The Great Gatsby is a very accurate portrayal of the cultural and social changes during the 1920's. 1929, the 19th Amendment has been passed, era of the flapper was strong, Jazz was popularized, prohibition started, greed was more apparent, and morals were lost. As Caraway describes the nature of Gatsbys parties, it is clear that even though Americans enjoyed prosperity that was associated with the jazz age, they also feared its social implications. "American Culture in the Novel "The Great Gatsby"." We're using this system since there are many editions of Gatsby, so using page numbers would only work for students with our copy of the book. Gatsby 's car, outsized and ostentatious, represents Gatsby's flamboyant gestures, love of the material world, and huge capacity to dream. Show how each instance reveals Tom or Daisy's carelessness, and how those instances thus foreshadow the bigger tragedyMyrtle's death at Daisy's hands, followed by Tom's manipulation of George to kill Gatsby. Jordan does not understand the concerns of the need to work hard and genuinely. Nick and Gatsby are continually troubled by timethe past haunts Gatsby and the future weighs down on Nick. They even went to the extent of assimilating masculine ways and fashions into their lifestyles. Suffrage had been a huge goal of the womens movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, so this victory caused women to continue to push boundaries and fight for more rights during the 1920s. Ask below and we'll reply! In addition, Gatsby himself also perfectly personifies one who represents all things pertaining to the American Dream: wealth, happiness, and prosperity; he is able to attain his success while chasing after his perfect girl, Daisy. Fitzgerald and Bruccoli reckon, Tom would drift on forever seeking a little wistfully for the dramatic turbulence of some irrecoverable football game (10). No one comes due to close personal friendship with Jay. The work examines the results of the Jazz Age generation's adherence to false material values. The novel includes Nick's anti-Semitic description of a Jewish character - Meyer Wolfshiem. The description of Gatsby's parties at the beginning of Chapter 3 is long and incredibly detailed, and thus it highlights the extraordinary extent of Gatsby's wealth and materialism. DuBois, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Countee Cullen, Louis Armstrong, and Billie Holiday. In contrast, the old aristocracy possesses grace, taste, subtlety, and elegance, epitomized by the Buchanans tasteful home and the flowing white dresses of Daisy and Jordan Baker. This is IvyPanda's free database of academic paper samples. In Fitzgerald's most popular novel, The Great Gatsby, jazz appears as constant background music. She thinks that she deserves to be with Tom whose money, influence, and power provide answers to her (Mytle) problems of poverty. This paper discusses these aspects as essential constituents of 1920s American culture as revealed in The Great Gatsby. How does Nick Carraway first meet Jay Gatsby? In 1920, the U.S. passed the 18th Amendment, outlawing the production and sale of alcohol. Gatsby's business partner Meyer Wolfshiem is a gangster who is affiliated with organized crime and is based on the real-life crime boss Arnold Rothstein, who was indeed responsible for fixing the World Series in 1919. In The Great Gatsby, Scott Fitzgerald documents these changes through an in-depth exploration of cultural changes such as the rise in consumerism, materialism, greed for wealth, and the culture of loosening morals in the 1920s American society. This marked a shift both in how black culture was understood and appreciated by the rest of the country and in how womens rights were progressing, as well discuss in the next sections. SparkNotes PLUS Theory In this essay I will, by using a Marxist approach, analyze how the events in the novel The Great Gatsby reflect the changing society and the norms and values in America during the 1920s. Fitzgerald wroteThe Great Gatsby while in Paris, surroundedby this group. In 1920s, this figure rose to more than 75 percent. Woods, Clyde. This makes Daisy sound like the princess that the hero gets to marry at the end of a fairy talein other words, she's a high-value prize. Myrtle mentions this with regard to her husband, George, whom she mistook for someone of better breeding and hence greater prospects: I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasnt fit to lick my shoe. Similarly, Gatsbys pursuit of Daisy is bound up with class. And since Gatsby doesn't give up his dream, even into death, we can see how fervently he desires money and status. Unfortunately, the depression of 1929 led to a loss of such gains (Romer 598). August 12, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/american-culture-in-the-novel-the-great-gatsby/. Gatsbyis now seen as both a product of and a record of the 1920s. You'll be billed after your free trial ends. For example, it's all well and good to assume that Daisy should leave the boorish Tom, but divorce would have been way more complicated for a woman in the 1920s than it is today. Vol. The jazz age was born during the 1920s era in the American history. Tom's restlessness is likely one motivator for his affairs, while Daisy is weighed down by the knowledge of those affairs. Imagine spending weeks in this hole in the ground. She was incurably dishonest. Nick's comments about money, especially in the first chapter, are mostly critical and cynical. Another post-WWI developmentwas the Harlem Renaissance, acultural, social, and artistic flowering among African Americans that took