaring applause after the evening's curtain call.

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Seemingly a bit overwhelmed, he took a moment to begin his speech but managed to make out his gratitude — in English — to the great American author of the 1925 namesake novel on which the show is based.  

“I extend my respects to the source of inspiration for this work — Fitzgerald,” he said.  

A scene from the ongoing Broadway musical "The Great Gatsby" produced by OD Company, at Broadway Theater, New York, starring Jeremy Jordan as Gatsby [OD COMPANY]

Written by Kate Kerrigan, the musical remains faithful to the book: Jay Gatsby, a mysterious “nouveau riche” man the 1920s, looks to win back his young love and socialite Daisy Buchanan, who is married to a brutish man from money, Tom. The plot is narrated by Nick Carraway, Gatsby's new neighbor and Daisy's cousin.

Linda Cho's decadent costumes, Paul Tate DePoo III's gleaming stage designs and Dominque Kelley's ambitious choreography are a feast for the eyes and successfully transport the audience to the Roaring 20s.  

However, the actual story behind these parties is less nuanced and creative. The critical American classic is, instead, whittled down to a rom-com turned tragedy between Gatsby and Daisy with the addition of a surprise feminist punch.  

A scene from the ongoing Broadway musical "The Great Gatsby" produced by OD Company, at Broadway Theater, New York, starring Eva Noblezada as Daisy [OD COMPANY]

Broadway’s hottest talents, Jeremy Jordan and Eva Nobelzada, star as Gatsby and Daisy and display undeniable chemistry on stage. But without a sufficient tap into the source’s underlying themes exploring capitalism, morality and human ego, their relationship is reduced to an unoriginal, sappy romance. The show doesn’t shy away from this genre as the two stand on the balcony, holding hands, and declare their love, singing, “If I save you, will you save me too? My green light."   

The production manages to weave in some of Fitzgerald’s heavier social commentary near the end — however briefly — through Nick, played by Noah J. Ricketts, with much of it directly taken from the original text.  

"You and Tom smash up things and creatures, and then you retreat into your money or carelessness or whatever it is that keeps you two together," he yells at Daisy with angry tears swelling up. 

A scene from the ongoing Broadway musical "The Great Gatsby" produced by OD Company, at Broadway Theater, New York, starring Noah J. Ricketts as Nick Carraway [OD COMPANY]

But the show keeps much of the mood light, dotting the book with comedy and cheeky lines that keep the show generally upbeat. Actor Jeremy Jordan’s portrayal of Gatsby leans into this art with particular enthusiasm.

For instance, he gets so nervous before meeting Daisy for the first time that he dodges her, jumping onto Nick's lawn wearing a tailored white suit, only to climb over the fence and then ineffectively hide behind some shrubbery. Such a childish and clumsy depiction of the millionaire makes him an endearing Gatsby. 

A scene from the ongoing Broadway musical "The Great Gatsby" produced by OD Company, at Broadway Theater, New York, starring Jeremy Jordan as Gatsby, left, and Noah J. Ricketts as Nick [OD COMPANY]

Noblezada paints a more poignant picture of Daisy, with the liberty given in the script. It dedicates a chunk of its time to exploring Fitzgerald’s feminism beyond Daisy's proudly unmarried friend, Jordan Baker. 

Daisy is given several songs to explain her life choices, like why she chose Tom and won’t leave him. Her last, very melancholy solo, “The best thing a girl can be in this world is a fool,” is a definite highlight.

The music and lyrics are by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen. 

A scene from the ongoing Broadway musical "The Great Gatsby" produced by OD Company, at Broadway Theater, New York, starring Eva Noblezada, left, and John Zdrojeski ·as Tom [OD COMPANY]

Myrtle, Tom's mistress, played by Sara Chase, largely remains one-dimensional until her solo in the second act, when she sings "One Way Road" to relay her lack of power, freedom and choice as a woman not born into wealth. 

A scene from the ongoing Broadway musical "The Great Gatsby" produced by OD Company, at Broadway Theater, New York. From left are Noah J. Ricketts as Nick, Sara Chase as Myrtle and John Zdrojeski as Tom [OD COMPANY]

Infused with hints of jazz and pop, these songs may sometimes carry a heavier message, but the tunes are lackluster and quickly forgotten.

Nonetheless, the musical will surely amass an army of fans singing along soon enough, especially as the Broadway soundtrack release was announced earlier this week. Despite it all, it is a show eager to entertain with talented stars and glam and glitter aplenty. You just have to go into it with the right expectations.  

BY LEE JIAN [[email protected]]