Andrew Allen

Hon. English III

Mr. Jennings
2/12/12
Gatsby Article Summary
                In Roger L. Pearson’s article “Gatsby: False Prophet of the American Dream” he views
Gatsby in the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald in a biblical sense, comparing the
role of Jay Gatsby to the role of Jesus Christ, a messianic prophet who heralds a new age.
However, in Pearson’s analysis of this analogy, he claims that Gatsby is a false prophet of sorts,
a symbol for the demise of the American Dream. Pearson makes this claim as a result of the state
of the 1920s, the “orgiastic post war period known as “the Roaring Twenties”, and the fact that
Gatsby appears to be the epitome of material indulgence as evidenced by his vast estate and the
lavish parties he throws every night due to his incredible excess of wealth. Pearson then goes on
to compare the tale of Gatsby and his failed pursuit of Daisy as an inverse of the tale of Jesus
Christ, culminating in the “crucifixion” of Gatsby at the hands of Wilson. Pearson concludes by
stating that Gatsby’s failure is a result of his fixation on the “power” granted by his money and
the disappointment that crushes his spirit upon learning that his money grants him no power at
all. Pearson then goes on to say that the American Dream is not a reality in the minds of
individuals like Gatsby, as instead of granting them a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment it
destroys and erases them from the minds of others. Pearson concludes with the chilling statement
“The American Dream is, in reality, a nightmare.” Great summary
I agree with the author's thesis, mainly because of the amount of evidence he provides in
regards to Gatsby’s tale fitting in with parables and stories from the Bible, even proposing that
the cast are mere mirrors of individuals related to Jesus Christ himself. In the words of Pearson,
“Nick Carraway is Nicodemus, the Pharisee; Dan Cody is St. John the Baptist with his femme
fatale, Salome, in the guise of Ella Kaye; and Meyer Wolfsheim is St. Peter complete with three
denials.” These people even act out their parts in regards to certain parts of the play, reenacting a
Gatsby version of the marriage feast at Cana, a multitude of parables, Judas’ betrayal, and as
mentioned before, the crucifixion of Christ himself, or rather, Gatsby himself. Pearson then
raises an interesting point: instead of being the son of a loving God, aka the God worshipped by
Christianity, Gatsby is the son of a god of material wealth and love, aka Mammon, and is in fact
the god resurrected by the intense hedonism and explosion of material wealth that arose during
the era. This can be seen in the novel itself, as Gatsby tends to flaunt his wealth whenever he can
as seen during his lavish parties and when Nick and Daisy are in his home, marveling at the
masterfully tailored shirts that he so carelessly tosses about as if they were old rags that had
somehow invaded his closet. The Valley of Ashes that is mentioned in the novel also possesses
some syllogism between the novel and the Bible, as well as the ominous Dr. T. J. Eckleburg and
his massive eyes that tower over the landscape, watching over the desolate wasteland of ashes
with a sense of omniscient mystery. Pearson offers the idea that Eckleburg is in the story to
represent “some implacable deity” and reinforces this claim with Wilson’s words to Michealis
upon looking at the billboard, referring to them as the “eyes of God” and claiming that “God sees
everything.” The Valley itself is to represent that the world that Gatsby lives in is a material and
spiritual wasteland of sorts and is doomed to end in ashes with no further prospects of prosperity
and has some parallels to Hinnon, which is the Old Testament name for the dump outside of the
city of Jerusalem which was tainted beyond repair by the worship of false gods and turned to ash
by the vengeance of the one true god referenced in the Bible. Pearson notes that the relationship
between the eyes of Eckleburg and the Valley of Ashes works perfectly in this regard. The
author of the essay also asserts that the Valley represents Gatsby and his “worship of a false god,
Mammon” coupled with Gatsby’s ultimate demise.
In the end, Gatsby serves as a reminder that material wealth does not grant one the might
of a god in respect to the real world, and this essay sums up that ideal nicely. The parallels
between the Bible and The Great Gatsby reveal that Gatsby is, in fact, a false prophet of a god
that promises material wealth and fails in this respect, leaving a world that ends with ashes rather
than gold.

Andrew: Nicely crafted essay banks on a strong summary. Make sure to extend your response
and remember since you agree with the author’s thesis, the key is to extend it and bring more
evidence not in her essay to support her thesis. Make sure when you do this you make it clear
where the ideas are yours and not hers. Although you do this, at times it’s not clear if the ideas
are yours or if you’re simply agreeing with the points she has made. Nice work and strong
vocabulary pays off in this one.

Works Cited
Fitzgerald, Francis Scott, and Lionel Trilling. The Great Gatsby. New York: C. Scribner's
Sons, 1925. Print.

Pearson, Roger L. "Gatsby: False Prophet of the American Dream." EXPLORING

Novels. Online ed.Detroit: Gale, 2003. Discovering Collection. Gale. Affton High - Affton 101.
27 Feb. 2012