In the 1920s the values and morals of the majority of America were changing from very conservative to extremely liberal. People became more interested in what benefited them most, while disregarding what the cost would be. This is what essentially gave this era the title of “The Roaring Twenties”. The total rebellion of people changing from having a great set of morals and values to being corrupt and materialistic entirely reshaped the start of this era. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses Nick Carraway to show the worldly view of what good values and morals should be against the skewed values of Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby.
Nick Carraway is portrayed by Fitzgerald as a small town guy from the Middle West that, while purpose-driven, isn’t focused as much on being wealthy as being successful. This is very evident when Nick’s new house is introduced. He describes it by saying,
My house was an eye-sore, but it was a small eye-sore and had been overlooked so I had a view of the water, a partial view of my neighbor’s lawn and the consoling proximity of millionaires – all for eighty dollars a month (Fitzgerald 9-10).
Nick knows he does not have the biggest and best house on the block, and he doesn’t really care. He takes pride in the fact that he is making away for himself and getting to live in a first class neighborhood. Harold Bloom supports this when he says, “Compared to Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, Nick has modest means and modest desires” (1). These quotes both back up the fact that Nick is not a money-craving American. He is content with where he is in his life. Nick was also taught to be non-judgmental and to use his mind to succeed. The readers see this when Nick repeats father’s is advise when he is younger an...
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...ay the wide difference between good and right morals and values of the 1920s and corrupt and superficial morals and values of that era. The “Roaring Twenties” was becoming full of people that are focused solely on satisfying their own wants and desires, instead of what would propel them further in life. The world had just gotten out of a war and was enjoying every minute of its life. It was a total change from people who had been extremely conservative, always living life by the book, to a whole new generation of liberals who would change the way Americans lived their life. Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a great example of the diversity of values at that time. He made sure to include every criteria, from old money to new money, humbleness and pride, and true love versus love for money, these are all aspects that help to form a persons morals and values.
Looking back in American history, America has tended to have different phases lasting around ten years. The nineteen-twenties will always be remembered in history because of the triumphal progress in many different areas. The twenties were a time of great change in America in many different areas. The changes were in the laws, the lifestyle of women especially and the moral values that they lived by. One of the major events that sculpted this era was prohibition. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald explores the life of crime associated with prohibition causing the enormous transformation of Jay Gatz to Jay Gatsby, and also causing a tremendous change in America.
In the 1920’s, all these tremendous social, cultural and economic changes caused great tensions between the traditionalists and modernists, and “The Roaring Twenties” manifested all these radical changes and conflicts in a variety of ways correspondingly. Some of these were just limited characteristics of the times, while others would last for a relatively long period of time in the American society.
In life, we ask ourselves the question what we are? In addition, we also ask ourselves how our perspectives allow us to see this world? These questions are an opening idea’s, which requires the person answering it, to be fully aware of his or her life, and then have the ability to judge it without any personal bias. This is why, in the book that was and is in a sense is still talked about in class, The Great Gatsby, which is a book that follows a plethora of charters all being narrated by, Nick Caraway, a character of the book The Great Gatsby. Nick Caraway is the character in the book which judges and describes his and other character’s actions and virtues. Now we speak of a character whose name is Jay Gatsby or other whys known as James Gatz, which is one of the characters that Mr. Caraway, seems to be infatuated with from the start of the book. This character Jay Gatsby develops a perspective, which in his view seems to justify his actions by the way that he saw the world that he was living in. In this essay, I will explain why the ambitions of a person, can lead them to do things that are beyond there normal character.
In the novel The Great Gatsby, by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, various uses of symbolism and motifs appear throughout the story and provide insight into the deeper ideas of the book. The homes of the title character Jay Gatsby and major character Tom Buchanan are examples of this. The previous owner of Gatsby’s home was a brewery magnate, and the man who owned Tom’s house was an oil baron. The effects of wealth on the current owners of these two houses have characteristics similar to the fluids that the previous owners worked with. The way that Gatsby’s money affects him shares some qualities with alcohol, whereas the effects that Tom’s money has on him have several traits similar to those of oil. How Tom and Gatsby act due to their wealthy status assist in presenting one of the overarching themes of the work; despite how captivating it appears have wealth from a distance, and no matter what method is used to gain it, wealth has harmful effects on both the wealthy themselves and the people that they come in contact with.
Early events from Fitzgerald’s life appear in The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald resembles Jay Gatsby, a caring man who obsesses over wealth and luxury and falls in love with a beautiful young woman while stationed at a military camp in the South. Nick Carraway, also similar to Fitzgerald, is described as a young man from Minnesota, educated at an Ivy League school (in Nick’s case, Yale), who moves to New York after the war. After the publication of his books, Fitzgerald fell into a life-style of parties, while writing to earn more money to please Zelda by. Gatsby obtains a lot of wealth at a young age, and dedicates his life to earning possessions and throwing parties that he believes will allow Daisy to love him. Fitzgerald, similar to Nick in The Great Gatsby found this new lifestyle thrilling and dramatic, and, like Gatsby, always admired the very rich. In many ways, The Great Gatsby represents Fitzgerald’s explanation of his feelings about the Jazz Age. Fitzgerald was motivated by his love for a woman who symbolized everything he always wanted, even though she led him toward everything he loathed just like Gatsby.