place in Harlem, NY, during the 1920s. and events that occur in the novels plot. You can view our. The smaller European powers were forced into the war as well, based on whatever alliances they had made in the past. What Does The Great Gatsbys Ending Mean? freebooksummary.com 2016 2022 All Rights Reserved, We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education. Print. (5.117-118). She is conversant with her possession of the charm that she uses maximally to maintain security for her lifestyles. This is encapsulated in a phone call Nick describes, to a man who used to come to Gatsby's parties: "one gentleman to whom I telephoned implied that he had got what he deserved. Gatsbys dream is ruined by the unworthiness of its object, just as the American dream in the 1920s is ruined by the unworthiness of its objectmoney and pleasure. The Great Gatsby, Third novel by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1925. Purchasing hbspt.cta.load(360031, '4efd5fbd-40d7-4b12-8674-6c4f312edd05', {}); Have any questions about this article or other topics? In The Great Gatsby, money is a huge motivator in the characters' relationships, motivations, and outcomes. Furthermore, the rest of that quote explicitly describes Daisy as "High in a white palace, the King's daughter, the golden girl" (7.106). 2022. In fact, during Chapter 8 when we finally get a fuller recap of Daisy and Gatsby's early relationship, Nick notes that "It excited [Gatsby] too that many men had already loved Daisyit increased her value in his eyes" (8.10). Central Idea Essay: What Does the Green Light Mean? At the end of the book, class dynamics dictate which marriage survives (Tom and Daisy), which one is destroyed (George and Myrtle), and which one will never come to be (Gatsby and Daisy). As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Economically, there was an increase in working women. . 22 Apr. The Great Gatsby reflects the emergence of a culture of increased consumerism that is driven by increased economic prosperity. In this context, The Great Gatsby, which is a novel about the 1920s lifestyles, portrays the American culture as one that eroded the traditional morals and social norms such as denouncing the moral responsibility to remain faithful in marriage. This term paper on American Culture in the Novel The Great Gatsby was written and submitted by your fellow Myrtle's character reveals how precarious social climbing is, how materialism is not actually a path to happiness/virtue. Want to write the perfect college application essay? Indeed, Tom Buchanan believes that he needs additional power and influence despite being already powerful and blessed with a beautiful daughter and wife. Modernism was all about breaking with the past. What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For? The characters Fitzgerald portrays represent distinct social groups who ultimately face their own struggles, demonstrating how uncertain the culture of the 1920s really was. Literature and Its Times: Profiles of 300 Notable Literary Works and the Historical Events that Influenced Them. The American Dream refers to a shared set of ideals that guide the spirit of the United States. Scherer and Ross remark that Americans purchased durable goods in the 1920s, thus increasing their spending on clothes and various mass-produced items (105). After all, "People were not invitedthey went there" (3.7). (1.4), "My own house was an eye-sore, but it was a small eye-sore, and it had been overlooked, so I had a view of the water, a partial view of my neighbor's lawn, and the consoling proximity of millionairesall for eighty dollars a month. If Nick were just a middle-class everyman, the story could not play out in the same way. Daisy and Tom have similar traits, which support materialist culture that was prevalent in the 1920s American society as portrayed in The Great Gatsby. Scott Fitzgerald criticizes the culture of materialism and greed amongst people in the higher social classes. Every character in The Great Gatsby draws inspiration from the American Dreams promise of wealth and prosperity. Leader, Zachary. Gale Virtual Reference Library. I have never heard anyone object to the fact that in editions of "The Great Gatsby" published since 1992, numerous perceived errors of both fact and internal chronology have been corrected . After all, her voice is "full of moneythat was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals' song of it. This began during WWI as more women began to work to make up for the men fighting abroad, and as more professions opened up to them in the men's absence. In this sense, better economic fortunes in America, together with the rising mass production in the 1920s normalized the culture of consumption so that products that were consumed by the wealthy members of the society became now affordable to persons in the lower social economic classes. Since speakeasies were already side-stepping the law, they also became places where people of different races and genders could mix and mingle in a way they hadnt previously while enjoying new music like jazz. Learn more about how The Great Gatsby was received when it first came out, and also read about the life ofits author, F. Scott Fitzgerald. ." SAT is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination BoardTM. Looking for other literary guides? was a self-made man, Gatsby acquired a vast amount of wealth and fortune with perseverance and a fixed purpose in mind. WWI was a war of trench warfare, chemical weapons, shrapnel artillery, and other gruesome technologies that had never been seen before. Tragically, Myrtle is hit