Jazz Age In The Great Gatsby

Fitzgerald depicts 1920’s America as an age of decline in traditional social and moral values; primarily evidenced by the cynicism, greed and the relentless yet empty pursuit of prosperity and pleasure that various characters in The Great Gatsby exhibit. He presents a society in which uninhibited consumerism, materialism and an all-pervading desire for wealth have perverted the previously righteous qualities of the American Dream, corrupting it in the process.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s writings largely focus on the American aristocracy during the 1920s. The ‘20s became alternatively known as “the Jazz Age,” a term coined by Fitzgerald with connotations encompassing the prosperity, frivolity, and decadence of the upper class. The atmosphere and mindset of lavish excess are preserved in the plots and characters of Fitzgerald’s writings. Although Fitzgerald’s protagonists are wealthy, there is a noticeable distinction between those who come from “old money” and those who are considered “new money”. Amory Blaine, of This Side of Paradise, and Jay Gatsby, of The Great Gatsby, exemplify this difference.

The roaring twenties is a time cemented in American history because of the ideas of prosperity that permeated daily life. World War One was complete, and citizens were excited at the new world superpower they had become. Electricity filled urban homes and new commodities, like the radio, made waves. Overall, happiness filled the masses and brought most to ever-increasing levels of hope for the future. This prosperity-aligned culture is famously tied to one book in particular- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Written in the 1920s, Fitzgerald’s tale of glamour and money culture creates a dramatic perspective of the American Dream through the use of pessimist Nick Carraway. While the idea of The American Dream, and the appreciation thereof,

The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, provides a reflection on the societal issues and attitudes of a modernist, post-war era. The “Roaring Twenties” was an age of prosperity, consumerism and liberalism that led to unprecedented economic growth and significant changes in culture and lifestyle. The right to vote redefined women’s roles and gave rise to a “new breed” known as the flapper, that drank, wore excessive makeup, and flaunted her disdain for conventionalism. The introduction of prohibition led to an increased demand for black market alcohol and bootlegging, thereby providing a financial basis for organized crime. Despite the progression, the 1920s was an era of social tensions

The roaring twenties was the period known for its exuberant, overwhelming and free pop culture of all time. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, represent the past historical modernization of a male subjugated social system. The Great Gatsby is a mysterious love tale, and a social interpretation towards the American Life. This story explores the journey for happiness and wealth through the American Dream, and shows how perfectionism, deteriorated relationships, and deceitfulness occur during the Jazz Age. The Great Gatsby, however, is not the story about a woman’s journey for happiness and improperly shows the representation of females during 1920. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby shows the historically male controlled social system through women being portrayed as shallow beings, which are dominated by men, and seen as flawed individuals.

As I mentioned before little work has been done on characteristics of both American Dream and Jazz Age that is presented in Great Gatsby. Therefore, I had to look into secondary sources and find then rest of the points I needed to prove. The sources which I recovered from websites such as 1920s Fashions for Women, The Jazz age, The Era of Wonderful Nonsense, The Use of Colors in The Great Gatsby, and finally What the Great Gatsby Got Right about the Jazz Age. The information I retrieved from these sources guide me toward better understanding of the age and its

We look back in history in order to learn from our mistakes and to help society progress in the present and in the future. “The Great Gatsby” was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925. Fitzgerald wrote this piece during the 1920s after WWI and it perfectly replicates the time period. The narrative captures the essence of the Jazz Age by depicting characters, showing power struggles and by defining the societal conflicts of the time. The novel tells us about different influences on the 20’s such as the Prohibition Act, the success of Wall Street, and aspects of the American Dream. “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald possesses the social constructs and ideas of the Roaring Twenties.

In 1920s, America undergoes a period of cultural and social revolution. After the shocks by the chaos and violence of WWI, with a burst of economy which brought unprecedented levels of prosperity to the country, the generation turned into a lifestyle of wild and extravagant. Both published in 1925, the time when the jazz age at it’s peak, “The great Gatsby” by Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald and “Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemingway depict the fragmentation of the soared society by narrating the experience of characters.

