Hannah Garrett

Ms. Calfee

N3

February 17, 2017

Critique and Analysis

Even though The Great Gatsby was written in the 1920s, it is still considered a gem in

todays society. It consists of variety that other authors do not offer like the excessive use of

symbolism and color association. Not only that, but Fitzgerald makes his characters very

unlikable which makes him stand out. By standing out, having variety, being a well-known

author, and leaving imprints on young minds, F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby is truly a

book that will continue to outlive its time period and make a mark on society.

Fitzgerald is not like many authors of his generation or this one. One main reason is

because of how Fitzgerald wrote his characters in The Great Gatsby. Most, if not all, of the

characters in The Great Gatsby are not crowd pleasers. They embody human flaws at the time

that most people sneer at and think, I would never do that and makes the reader hate them for

being so idiotic. With Fitzgerald doing this, he is set apart from most authors. Most authors try to

include characters people like so they can sell more copies of their work, but Fitzgerald does not

do this in the slightest which is a reason why he is different from others.

Another reason that Fitzgerald is different from other authors is when he wrote the book.

He wrote this book in 1925 which is smack in the middle of the 1920s era. His book takes place

within the time period in which he lived so he knows how things really were. This sets him apart

from other writers who wrote about the 1920s because they would write about the time after it
happened. Fitzgerald wrote about it while it was happening and exposed the people of this time

on what was really happening around this era and even predicted somethings. His book is very

raw and of the time and thats once again another thing that sets him apart from authors.

One of the last factors of what set Fitzgerald apart from everyone else is how he wrote

the book. Fitzgerald used many different types of literary devices to keep the book short,

complex, and yet to the point. Some of the things he is famous for using is symbolism,

descriptive language, and color associations which is shown all throughout the text. One main

example of symbolism is shown in the book when Fitzgerald at the end of chapter one says,

and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far way, that might have been

the end of a dock (21). The green light at the end of Daisys dock is a metaphor for Gatsby

trying to reach his goals to obtain Daisy and go back to things were in the past that Fitzgerald

described using symbolism, color association, and descriptive language to describe. Not only did

he use this example, he used many more to help develop the story and keep it ever changing to

have a different meaning to anyone who reads it. With Fitzgerald using a different types of

writing, that not many writers took advantage of, he is set apart from other writers.

Fitzgerald not only is different from other writers, but he also stands out from them. This

is because not only did Fitzgerald write The Great Gatsby he wrote more novels than that, but

two very popular ones before it named This Side of Paradise and The Beautiful and Damned.

These two novels started Fitzgeralds career and helped him be recognized by those around him

enough that they read and paid attention to the rest of his novels. Since this happened, more

people knew about The Great Gatsby when it came out. This makes Fitzgerald stand out from

others because people already knew of him from previous works so they were ready to see if he
grew in his writing or if it possibly got weaker. Fitzgerald stands out from his peers; it shows yet

another reason why The Great Gatsby is still memorable today.

The Great Gatsby isnt only memorable; its also required at most high schools these days

for students to read. On top of it being because it matches up with the U.S. history curriculum, it

is also because of the life lessons that the book teaches us. The book tries to teach us growing

teenagers very important lessons like not to be careless or not to only care about materialistic

things. This book helps shape us into better humans and lets us learn from the characters

mistakes. The reader will learn to value people and care for them because of who they are and

not what they own and can offer us. It also shows us what happens when those things are the

only thing we think about. This shows how it can destroy us and those around us. For growing

adults going through the world with high hopes for success, it is a superb book to bring us down

to Earth and realize the important things in the world. The book teaches readers this great lesson

and is another reason that this book is immortal and always growing in meaning to the

generations that get the chance to read it.

In conclusion, F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby is still considered some of the best

in American literature even today. It has many layers to it that continue to be added through the

years it ages and the generations that read it. With the diverse writing technics that Fitzgerald

uses to keep the story moving like symbolism, color association, and descriptive language, he

shows he stands out from those writers of the 1920s and today. On top of that, F. Scott

Fitzgeralds already famous books helped this book be publicized even more to help show how

he stands out compared to his peers. Lastly, with Fitzgeralds message on how we should care for

people and not objects is a main reason why it still lives on today in high schools around the
United States. All these things show that this book will continue to make an impact of all those

that read it for many more years to come.

 Work Cited

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. London: Penguin, 2000. Print.

Cohn, Robert G. "Symbolism." The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 33.2 (1974): 181.

Web.