F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, is a unique in that Fitzgerald does not describe the events in chronological order. Instead, a first-person narrator, Nick Carraway, presents the story as a series of flashbacks. The novel centers around its title character, Jay Gatsby, a rich West Egg citizen who is known for his exuberant parties. Before he left to fight in World War I, the Great Gatsby fell in love with Daisy Fay. He eagerly awaited his return to the United States, but by the time he had arrived, Daisy had already married Tom Buchanan. As a result, Gatsby entered a dream world, in which he was convinced that he would win Daisy back. This dream soon became the center of his life, and he did everything he could to make it a reality. This transition did no go as smoothly as Gatsby had hoped. The major conflict in The Great Gatsby stems from the struggle between Gatsby’s dream of changing the past and the reality that thwarts this desire. (Fitzgerald)
The majority of Gatsby’s actions in the novel are geared at regaining a romantic relationship with Daisy. Had Gatsby not retained his love of Daisy, many of the novel’s events would not have happened. When Gatsby is giving Daisy a tour of his mansion, he says, “If it wasn’t for the mist we could see your home across the bay. You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock.” (Fitzgerald, 94) This green light means a great deal to Gatsby, because it represents Daisy to him. The green light is the most visible part of the Buchanans’ home from West Egg. Jordan Baker confirms that, “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay.” (Fitzgerald, 79) The fact that Gatsb…
… middle of paper …
… Fiztgerald: Crisis in American Identity. New York: Barnes
Choosing between Family and Individuality in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening
Choosing between Family and Individuality in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening
Kate Chopin’s The Awakening focuses on a woman’s struggle to become an individual while still being a mother and wife. In the process of this journey, the female heroine discovers that establishing her own identity means losing a mother’s identity. Edna looks to be the “brave soul,” a “soul that dares and defies” (Chopin 61). Edna’s society looked down upon females who seek anything other than attending to their children and husband’s needs. Therefore, she is seen as an outcast and must turn inward as well as outward towards nature for satisfaction and approval.
At the beginning of The Awakening, Mr. Pontellier poses the question, “If it was not a mother’s place to look after children, whose on earth was it?” (Chopin 7). He reflects the general belief of his time that women should be mothers who give up themselves for the more important needs of their children. He believes that women should be self-sacrificing beings who never take and always give. He thinks, just as other men believed during this time period, that she should be the “angel of the house,” catering to his every need. Mr. Pontellier wants her to be one of the “ministering angels” (Chopin 9) who “idolized their children” (Chopin 9) and “worshipped their husbands” (Chopin 9). Mrs. Pontellier shows little interest in taking care of her husband and children, hinting that she seeks more than a life lived for others. She begins to “recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her” (Chopin 14) which inevitably becomes a curse in disguise. It creates a complicated inner conflict. Mrs. Pontellier ponders whether she should be defined as a mother and …
… middle of paper …
…nature for acceptance and to her soothing childhood memories for forgotten innocence.
Works Cited and Consulted
Chopin, Kate. “The Awakening.” 1899. The Complete Works of Kate Chopin. Ed. Per Seyersted. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1989.
Culley, Margo, ed. A Norton Critical Edition: Kate Chopin: The Awakening. New York: W.W. Norton, 1994.
Edwards, Lee. “Sexuality, Maternity, and Selfhood.” A Norton Critical Edition: Kate Chopin: The Awakening. Ed. Margo Culley. New York: W.W. Norton, 1994. 282-285.
Walker, Nancy. “Feminist or Naturalist.” A Norton Critical Edition: Kate Chopin: The Awakening. Ed. Margo Culley. New York: W.W. Norton, 1994. 252-257.
Wolff, Cynthia. “Thanatos and Eros.” A Norton Critical Edition: Kate Chopin: The Awakening. Ed. Margo Culley. New York: W.W. Norton, 1994. 231-241.