Written during and regarding the 1920s, ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald is both a representation of this distinctive social and historical context, and a construction of the composer’s experience of this era. Beliefs and practises of the present also play a crucial role in shaping the text, in particular changing the way in which literary techniques are interpreted. The present-day responder is powerfully influenced by their personal experiences, some of which essentially strengthen Fitzgerald’s themes, while others compete, establishing contemporary interpretations of the novel.

   The beauty and splendor of Gatsby's parties masks the decay and corruption that lay at the heart of the Roaring Twenties. The society of the Jazz Age, as observed by Fitzgerald, is morally bankrupt, and thus continually plagued by a crisis of character. Jay Gatsby, though he struggles to be a part of this world, remains unalterably an outsider. His life is a grand irony, in that it is a caricature of Twenties-style ostentation: his closet overflows with custom-made shirts; his lawn teems with "the right people," all engaged in the serious work of absolute triviality; his mannerisms (his false British accent, his old-boy friendliness) are laughably affected. Despite all this,

     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.

The ideological concept of social hegemony, based on the stratification of class, ensures that the ruling elite, the aristocracy, have absolute power over social institutions, with the ability to control and determine dominant social values. “The Great Gatsby” (1925), by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a contemporary realism novella, which explores the tragic adventures of the titular character, Jay Gatsby, as narrated by his neighbour and friend Nick Carraway. Fitzgerald’s scathing attack upon the selfish and frivolous values of the 1920s Jazz Age is effectively constructed through the author’s use of Carraway’s distinctive voice, to develop the ironic idea of Gatsby as “great” and the representation of the American Dream, the manipulative attitude of the aristocracy towards the bourgeoisie and proletariat classes, and the alternate reading of Nick Carraway as an unreliable narrator. Furthermore, “The Great Gatsby” is a Modernist text, rejecting traditional forms of literature in favour of Fitzgerald’s use of the distinct unreliability of narration within a nonlinear structure. Audiences are encouraged to respond to the ideas and attitudes constructed through Carraway’s distinctive voice, to question the hyperbolic excess of the Jazz Age, supporting the dominant reading of rejecting the extravagant and acquisitive corruption of the period, whilst also exploring the alternate reading of Carraway as an unreliable narrator.

Dance has shaped the way we look at many different things throughout history. It has shaped how people socialize, what music people listen to, and even whole eras. One such era is the roaring 1920s. How did people socialize in the 1920s? They danced the evening away. What music did people listen to? Jazz music that they could listen to while they danced the evening away. Dance was a huge part of what made up the glorious Jazz Age. So, when a book was written to describe the 1920s scene, no doubt there had to be dance, and lots of it. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the energy level of the parties, music, and dancing to represent a vast array of emotions within the characters.

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, the reader sees a common theme of corruption of the American Dream. In the 1920’s, the times are changing in America and morals are becoming looser and the lifestyle of the wealthy is more careless. New fashion, attitude, and music is what nicknamed this era the “Jazz Age,” greatly influencing Fitzgerald’s writing. He created similarities between many things in pop culture and the journey his characters Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, and Myrtle are taking to achieve the American dream. Through the use of the lively, yet scandalous, jazz music from the 1920’s, Fitzgerald reflects the attitudes of the characters in The Great Gatsby at the end of innocence and prevalence of

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby exemplifies his mastery of style in the portrayal of a segment of American society in the 1920’s. Fitzgerald introduces us to moneyed Northeastern society through characters primarily concerned with extravagant displays of wealth through bottomless supplies of champagne and opulent parties that might exist only in dreams. Fitzgerald brings the frivolity of the 1920’s to life through the experiences of his brilliantly imagined protagonist, Jay Gatsby. By skillfully employing vivid imagery and calculated metaphors, Fitzgerald draws the reader into the world of East and West Egg, where ostentatious, music-filled, alcohol-soaked parties illustrate how wealth endangers the formation of meaningful