Critical Essay



Choose a novel or short story in which the
fate of the main character is important in
conveying the writer’s theme.
Explain what you consider the theme to be
and discuss how effectively the fate of the
character conveys it.
In your answer you must refer closely to the
text and to at least two of: theme, plot,
characterisation, setting, or any other
appropriate feature.



Choose a novel or short story in which the
fate of the main character is important in
conveying the writer’s theme.
Explain what you consider the theme to be
and discuss how effectively the fate of the
character conveys it.
In your answer you must refer closely to the
text and to at least two of: theme, plot,
characterisation, setting, or any other
appropriate feature.



Gatsby’s fate- exposed as a bootlegger, loses
Daisy, is shot by George Wilson and almost
no-one attends his funeral.
Main theme- corruption of the American
Dream: how the admirable (if unrealistic)
desire for renewal and self-improvement has
been tainted by ‘the foul dust’ of materialism
and entrenched inequality.
Evaluate how well Gatsby’s fate highlights the
corrupt/ unrealistic nature of the American
Dream in the 1920s.




Author and title
Respond to task
Demonstrate that you understand the main
theme
Give an idea of your line of argument

Jay Gatsby, the flawed hero of F. Scott
Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby, meets with a
rather ignominious fate. He is unmasked as a
bootlegger, abandoned by his great love and,
after a case of mistaken identity, shot and left
face down in his swimming pool. Just as
Fitzgerald portrays the American Dream as
corrupted and unattainable for many in
1920s America, Gatsby’s own dreams have
been corrupted and crushed by cold, brutal
reality.



Introduction
Six main body paragraphs
Conclusion



Gatsby’s love for Daisy (his American Dream) and
her choosing Tom. This would most likely cover
at least two paragraphs.
Gatsby’s death (perhaps also Tom’s role in it).
Identified by his yellow car, which he bought to
attract Daisy. Yellow/ gold symbolises old
money.
His funeral. This reinforces his isolation.
Consider this isolation in terms of the American
Dream. Gatsby’s capacity for wonder, his desire
for something beyond the material, leaves him
alienated in the spiritually barren, materialistic
world of 1920s America.


Use of setting to develop theme- East and
West Egg; Valley of Ashes. Connect this to
Gatsby’s death.
Evaluate how well Gatsby’s fate conveys the
corruption of the American Dream.





Topic Sentence
Brief explanation/ expansion
Evidence
Analysis/ Evaluation
Link back to task





The resolution of the conflict between Tom and Gatsby comes when
Daisy chooses Tom. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald has associated
Gatsby’s love for Daisy with the American Dream, which was originally
about discovery, individualism and the pursuit of happiness. Gatsby
invents a past and persona in a bid to overcome the difference in social
status between him and Daisy. Indeed, the novel’s title, which makes
him sound like a magician or illusionist like The Great Houdini, is a
reference to this. However, Fitzgerald also uses Gatsby’s love for Daisy
to highlight the corruptions of the American dream that have occurred in
1920s America. The rampant materialism of Daisy’s lifestyle mirrors the
increased importance of consumerism in American culture:
“Her voice is full of money.”
Fitzgerald’s unusual imagery, as voiced by Gatsby when describing
Daisy, is also a successful use of irony. Gatsby believes that he is
describing her in a positive way. However, the readers realise that
Fitzgerald views money as one of the reasons for America’s moral decay
in the 1920s. Therefore, his imagery here associates Daisy, and
therefore Gatsby’s love for her, with that. I also feel that there is an
implication here that Gatsby’s love for Daisy is partly a result of his
attraction to her status. Yet, ironically she looks down on Gatsby’s own
class, as represented by West Egg:
“She was appalled by West Egg...by its raw vigor that chafed...and by the
too obtrusive fate that herded its inhabitants along a short-cut from
nothing to nothing.”
Such arrogance and snobbery are indicative of Daisy’s character and, for
me, are the real reasons that she chooses Tom. I believe that Fitzgerald
is not portraying her as choosing a person, but rather a set of values.