Final Great Gatsby Blog Post

How Effectively did Fitzgerald Convey his Theme through his Characters?

The ultimate theme of the Great Gatsby deals with the past in how the majority of the characters in the play have some connection to a past incident they are constantly dwelling upon. Fitzgerald himself has a special connection with the past that he conveys through Daisy in his girlfriend turning him down because of his lack of wealth. Such is conveyed through the rejection of Gatsby by Daisy in the book. As well, Fitzgerald finished the book in concluding that no good may arise from dwelling upon the past - the majority of the characters either ended up dead, in ruins, or no better then when they started.

Why Was the Book Written from the Perspective of Nick rather than a Birds Eye View Perspective like that of the Actual Author?

The Book is written from Nick' Perspective because he serves as an impartial eye to the story. Having Nick as the narrator of the story rather than some ambiguous one allows us to also switch from multiple events with ease. Furthermore, having a more down to earth narrator gives the book more subsistence. As well, through the use of Dramatic Irony, more drama is created throughout the book as we know just as much as Nick had known during that same point in the book.  

What did the Eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg Symbolize? 

The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are a pair of fading, bespectacled eyes painted on an old advertising billboard over the valley of ashes. They may represent God staring down upon and judging American society as a moral wasteland, though the novel never makes this point explicitly. Instead, throughout the novel, Fitzgerald suggests that symbols only have meaning because characters instill them with meaning. The connection between the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg and God exists only in George Wilson’s grief-stricken mind. This lack of concrete significance contributes to the unsettling nature of the image. Thus, the eyes also come to represent the essential meaninglessness of the world and the arbitrariness of the mental process by which people invest objects with meaning. Nick explores these ideas in Chapter 8, when he imagines Gatsby’s final thoughts as a depressed consideration of the emptiness of symbols and dreams.

Now that you Have Read all Possible Information on Gatsby, what would you Classify Gatsby as - Hero, Antihero, or Villain.

I would classify Gatsby as an Antihero. Simply going by the process of elimination, it becomes obvious that Gatsby is an Antihero  - We are originally suspicious of Gatsby's intent and purpose due to our lack of information on him so he could not classify as a Hero. We do hear significant enough information on him by Nick to know that he could not be a villain, so only one choice is left - Antihero. However, were we to go by solely his character, it would be obvious that he is an Antihero as we sympathize for his innocent qualities throughout the book. He is blinding love for Daisy causes the audience to crave their reunion. Furthermore, after Daisy's accidental murder of Myrtle, Gatsby takes responsibility and eventually dies as a result of it. This shows him as a selfless, caring human being who could only be classified as an Antihero through his actions.