Research Report: The Great Gatsby

Research Report: The Great Gatsby

In “The Great Gatsby: A Criticism of American Society,” author Ned Mack discusses how F. Scott Fitzgerald criticizes the American Society in the 1920’s for its trend to waste, advertise, encourage superficial relationships, and an obsession with appearances. All four of these things are very evident in the novel, and Mack just breaks each of them down individually.

Mack talks about how the Valley of Ashes is an example of people being wasteful in the 1920’s. People in America use what they want and when they want and leave the remains or waste, you might call it, behind for the un-wealthy to clean up. “The valley of ashes was once a flourishing town, but was used until it was no longer valuable and was thus abandoned.” (qtd. In Mack) This is very true the rich people in the novel were by no means conservationist. They would not think twice about using things in excess and then discarding them how they please.

Advertising plays a huge role in this novel. Mack says, “The billboard in the Valley of Ashes is held above the rest of the town and represents society worshipping advertising” (2). This is evident in the novel not only are business’ advertised but in a way people are always advertising themselves. By talking about their own business’ or even worse putting themselves on display and advertising themselves, but not as people, but more like objects and how wealthy they are. An example of this is when Mr. And Mrs. Mckee are at Myrtle’s party and the narrator Nick is talking about the Mckees and he says referring to Mrs. Mckee, “She told me with pride her husband had photographed her a hundred and twenty-seven times since they had been married” (qtd. In Mack) Subconsciously, Mrs. Mckee is advertising her husband and that he is a photographer.

Mack goes on to talk about the American obsession with appearance that is shown throughout the novel. An example of this would be that Gatsby has a huge library filled with books that have never been opened. Gatsby is just trying to be someone that he is not in order to fit a certain image. Another character obsessed with her appearance and how people perceive her is Myrtle. At her party, she pretends that she has a kitchen full of servants who are waiting on her…when in reality she doesn’t.