The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald - 1552 Words

American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald uses his novel The Great Gatsby to comment on American society and on other great American writers, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson. Although both of these writers are well respected and analyze the themes of American society, their works contrast each other’s claims. One major theme in The Great Gatsby is the past the book itself is told from Nick’s point of view in his later years and emphasizes how Gatsby attempts to try to change his past throughout the whole novel. While Fitzgerald offers much insight on the principle of time and the past, Emerson does not seem to think the past matters. In Self-Reliance, Emerson reveals that the past is insignificant. He believes that â€Å"Whenever a mind is simple, and†¦show more content†¦Gatsby’s conception of himself is a lavish persona, which he believes is his destiny and his divine wisdom: â€Å"He was a son of God - a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that - and he must be about His Father’s business, the service of a vast, vulgar meretricious beauty† (92). Even when growing up on a humble farm in North Dakota, Gatsby knew the unexceptional lifestyle would not satisfy this â€Å"divine wisdom,† or the destiny that Gatsby believes he will have (and eventually believes he has). He renounced his parents inside his mind, admitting that â€Å"his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all† (91-92). Instead, Gatsby found a new Father - a God of beautiful, lavish corruption. This new, wealthy, worldly persona is Jay Gatsby, the ideal form of the poor farmer James Gatz. By creating a whole new identity, Gatsby is rejecting his past self as James Gatz, and moving on to what he considers to be his destiny - a life of beauty and glamour that ultimately comes with corruption. A new identity, a new self, a new life is Gatsby’s â€Å"divine wisdom,† which does not fit with Emersonâ€⠄¢s definition of a â€Å"divine wisdom,† or genius. However, Gatsby’s conception of himself is his dream. This dream is later embodied in