Idealism
English Lit: AQA A Level The Great Gatsby - Specification A, topic 5.1.3
Idealism
Idealism is a philosophical idea that the ideal state of humanity is possible. This idea runs through the novel, especially in the case of Jay Gatsby.
Gatsby
- Gatsby has an idealised view of himself, what he has generated in terms of personal wealth, and the mansion he lives in.
- His library is a symbol of that idealism. He has not really read any of the texts in the library, but the room is presented as an ideal of how things should be.
- The same is true of his parties. Even though he is at distance to them (and almost outside of them), they form an idealised vision of what the whirling social life of Long Island should be like.
Gatsby - 'Platonic conception'
- In the novel, Gatsby is described as a ‘Platonic conception of himself’.
- This image draws on the notion of the Greek philosopher Plato. A ‘Platonic conception’ means an ‘unreal or impossibly ideal version of something’.
Myrtle Wilson
- Another character who has elements of Idealism in her mind is Myrtle Wilson. The marriage she has with George is far from ideal, so she seeks a more glamorous lifestyle with Tom Buchanan.
- The apartment in New York City is more the idealised life that she hoped for when she was younger.
Flawed notions of Idealism
- To an extent, all the characters carry a flawed notion of Idealism within them.
- Daisy had hoped for an ideal marriage with Tom but it is far from this.
- Tom seeks an idealised passionate relationship with Myrtle.
- Even Nick eventually comes to seek idealism in the West of America. Nick initially had idealism about what being a bondsman in New York would be like, but he soon finds himself desiring an ideal and more wholesome lifestyle back in the Mid-West.
Test yourself on Idealism
Which of these is Gatsby described as?
Who has a ‘Platonic conception' of themselves?