Insight into Walter

The Harlem Renaissance was a major black cultural movement in which many African American citizens were able to raise their positions in society. Their fights were no longer for freedom, they were to higher their positions in society. However, this shift in ideals was not a smooth transition. In the poem "The Weary Blues" Langston Hughes describes the feeling of black musician. This musician says that "[He] ain't happy no mo'" and that he wished "that [he] had died", showing that he is no longer satisfied with the life that he lives. His case is similar to that of Walter Lee in the book A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. Walter is also dissatisfied by his families conditions and his job. As his mom always says, being a servant is never the right job for a man. He should be creating something for the world. Walter wishes to become as close to a Gatsby-like person he can, and just like Gatsby, he has become too absorbed in materialistic possessions. Unlike Gatsby though, Walter has to battle with society to achieve his goal, something we as readers think will most likely not happen. Personally, I see Walter as a combination of Rex Walls, from The Glass Castle, and Gatsby, from The Great Gatsby. He keeps telling his family of the plans he has to get rich quick and is also an alcoholic like Rex, however he is more absorbed in the perks of wealth than Rex, similar to Gatsby.**SPOILER ALERT**(if you still haven't done your homework) After reading Act II, we find that Walter truly is empty with his promises and is just as reckless with money as Rex Walls. How he will react to this defeat though may set him apart. That remains to be read...

What do you truly have when you have everything?

F. Scott Fitzgerald in the book, The Great Gatsby(1923), implies that materialism is a destructive characteristic leading to a life lacking a true meaning. Fitzgerald supports his claim by ridiculing the sense of mystery behind Gatsby's affluence–no one knows who he is, what he does, or what he searches for in the beginning of the book, not even Gatsby himself. The authors purpose is to reveal how materialism can result in a meaningless life with insatiable desires so that society may no longer epitomize happiness inside wealth. The author writes in a cautionary tone to society in order to warn against the consequences in becoming overly absorbed in the dream that is wealth.

The statement "you don't know what you've got till its gone" has some truth to it, dealing with family members and other strictly irreplaceable items. However in Gatsby's case, he didn't realize that he didn't have anything until he actually had everything. While he was working to become rich and leaving his family to fulfill his dream of being rich, he lost sight of what he was truly doing. He was leaving those that cared about him, his family, for riches. Also, he didn't come back to Daisy as soon as he could because he was afraid she would reject him due to his economic state, again not realizing that if she truly loved him, it wouldn't matter. Through this and our socratic seminar in class, it can be concluded that materialism not only corrupts a person's morals, but also it corrupts and consumes their own purpose.

Color Motif in The Great Gatsby

Throughout the entire novel, colors are used as symbols representing certain meanings. These include gold, which represents wealth, white, representing femininity, green, representing hope, and gray, representing a lack of the other colors. However, in the book, there are many colors that also appear to mimic some of these. For example, yellow mimics gold and cream mimics white. Fitzgerald's purpose behind using these mimicking colors is because they represent the idea of mimicking itself. In the beginning of the book, Jordan and Daisy, two highly regarded women wear white, however Mrytle, not as highly respected, wears cream. She is trying to be like Daisy, is even jealous of her, but she is not quite the same as Daisy. This is why she wears a cream dress the first time she appears in the book. Similarly, yellow represents new wealth trying to mimic old wealth. Gatsby's yellow car is an example of this. He buys it to flaunt his wealth and try to appear like those who live on East Egg. Another example of this mimicry is the two twins who approach Jordan at one of Gatsby's parties. Fitzgerald describes them as both wearing yellow. Again, this represents the new wealth trying to mimic the old wealth, however it cannot quite be achieved. In The Great Gatsby colors of similarity are used to represent one group of people trying to be like another.