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Death in The Great Gatsby

Would anyone be able to help me with some point for my gatsby essay, I’ve already got some things down already but I feel like there’s something missing.

The question is

How does Fitzgerald present death in ‘The Great Gatsby’?

Reply 1

hamlethoratio

Original post by Blank123456789

Ooo I actually did an essay when I was in y12 on death in TGG. I focused on Gatsby’s death being inevitable because it epitomises the failure of the American dream (if you consider Gatsby as a symbol of the American Dream) and also because his death fits in with the premises of tragic literature (if you consider Gatsby as the Aristotelian tragic hero then his death is inevitable because the tragic hero must reach an unfortunate end?).

Some other points of interest would be how Gatsby’s death is romanticised and very implicitly described with metaphors so that you almost miss it as the reader! Whereas compared to Myrtle’s death, there’s a very gruesome and vivid description of her being torn apart and she’s almost sexualised with the description of her death?

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