The roaring twenties were all about the shallow pursuit of wealth and pleasure all coated with greed and corruption resulting in the destruction of the “American Dream”, creating the biggest wealth gap in history. The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald is a romantic affair between individuals set in the roaring 20’s in long island New York; geographically the area is divided between 2 groups, West Egg and East Egg, the geographic division symbolizes the social division between 2 groups of old money and new money, Jay Gatsby is among the new found wealthy while his perfect idealized lifelong love interest Daisy is from old money, Jay Gatsby uses his new found wealth to obtain the object he most truly desires, conclusively resulting in his underserving
Fitzgerald criticizes wealthy individuals that they lack morals and have no care or empathy for other justified through the actions of Tom and Daisy, Fitzgerald also criticizes that many Americans have destroyed the American Dream through their unstoppable lust for wealth and materialism. Aside from the social problems of moral decay and materialism the idea of identity and social image and status is very important in The Great Gatsby and in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S Eliot both Gatsby and Prufrock struggle with their past or present image as illustrated in the following quotes, “Time to turn back and descend the stair, With a bald spot in the middle of my hair (They will say: “How his hair is growing thin!”) My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin, My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin —(They will say: “But how his arms and legs are thin!”)Do I Dare.”(Prufrock). And the quote from The Great Gatsby, “James Gatz – that was really, or at least legally, his name. He had changed it at the age of seventeen and at the specific moment that witnessed the beginning of his career – when he saw Dan Cody 's yacht drop anchor over the most insidious flat on Lake Superior”(Fitzgerald 94). Both characters are concerned with their identity with Gatsby going as far as changing his name and reinventing himself and Prufrock criticizing the way he looks and telling himself it’s not worth the embarrassment the similar idea that binds both of their problems is love and the quest to achieve it the only thing that separates these two apart is how far is one willing to go to achieve
Andrew T. Crosland, an expert on the Jazz Age writings of author F.Scott Fitzgerald, wrote that Fitzgerald 's The Great Gatsby included over 200 references to cars (Crosland). This is not surprising as the automobile, like the flapper were enticing novelties at the time this book was written. The main characters in The Great Gatsby who, by the way, all drive cars are Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby, Tom and Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Myrtle and George Wilson. Attractive, yet enigmatic, Gatsby tries to win the love of an aristocratic woman, who rebuffs Gatsby for her upper class husband. This leads to Gatsby’s tragic murder after he is falsely accused of killing Myrtle with his Rolls Royce. The automobile, as
The dawn of the 20th century was met with an unprecedented catastrophe: an international technological war. Such a horrible conflict perhaps threatened the roots of the American Dream! Yet, most do not realize how pivotal the following years were. Post war prosperity caused a fabulous age for America: the “roaring twenties”. But it also was an era where materialism took the nation by storm, rooting itself into daily life. Wealth became a measure of success and a facade for social status. This “Marxist materialism” threatened the traditional American Dream of self-reliance and individuality far even more than the war a decade before. As it morphed into materialistic visions (owning a beautiful house and car), victims of the change blindly chased the new aspiration; one such victim was Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby. As his self-earned luxury and riches clashed with love, crippling consequences and disasters occur. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby delves into an era of materialism, exploring how capitalism can become the face of social life and ultimately cloud the American Dream.
How does reading a story benefits an individual and improve his or her daily life? Extensive reading does not only serve as an entertainment purpose, but it is also beneficial to many readers because reading fiction can help enhance a person’s understanding of the type of society the reader lives in. For example, the famous novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is regarded as a brilliant work of literature, for it offers a detailed glimpse of the American life in the 1920s and comments on various social problems during that time period. The novel tells the story of a mysterious millionaire named Jay Gatsby who lives in the fictional town of West Egg, located on Long Island, during the summer of 1922. Gatsby wants to pursue his first
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, tells the story of a man of meager wealth who chases after his dreams, only to find them crumble before him once he finally reaches them. Young James Gatz had always had dreams of being upper class, he didn't only want to have wealth, but he wanted to live the way the wealthy lived. At a young age he ran away from home; on the way he met Dan Cody, a rich sailor who taught him much of what he would later use to give the world an impression that he was wealthy. After becoming a soldier, Gatsby met an upper class girl named Daisy - the two fell in love. When he came back from the war Daisy had grown impatient of waiting for him and married a man named Tom Buchanan. Gatsby now has two coinciding dreams to chase after - wealth and love. Symbols in the story, such as the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock, the contrast between the East Egg and West Egg, and the death of Myrtle, Gatsby, and Wilson work together to expose a larger theme in the story. Gatsby develops this idea that wealth can bring anything - status, love, and even the past; but what Gatsby doesn't realize is that wealth can only bring so much, and it’s this fatal mistake that leads to the death of his dreams.
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.
