Aali's Portfolio Project
Marxist Literary Theory and response to The Great Gatsby
Those Who Have Power
The Roaring 20’s in New York and the idea of wealth is what drives this society. The wealthy people of East and West Egg which are the rich neighborhoods seem to have power and influence over the lower status, middle class, and poor folk. Wealth is power and wealth can be earned in many ways like lust, ill-gotten, or through business deals. The people of wealth, are the ones of higher class and power, the older that they or their families have had their wealth, determines their status among the wealthy. Those people who are poor, however, face the challenges of being at the bottom of the food chain, the poor men aren’t respected that much and their wives usually have affairs or much more admire the men of wealth much like Myrtle Wilson and Tom Buchanan’s relationship.
In the 1920s the economic status of America grew, profoundly to the prior decade. World War birthed the modern auto and airline industries. Gatsby joined the upper class when he came back from war, doing illegal business deals with Meyer Wolfsheim, thus his money being new as opposed to older like Tom’s, Daisy’s, and Jordan’s. The neighborhoods, even separate their status of power, East Egg being the richer place of the three which are mentioned the most, West Egg which Gatsby lived in and threw the luxurious parties at. The poorest described neighborhood being, The Valley of ashes, where Myrtle and George lived. Gatsby’s Luxurious Parties are for people of wealth so people who were poor aren’t likely to come.” The bar is in full swing, and floating rounds of cocktails permeate the garden outside ”(Fitzgerald, 31. pdf) This is used to describe those parties which are spectacular and booze-filled. Fitzgerald described the American Dream by the 1920s, as having enough money to buy fancy cars and enough whiskey to crash them. These parties, however, are thrown in an effort to win Daisy back, this ambition fuels his desire for wealth which eventually gives him power.
As Gatsby looks out across the bay, he sees a green light. This green light symbolizes his beliefs that he will have the ‘golden girl’ and life that drives his wild ambition. As The American Dream represented power and equivalently wealth, for Jay it means wealth and Daisy now. Daisy-like many wives of wealthy men suspected her husband of having affairs, in which many cases were true. When she gave birth, she said, “I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool — that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool. (Fitzgerald 14)” A fool to willingly be mistreated by men in this world, she then proceeded to respark her relationship with Gatsby but as an affair. Myrtle and Tom’s affair was simply entertainment for Tom like many other young girls he’d slept with before. Myrtle however saw this as her chance to live the glamorous life she had always wanted. This gave him power not only over her but the many before and after her.
Throughout the novel, we see many instances as to why wealth is power and how the wealthy use their power for selfish reasons. This power like in the book corrupts many minds, to obtain it or just for the fun of it. Those of lesser power, desire the power that the wealthy have and wish for it, for example, Myrtle. Others see what actually happens when you have this power and how the lesser status people are treated like nick. The poor people like George are often made fun of and if they rise to a higher level of power they still are frowned upon like Gatsby, as their money is new. Old Money is true power.
What makes writing “timeless,” “great, ” or “classic” and why? Who decides?
Writing becomes timeless when it teaches single or multiple lessons that apply to what is going on in that current day
Most timeless classic makes us think and question how we live our daily lives of being human
Some simply don’t suggest when the time period is in the bok therefore making it timeless
Great writing falls nearly under the same characteristics but instead of being timeless, the characters of the book make you see yourself in these characters
Classics are the same they just are more known and use the characteristics of both timeless and great writing
These things aren’t decided in committee of sorts just by the people who read them and grasp something from them.
Artist Statement
I made a short response to the question above and detailed what makes writing timeless, great, and or a classic.
Creative Responses ; Text To World Connections
Text to World
“When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart. Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book, was exempt from my reaction—Gatsby who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn.”
What I read makes me think of the past and the living conditions of the 1920s and how out of touch the world really was.
Text to Text
“About half way between West Egg and New York the motor road hastily joins the railroad and runs beside it for a quarter of a mile, so as to shrink away from a certain desolate area of land. This is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat . . . where ashes take the forms of houses. . . .”
This made me think of the industrial revolution which America was going through at the time, the ashes are probably smoke coming from a factory and the smoke is so thick that it could “build houses”. Most people working in factories can’t achieve their American Dream.
Text to Self
“‘Every one suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.’”
This made me think of the times I have told myself something very similar although it actually was a lie , the same might be said for the narrator when saying this line.
Text to World
“When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart. Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book, was exempt from my reaction—Gatsby who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn.”
What I read makes me think of the past and the living conditions of the 1920s and how out of touch the world really was.
Text to Text
“About half way between West Egg and New York the motor road hastily joins the railroad and runs beside it for a quarter of a mile, so as to shrink away from a certain desolate area of land. This is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat . . . where ashes take the forms of houses. . . .”
This made me think of the industrial revolution which America was going through at the time, the ashes are probably smoke coming from a factory and the smoke is so thick that it could “build houses”. Most people working in factories can’t achieve their American Dream.
Text to Self
“‘Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.’”
This made me think of the times I have told myself something very similar although it actually was a lie, the same might be said for the narrator when saying this line.
Artist Statement
Text to World Connections on Chapter 1-6.
