The Party Goers In The Great Gatsby

The Roaring 20s, The Jazz age, the 1920s were a time of great prosperity in the United States. The 1920s were an era of change, both politically and socially. Americans began to move into cities, rather than living on farms, and the nation's wealth more than doubled. Buying the same goods, listening to the same music, dancing the same dances, and overall having the same values, people felt united. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, these values are reflected in the characters’ lifestyles. A recurring theme in the novel is that money cannot buy a person’s true happiness, and this theme is exhibited in the various characters actions, choices, and what they value most in their lives.

In their novels, Fitzgerald and Hemingway discuss the timeless parties and superfluous drinking in society post-WWI. The Great Gatsby is characterized by James Gatsby’s impossible attempt to repeat the past. The fascination of his previous life is inspired by something that Gatsby yearns. He longs for the security of a simpler but fruitful time, when fidelity and honesty was sacrosanct. While describing many of Gatsby’s profuse parties, Nick observes how “in [Gatsby’s] blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars” (Fitzgerald 39). Like moths, guests appear only at night and are attracted to the brilliant lights of the lustrous celebrations. However, while exhilarating for some, the bright lights can be dangerous for

Gatsby’s character is portrayed by Fitzgerald as a tragic hero, as he exhibits many of the same traits. Gatsby, within the realm of the novel is an extremely wealthy man and his wealth translates into high prestige and social status in a society that is separated by wealth and money. Gatsby’s parties are wild and extravagant events where “on the buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors d’oeuvre, spiced baked hams, crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched to a dark gold.”(26 Fitzgerald). His parties exemplify his wealth and prestige in the community making him seem like royalty. This noble stature is his first tragic

Without using depth of thought, The Great Gatsby is essentially a love story of the impossible forbidden desire between a woman and a man. The primary theme of the novel, however, shows off a much larger, less romantic scope of the novel. Though most of its primary plot takes place over simply a few short months through 1922’s summer, and is set in a small area in relative proximity to Long Island, New York, The Great Gatsby is a a view on the 1920’s in America, and uses a lot of varied symbolism with it, in particular the loss and dismemberment of the American dream in an era literally named after the amount of wealth and industry it produced in material excess. Fitzgerald is able to showcase the 1920s as an era of dying social and moral values, evidenced in its overwhelming pessimism, desire, and unfulfilling pursuit of pleasure. The carelessness of the parties and celebrations that led to wild jazz music, exemplified in The Great Gatsby by the opulent parties that Gatsby throws every Saturday night, eventually was created, in the corruption of the American dream, as the rampant desire for wealth and pleasure surpassed more worthwhile ideals.

Similarly, in the 1920s flourishing American economy of flashy cars and ostentatious mansions and extravagant parties and overpriced attire, there are those who believe money is the key to glee. Gatsby, born into a family of “unsuccessful farm people” trades in his “torn green jersey” for a “shirt of sheer linen” and dedicates his life to amassing the fortune he believes will help him accomplish his dream (Fitzgerald 5.92 & 6.98). Deceit becomes his best friend as corruption murders his once innocent dream and meretricious promises replace his morals. He, to rise to the top and near his dream, cheats the poor, the people that are so much like his own family.

   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,

     The booming parties in Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby reflect life in America during the 1920s. Gatsby displays his prominent fortune by throwing grand parties. From next door, Nick Carraway witnesses the scene of Gatsby’s fabulous summer parties:

Many novels are written as a means of scrutinising the details and flaws of a specific society. The author’s purpose is to use the novel as a lens through which they can offer their own critical perception. The highly praised novel The Great Gatsby provides such a view into 1920s America, an era which was often described as the “Jazz Age” or the “Roaring 20s,” mainly due to the +and carefree nature of the wealthy. This higher class, who were essentially safeguarded by their money, lived life as if it was an endless party. It is this particular group that F. Scott Fitzgerald mainly targets when providing his criticism

The novel, “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald is set in the 1920s America, New York - a class society of money -, depicts a society which exists in a state of moral confusion and chaos, through the eyes of the narrator; Nick Carraway. Fitzgerald condemns the character’s tendencies in the novel to become greedy and materialistic in order to be successful, displayed throughout the chaos that arises as a result of the repercussion of these actions. This chaos continues to grow through the unfaithful marriages and illegal practices that exists extensively throughout the novel. Furthermore, Fitzgerald explores the prejudice discrimination between the newly rich and those with “old money”. Through all of this we come to see that during the “roaring 20s” was one of moral disorder and mayhem.

Throughout his novel, The Great Gatsby, Frances Scott Fitzgerald illuminates the true struggles of the 1920’s. People amassed fortunes overnight from merchandising illegal alcohol. Jealousy was a killer in a time where people just wanted to have fun. The parties were elaborate and eternal. However, this lifestyle was empty. Fitzgerald portrays the quest for happiness and self-fulfillment vicariously through his characters Nick Carraway, Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Jay Gatsby.

But he firmly decides that Gatsby should not attend the great party of the madam. Willing to attend, Gatsby even express his eagerness of “follow you in my car”. However, when Gatsby is ready and comes out, those three people have already “trotted quickly down the drive disappearing under the August foliage”. What a great satire it is. Fitzgerald is really a great writer. Under his pen, Gatsby’s eagerness of becoming a member of the upper class and the upper class’s refusing attitude has been vividly presented. Judging from the attitude of the upper class, Gatsby could never have the opportunity to enter this class. No matter how hard Gatsby tries, in the essence, he is still a nobody from the lower class. As a result, Gatsby’s “wealth dream” must inevitably been destroyed.

"Whenever you feel like criticizing any one," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.”(1) This quote from the classic novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott. Fitzgerald is ironic because it’s referencing the upper class judging those of the lower class. However, clearly the theme that remains constant throughout the entire novel is the horrible moral values in people of the upper class. Fitzgerald carefully created each character a certain way to demonstrate various different flaws of the people in the upper class. For example, Fitzgerald uses Tom Buchanan to demonstrate infidelity, cruelty and brutality. Another example used by Fitzgerald is the carelessness, selfishness and

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a peek into the society of the roaring twenties. Fitzgerald establishes two classes of

Scott Fitzgerald’s famous novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ is set in America of the 1920’s, a predominantly materialistic society revolving around wealth and status above all else. Fitzgerald depicts this obsession with money and luxury through complicated relationships full of trouble, infidelity and sorrow. The relationships Fitzgerald portrays all symbolize the materialism and hedonism of the age; each relationship is doomed to a certain extent based on the social class of each character.

Many dream to have extravagant life style and to keep their past lock up and away from the eyes of the public. In Fitzgerald's avant-garde work, The Great Gatsby reveals the Roaring Twenties a time were the world was coming back to normalcy after World War I. Time period were woman redefined themselves, jazz blossomed, and mob illegal operations increased. James Gatz is driven by love to transcend and become Jay Gatsby in order to win the affection of Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby's over the top parties attracted great amount of rich and pompous people that came without invitation and rarely talk or thank the host. Fitzgerald use of party scenes helps reveal that a clean background, a good reputation and a lavish life is most valuable to people in order for them to retain their social status in society .