- Question
What are the themes of The Great Gatsby?
F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby is a set in New York City during the 1920s: a time of youth, wealth, and prohibition. There are several timeless themes such as love, wealth, and death. Other themes are more specific to the era like the materialism of the Roaring Twenties and social class.
The Great Gatsby is about the American dream
This position holds that the American Dream is the central theme of The Great Gatsby. It argues that every character is chasing their own ideal of that dream amid the materialism and excess of the Roaring Twenties — and that the novel charts its corruption and hollowness.
The Great Gatsby is about wealth
This position holds that wealth is the central theme of The Great Gatsby. It argues that the characters are consumed by the pursuit of riches, and that the novel turns on the clash between 'old money' and 'new money' in 1920s America.
The Great Gatsby is about love
This position holds that love is the central theme of The Great Gatsby. It argues that the novel is at heart a tragic love story — driven by Jay Gatsby's consuming love for Daisy Buchanan, and read by some as Nick Carraway quietly exploring his own sexuality.
The Great Gatsby is about death
This position holds that death is the central theme of The Great Gatsby. It argues that death touches every character and drives the novel — Myrtle Wilson's death a pivotal turn, and Gatsby's own death symbolising the demise of the great American dream.
The Great Gatsby is about social class
This position holds that social class is the central theme of The Great Gatsby. It argues that the characters are preoccupied with their standing and how others see them — that Gatsby's lavish parties expose the shallowness of the upper class, and his rise lays bare the barriers of class.