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Literary Analysis Of'The Great Gatsby
Social changes in the 1920's
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Greed and Envy: An Analysis of the 1920’s Consumer-Driven Society
Imagine a society where people do what they want to achieve prosperity. F. Scott Fitzgerald most famous and respected novel, The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, is one of the most penetrating descriptions of American life in the 1920s. It has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The novel tells a story of fabulously wealthy people floating aimlessly through life during the 1920s. People were driven to gain as many materials possession as possible. People did not allow morals to get in the way to their pursuit of happiness. The color green serves as a metaphor for the greed and envy of the consumer-driven 1920’s.
The 1920s was a decade of rapid expansion, wealth, envy, and greed. This is a time during which life felt as if it was moving in fast forward. Its basis was money and the extravagances that money could buy. America went under a radical change and social reform. America is becoming more industrialized, more Americans lived in cities than in the countryside. The development of technologies like radios, mo...
So basically, the 1920's or “Roaring Twenties” was a time of major change for America as a nation. Just following the Great War America was on the fast track to new times. There was the model t car, the stock market boom and crash, the banning of alcohol, the radio, jazz music, women seeking independence, Americans seeking higher education, union strikes, the red scare, the death of President Harding and many more. Many people say this was an enjoyable time of constant dancing and entertainment galore, while others would say that the hardships of racism and poverty made this time period one of struggle and hardships. While others only remember the 1920's as the creation of mickey mouse or babe Ruth. This decade truly was “The Roaring Twenties”.
The 1920s were a time of change for the United States. Following the First World War there was a rush of new cultural, social, and artistic dynamism, partly fuelled by the Progressivism movement that was cut short when American entered the Great War. This decade was defined by a change from more rural farm life to industrialism in big cities. The shift from the frugality and traditional family values or previous generations to the happy-go-lucky consumerism and metropolitan life occurred more rapidly than any other social shift in living memory. These swiftly changing tides caused cultural clashes and confrontations throughout the decade as America struggled to define for itself a fresh national identity in the wake of its new position as a world power.
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man 's needs, but not every man 's greed.” As humans, we work countless hours in order to have a greater opportunity to succeed in life to fulfill our wants. F Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, utilizes effective language and punctuation in the text in order to accomplish his purpose: Illustrate what material goods does to a society. From a rhetorical standpoint, examining logos, ethos, and pathos, this novel serves as a social commentary on how pursuing the “The American Dream” causes people in society to transform into greedy and heartless individuals.
The 1920s was an era of great cultural, technological, and economic expansion. It was a prosperous time for the upper and middle classes. This time period named the “New Era” because the United States seemed to be on the cusp of great change and fortune. The 1920s seemed to be a prosperous time for America but looks can be deceiving.
The 1920s was a time of conservatism and it was a time of great social change. From the world of fashion to the world of politics, forces clashed to produce the most explosive decade of the century. It was the age of prohibition, it was the age of prosperity, and it was the age of downfall.
The classic novel of a corrupt American dream– F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby – makes a bold statement of the era of disintegrating goals and low expectations of Americans commencing in the 1920s. F. Scott Fitzgerald was known to be one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century and many of his literary works have been recognized for their brilliance. This flawless novel being an essential basis for Fitzgerald’s fame and certainly one of my favorites, exemplifies that more worthwhile goals have gone out the window, and wealth truly doesn't buy happiness or in this case love.
The 1920s was a changing time in America. There we so many new concepts brought to the day to day lives of citizens in America and with that said the 1920s were the more important to America. The advancement in transportation technology, credit, and women's freedom gave people the self independence they needed.
The 1920's was a time of change in the United States. “The Roaring Twenties” had an outstanding impact on the economy, social standards and everyday life. It was a time for positive results in the consumer goods industry and American families, because of higher wages, shorter working hours, and manufacturing was up 60% in consumer goods. But it was also a time of adversity and opposition for others, such as immigrants and farmers. Immigrants had lots of competition when they were looking for work and they weren't treated fairly by Americans, depending on where they came from and what they believed.
F. Scott Fitzgerald penned The Great Gatsby in the midst of the Roarin’ Twenties. It was a period of cultural explosion, rags-to-riches histories, and a significant shift in the ideals of the American Dream. Fitzgerald’s characters all aspired to fill an American Dream of sorts, though their dreams weren’t the conventional ones. In the novel, the American Dream did a sort of one-eighty. Instead of looking west, people went east to New York in hopes of achieving wealth. The original principals of the Dream faded away, in their place, amorality and corruption. The fulfillment of one’s own American Dream is often marked by corruption, dishonesty, and hope.
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald reflects the American society in the 1920’s and the different social groups that coexisted. The Great Gatsby portrays the failure of the American Dream, where corruption, illegal trading, superficial relationships, and social classes take the main roles. The author demonstrates how the American dream has become a pursuit of wealth and materialism through the exploration of the upper class. In addition, the author uses characterization to reflect the upper class in the 1920’s as two separate groups: the “old” money, and the “new money”. These are shown through the main characters in the novel, such as Gatsby and Tom Buchanan.
As a nation coming out of a devastating war, America faced many changes in the 1920s. It was a decade of growth and improvements. It was also a decade of great economic and political confidence. However, with all the changes comes opposition. Social and cultural fears still caused dichotomous rifts in American society.
The 1920s in America, known as the "Roaring Twenties", was a time of celebration after a devastating war. It was a period of time in America characterised by prosperity and optimism. There was a general feeling of discontinuity associated with modernity and a break with traditions.
Through the use of symbolism and critique, F. Scott Fitzgerald is able to elucidate the lifestyles and dreams of variously natured people of the 1920s in his novel, The Great Gatsby. He uses specific characters to signify diverse groups of people, each with their own version of the “American Dream.” Mostly all of the poor dream of transforming from “rags to riches”, while some members of the upper class use other people as their motivators. In any case, no matter how obsessed someone may be about their “American Dream”, Fitzgerald reasons that they are all implausible to attain.
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald explores the idea of the American Dream as well as the portrayal of social classes. Fitzgerald carefully sets up his novel into distinct social groups but, in the end, each group has its own problems to contend with, leaving a powerful reminder of what a precarious place the world really is. By creating two distinct social classes ‘old money’ and ‘new money’, Fitzgerald sends strong messages about the underlying elitism and moral corruption of society. The idea of the American dream is the idea that opportunity is available to any American, allowing their highest aspirations and goals to be achieved. In the case of The Great Gatsby it centres on the attainment of wealth and status to reach certain positions in life, which Fitzgerald’s protagonist sets out to achieve even if it means moral corruption.
The 1920s were a period of economic growth and change. Real wages for most workers increased while stock prices increased as much as they had in the previous three decades; for the first time, 2,500, the majority of Americans lived in cities and towns. The appearance of current medicine permitted child mortality rates to decline significantly among the rich, but fewer other Americans appreciated regular admission to physicians.