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The great gatsby criticism of american culture
The great gatsby criticism of american culture
The great gatsby criticism of american culture
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F. Scott Fitzgerald
The roaring twenties were a colorful time in US history. F. Scott Fitzgerald lived, loved and wrote about this time in many of his novels. F. Scott Fitzgerald influenced literature by connecting with the everyday person through stories that reflected their lives. He wrote about a time where consumerism, wealth, and fame described the American lifestyle. One of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s most famous novels was The Great Gatsby, in it he wrote about Jay Gatsby a wealthy gentleman living the roaring twenties lifestyle perfectly. Jay’s parties and lavish lifestyle have been explained by the narrator of The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway saying “Sometimes they came and went without having met Gatsby at all, came for the party with a simplicity of heart that was it’s own ticket of admission”(Fitzgerald 41). His stories were the truth of the way he and many Americans were living at the time, when they lived for the fun and lived simply at ease. He easily connected with the everyday American because he lived his life as an everyday American would.
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Scott Fitzgerald was his ability to cultivate his own image in the media” (Zeitz). He connected with the people of the time by doing more than just observing the normal American life but by living the normal life, a life of both ups and downs. He wrote about the flashy things and the wealthy people in many of his books. (Zeitz). “His clear, lyrical, colorfully witty style evoked the emotions associated with time and place” (“F. Scott Fitzgerald”) He knew how to write in a way that connected his readers to his stories. His ability to write good books is unquestionable since his books are famous years later. However, during his lifetime as a writer he was known to be a drunk and many other writers believed that his drinking made him an irresponsible writer, that was thought to be sloppy
This novel was set in the 1920s, when everything was easy. Money was easy, love was easy, and life seemed easy. The American dream was alive and kicking in every American heart. The primary character in the novel, the mysterious Jay Gatsby, is the embodiment of this time. He is a classically handsome, self-made man who is envied by all, but known by none. He and his wealth appear out of thin air and he flies up the social ladder by throwing lavish parties in his extravagant house. Nick Carraway, the narrator of this novel, reveres Gatsby before they are even introduced. The first time Nick sees Gatsby, the mysterious man was all alone on the lawn and he “stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way… I glanced seaward - and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away” (Fitzgerald 25-26). The reader’s first glimpse of Gatsby reveals a man desperate to procure his dream. As the men grow to be friends, and Gatsby confides in Nick, the narrator discernibly loses respect for Gatsby. Gatsby originally appears to be a worldly, charming man...
Francis Scott Fitzgerald, also known under his writer’s name, F. Scott Fitzgerald, is revered as a famous American novelist for his writing masterpieces in the 1920’s and 1930’s. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote about his extravagant lifestyle in America that his wife, Zelda, their friends, and him lived during that era. In fact, a lot of his novels and essays were based off of real-life situations with exaggerated plots and twists. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novels were the readers looking glass into his tragic life that resulted in sad endings in his books, and ultimately his own life. F. Scott Fitzgerald lived in a nice neighborhood, but growing up, he wasn’t privileged.
The Roaring Twenties was a time of excitement for the American people, with cities bustling with activity and a large community that appreciated Jazz, thus creating the title the “Jazz Age.” The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald takes place in this magnificent age characterized by Jazz and the popular new dance, the “Charleston.” Through the midst of all this new activity, we follow a character named Jay Gatsby through the eyes of the narrator, Nick Carraway. Fitzgerald’s themes of friendship and The American Dream is seen in The Great Gatsby through Nick and Jay’s companionship and Gatsby’s growth from being a simple farm boy to becoming a wealthy man.
The first period that he wrote in was called the Jazz Age. The Jazz Age took place in the years between 1920 and 1929. This period of time was also called the Roaring Twenties because this period of time was a time of great economic prosperity for the United States, as it was also a period of great wealth for many private businesses in America. In relation to Fitzgerald, this was a time when was recognized as a great writer and his career took off from there.
“Riding in a taxi one afternoon between very tall buildings under a mauve and rosy sky; I began to bawl because I had everything I wanted and knew I would never be so happy again.”(Fitzgerald). F. Scott Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota, into a very prestigious, catholic family. Edward, his father, was from Maryland, and had a strong allegiance to the Old South and its values. Fitzgerald’s mother, Mary, was the daughter of an Irish immigrant who became wealthy as a wholesale grocer in St. Paul. His upbringing, affected much of his writing career. Half the time F. Scott Fitzgerald thought of himself as the “heir of his father's tradition, which included the author of The Star-Spangled Banner, Francis Scott Key, after whom he was named” (F. Scott Fitzgerald Biography). The other half the time he acted as “straight 1850 potato-famine Irish” (F. Scott Fitzgerald Biography). Consequently, he had typically indecisive feelings about American life, which seemed to him at once “vulgar and dazzlingly promising” (F. Scott Fitzgerald Biography). This idea is expressed in much of Fitzgerald’s writing. From an early age he had an “intensely romantic imagination” (F. Scott Fitzgerald Biography); he longed for a life of passion, fame and luxury.
