171

of history, which is characterized by the economic, cultural and social development after World

War I, flourished and offered people the opportunity to obtain superficial facilities that they could

not afford in the past; they were even able to own cars which rapidly became a status symbol. Just

as this period was a time of flourishment, so it was a time of decay. The decline of social morality

was part of people’s everyday life. According to Churchwell “This is about the world that prompted

F. Scott Fitzgerald to write The Great Gatsby, tracing the relationship between that world and the

novel that it inspired, including the largely forgotten story of the brutal slaying of an adulterous

couple, a murder mystery that held all of America spellbound at the end of 1922.”

Another characteristic of the 1920s was the prohibition of alcohol; this caused the growth

of people’s illegal business, what was so-called criminal bootlegging: hidden origin of Gatsby’s

and decline; however, Gatsby’s effort to succeed is doomed to failure.

Ambition is what merely leads Gatsby to his ultimate destruction. Gatsby is determined to

obtain everything he has always longed for since the first moment he is conscious he does not have

the advantages wealthy people have. In accordance with Djohar “Gatsby’s obsessions for the

products of a growing industrial society are an accurate depiction of cultural history of the 1920s”

(299). At one point of his life he realizes he has to leave his family behind to fulfill his dreams.

This is not truly a problem, for he is nothing but ashamed of his origin, which is embodied by his

parents. “His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people — his imagination had never

172

with him for five years both taking care of him and learning about the wonders of a wealthy life

inside Cody’s extravagant yacht. Thus, Cody inherits Gatsby twenty-five million dollars; however,

he never receives this money, for Cody’s mistress claims to be the only heiress. As a result,

Gatsby’s path to become a millionaire starts from here. He tries to cover his real intentions when

he shows he is deeply in love; however, his actions are not moved by love, they are stained by

money and the rewards attached to it, rewards exemplified by Nick’s description of Gatsby’s house:

“The one on my right was a colossal affair by any standard… It was Gatsby’s mansion” (Fitzgerald

9).

Being tired of belonging to second class, he uses firstly this mansion to impress Daisy and

those who belong to “old money.” In Gatsby’s mind the idea of not having Daisy back is just a

purpose of getting Daisy’s love back; nevertheless, his longing for being an “old money” man has

always remained as his true love. In fact, one way he sells this image is his constant use of the term

“old sport” and his constant urging in making people believe he is an “Oxford man” conveying he

Gatsby’s awareness that money eliminates the difference between the social strata leads

him to surpass the limits of any ambitious person by hastening his illegal actions into corruption.

Gatsby is a corrupted and self-interested man who under pressure shows that his passion about

173

been involved with Meyer Wolfsheim, a dark and suspicious man, selling alcohol for many years.

Wolfshiem is a powerful man, and this is evidenced when Gatsby tells Nick “...he’s a

gambler…He’s the man who fixed the World’s Series Back in 1919” (Fitzgerald 78).

some other time” (Fitzgerald 75). On the other hand, at one time Gatsby himself offers Nick the

opportunity to earn some money without any significant effort, “Well, this would interest you. It

wouldn’t take up much of your time and you might pick up a nice bit of money. It happens to be a

takes place also when he tries to get Daisy back without giving any importance to the consequences.

Gatsby has an inherent talent to be corrupt and selfish; therefore, it is not relevant if Daisy is a wife

and a mother; he has to own her no matter what. Finally, Gatsby accompanies Daisy when she ends

to achieve his goals. Gatsby’s ambition and corruption govern his life; as a result, his struggle to

seek power shows him he is just a lonely man holding nothing. Comparatively, Bruccoli claims

that Gatsby does not see that the corruption at the base of his fortune in effect compromises his

vision of life with Daisy (52).

174

light’ at the end of Daisy’s dock. Just as the ‘green light’ is single, so is Gatsby’s life. He alienates

himself and experiences his own ‘unquiet darkness.’

But I didn’t call to him for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone—

he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and far as I was from him

I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward—and distinguishing

dock. When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished, and I was alone in the unquiet

darkness.

from each other” (4). The juxtaposition of Daisy’s and Gatsby’s lives make them representatives

of the upper class following two different and distant directions. “He craves to be with her, and yet

he cannot override the distance that separates her from him” (Clarici 6). Daisy is rooted as a wealthy

woman whose fortune comes from former generations together with that air of aristocracy, whereas

Gatsby, living alienated from reality, unfolds his abandonment and doubtful fortune. Moreover,

regardless of his lifestyle, Gatsby resembles the Valley of Ashes in that both convey desolation and

isolation. In the Valley of Ashes human lives hang in the balance, and so does Gatby’s. Thus,

alienation keeps Gatsby living constantly near the edge of a cliff since his vision of the world is

altered by the gloom of his foggy feelings. At long last, Gatsby lives all alone in his fancy mansion;

he is not interested in having any relationship with his relatives. He throws large parties for lots of

175

because he is blind and obsessed with getting Daisy back. To this regard, Tate states “Gatsby

believes in the promises of America, but his ambitions are undermined by and confused with his

illusions about Daisy” (95). Thus, in his attempt to repeat the past, he is a man who loses his

(Fitzgerald 155). People at his parties trample his dignity when they gossip about Gatsby’s origin,

“Someone told me they thought he killed a man once” (Fitzgerald 48). “It’s more that he was a

German spy during the war” (Fitzgerald 48). Through his attempt to regain Daisy’s love he loses

long with a single dream” (Fitzgerald 169). Crossing the ethical boundaries does not offer Gatsby

any happiness or love in his longed for “warm world”; it solely gives him a plentiful amount of

money. Ultimately, Gatsby loses his life; nevertheless, his life had died out from the moment reality

by his mansion at the end, “There was an inexplicable amount of dust everywhere and the rooms

were musty as though they hadn’t been aired for many years” (Fitzgerald 155).

176

aside the aspirations and needs of others. However, not only does Gatsby long for material things,

but also he corrupts his “green light.” Thus, corruption corrodes any good intention that might

emanate from Gatsby’s mind since he does not measure the consequences while obtaining all the

benefits to himself. Additionally, despite the large number of people that surrounds Gatsby, he

remains alienated both physically and socially. An unbeatable barrier sets Gatsby apart from the

social strata that he had always wanted to belong to. Gatsby, being corrupt and selfish, achieves to

become the wealthy man he had always wanted to be; however, ambition, corruption and alienation

are not the appropriate mixture for Gatsby. Everything he does turns to failure when he himself

witnesses how he becomes nothing but a loser. He loses his freedom, his dignity, his forbidden

love, and his life. Ironically, Gatsby acts out the scenes of a life beyond his own, pretending to live

as an honorable man; eventually, he dies in a tragic way and fails, for he is easily forgotten as

someone whose honor has been trampled. In the end, greatness only lies in Gatsby’s fantasy mind,

and failure originates from his wrongly perceptions of the “green light.” This ray of light fades

away in the darkness of Gatsby’s soul, who at the end of the day is just human. "That's the whole

burden of this novel -- the loss of those illusions that give such color to the world so that you don't

Works cited

177

Adaptation: In-Betweenness, Excess and Time. University of Basel, 2014,

file:///C:/Users/L/Downloads/SocialAlienationInTheGreatGatsbyandInItsLatestFilmAdaptation.p

Turāṡ Vol. XIX No. 2, July 2013, file:///C:/Users/L/Downloads/3722-8969-1-SM.pdf. Accessed 1

Tate, Mary Jo. Critical Companion to F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Literary Reference to His Life and

Work. Facts on File: New York Infobase Publishing, USA, 2007.