Once World War I ended in 1918, the United States experienced groundbreaking economic growth. “The Roaring Twenties” and what F. Scott Fitzgerald would call “the greatest, gaudiest spree in history” have come to characterize America during all of its innovation. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, the readers are exposed to the rich and luxurious lives of the upscale east coasters in the midst of one of the most rambunctious time periods in American history. Although the 1920s was a period of great anticipation, Fitzgerald is able to express a critical portrayal of the wealthy Americans during this decade. In the early 1920’s, Alcohol flowed like water throughout the country. Drunkards occupied most of America’s jails and poorhouses …show more content…
During Prohibition, both cocktails and finger food gained popularity and became fashionable. If one had the ability to supply their guests with a limitless flow of alcoholic drinks, his or her adoration and reputation was set. Better yet, if one was determined and daring enough to invest in the bootlegging business-illegal traffic in liquor, their prosperity was sure to be established. As the command for illegal liquor heightened, the mechanisms for disguising its manufacturing and consumption also increased. Regardless of the situation, it appeared that Americans were still enjoying themselves during Prohibition. Fitzgerald is able to capture these wild and careless societal behaviors brought by the Prohibition in his novel The Great Gatsby. The millionaire character Jay Gatsby embodies ultimate 1920s wealth and corruption. Gatsby commits himself and his life to acquiring money and possessions in order to captivate the attention of his romantic fixation, the stunning yet damaged Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby’s exorbitant bashes thrown from his north shore Long Island mansion make his prosperity indisputable. These self-indulgent parties, abounding with food like “pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched to a dark gold”
Thesis: Throughout the book The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbols to describe influential items such as, The Green Light, The Eyes of T. J Eckleburg, and The Valley of Ashes.
“All these materialistic belongings paint a picture of beauty for those chasing this fictitious happiness but in reality they bring life full of stress, jealousy, hubris, and corruption…” (St. Rosemary Educational Institution). When looking back at the exhilarating, and wild 1920’s, it is easy for one to presume it was a time full of economic growth, entertainment, and leisure for the people of America. But alas, hidden underneath the glow of its prosperity, lies a time span full of deceit, fraudulency, and law breaking. Author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, expertly captures this corruption as well as the deluded hopes and dreams of the people in his book, The Great Gatsby. So, During the Roaring Twenties, the decade where The Great Gatsby was depicted,
Love is an interesting mock trial of chemicals in the brain. Love’s mock trial of dopamine, phenylethylamine and oxytocin are all chemicals that are produced heavily in the first stages of when someone falls in love giving a person a sort of uplifted and euphoric feeling. The interesting piece to it is the chemical reactions start to lessen after time and the ‘high” is gone. This is one reason why scientists claim breakups, divorces, and other forms of separation is so very common. Now what if an imbalance in the chemical reaction countered or changed the brain in a way that the love never could faded? A possible imbalance between neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine cause a disorder known
During the Roaring twenties, social class was an important aspect of society. All different classes were for the most part separated by where people lived. In other words, by no means would anyone from a lower class be caught in an uptown setting. There are a variety of characters in the novel that come from different economic backgrounds. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald successfully uses location to differentiate social status amongst his characters while the weather and seasons of those locations help guide them. Each character helps represent and support the differences of social class and the four main locations, The East Egg, the West Egg, the Valley of Ashes, and New York City.