Materialism has a negative influence on the characters in the novel, The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. “The most terrible thing about materialism even more terrible than its proneness to violence, is its boredom, from which sex, alcohol, drugs, all devices for putting out the accusing light of reason and suppressing the unrealizable aspirations of love, offers a prospect of deliverance.” This quote, stated by Malcolm Muggeridge, says that people get bored with the things that they have when they get new things all of the time. When they get bored with these things, they turn to stuff like sex, alcohol, and drugs. In The Great Gatsby, Myrtle, Daisy, and Gatsby are greatly influenced by money, and material things. The negative influence that materialism has on these characters is shown throughout the entire novel.
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, pulls away the curtain and with immense detail portrays the ugly and ignorance of the people and life during the 1920’s. It shrouds light on early America in a corruptive and dishonest time. The American Dream had now been crooked and fraudulent as cheap liquor, huge parties, loosely hung morals, and money beyond dreams was a new way of life. This desire for wealth had caused citizens to be lost and lose control, throwing money left and right.
The Jazz age was a convivial time known for innovation, creativity, and women pushing the limits of their new found freedom, but it was also a time of mourning and loss after the end of World War I. The combination of these emotions is what made the roaring twenties so unique, yet unstable. Before the twenties, the American dream had been to earn a stable income and raise a family in the great country that is America, but during the twenties the American dream became much more diminished as people worked for riches and luxuries that only a few could afford. In The Great Gatsby the main characters are striving for this dream of riches in a turbulent setting, but ironically are blinded by the distractions of the Jazz age and they do not realize until it is too late that they have been walking away from their own dreams. During the Jazz age people partied, drank, and danced to their heart’s content, but little did they know that they were losing sight of the American dream.
“The Great Gatsby”, by F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts the vast social difference between the old aristocrats, the new self-made rich and the poor. He vividly interprets the social stratification during the roaring twenties as each group has their own problems to deal with. Old Money, who have fortunes dating from the 19th century, have built up powerful and influential social connections, and tend to hide their wealth and superiority behind a veneer of civility. The New Money made their fortunes in the 1920s boom and therefore have no social connections and tend to overcompensate for this lack with lavish displays of wealth. As usual, the No Money gets overlooked by the struggle at the top, leaving them forgotten or ignored. Such is exemplified by Jay Gatsby, Myrtle Wilson and Tom Buchanan. Their ambitions distinctly represent their class in which Fitzgerald implies strongly about.
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.
“The Great Gatsby” and “The Love Song for J. Alfred Prufrock” are two pieces of writing written in the 1920’s. Both F. Scott Fitzgerald and T.S Elliot were able to express the overwhelming force of the most powerful human emotion. Although the two eponymous characters seem vastly different from each other in, it can be seen when analyzed in greater depth that the two hold more similarities than differences. Both Prufrock and Gatsby live more in their own minds than the actual world. This causes them to become isolated from other people and become captives by their own illusions. Both men will eventually allow love and fear to corrupt their lives and lead them to make decisions which will ultimately bring about their demise.
In the novel “The Great Gatsby,” author F. Scott Fitzgerald writes about a character that goes by the name Jay Gatsby, who captures the attention of those around him by surrounding himself with rich people and materialistic possessions. The title of the book itself is named after the protagonist, Jay Gatsby, who is a well-off man that moves from the west to the east to obtain the one thing in his life that he deeply desires; to be reunited with his one true love, Daisy Buchanan, who he had lost five years prior. Gatsby’s physical appearance, mannerisms and impressions contribute to his pursuit for The American dream drives him from rags to riches, into the arms of the love of his life, and ultimately to his death.
The world is filled with cheapskates, phonies, and two-faced people. Many use others for their own benefits. In The Great Gatsby, through the motif of superficiality, Fitzgerald critiques the theme that displaying materialism and superficiality can ruin true love and a chance at true love. Objects cannot define a relationship; it should be the feelings developed that defines the relationship of two people. The characteristic of materialism is a barrier for true love between two people. Nick Carraway has just moved to a West Egg, and his mysterious neighbor is Jay Gatsby. Gatsby’s long living dream is to rekindle his love and relationship with Daisy Buchanan, who is currently married to Tom Buchanan. He attempts to pursue his relationship with Daisy through his unexplained wealth. However, their love couldn’t be true because of their focus on “things” rather than each other.
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 Roaring Twenties is considered a time of mass corruption and excessive absurdity. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses his novel, The Great Gatsby, to criticize the American society and its values in this era. This criticism is best shown in the behaviour of the people who go to Gatsby's parties; they are careless, rude and only looking out for themselves. It is also shown in the corruption of the police, who are easily paid to look the other way. It is finally apparent in the corruption of friendship and love, the truth being that there is none. This society and its values are self-centered and materialistic, caring very little for consequences and others. Fitzgerald's message is delivered magnificently and causes one to be appalled by the behaviour of the people during this time in history.