What Makes It Great?

In the 1920s in the United States, just after the First World War, the Great Depression had not yet arrived, and the United States had entered an era of unprecedented prosperity. The traditional Puritan morality has collapsed, hedonism has taken hold, and the pursuit of money and fame has taken precedence over everything else. Fitzgerald said, "This is the most indulgent and splendid era in American history, about which much will be written." He named this era of capitalization the "Jazz Age". In this "Jazz Age" full of great temptation, the "American Dream" is like a big, colorful balloon floating in the air, so that a generation of American dazzled, fascinated, all for it to follow. Fitzgerald's novel "The Great Gatsby" is a magnificent elegy of the "Jazz Age", telling a tragic story from the pursuit of the "American Dream" to the destruction of "American Dream".

The novel is a stark contrast between the luxurious and rotten life and the hypocritical and empty human nature, why is the Great Gatsby great? Because in such a flashy and rotten world, Gatsby always maintained a pure heart of love, he was born of vanity, but died of innocence. For the sake of the woman he loves, Gatsby finally becomes a member of high society, regardless of any efforts. But the price he pays for this is that his life is entangled in countless lies woven by himself, he has to face countless masked faces of hypocrisy, as well as all the prosperity after the loneliness and desolation of his own heart. And in this flashy world, Gatsby always maintains a beautiful fantasy, which is not only for Daisy to relive the old dream, but for the good wishes of the times, which is the root cause of Gatsby's tragic fate.

Another character —— Nick, the role of a bystander to witness the process of the destruction of the dream. This young man, who came from the West to the East and finally returned to the West, was also part of the wave of chasing the American Dream in the beginning. But in this paper-drenched society, after witnessing too many lies and hypocrisy in the world, all the filth, dirt and illusory love, he felt disgusted and disappointed and the "American Dream" was completely broken.

Gatsby's love for Daisy is a reaction to the "American Dream", and Daisy's beauty like the "American Dream", captivates Gatsby. And Daisy's selfishness and coldness, flashy but unrealistic exactly reflects the flimsy and unrealistic "American Dream". Gatsby constructed a dream world in order to get the so-called love, not able to distinguish between reality and dreams. While realizing that Daisy worships money, he fails to see that they live in totally different worlds. The "American Dream" constructed by Gatsby is only a fugitive shell, and the main reason for this tragedy is the blind pursuit and loss of the noble spirit.

The green light on the dock opposite Gatsby's mansion in the novel appeared many times, and Gatsby always stretched out his arm in a very strange way to touch the green light. This flashing green light seems to be a sign of Gatsby's dream, and also implies that the love between Gatsby and Daisy, although close at hand, but out of reach.

'Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic 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... And one fine morning—' 'So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.' The past has more of a future than the present.

2021-08-25

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