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The Great Gatsby takes place in the 1920s, which was about 96 years ago, and yet there are many similarities between the 1920’s and today’s time period. The book was written in 1925, so it gives an idea of how that era really was in terms of it’s culture. Using the book and other sources, helps to see how America’s culture has changed, or stayed the same since the 1920s. Specifically, looking at the wealth, entertainment and activities, social views, and prejudices that took place in the 1920s and comparing it to today’s time period. During the 1920’s, the use of credit was extensive as everyone tried to reach the American “standard of living”(Hank and John Green, Youtube). There was mass consumption from the people as they used credit to buy the newest technologies and goods, like the automobile. The problem with all this use of credit was that it was acceptable to go into debt, but this would later lead to future economic issues. Many Americans during this time period rose to wealth as new products and jobs were created, however, about forty percent of them lived in …show more content…
Similarities are seen in the wealth of Americans, activites and entertainment, contradicting social views, and prejudices. The use of credit made debt acceptable and allowed people to have America’s standard of living, just like today’s time period. Beginning in the 1920s, Americans had more time for leisure and have continued having an increased amount of leisure today due new technologies. American’s held contradicting views towards women and immigration, but have since moved away from those contradictions today. Prejudice and stereotypes are still prominent in today’s society, however it is slowly being undone. Comparing these two time periods and using connections from the book have shown that both time periods hold multiple similarities and that change can be
The Great Gatsby' is set in the Jazz Age of America, the 1920s which have come to be seen as a bubble of extravagance and affluence which burst with the Wall Street Crash in 1929. Fitzgerald wrote the book in 1925, and in it he explores the fundamental hollowness which characterized the Age as he saw it, and casts doubt upon the very core of American national identity - the American Dream.
Dwelling on the past will make the future fall short. When longing for the past one often fails to realize that what one remembers is not in actuality how it happened. These flashbulb memories create a seemingly perfect point in time. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s modernist novel the Great Gatsby, the ill-fated Jay Gatsby wastes the present attempting to return back to that “perfect” time in past. Acknowledging the power of the imagination, Nick states that, “No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart” (Fitzgerald 101). Nick realizes that because the past is irretrievable, Gatsby’s struggle, though heroic, is foolish. Gatsby’s great expectations of Daisy leads to great disappointments. Through Gatsby, Fitzgerald tries to instill his
The past and future to people are the most frightening thing. The past is what makes your future, or helps you fix your future and make it better. People sometimes stay in their past because they are too scared of the future and what their future is going to be like. The past is usually when all the good things happened to people, so they try and stay in the past but the point of the past is to have a plan for the future, and plan that will make your life better. The novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and the film Chicago directed by Rob Marshall takes place in the 1920s and shows us how different we see life now, then how people saw life back then. In the novel The Great Gatsby, Gatsby wants to forget his past except for the fact that he still loves daisy, While Gatsby longs to re-create his past romance with Daisy and build a new future together. He tries to hide his past with non credible facts about his past in order to help his future become more successful. The Film Chicago which is very similar to The Great Gatsby because Roxie, has a bad past that puts her in a bad position, That finally put her on the new paper. Roxie only cares about fame and money and attempts to break free from her marriage to build a future for herself.
Written during and regarding the 1920s, ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald is both a representation of this distinctive social and historical context, and a construction of the composer’s experience of this era. Beliefs and practises of the present also play a crucial role in shaping the text, in particular changing the way in which literary techniques are interpreted. The present-day responder is powerfully influenced by their personal experiences, some of which essentially strengthen Fitzgerald’s themes, while others compete, establishing contemporary interpretations of the novel.
Out of some of the most turbulent times in history have come the greatest ages of success and prosperity. The 1920’s and 1950’s are two eras that exemplify the spirit of triumph and wealth. In both decades, a nation thrilled by the victorious conclusion of war and the return of their loved ones from war entered into an age of capitalism and materialism, bolstering the economy and with it national pride. Some of the features most common to the 20’s and 50’s were consumerism and the accompanying optimistic mindset, the extent to which new ideas entered society, and discrimination in terms of both sexism and racism. On the heels of war, new technology caused a decrease in prices of goods in the 1920’s and in the 1950’s the GI Bill increased income.
