Reimagining The Great Gatsby

1. “Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her;/ If you can bounce high, bounce for her too, / Till she cry ‘Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover, / I must have you!”
How does this short epigram represent Fitzgerald’s criticism of wealth and happiness, as well as the youth culture of the time?
Youths enjoy wearing high-end clothing. Teenagers are often enamored with material possessions and wealth. From the short epigram above, it is certain that the narrator explicitly reflects the youth culture in that there is an immediate mark for materialism and wealth as the key themes of the novel that the listener is beseeched to “wear the gold hat” as a way of exciting the lover. It is clear that wealth is depicted as the key to love. One can also interpret that the idea signifies the impression that the only way that one can win a girl’s attention is only through the use of the material deception. From the youth culture, this means that one needs to be flamboyant and extravagant. The flamboyance and extravagance draws the visual consideration of every youth, since the gold hat can reflect the sunlight, and create a halo around the head and this increases the attention of the man dressed charmingly. In a wider dimension, the ladies could psychologically get attracted to the awareness of the financial security and the notion of the man being able to pamper her with some comfortable material luxuries.

One can interpret the epigraph from various viewpoints. The epigraph also characterizes the irrationality of the condition, the bouncing woman, and a bouncing man, some upcoming series of different events, foreshadowing and the demonstration of disastrous culmination which can be the main conclusion (Danielle and Gretchen 90). From the poem, it is clear that Gatsby uses his wealth living luxuriously in life in an aim to impress Daisy. He flaunts all his expensive items and possessions instead of his character so as to attain the interest of Daisy than her husband. Gatsby uses his money to raise the social standing and in elevating the social and economic status of Dais. From this, once can conclude that the central motif of the book is to distinguish what is real in the culture of a youth and what only appears to be true. This is exhibited as James Gatz by creating a façade for himself through the elegance and refined Jay Gatsby. Also, the epigraph also demonstrates the insinuates about the presence of some dishonesty of the appearance of an individual. One can also clearly identify the presence of some façade that is worn by the character within the text. The entire poem represents the necessity of the material items in the pursuit of winning the attention and heart of a lady. It also uncovers some of the chaos and disorder that a man can parade his wealth so as to achieve the desired attention of a lover and the misrepresentation.

2. Fitzgerald goes out of his way to make sure his readers constantly have the image of an egg or eggs in mind. Pick and quote two instances where egg(s) are mentioned and answer the following question: What is the metaphorical or symbolic significance of this image?

Fitzgerald uses the symbolism of the West Egg and the East egg to represent some two imaginary communities that are located on the long island. He also uses the two eggs to emphasize on the stress on some romantic relationships that are between people of various class systems within the wealthy class. For instance, In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, it is evident that the working-class mistress and the wealthy bootlegger pay some final prices so has to have their lovers living in their social assembly. The social structures of the text do not rotate exclusively around the working class, the poor or the wealthy class. Fitzgerald, therefore, uses the eggs to create a division between those that are inheritable rich and those who have worked for their wealth.

Fitzgerald also uses Tom and Daisy’s marriage to represent the standards of how ideal marriage should be regarding wealth and status. Tom originates from a wealthy family and inheritance that supports the frequent travels abroad with Daisy and his luxury with the horse racing. Nick talks a few things about the affluence of Tom just before he visits Buchanans’. Tom can migrate his plenty of wealth and Daisy eastwards to the Manhattan explicitly to the suburbs of the East Egg where the inheritable wealthy people live (Janoory, Lajiman and Mohammad 78). Living from the East Egg is just the perfect fit for both Tom and Daisy with their deep pockets that have the ability to reach to the back generation. Daisy is the Southern Belle who is bred and born to live a luxury life. Her decision to Marry Tom is a reflection that “she only wants her life to have a new shape, but the decision is only made through some force of love due to money that is close at hand.” Daisy is tired of waiting for Jay Gatsby to come back from fighting in the Great War and decides to proceed to the next step of her life and agrees to marry the wealthy Tom. Daisy is, therefore, tired of the West Egg where Gatsby lives. Gatsby represents the West Egg that is intolerable for Daisy. Gatsby had made fake promises to Daisy that he would give her a sense of security by protecting her. The East Egg, therefore, represents the wealthy, and the West Egg represents poverty.

