Essay Example on Parallelism in The Great Gatsby Many great writers and Artists

Parallelism in The Great Gatsby Many great writers and artists works are based off of moments and snapshots from their personal lives Intentional or not personal experiences are what shape people s style of painting and writing They can influence the tone and mood of a story and what the audience takes away from the writing The Great Gatsby was written as a reflection of the author F Scott Fitzgerald's personal life The Great Gatsby was set in the 1920 s and is centered around a group of people living in Long Island in New York Nick Carraway is the narrator of this story and serves to give us an unbiased true version of what occurred on the island Long Island is split into West Egg and East Egg The Eggs are a representation of the wealth you possess Those living in West Egg are new money meaning they have acquired their wealth on their own Those living in East Egg are old money which indicates they ve always had money in their family Nick is a bondsman who moves into a small bungalow in West Egg next to Jay Gatsby's mansion Jay Gatsby is a mystery to many people not many know much about him only that he throws lavish parties 

Nick's cousin Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan from East Egg Daisy and Gatsby are former lovers but were separated when Gatsby went off to war During this time Daisy married her now husband Tom Buchanan Gatsby is still in search of Daisy and the love they shared When Gatsby finds out his neighbor is Daisy's cousin he uses this information in his favor He befriends Nick and sneaks his way back into Daisy's heart Tom has been cheating on Daisy with a woman named Myrtle who is living in the valley of ashes in poverty Myrtle is also a married woman she is married to George Wilson an auto shop owner Tom comes to the conclusion that his wife is cheating on him and decides that he cannot have that happen At the same time George becomes suspicious of his own wife of infidelity The group decides to go on a trip to the city and on this journey Myrtle runs out into traffic thinking Tom was in the car This results in her being struck by Gatsby's car and to her death Although it was Daisy driving Gatsby takes the fall for this incident George assumes that the car Myrtle was running towards was her lover s He pays a visit to East Egg and kills Gatsby F Scott Fitzgerald lived through The Roaring Twenties so it made most sense for him to write a story about a time period that he was knowledgeable about It was through this knowledge that he was able to describe in vivid detail the extravagant parties Gatsby threw in his mansion Nick Carraway described Gatsby's parties as At high tide in the afternoon I watched his guests diving from the tower of his raft or taking the sun on the hot sand of his beach while his motor boats slid the waters of the Sound drawing aquaplanes over cataracts of foam 

On weekends his Rolls Royce became an omnibus bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight The 1920 s are known for introducing a new type of woman the flapper These women went against all social norms they bobbed their hair wore shorter skirts and listened to jazz The women who attended Gatsby's parties embodied the definition of a flapper woman The Great Gatsby was a reflection and parallel of F Scott Fitzgerald's own life Our narrator Nick Carraway is from the state of Minnesota as is Fitzgerald Similarly to Nick Fitzgerald had also attended an ivy league school Princeton University meanwhile Nick attended Yale in Connecticut Fitzgerald didn't write his life story through a particular character in this book Instead he included snippets of his life through many characters He not only incorporated himself into the story through Nick's character but also Gatsby s Fitzgerald joined the military during World War I as did James Jay Gatsby Gatz Just like Gatsby fell in love with Daisy during this period in his life Fitzgerald had also fallen in love Fitzgerald fell in love with a woman named Zelda Zelda resembled Daisy s character because they both wanted a feeling of security from their lover Daisy married Tom because he was able to provide that for her something Gatsby was unable to do when he first met her Gatsby attempted to impress and please Daisy once he was on his feet by throwing parties every week Zelda would not marry Fitzgerald until he was able to support her financially Like Gatsby Fitzgerald tried his best to impress Zelda by becoming a successful published author Fitzgerald s experiences influenced the tone and mood of The Great Gatsby as well 

The dark gloomy mood in the novel is owed to Gatsby's neverending chase after Daisy leading to his death and Daisy running off with Tom regardless This novel showcases materialism in the worst but most honest light as some people do care for personal belongings more than other individuals Fitzgerald had suffered from alcoholism throughout his life which most probably influenced his writing Many great literary works and paintings stem from personal experiences The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald is one of these personal pieces F Scott Fitzgerald incorporated details of his personal life into his characters to tell a story Misfortunes and achievements have a great influence on not just the plot of stories but also the tone and mood of them Works Cited F Scott Fitzgerald A Biography The Great Gatsby https www ncpedia org history 20th Century 1920s