The Great Gatsby is an excellent example of catharsis, there is emotional release towards the end of Fitzgerald’s novel. The deepest sense of cathartic feelings I felt through the novel was the moral decay due to money. This is seen the most within the Buchannan’s, their actions and choices reveal the moral decay of the upper class during that time period. They had a lack of accountability and were very selfish, which provoked my morals. Nick Carraway’s perspective as the narrator and his realization about the hollowness of wealth and his struggle to recapture the past only amplifies the affect of cathartic feelings. I never feel like we are getting fully accurate information.
Shifting towards Gatsby and his unrequited love for Daisy Buchanan which leads to his downfall. I feel bad for Gatsby on a base level because he will never truly have what feels like he needs, he seems helpless. We witness the consequences of obsession, of his pursuit of pursuing the unattainable. His tragic ending with his death and disillusionment of many, exposes the emptiness and corruption underlying the facade of the roaring twenties. The parties and dinners were all empty. Tom and his affairs apartment are empty. They’re all empty consumed by the greed from within themselves.
This invokes a form of self reflection, it allowed me to reflect on my own greed and question if I were stuck in the negative feedback loop of chasing the unattainable. Following my self reflection I realized that I wasn’t consumed of money and that I have a sense of happiness almost without it (I’m also a poor college student). There is emotional release following the crazed ending of Gatsby, the crazy rollercoaster ride seems to come to a halt and we as the readers are able to take a breath and understand the events that unfolded.
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