3. Discuss and analyze Daisy and Jordan’s character. How does Fitzgerald depict them, and what are his readers supposed to think about them? Quote specific references from the text to support your answer.

Fitzgerald depicts Daisy as the most enigmatic character. At some point, she appears to be the most disappointing character to the reader. Fitzgerald, however, makes Daisy to be a worthy character through some unlimited devotions, but later she reveals herself to be different from who she is in life. Despite being beautiful and charming, Daisy is “selfish, hurtful, shallow and a small-minded woman.” Gatsby, however, loves her let’s say due to her ideas. This is the determination and vitality that the readers would like since she appears to be worthy through his devotion (Danielle and Gretchen 56). However, it is unfortunate that Fitzgerald creates the character of Daisy through the association of purity, innocence. It is, however, unfortunate that she is just the opposite if what she presents herself to be in life.

On the other hand, Jordan is a specialized golfer. The reader sees her be different from Daisy. In cases where Daisy is always babbling and fluttering and acting to be a dumb girl, Jordan appears to be direct, hard, and cynical. The reader, however, does not know much about her family background apart from the fact that “One of her aunts is one thousand years old.” We also recognize that Jordan and Daisy used up part of their “white girlhood” organized. From the love perspective, Jordan is a cheat. Nick described her as not only being a gold cheat but a cheat at the life. “Jordan avoided shrewd men, intelligent and this is because she feels safe on the plane where any divergence from the code would think to be impossible.” From a look at things, she appears to be dishonest, insolent, fresh, deceptive and hard. Again, her body has some demands which to the reader sounds more like sex. All these issues dishonesty, Golf, and sex make Jordan appear to be the modern woman. She, however, does not make to be brilliant and gorgeous like Daisy. The reader can, however, get the feeling that she is going to be much more successful in her life.

4. At one point in Nick and Gatsby’s conversation about Gatsby’s old love-flame with Daisy, Nick tells Gatsby that he can’t repeat the past. “‘Can’t repeat the past?’” he [Gatsby] cried incredulously. “‘Why of course you can!’”

Given what you know about people’s philosophical, cultural, and scientific views about time in the 1920s, how is Gatsby’s remark to Nick underlining or highlighting his culture’s ideas about time, the present, the past, and the future?

From a personal perspective, I think that the past only repeats itself all the time through the political, the economy decisions. Gatsby, therefore, speaks strongly since he is struggling to get whatever he desires like his wealth. Maybe he, therefore, thinks that he can recreate what has already occurred with the same outcomes. Again, I believe that one can never repeat the past. If an event that happened in the past can happen again but appear to be necessary, then it is not important to repeat them since there will be different circumstances that will lie around the regular event and this can alter what one expects to get.

Summing up, in this case, Gatsby is there adamant through the idea since he is blinded by the love that he has for Daisy. He essentially creates his life around someday hoping that Daisy will stroll back into his life and fall back in love again which from his eyes can be “repeating the past” but in the real sense, it is not so since the circumstances are different. For instance, in the past, Gatsby was just a “poor” boy which Daisy clearly suggests that she has nothing to do with, Now Gatsby is a wealthy man. I would prefer the new Gatsby because it is more pleasing which is the situation that I think Fitzgerald wanted in the final circumstance.

Works Cited

Danielle Fischle, Gretchen. Female power in the great gatsby. Diss. 2016.

Janoory, Lajiman, and Mohammad Sidik Ariffin. “A Reimagining of History Based on the Novel The Harmony Silk Factory by Tash Aw.” 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature® 22.2 (2016).