F. Scott Fitzgerald was a romantic character in both his fiction life and his real life and “…was perhaps the last notable writer to affirm the Romantic fantasy, descended from the Renaissance, of personal ambition and heroism, of life committed to, or thrown away for, some ideal of self"(Voegeli). The inspiration for The Great Gatsby came from the experience Fitzgerald had with a Jewish bootlegger and his symbolism for the book is “never more ingenious than in his depiction of the bankruptcy of the old agrarian myth” (Trask). The realization that America had been changed and transformed into a new world arose. America has become a new world with a new set of traditional beliefs. The beliefs were onset by the growing fields of industrialization and urbanization. America is now a place in which “a revolution in manners and morals was inevitable” (Trask). The trend of this new life style and tradition was reinforced by World War 1 and the writers critiqued the traditional faiths. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald paints a story about love and intrigue. He shows the possibility of movement between the different social classes during the Roaring Twenties in the United States. The American dream was the thought that people who had talent in the 'land of opportunity' could gain success if they followed a set of well-defined behavioral rules. During this time period, Americans believed that satisfaction would automatically follow success. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald raises many important political questions: "What does it mean to live well, and on what terms people can live together?” and it shows America's thoughts and answers to these essential questions (Voegeli). These questions are referring to the different social classes and be...
F. Scott Fitzgerald the author of "The Great Gatsby" reveals many principles about today's society and the "American dream." One of the biggest fears in today's world is the fear of not fitting into society. People of all age groups and backgrounds share this fear. Many individuals believe that to receive somebody's affection, they must assimilate into that person's society. In the story, Jay Gatsby pursues the American dream and his passions to be happy to only come to a tragedy and total loss. The author illustrates through the characters that the search of wealth, love, or fame or going after the past ideals may not lead to true happiness.
In the past century in America, one of the decades that has stood out most as a time of change is the 1920s. In a post-war economic boom, the decade was a time of cultural and societal change. Among the parties and the more relaxed way of life, Americans experienced new wealth and luxury. Capturing the essence of the Roaring Twenties is a daunting task, especially because of the many different factors contributing to the decade’s fame. However, F. Scott Fitzgerald managed to capture and define the spirit of the 1920s through his novel.
The award winning novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was published on April 10, 1925. F. Scott Fitzgerald was born Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald on September 24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota. Throughout Fitzgerald’s life he has published many novels. However, before his death he was believed to be a failure, but is now considered one of the best American writers of the 20th century.
In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald gives the reader a glimpse into the life of the high class during the 1920’s through the eyes of a man named Nick Carraway. Through the narrator's dealings with high society, Fitzgerald demonstrates how modern values have transformed the American dream's ideas into a scheme for materialistic power and he reveals how the world of high society lacks any sense of morals or consequence. In order to support his message, Fitzgerald presents the original aspects of the American dream along with its modern face to show that the wanted dream is now lost forever to the American people. Jay Gatsby had a dream and did everything he could to achieve it, however in the end he failed to. This reveals that the American dream is not always a reality that can be obtained.
The 1920’s was a time of prosperity, woman’s rights, and bootleggers. F. Scott Fitzgerald truly depicts the reality of this era with The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby, an enormously wealthy man, is famous for his extravagant parties and striking residence. However, this is all that is known about Gatsby. Even his closest friends continue to wonder what kind of man Gatsby actually is. The mysteriousness of Gatsby is demonstrated by conceivable gossip, his random departures, and the missing parts of his past.
Hugh Hefner once said, “I looked back on the roaring Twenties, with its jazz, 'Great Gatsby' and the pre-Code films as a party I had somehow managed to miss.” The parties of the Roaring Twenties were used to symbolize wealth and power in a society that was focused more on materialism and gossip than the important things in life, like family, security, and friends. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, portrays the characters of Tom and Daisy Buchanan as the epitome of the era. The reader sees these characters acting selfishly and trying to meddle with others’ lives. On the other hand, Nick Carraway, the narrator, acts more to help others and act honestly. Initially the reader sees Carraway’s views towards Jay Gatsby as negative as Gatsby’s actions are perceived as being like the Buchanan’s. As the novel moves forward, the reader notices a change in Carraway’s attitude towards Gatsby. Carraway sees Gatsby for whom he truly is, and that is a loving person who only became rich to win Daisy’s heart. But in this the reader also sees how corrupt and hurtful Gatsby’s actions were to the love of his life. Gatsby’s relationship with Daisy reveals that just as Gatsby’s dream of wooing Daisy is corrupted by illegalities and dishonesty, the “American Dream” of friendship and individualism has disintegrated into the simple pursuit of wealth, power, and pleasure.
The novel, The Great Gatsby is one of Western literature’s most well known fictional masterpieces. Taking place in the roaring twenties, The Great Gatsby highlights the sustained economic prosperity and artistic dynamism that was characteristic of the era. The economic boom of the 1920s also allowed for people, like the character Jay Gatsby, to rise up the socioeconomic ladder and easily integrate themselves into a more opulent society. Fitzgerald puts a spotlight on the consumerism that swept the United States by stressing detail when describing Gatsby's parties. Although many of those who lived in East Egg and West Egg flaunted their wealth, Fitzgerald shows us the imperfections to this way of life.
Through Fitzgerald’s symbolic description of Gatsby, he explores the extent of the American Dream’s deceptive nature that slowly destroys a person and his/her morals. During the Roaring 20s it was very common for people to project illusions to mask who they truly were; to fit in, it was almost essential to have one to survive in the highly materialistic and deceitful society. Nick is introduced as the objective narrator...
In writing this book, commonly refered to as the “Great American Novel”, F. Scott Fitzgerald achieved in showing future generations what the early twenties were like, and the kinds of people that lived then. He did this in a beautifully written novel with in-depth characters, a captivating plot, and a wonderful sense of the time period.