and killed that evening by Daisy. What does this mean? Gatsby was Fitzgerald's third novel, and in writing it, he consciously set out to write something more artistic and creative than his previous two books. The Buchanans exemplify this stereotype when, at the end of the novel, they simply move to a new house far away rather than condescend to attend Gatsbys funeral. Increased availability of products for purchasing in the free market led to the widening of the gaps between people of different social economic classes. And on Mondays eight servants including an extra gardener toiled all day with mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammers and garden-shears, repairing the ravages of the night before." The Great Gatsby. Societally, divorce became more common. High in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl. For instance, rumors exist that Gatsby is involved in the importation and ferrying of illegal liquor amid the existing ban. Economic and social immoralities in The Great Gatsby reveal the lost American dream. Fitzgerald conveys a message warning against the perils of materialism during the course of the novel. The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points, How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer, Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests. This provision made them perceive themselves as equal to men. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. You'll also receive an email with the link. For some time now I have been thinking about the validity or vulnerability of a certain set of assumptions conventionally accepted among literary historians and critics and circulated as "knowledge." This knowledge holds that traditional, canonical American literature is free of, Jordan is incurably dishonest. Daisy is coercive and manipulative. Gatsby suffers the most from the promise of social mobility inherent to the American Dream. At the same time, many of the social restrictions of the early 20th century were being rejected, and progressive movements of all kinds were flourishing. https://ivypanda.com/essays/american-culture-in-the-novel-the-great-gatsby/, IvyPanda. In Nicks mind, the ability to create meaningful symbols constitutes a central component of the American dream, as early Americans invested their new nation with their own ideals and values. Please wait while we process your payment. This situation resulted in corruption of the ideal American dream. . For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more! In real life, this represents aristocracy, which took a long time to establish. let other people clean up the mess they had made.. The clash between old money and new money manifests itself in the novels symbolic geography: East Egg represents the established aristocracy, West Egg the self-made rich. It was a decade of tremendous wealth in the United States following the deprivations of the First World War. LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Great Gatsby, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. The first nickname points toAmerica's post-WWIeconomic prosperity and the country's greater influence abroad. Similar to other characters in The Great Gatsby, she has an intense greed for money (Leader 13). Fitzgerald, Scott, and Matthew Bruccoli. At the same time, their prominence gave rise to an anti-Semitic backlash, and the revival of the KKK began with the lynching of a Jewish man in 1915. Interested in the other ways that The Great Gatsbyera matters to the plot of the novel? (See our article on this novel's publication and reception history for more.). Ironically enough, Nick resides in West Egg while Tom and Daisy reside in East Egg, this being analogous to where they find their moral values and happiness. Set in the year 1922, the novel occurs during the thriving period of prosperity in America where materialism set the tone of society as reflected by the main characters economic successes. However, even though Gatsby succeeds in acquiring wealth, he is never accepted by the upper class. This claim implies that they thought that money could make them more authoritative than other people. If you understand this combination of progress and traditionalism for women's roles, you'll find it on display in The GreatGatsby: Women's suffrage parade in New York City. Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values, evidenced in its overarching cynicism, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure. The epigraph of the novel immediately marks money and materialism as a key theme of the bookthe listener is implored to "wear the gold hat" as a way to impress his lover. . I'd never understood before. At the end, you'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges. hbspt.cta.load(360031, '4efd5fbd-40d7-4b12-8674-6c4f312edd05', {}); Have any questions about this article or other topics? You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you Caroline Brown . However, the quest for contentment changed with time to become the search for wealth through excessive insatiability. Our citation format in this guide is (chapter.paragraph). Historical Context Essay: The Great Gatsby and the Jazz Age, Literary Context Essay: Modernism & Realism in The Great Gatsby. They are highly materialistic in nature. The Great Gatsby Novel by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, Passing' by Nella Larsen Literature Analysis, The Story of an Hour' and 'The Storm' - Women in Literature, The Metaphor of the Storm in Kate Chopins Story, "The Man Who Was Almost a Man" a Short Story by Richard Wright, Tracy Kidders Novel Strength in