A great lecturer once said, Man is so caught up in his own recklessness that he
does not notice the values of life. І The theme proclaimed in the quote
reflects literature in the abundance that it is used in throughout the history
of writing. Author F. Scott Fitzgerald, spokesman of the Jazz Age, illustrates
the shallow emptiness, careless recklessness, and materialistic concerns of the
rich in his novel The Great Gatsby. First and foremost of all are the issues of
the materialistic concerns of the rich. Jay Gatsby, a young rich bachelor, had
so many personnel possessions because he wanted Daisy, the first love of his
life, so much that she was the equivalent of іWinter DreamsІ to him.
Gatsby№s silk shirts being tossed over his head out of his dresser is a
good example of how his money means nothing to him and how he would give it all
away to have Daisy. Also his eccentric cars were the center of attention because
of their high price and extreme beauty. All of these examples of prosperity
represent the lives of the people of this novel to a point. Together, the
citizens of this book are more concerned with their possessions and money, than
their health and lives. Subsequently, the people at his parties show careless
recklessness with their abuse of alcohol and their bodies. First of all, the
people at Gatsby№s balls drank all night and showed no respect for
Gatsby№s house or possessions. Also the participants of the parties held
at Gatsby№s mansion are audacious enough to drive home while very
intoxicated. Furthermore the individuals who were drinking were astonished to
see the car in the ditch but none of them bothered to help. Alcohol in large
amounts and large groups can cause misjudgements and even death. All in All
drinking by Gatsby№s guests led to extremely reckless behaviors. Next and
final of all is the emptiness that the characters of this book posses and how it
affects their lives. Tom Buchannen, an insidious man who had an affair with
Myrtle, has the nerve to be married to Daisy and have a mistress. Following Tom
is a man they call Kiplinsinger, a gambling piano player, who lives with Gatsby
and doesn№t go to the funeral but he has the brashness to ask for his
tennis shoes back. Other guests of Gatsby are shallow enough to trash his house
and not care that they are very drunk. The things that can make people happy
such as women and money, can blind them to what is morally right. Within the
minds and lives of the people of this text lies a source of shallowness that
cannot be broken. In his novel The Great Gatsby., F. Scott Fitzgerald displays
the careless recklessness, shallow emptiness, and materialistic concerns of the
rich. This novel also translates over to everyday life in the way that if people
are too reckless, they will also be visionless. I believe that the lecturer who
spoke the great words of audaciousness saw the true meaning of life and not to
take it for granted.
Bibliography
Comptons Multimedia Electronic Encyclopedia. Seattle: Western Software, 1994.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Colier Books, 1992. - - -.
іWinter Dreams.І The United States in Literature Reads. Ed. James E.
Miller, Jr., et al. Classic ed. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1989. 438-51.