GREAT GATSBY THEMES

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  • Created by: Lily
  • Created on: 14-04-13 03:03
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  • GREAT GATSBY THEMES
    • HONESTY
      • NICK CARRAWAY
        • Admiration of Gatsby despite his criminal background
        • Keeps secret of Tom/Daisys affairs despite being critical
        • Indulgent in gossip with Jordan
        • Narrative is honest and full despite being corrupt with secrets himself
      • DAISY FAYE
        • Ironically she is the only one outraged by Gatsbys past however this is due to "class standards" rather than morality
        • Does not own up to her infidelity or her murder, lets Gatsby take the blame
        • Tempted by money
      • TOM BUCHANAN
        • Sees his infidelity okay and easily lies about it but is outraged by Daisys
        • Daisy is his ticket to money
        • Covers up for Daisy
      • JAYY GATSBY
        • Keeps his past secret, often lies to improve his image
        • Affair with Daisy
    • DECAY
      • THE AMERICAN DREAM
        • "valley of ashes" refers to something turning into dust
          • The decay represents how the American Dream has been lost and forgotten
            • E.g Gatsby looks at the East (Daisys home) with lust rather than the West (American Frontier)
        • Each of the characters end up in the situation they never wanted to be e.g Tom & sports
        • The decay represents how the American Dream has been lost and forgotten
          • E.g Gatsby looks at the East (Daisys home) with lust rather than the West (American Frontier)
      • Soceity? Is there a soceity anymore or is it just a wasteland (valley of ashes) of memories
    • VIOLENCE
      • Toms physical strength to intimidate
      • Wilson & The Handgun
        • Gatsbys past?
        • Wilson killed him not the gun = love not business
      • CARS
        • Violently end the life of Myrtle
        • Topic for Jorddan & Nick
        • Symbol of how dangerous modern soceity and wealth can be
    • CLASS
      • Gatsby tries desperately too fake his way in but is never truly accepted = NEW MONEY
      • The class system is harsh and provides a real divide in American soceity
        • Gatsby & Daisy Seperation
      • Highly important and superficial, names are more important than feelings
        • Tom & Daisys marriage
        • Surnames of party friends
        • Daisys rejection of Gatsby
    • GENDER ROLES
      • Toms physical strength vs Daisys fragility
      • JORDAN
        • Name is masculine and profession
        • Behaviour and dominance towards Nick
        • HOWEVER, it is Nick who ends the relationship
      • WHITE DRESSES
        • Symbolise purity yet the corrupt Daisy wears them
          • Reinforce their position as women, the inferior sex
        • Symbolise feminity yet worn by the masculine Jodan
          • Reinforce their position as women, the inferior sex
      • Myrtle is heavily sensualised showing her as a mere sex object

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Jess Owen

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JESS

11harpo

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Daisy is not Tom's ticket to money. He is similarly from a prominent background, as shown in both "It was hard to realize that a man in my own generation was wealthy enough to do that” (1.16) (Tom is able to afford bringing ponies from Lake Forest) and the description of their wedding, "In June she married Tom Buchanan of Chicago, with more pomp and circumstance than Louisville ever knew before. He came down with a hundred people in four private cars, and hired a whole floor of the Seelbach Hotel..."

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