The Great Gatsby Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

The Great Gatsby, the masterpiece written by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s will help you to dive into the wealth atmosphere of the Roaring Twenties. This is a story of a millionaire Jay Gatsby and his passion for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan.

Your professor may ask you to analyze topics as decadence, money, American Dream, or symbolism in your The Great Gatsby Essay. But what if you have no idea on what to write? Well, below, you can find some tips and essay samples that you may use to compose your own papers.

Tip #1. Analyze symbolism in The Great Gatsby

First, let’s define what symbolism is. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, symbolism is “practice of using symbols, especially by investing things with a symbolic meaning or by expressing the invisible or intangible using visible or sensuous representations.” The Great Gatsby story is full of symbols. And here are just two examples of them:

• The eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg painted on a billboard in the Valley of Ashes. You can find a lot of The Great Gatsby essay samples that draw the conclusion that Eckleburg represents God. However, let’s ask a few more questions. Why do these eyes have no mouth or arms, or legs? Does this mean that Eckleburg can only watch people transgressions without any ability to punish them as a God-like entity? Does this billboard mean anything?
• Use of color in Fitzgerald’s story. If you carefully read the novel, you might notice the use of a few colors throughout the book. They are green, gray, gold, and yellow. Think, what do these colors can symbolize and represent these ideas in your paper.

Tip #2. Think about point of view in The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is written in the first-person point of view. Nick Carraway, one of the main characters, tells us about the life and thoughts of Gatsby. In your writing, you can imagine how different the novel would be if it were told in the third-person point of view.

You also can provide some examples if the story was told from Gatsby’s perspective.

Tip #3. Assess how the book relates to the American Dream

If you look through the vast majority The Great Gatsby essay titles, you can find out plenty of samples that address the validity of high society or the social class divide. Gatsby had achieved the American Dream by building his wealth. However, he’s still not satisfied with the shallowness of the upper class and wants something more.

In your paper, you can argue why does one can never attain the American Dream, and why dreamers always want more.

Tip #4. Analyze the characters and their relations

Fitzgerald put each character into the novel for a particular reason. And your job is to analyze what they represent and why they are in the story. For example, Tom represents evil, while Daisy represents innocence. Another aspect you should examine is relationships between Daisy and Gatsby, Tom and Daisy, Nick and Gatsby.

Tip #5. Examine the tone of the novel

When we talk about the tone of the story, we mean how the author describes the events and characters. In your paper, decide what the tone of the novel is and analyze how it affects the readers’ attitude to characters and events.

Now, check The Great Gatsby essay examples below and use the acquired ideas to write your own paper!