The Roaring Twenties, with all of its abundance and new freedoms, can certainly be described as a break from tradition of every sort. Womanhood was being redefined, music was undergoing a jazzy revolution, and new inventions were transforming day to day life. This break from tradition represented the ideals of the 1920s, but the grave experiences such as the “red scare” and the disillusioned culture also played a huge role in this era.
...ansion of radio, film, the automobile, and advertising were some of the incredible changes that transformed America’s economy and the way of life for its citizens, making many of them very materialistic. This was reflected in the economy of the time, which was booming throughout the decade. The mass consumerism was most reflected the in the expansion of the automobile industry, which saw cars become practical necessities after being basically obsolete up until about 10 years prior. Political and social changes also altered the very culture of America, especially the issues of women’s rights and prohibition. The literature of this period also greatly reflected the consumerist nature of America, in works like the Great Gatsby. All of these things helped contribute to the strikingly different America during the roaring twenties that has changed global society forever.
The Roaring Twenties was America’s golden age. F. Scott Fitzgerald once said,“The parties were bigger, the pace was faster, the shows were broader, the buildings were higher, the morals were looser, and the liquor was cheaper” (“People” PBS). The cultural undertone of the twenties was very different from the times before and during World War I. “ For the first time, more Americans lived in cities than on farms…people from coast to coast bought the same goods…listened to the same music, did the same dances, and even used the same slang” (“Roaring” History). The Twenties was a time of social and cultural change. During this time, things like the automobile and jazz became more popular and mainstream. These things were possible because America
F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function." This quote rings true to the 1920s in the fact that Americans were changing their lifestyles while simultaneously being forced into conformity. The post World War One America was changing in ways that it never had before. An economic upturn and new technologies of the day made life easier than ever before. Better pay and an eight hour workday left time and money to be spent, and Americans took the opportunity to be social. New ideas and trends spread like wildfire, and post war Americans, who had seen what it was like abroad, were not so ready to accept the traditions and ideals of the past. The Roaring Twenties created several positive changes towards the movement of women's rights and the improvements of African American acceptance in the US, while at the same time Americans were forced into conformity through laws like the 18th amendment.
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 were 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.
It was a known as a colorful time, the jazz age and the dollar decade. As World War I (WWI) came to a close many Americans wanted to simply forget about the Europeans and the war and live life to the fullest. Some chose to amuse themselves with soaring stock profits, illegal liquor, short skirts, and what many would look upon as shocking morals. This was a time of dramatic social and economic change. Many people were uncomfortable with this sometimes-racy “mass culture.” The Roaring Twenties was a time filled with youth hosting wild parties. Everything had a feeling of carelessness to it. People from all around the world were doing the same type of things as Americans were. As for the economic change, the total wealth of the U.S. nearly doubled from the year 1920 up until the great crash in 1929. Most African Americans knew this period to be the Harlem Renaissance. Many famous Jazz artists, playwrights, and sculptures came from the Harlem Renaissance. Some of which were Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes and Augustus Savage. Many other discoveries included sports legends, writers and gang life. Some of which were Babe Ruth, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Rudolph Valentino.
The 1920’s were a time of economic indulgences. The stock market was in a period of wild growth and Americans were enjoying their newfound prosperity. America just came off a triumphant success in the First World War and the 1920’s and was the outlandish victory party. The New York Times said, “Gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession” of the 1920’s. The morality which the common citizen had previously upheld became corrupted, and the American Dream, which once meant making a living through integrity and hard work, became tainted, emphasizing the quick, not necessarily honest, acquisition of money and wasteful spending. The life, desires, and ultimate failure of Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald deprecates
Nick Carraway is the only character worth knowing in The Great Gatsby. He is living in East Egg with the rich and powerful people. He is on the guest lists to all of their parties and yet he is the person most worthy of attending such parties because he is well bread and his family is certainly not poor. “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” (Ch1, P1). These words were taught to Nick by his father showing the qualities that a man with goals and values would have in a place where goals and values was no existent. His Judgmental eye for character and guts of using them when desired makes him more interesting. He has a greatest fear that he will be all alone by himself.
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 staged a radical change throughout the United States. This time period will always be remembered as an era of deteriorated moral and social principles as well as a time of greed and mass consumption sustained by a national economic boom. Consequently, the idea that anyone, regardless of their race, social position or gender, could achieve wealth, was collectively shared. The belief that all individuals could obtain freedom, equality and opportunity was strong amongst American society during the 1920’s. In 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald created the novel The Great Gatsby, which perfectly described how the American Dream influenced people's behaviour. In both the novel and the movie, directed