Great Gatsby

“.... In chronicling Gatsby’s tragic pursuit of his dream. Fitzgerald recreates the universal conflict between illusion and reality.”
Do you agree?


On the surface this novel comments on the careless gaiety and moral decadence of the period. It contains innumerable references to the contemporary scene. The wild extravagance of Gatsby’s parties, the shallowness and aimlessness of the guests and the hint of Gatsby’s involvement in crime all identify the period of the American Dream. Despite this, below the sheer veil there lies the universal conflict between illusion and reality. Fitzgerald tells us of Gatsby’s pursuit of his dream; its initiation, its failure, all that is relevant in contrasting the two totally different worlds, but showing to all how they are united into a state of complete synchronicity.
A perfect state of illusionment is set up in this novel from the beginning. The aura of mystery surrounding Gatsby is a distinct way of masking the reality that dese...