... world has changed as well. Materialism has both destroyed and helped people, leading some towards crime and others towards the American Dream. The distance between the wealthy class and the rest has grown, but so has the idea of noblesse oblige. The Great Gatsby clearly shows all of these issues as they were in the ‘20s, and all of them can be paralleled to show the same issues in today’s times.
Schumpter, Joseph A. "The Decade of the Twenties." The American Economic Review 36.2 (1946): 4. Document. 24 October 2013. .
The “roaring twenties” was an era when the U.S. prospered immensely. The nation’s total income was rose tremendously, but not equally. The “Coolidge Prosperity” of the 1920’s was not evenly shared among Americans, which led the rich to become richer, by not having to pay such high taxes, and the poor to not prosper. This widened the gap of disparity even more. In this period of time there was an increased manufacturing output, which made more money for the manufacturing plants and the people who invested in it, but not for the workers. There came to be an oversupply of goods and not enough buyers. During this time credit sales became a big thing for people to use to buy products. The government made it easier to just put i...
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. In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the characters and events of the novel manifest the trademark qualities of America in the 1920s.
Considered as the defining work of the 1920s, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was published in 1925, when America was just coming out of one of the most violent wars in the nation’s history. World War 1 had taken the lives of many young people who fought and sacrificed for our country on another continent. The war left many families without fathers, sons, and husbands. The 1920s is an era filled with rich and dazzling history, where Americans experienced changes in lifestyle from music to rebellion against the United States government. Those that are born into that era grew up in a more carefree, extravagant environment that would affect their interactions with others as well as their attitudes about themselves and societal expectations. In this novel, symbols are used to represent the changing times and create a picture of this era for generations to come. The history, settings, characters, and symbols embedded in The Great Gatsby exemplify life in America during the 1920s.
In the aftermath of World War I, the 1920s twinkled on the horizon with the promise of hope. Bookended by the epidemic of 1920 and the The Wall Street crash of 1929, the decade was a time of decadence, frivolity, and escape. Rich or poor, people lived in the moment, loved anything new and the young partied like there was no tomorrow. A readers look into the decade can be found in the era's greatest memoir: The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald. F. Scott Fitzgerald applied the social and political issues of the 1920's and its innumerable characteristics to enhance the plot of The Great Gatsby.
During the 1920's America was a country of great ambition, despair and disappointment. The novel The Great Gatsby is a reflection of this decade, it illustrates the burning passion one man has toward his "American Dream" and the different aspects of the dream. Fitzgerald's work is a reflection of America during his lifetime. The Great Gatsby shows the ambition of one man's reach for his "American Dream," the disappointment of losing this dream and the despair of his loss.
The 1920’s were a time of social and technological change. After World War II, the Victorian values were disregarded, there was an increase in alcohol consumption, and the Modernist Era was brought about. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a perfect presentation of the decaying morals of the Roaring Twenties. Fitzgerald uses the characters in the novel--specifically the Buchanans, Jordan Baker, and Gatsby’s partygoers--to represent the theme of the moral decay of society.
The Roaring Twenties is considered to be a time of excessive celebration and immense corruption. The novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a criticism of American society and its values during this era of history. This criticism is first apparent in the people who go to Gatsby's parties. They get absurdly drunk, do not know who their host is and are rude by excessively gossiping about him. This commentary is also shown in the corruption of the police. Gatsby is able to pay off the police so that the activities going on at his home will go unnoticed and so that he may behave as he wishes. This criticism is finally shown in the corruption of friendship and love, the simple fact being that there is none. People use Gatsby and then throw him away. Fitzgerald's criticism of American society and its values during this time period is first shown in the behaviour of people at Gatsby's parties.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald took place in the 1920’s when the nation was undergoing rapid economic, political, and social change. Looking through different literary lenses the reader is able to see the effects of these rapid changes. The marxist lens reflects the gap between rich and poor while the feminist lens showcases the patriarchal society.