The Great Gatsby: Theoretical Approach


The Great Gatsby was written by Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald in 1925. It was one of the greatest literary documents of this period, in which the American economy soared, bringing unprecedented levels of prosperity to the nation (http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/context.html). 

In this novel, the present writer thinks that Fitzgerald wrote it based on his own experiences. The characters Nick Caraway and Jay Gatsby are the evidence of his existence in the novel. As taken from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/context.html, it was mentioned that Fitzgerald shows himself through the character of Nick Carraway as a thoughtful young man from Minnesota, educated at an Ivy League school (in Nick’s case, Yale), who moves to New York after the war (sparknotes.com). Besides, as taken from the same web, Fitzgerald also shows himself through the character of Jay Gatsby as a sensitive young man who idolizes wealth and luxury and who falls in love with a beautiful young woman while stationed at a military camp in the South (sparknotes.com). Furthermore, there is also evidence that emphasizes on Fitzgerald’s love as told in sparknotes.com earlier. In 1918, while assigned to Camp Sheridan, near Montgomery, Alabama, the course of his life changed forever. The 22-year-old Scott met and fell in love with then 18-year-old debutante Zelda Sayre (http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/g/the-great-gatsby/f-scott-fitzgerald-biography). So, it was true that he wrote his own experience in the novel The Great Gatsby.

For these reasons, the present writer thinks that The Great Gatsby is suitable to be analyzed with biographical criticism. It considers the author’s life that has the conection towards his novel. Biographical Criticism is subset of historical criticism, the focus being narrowed to the author’s life and thought, relating these to his or her literature. Therefore, the present writer thinks that this approach is the best to be applied in the novel The Great Gatsby.

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