Echoes of Excess: Exploring the Mysteries of the 1920s The 1920s, often referred to as the “Roaring Twenties”, are remembered in American History as a time of swift social transformation and great economic expansion. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a compelling novel that captures the essence of this period. Set in the posh town of West Egg on Long Island during the Summer of 1922, the novel follows the enigmatic Jay Gatsby as he embarks on a quest to win back his lost love, Daisy Buchanan, who is caught in a love triangle with her husband, Tom. Fitzgerald’s novel reflects the aspirations of the era, emphasizing the appeal of wealth, the pursuit of the American Dream, and the moral dilemmas hidden beneath success. Set against the
The USA in the 1920s is remembered as the ‘Roaring Twenties’, an age of new life, of hedonism and opportunity following the horrors the Great War. The decade is synonymous with wealth, materialism and unprecedented freedom. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby provides an insight into the exciting and prosperous lives of the American people as they embark on the limitless potential of the American Dream and therefore it conveys a picture of 1920s American society. With
At the onset of this book, the reader is introduced to the narrator, Nick Carraway, who relates the past happenings that construct the story of Jay Gatsby and Nick during the summer of 1922. After fighting in World War I, or the Great War as Nick called it, Nick left his prominent family in the West of America for the North where he intended to learn the bond business. Nick was originally supposed to share a house in West Egg near New York City with an associate of his, but the man backed out and so Nick lived with only a Finnish cook. Right next door, Gatsby lived in a glorious mansion with expansive gardens and a marble swimming pool, among other luxuries. Yet Nick did not even hear about Gatsby until he went to visit his
John D. Rockefeller once said, “I can think of nothing less pleasurable than a life devoted to pleasure.” Throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the importance of rampant materialism, excessive need for luxury and unprecedented levels of prosperity in the roaring twenties is shown through the life of Jay Gatsby. When one is asked of the 1920s, the first things that come to mind are flapper girls, jazz, the birth of mass culture, and prohibition. This was an age of dramatic social and political change with the nation’s wealth almost doubling in size. Many Americans had extra money to spend, and a new found freedom to go or do whatever they pleased. Jay Gatsby, of The Great Gatsby, was one of the many caught in the trap of desire in the 1920s.
In the classic novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby centers on the lives of the rich and wealthy who lived sad, lonely lives and could not achieve happiness with their money. The setting of the novel is set around the 1920s where there was an economic boom during this period. Many political and social reforms happened during this time and it was commonly known as the “Roaring Twenties”. Jay Gatsby is one character who used his money to get what he wants. He threw large extravagant parties as a means of proclamation to get his name perceived, all in misrepresentation to get the attention of a woman.The parties brought a lot of attention for Gatsby, which also shows how he used his money to show his wealth and influence. In chapter 3 of the novel, Fitzgerald portrays the parties that Gatsby threw by analyzing specific words, images, and figurative language to develop both the allure and glamour of wealth and its destructiveness.
In any great novel, an understanding of the era in which the story is set can lead to a deeper appreciation of the author’s themes and characters. For example, the themes that preoccupied F. Scott Fitzgerald, issues of social class, the dynamics of prohibition, and the culture of excessive consumption, would be difficult to convey on their own. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the social, political, and moral environment of America in the 1920s sheds greater light on the otherwise complex forces that drive the characters in The Great Gatsby.
Throughout history it becomes apparent that all the great stories: The Odyssey, Great Expectations, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are all founded on a similar theme. The same plot line, a hero, most often the protagonist, faces danger and adversity to the highest extreme but always comes out on top. He is depicted as the pinnacle of human triumph and in essence, demonstrates a fundamental strength that all men should strive to achieve. These stories were, “ full of darkness and danger. And sometimes one did not want to know the end; How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? In the end, it is only a passing thing. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out even clearer. Those
The Great Gatsby or The Great Fitzgerald? In the novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses fictional elements as well as historical facts and happenings to show how sometimes you need to breakaway from the traditional ‘old ways’ to the new and upcoming ways of life to reach an individual’s American dream. From the transition of the old to new lifestyle, the characters develop the need for always having and wanting more. Fitzgerald was able to experience the Jazz Age first hand, and through many themes he shows that the brightly-colored life also has it drawbacks and reaching the American dream ultimately cannot make the characters happy.
In The Great Gatsby, people are holding on to things whether it’s money, the past, love, or even a dream. “The orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter, tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther” (180). The author of The Great Gatsby is F. Scott Fitzgerald. He writes the story using real life experiences.
The Great Gatsby is the most famous of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novels. The main reason for its fame is the accurate portrayal of the zeitgeist of the United States in the 20s and how applicable its core values and themes are to modern American life. One of the most obvious motifs of the Great Gatsby is the American Dream; it is even arguable that Gatsby exists as a personification of the American Dream. Consequently The Great Gatsby is at once a romantic view and criticism of the American Dream and its effect on society. Gatsby’s progression throughout the story represents the image, results, issues with, and heart of the American Dream .
The 1920s was probably the most revolutionary decade in history. With its new mass-consumption economy, cars were now available to almost anyone. The first talking pictures became a technological landmark and Babe Ruth became an American Hero. The stock market ended up making new millionaires every day. This new consumerism along with fast-money economy ended up switching the values of the generation.