🏆 Best The Great Gatsby Topic Ideas & Essay Examples

1. Fitzgerald’s American Dream in The Great Gatsby & Winter Dreams
   To my mind, Winter Dream is a perfect example of the American Dream, since the main hero, Dexter, implemented each point of it, he was persistent and very hard-working, he was a very sensible and […]
2. The Great Gatsby Reflection Paper. Book Review Essay
   Throughout the novel the major character Nick who was the narrator managed to bring out the main themes of the novel as well as developing other characters.
3. The Great Gatsby: Analysis and Feminist Critique
   The feminist critique is an aspect that seeks to explore the topic of men domination in the social, economic, and political sectors.
4. The Great Gatsby
   All these characteristics of America during 1920 are evident and inherent in the main character, Jay Gatsby, in the novel The Great Gatsby. This is one of the themes in the novel The Great Gatsby.
5. Fairy Tale Traits in The Great Gatsby
   Basing on the several evident parameters, for instance, the character traits, the behavior of prince and princess, and gender distinctions amongst others, Fitzgerald’s masterwork stands out as a variation and sophisticated version of the fairy […]
6. The Idea of Love in The Great Gatsby and the Parallels or Contrasts that Can Be Drawn with the Presentation of Love in The Catcher in the Rye
   Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Jerome Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, it is possible to state that the notion of love is presented there similarly even though the texts are absolutely different and […]
7. Jay Gatsby and Valjean in ‘Les Miserables’: Comparative
   Valjean’s life contains a series of misfortunes in the sense that he has to hide his true identity. Most of the people in his life were there just for convenience and for the fact that […]
8. Jay Gatsby & Gean Valjean: Characters Comparison
   This essay compares and contrasts the characters of Gatsby and Jean Valjean in the Les Miserable novels and films. Gatsby strikes the readers as a na ve and lovesick individual though his character is negative.
9. Jay Gatsby & Eponine from Les Miserables: Compare & Contrast
   Gatsby is the main character in the book “The Great Gatsby,” while Eponine is one of the characters in the book “Les Miserables”.
10. Francis Scott Fitzgerald & His American Dream
    In the novel “Tender is the Night,” Fitzgerald describes the society in Riviera where he and his family had moved to live after his misfortune of late inheritance.
11. Jay Gatsby & Tom Buchanan: Compare & Contrast
    In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald pays attention to the relationships between both Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan and Daisy Buchanan. Scott Fitzgerald’s book is mainly focused on the relationship of Daisy with Gatsby and Tom, […]
12. Why is Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby a Satire?
    Another aspect of satire in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is the wealth associated with Gatsby, as the reader observes in chapter two.
13. Female Characters in The Streetcar Named Desire & The Great Gatsby: Comparative
    It can be seen in the case of Stella and Daisy wherein in their pursuit of what they think is their “ideal” love, they are, in fact, pursuing nothing more than a false ideal that […]
14. Daisy Buchanan: “I did love him once, but I loved you, too”
    Another scene shows Daisy’s immoral behavior when she is in the room with Gatsby, Jordan, and Nick. This view shows Daisy’s lustful side in that she pushes Jordan to do the same and is out […]
15. Time as a Theme in The Great Gatsby
    The embodiment of these negative aspects comes in the form of Gatsby and his life, which in the end is seen as hollow and empty, just as the morals and values of the characters seen […]
16. Babylon Revisited & The Great Gatsby: Motifs & Themes
    When he pleads his case to the guardians of Honoria, his sister-in-law Marion, and her husband, he continually evades his escapades of the past and recounts his hard work and sincerity of the present.
17. The American Dream in The Great Gatsby
    After spending some time in this neighborhood, Nick finally attends Gatsby’s exuberant parties only to realize that Gatsby organizes these parties to impress Daisy, Nick’s cousin, and wife to Tom.
18. The Ethicality of an Action Jay Gatsby
    As well, an action is “wrong” if it results in the opposite of happiness to the people. Mill’s utilitarian theory can be used to assess the ethically of Jay Gatsby’s action, as presented in the […]
19. Gatsby & Jean Valjean
    He is a mysterious person, and no one exactly knows his origins and the ways he used to acquire his fortune.
20. Gatsby & Nick in The Great Gatsby
    The Great Gatsby is a novel of vibrant characters, and paradox is one of the main themes of the book. Even though Daisy and Tom are married, Nick agrees to help Gatsby be with the […]
21. ‘The Great Gatsby’: Tom and Blanche
    Like Tom, Blanche in the book of Street Car Named Desire, is loyal to her sister who is the only member of her family that we come across.
22. The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald
    In the novel, the fictional village of West Egg is perhaps one of the key items that symbolize the life of the new millionaires in the city.
23. Silver & Gold: Color Symbolism in The Great Gatsby
    Although the color palette presented in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is rich, the problem of differing social status is most vividly described in the novel through the use of golden and silver colors that stand […]
24. Nick as the Narrator in The Great Gatsby
    Therefore, his connection with the Gatsby’s story is that he is depended upon to serve as the mouthpiece of the older generation as he metaphorically transcends through time to retell the Great Gatsby tale accurately […]
25. The Dilemmas of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby
    The Great Gatsby is a story of a young man in the early twentieth century who seems to know what he wants in the way of that dream and what to do to achieve it.
26. Political Satire in American Literature
    Scott Fitzgerald was one of the more famous satirists of the time, particularly in his production of the work The Great Gatsby.

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