An Analysis Of "The Great Gatsby"

This essay aims to immerse itself in the world of Mr. Jay Gatsby from both an Economic and Marxist viewpoint. 

"She told me it was a girl, and so I turned my head away and wept. "All right," I 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." (16)

Image Courtesy of Sophie Webb

The front cover of the novella boasts privilege and seduction, replicated by a young and beautiful woman, most likely a flapper in her day, wearing glimmering white pearls and a feather hat. She is forefront and wearing black, which from a Marxist perspective could be interpreted as in 'mourning' to the material crisis of Capitalism; the rejection of Communism as "the god that failed" much like the character of Jay Gatsby himself. Author Fitzgerald is said to have lived a notorious lifestyle following the publication of his first and highly successful novel "The Side of Paradise" in 1920. A time when the economy was constituted by a state of equilibrium; but from a boom must come a bust. The outlook was highly Keynesian, with Capitalism being seen as a more efficient and effective way to progress. 

Before his anticipated appearance, expectations of Gatsby would amount to some "hot shot" revolutionary rich kid; an advocate of private ownership who hosts fancy parties at his monetary mansion in West Egg. "The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself." (80) Further suggested here that he acquires a kind of idealistic admiration for himself; characteristic of his 'old sport' nature. Instead, he chooses to diminish himself in the background of events and is therefore perceived as some sort of mythical creature. 

*WRITTEN AS PART OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WINCHESTER'S PHILOSOPHY MAGAZINE. READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE HERE.