New Criticism and The Great Gatsby

Themes When analyzed by New Criticism, The Great Gatsby has a Universal theme which a reader can garner a time-capsule image of the theme during the 1920s. This theme is the American dream. Gatsby being the main character takes the theme almost exclusively. Tom in the Book never worked for his money and took it for granted, seeing the growth of other races as a danger to his power. Gatsby exemplifies this American Dream in that he struggled to achieve it. Gatsby yearns Daisy who he was in love with when he was a youth alongside his positive, fruitful future dream. Even Tom is said to be wandering on continually looking for a contemplatively for the intense hurly-burly of some immutable soccer game. The challenge that may possibly be shown the characters in the book is their desires of idealizing the future and the past.

For instance, when Gatsby finally gets to see Daisy after a long time, he realizes that he still loves her, Nick says, "there must have been moments…. when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams…not through her own fault but because. It signifies the individuals who passionately chased richness, desperately failed, while the wealthy individuals care solely about themselves, and think that the poor not important. All the rich people think is where they will venture off or which expensive item they will use in entertaining themselves with. Another symbolism that is constantly mentioned in the book is the eyes of Doctor T. J. Ecklerburg. Finally, the green light was representing the dream of Gatsby and getting her back will be complementing his American Dream Imagery This is the use of figurative language in representing actions, ideas, and objects in a manner that is appealing to our physical senses.

There are several instances of imagery in the book The Great Gatsby. Firstly, Daisy has been viewed as beautiful, pure idol-like statute, innocent having a deluxe and magnificent covetous life. Through Imagery, discernment of Daisy character can be viewed in the novel. Fitzgerald says," the last sunshine fell with romantic affection upon her glowing face; her voice compelled me forward breathlessly as I listened- then the glow faded, each light deserting her with lingering regrets, like children leaving a pleasant street at dusk"(pg. Gatsby is also referred as a" Belasco" which means a stage director. This implies that Gatsby loves setting the stage which is something that he appears not. This is evident in the outfits he wears and the way he wants to be seen. When Gatsby firsts meet Daisy he is in a blue outfit where the color blue represents illusion.

After 5 years he appears in a white outfit which denotes purity and innocence. For instance, "her face was sad and lonely with bright things in it………. there was an excitement in her voice that men who had cared for her found difficult to forget. p. is a sentence that has a lot of adjectives. He links adjectives like sad and lovely that seem to be contradicting. The wind had blown off, leaving a loud, bright night… blew the frogs full of life" (p. the first line was a prepositional phrase that when erased the sentence would still be grammatically correct but readers who do not know actions that took place get to know and they are unable to infer why it happened. By using prepositional sentences the author is able to withhold information until in the last sentences which are later he is able to create suspense.

Conclusion New Criticism normally permits the reader to completely comprehend the reading irrespective of the context. Though criticisms that explore the societal views and its impact on literature bear certain attraction, New Criticism, that views text closely looks, is the most concrete and pure kind of literary criticism.  Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations (2010): 97. Hauhart, Robert C. Religious Language and Symbolism in The Great Gatsby’s Valley of Ashes.  ANQ: A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes and Reviews 26. Liu, Xiangqi.