Free Living in Fitzgerald´s Echoes of the Jazz Age Essay

The life of F. Scott Fitzgerald was deeply divided, in that his early successes in the 1910’s and 1920’s contrast noticeably with the years full of personal happenings and

The Jazz Age was an era where everything and anything seemed possible. It started with the beginning of a new age with America coming out of World War I as the most powerful nation in the world (Novel reflections on, 2007). As a result, the nation soon faced a culture-shock of material prosperity during the 1920’s. Also known as the “roaring twenties”, it was a time where life consisted of prodigality and extravagant parties. Writing based on his personal experiences, author F. Scott Fitzgerald, distinctly conveys through The Great Gatsby the change within America’s society, class differences, and the effect of an absence of religion through the corruption of the “American Dream” during the Jazz Age.

F Scott Fitzgerald was one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. Although his last finished work was more than 60 years ago, today they are enjoyed with more enthusiasm and acclaim than they were when they were written. His works are cited as an influence for many other authors. Fitzgerald saw his writing as a reflection of his own life. His works are closely based on his experiences at Princeton, in World War 1 and his love life. Although he was not overly popular at the time of his death, today, he is regarded as one of the best authors of the modern era.

Debt became standard across the country. Beder explains that mortgages and credit were so common that “over half the furniture, cars, and household appliances… were bought using hire purchase,” this debt was taken on to help Americans maintain or increase their status within their society (230). As a result, anyone could purchase anything and everything on credit in the 1920s, eventually leading to a catastrophic failure of the economy, known as the Great Depression.

The problem is, author F. Scott Fitzgerald didn't see the Jazz Age as all about hip music and sparkly clothes. He associated the entire period with materialism ("I want things! Lots of things!") and immorality. For many of the post-World War I era's newly wealthy, materialism and immortality were the name of the game. The novel's star is Jay Gatsby, a young, rich man in

“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us.… Tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.… And one fine morning—” (Fitzgerald 180). In this quote from The Great Gatsby, Nick attempts to describe the nature of Gatsby’s hope and draws the parallel to all of our hopes and dreams that we have as Americans. F. Scott Fitzgerald, an American novelist and short-story writer, was an amazing author who used his work, just like in the quote above, to write about the Roaring Twenties and the hopes of Americans during that time. His earlier works show an idealistic feeling for the potentials of life at college and in “The East,” he attained the sobriquet of “the spokesman of the Jazz Age.”

Debts, especially consumer debts, added to the number of bank failures during the Great Depression, totaling above 9,000 banks. When a consumer wanted an item that they could not afford, like land and seeds, vacuum cleaners, or cars, they would buy it on credit or loan. When people took out loans, the bank gave the consumer the deposit of another customer who banked with them. Then, when the customer wanted to take out their money, the bank did not have the apposite money to give them. If the money given to the consumer was not paid off when the consumer, who bought the item on credit, filed for bankruptcy, the bank then had to shut down because it had no money to give its customers.

Before the Stock Market crash of 1929, America went through a decade of prosperity and social change, or the Roaring Twenties. New fads and numerous inventions emerged throughout our country. Many people bought on credit and as a result, our economy flourished. However, American society failed to realize that this would be one of the underlying causes of the Great Depression. For instance, “Most people bought, but many couldn’t afford to pay the full price

In addition, Fitzgerald also makes commentary about what wealth can and cannot buy, under the premise that while

When banks began asking for payments from the people who had been loaned money, many “…farmers and business men who could not repay declared bankruptcy…” (Foner 366) “The depression lingered for two years. It was the first of several severe downturns that would tarnish America 's otherwise vigorous economy throughout the 19th century.” (Reynolds)

During the roaring twenties, the United States was a blemished nation. Crime and corruption were at an all-time high, the bootlegging business was booming, and throughout all this, people were euphoric. This time period during the nineteenth and twentieth century was captured by numerous artists, writers, musicians, and entertainers in their attempts to break from traditional values in what is known as modernism. A modernist is in simple terms a rebel. One who dislikes normal conventions and hopes to rewrite and renew societal morals. These artists were rebels with a cause and fought to expose themselves to society. Fitzgerald is an iconic figure in modernism because he skews the perception of reality, rejects the stereotypical traditions, and exposes people’s struggles as the American Dream fades away and proves a nightmare.

Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald utilizes Jay Gatsby to emphasize the role that new money plays during the 1920’s. Gatsby embodies what it meant to come from new money, Wolfshiem “raised him up from nothing, right out of the gutter”(Fitzgerald 171), and he gained his money in an unscrupulous way. Gatsby poses

     F. Scott Fitzgerald is seen as one of the greatest American writers, admired by his contemparies and by modern audiences of today. Fitzgerald was very much in tune with the early twentieth century American culture. He is credited with capturing the ‘Jazz Age’, which he described as “a generation grown up to find all Gods dead, all wars fought, all faiths in man shaken”. Fitzgerald observed the culture around him with a critical eye. Despite being able to depict America like few others could, many see Fitzgerald’s writing as an indictment on its values.

Fitzgerald’s success came along with the roaring 20s, also known as the Jazz age. His fame and fortune skyrocketed during this era with his first novel, This Side of Paradise being a hit. However, the lifestyle of the rich and famous during the Jazz age would prove to provide an insurmountable heartbreak. Fitzgerald claims that the Jazz Age “flattered him and gave him more money than he had dreamed of” (qtd. In “Broken Dreams” 42). With this new fame and money, he began living very recklessly. He threw extravagant parties and “rode on the roofs of taxi cabs and jumped into fountains... and got drunk at countless parties.” Fitzgerald said, “I had everything I wanted and knew I would never be so happy again.” (QUOTE). He finally had a taste of the glamor of the American Dream, and he absolutely loved it. However, this lifestyle was expensive, one that Fitzgerald, even with all his money could not afford. He lived so irresponsibly that he was often in debt. He wanted more of this lifestyle, but it was the lifestyle of the American Dream that eventually lead him away from the American Dream. He began chasing the American Dream just so he could

him. So on the third of April of 1920 in St. Patrick's Cathedral New York City