Response to Gloria's Question on Freud 10/15/09

In her blog on 10/15/09, Gloria speaks of F. Scott's Fitzgerald and "The Great Gatsby." She poses the question; "How do you think Freud would explain the example of "The Great Gatsby" because the main character modeled after Fitzgerald dies becoming a failure instead of a success?"

I think Freud would defend his view that art has to be influenced by a recollection of some previous memory. He would say that Fitzgerald created Gatsby to show some of his own hidden desires. The fact that in the end Gatsby dies, Freud I believe would say is Fitzgerald's symbolic way of showing that his hidden dream is too unrealistic. The death of Gatsby is what brings Fitzgerald back to reality after writing the book. The whole story could have symbolized an enjoyable time from Fitzgerald's childhood that came to an end and left room for change. Death gave Gatsby a new opportunity for whatever is beyond life.

While most believe that the story of Gatsby is portraying Fitzgerald's desire for wealth and power, Fitzgerald realized it was all just a dream. He knew in the end he could never have that and probably did not want to let himself believe that he could so to bring himself back to reality, he concludes the book with Gatsby's death. Therefore, "The Great Gatsby" could be viewed as a success according to Freud's beliefs because it does put the observer in a position to view the hidden desires of the artist. Just because the ending of the novel is not happy doesn't mean the novel as an entity is not a success and therefore a work of art.