Critical Approaches to the Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is a fun, yet mysterious novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925. It has wild tales of the roaring 20's and it delves into the hidden, yet publicized lives of the rich and wealthy of Long Island, New York.

Psychoanalytical Criticism
At first glance it can be observed that Gatsby has an obsession with Daisy and with the idea of marrying her, despite her legal status of being currently wed. This makes the reader wonder about Gatsby's childhood and if his parents respected and were faithful to each other of if they viewed marriage with less boundaries. After thinking this however, it led me to wonder if Fitzgerald had divorced parents or frequently cheating parents because I feel like this ideal of mindlessly cheating on your spouse was not an incredibly common one in the 1920's.

Source Studies 
It's very probable that F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the Great Gatsby as an interpretation of an autobiography of his own life. F. Scott Fitzgerald was raised in a normal, moderate household where he then went on to join an important societal club in New Jersey as a young adult. He lusted after a young woman named Zelda but she didn't reciprocate the feelings. He earned her love at some point but then after he become a drunkard she broke it off again. This sounds eerily similar to the lifestyle of Gatsby; a young man from a moderate household who earned a place in the high society for himself and who lusted after a young woman he couldn't have, all while being a drunkard.

Feminist Criticism
Although the Great Gatsby takes place two years after women are legally allowed to vote, there are still many signs of their assumed place in society and the roles they were expected to maintain. The majority of the women in Great Gatsby are either married, or very sensual flirtatious women. Men are constantly being described by their possessions in the novel, whereas women are solely described by their physical attributes, jewelry, clothing, and spouses. While their freedoms are improving at this time, the Great Gatsby makes it evident to the readers that women are still seen mainly as objects and fragile creatures.

Critical Disabilities Criticism
In the Great Gatsby they cast a sense of "normalcy" across all of their characters. At the beginning of the novel they portray everyone as wealthy, happy, and emotionally healthy, however as the novel progresses we begin to see signs point otherwise. We learn that Gatsby is a pathological liar, and that the vast majority of the characters are unhappy with their fake lives of perfection but have no outlets to express their emotions which explains the consistent drinking throughout the novel. Gatsby is the perfect example of how anyone can have problems with their mental and emotional health that may not be visible to the eye.