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Hello everyone, my presentation today is about the novel The Great Gatsby.
The Great Gatsby is a 1925 drama romance novel written by American
author Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby has achieved remarkable success in
the literary world. The Great Gatsby is widely regarded as a literary
masterpiece and a serious contender for the title of Great American Novel.
Contemporary scholars have emphasized the great Gatsby's treatment of
social class, inherited and self-made wealth, gender, race, and
environmentalism, as well as his cynical approach to the American Dream.
Jay Gatsby The protagonist who gives his name to the story. Gatsby is a
newly wealthy Midwesterner-turned-Easterner who orders his life around
one desire: to be reunited with Daisy Buchanan, the love he lost five years
earlier. His quest for the American dream leads him from poverty to wealth,
into the arms of his beloved and, eventually, to death.
Nick Carraway The story's narrator. Nick rents the small house next to
Gatsby's mansion in West Egg and, over the course of events, helps Gatsby
reunite with Daisy (who happens to be Nick's cousin). Nick's Midwestern
sensibility finds the East an unsettling place, and he becomes disillusioned
with how wealthy socialites like the Buchanans lead their lives.
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Daisy Buchanan Beautiful and mesmerizing, Daisy is the apex of
sociability. Her privileged upbringing in Louisville has conditioned her to
a particular lifestyle, which Tom, her husband, is able to provide her. She
enraptures men, especially Gatsby, with her diaphanous nature and sultry
voice. She is the object of Gatsby's desire, for good or ill, and represents
women of an elite social class.
Tom Buchanan Daisy's hulking brute of a husband. Tom comes from an
old, wealthy Chicago family and takes pride in his rough ways. He
commands attention through his boisterous and outspoken (even racist)
behavior. He leads a life of luxury in East Egg, playing polo, riding horses,
and driving fast cars. He is proud of his affairs and has had many since his
marriage. Myrtle Wilson is merely the woman of the moment for Tom.
Myrtle Wilson Married lover of Tom Buchanan. Myrtle serves as a
representative of the lower class. Through her affair with Tom she gains
entrée into the world of the elite, and the change in her personality is
remarkable. She conducts a secret life with Tom, wherein she exhibits all
the power and dominance she finds lacking in her everyday life. She
eventually suffers a tragic end at the hands of her lover's wife.
George Wilson Myrtle's unassuming husband. He runs a garage and gas
station in the valley of ashes and seems trapped by his position in life.
Eventually, he finds out about his wife's double life and his response to it
helps drive her to her death. Distraught at what happens, Wilson becomes
Fitzgerald's way of expressing the despair prevalent in the seemingly
trapped lower-middle class.
I think the theme of this novel is the American Dream. Next, I will illustrate
this topic from three examples.
The incident is about how Nick recounts after returning home from his first
dinner with Tom, Daisy, and Jordan, he saw his neighbor Gatsby standing
on the lawn, reaching for the green light that Nick eventually learned was
at the end of Daisy's pier. Nick has yet to meet Gatsby, but has noticed his
mansion and lavish parties. Nick also points out that despite his material
possessions and wealth, Gatsby still craved something he couldn't grasp as
his trembling arm stretched out towards the green light.
The green light at the end of Daisy Pier can represent the American Dream,
just like the success and past love that Gatsby has been chasing.
The event was When Gatsby drove Nick to New York for lunch, Nick
mentioned to Gatsby.
This quote shows that the American Dream, success, and money don’t
actually apply to everyone — only those who are connected, especially
wealthy families.
Well, the narrator Nick seems to believe that the American Dream is about
having enough wealth so that you can extend your good fortune to others,
as Gatsby did by throwing his elaborate parties.
Jay Gatsby himself believed that money could buy him the American
dream of living in wealth and luxury with the love of his life. No matter
what Daisy said or did, nothing could stop Gatsby from pursuing that
dream.
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Here is the reference of this novel. Thank you for listening.