What Remains. Nick began his life in the Midwest and always regards it as his home and the place where he belongs, which is directly reflected in his unhappiness and ability to see the corruption of those who reside in the East; conversely, Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby all have roots in the Midwest, were drawn to the East, and remain there, blind to the horrors occurring in their daily lives. However, the act was greatly ignored by Americans who continued to drink on a regular basis as shown in Gatsbys extravagant parties where alcohol is in abundance. Literary Themes for Students. The availability of mass-produced items among majority Americans led to the erosion of the existing mechanisms of differentiating people based on their social economic classes. Entire Document, Comparison: Great Gatsby and the American Dream, The Great Gatsby and the 'American Dream', The Great Gatsby: The Fall of the American Dream, Contradictions in the culture of the period, Flappers and self-made men as new people of the period, Prohibition of alcohol and Gatsby as a bootlegger, The price for reaching the American Dream, How the novel mirrors the corrupt mindset of the Roaring Twenties. The 1920s marked a key time of change in the social status of women as so called flappers defied the traditional norms for conduct and dress, and women finally received the right to vote (The Great Gatsby Novels 74). In this novel, actual mountain climbing is safer than social climbing. From new money to consumer culture to lavish parties, F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel depicted the heyday of the 1920sand foreshadowed the doom that would follow. By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from SparkNotes and verify that you are over the age of 13. It contains thousands of paper examples on a wide variety of topics, all donated by helpful students. Women who were never contented with pleasure wore knee-length skirts, overly long draping necklaces, and rolled stockings (Leader 14). Wealth, Class, and Society .. tterly submerged (Fitzgerald 13). Let's explore. The ramifications of this were political, economic, and social. Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan! Tracing historical development in the US, Scherer and Ross inform that only 16 percent of homes in America had electricity by 1912 (82). Why does Gatsby arrange for Nick to have lunch with Jordan Baker? Unfortunately, with regard to The Great Gatsby, this dream dwindled, as materialism, consumerism, and the culture of loosening social morals became the order of the day in the 1920s America. Vol. Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. Toms unethical conduct is further reflected in several other characters in The Great Gatsby who resort to lying in order to reach success, which ultimately leads to their demise. for a group? In the monied world of The Great Gatsby, class influences all aspects of life, and especially love. So she keeps up this affair, despite how morally questionable it is and the risk it opens up for herher materialism, in other words, is her primary motivator. We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. In the time period immediately following the Civil War until the Great Depression, America experienced a period of rapid growth and fortune, especially located in this novels setting, New York (The Great Gatsby Novels 74). Gatsby's notoriety comes from, first and foremost, his enormous wealth, wealth he has gathered to win over Daisy. ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score, How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League, Is the ACT easier than the SAT? Check out our guide to Jay Gatsby for the complete story. Set in Jazz Age New York, it tells the tragic story of Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire, and his pursuit of Daisy Buchanan, a wealthy young woman whom he loved in his youth. Thus, possession of material wealth was important for the placement of people in a given social class and status. Myrtle feels trapped in her marriage, which pushes her into her affair with Tom Buchanan, an affair which grants her access to a worldNew York City, wealth, partiesshe might not otherwise have access to. This term described women who would wear much less restricting clothing and go out drinking and dancing, which at the time was a huge violation of typical social norms. Few characters in literature or indeed life embody an era quite so tenaciously as Jay Gatsby does the Jazz Age. The College Entrance Examination BoardTM does not endorse, nor is it affiliated in any way with the owner or any content of this site. Curious to see how much Daisy and Myrtle's struggle for more echoes the lives of real women? Even though he wasn't able to inherit any part of Cody's fortune, he used what he learned of wealthy society to first charm Daisy before shipping out to WWI. Samkanashvili reckons that Scott Fitzgeralds novel has the lesson of the need to subscribe to a firm belief that people must work hard to achieve their goals of becoming rich and prosperous, rather than following short-cut routes that often prompt corruption to take place (73). If you analyze a character through this theme, make sure to explain: #2: How money/materialism drives their choices in the novel. Cars are tools of recklessness, danger, and violence - there are several car accidents in the novel, the most notable of which is when Daisy runs Myrtle over and kills her in. It was full of moneythat was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals' song of it. 3: Growth of Empires to the Great Depression (1890-1930s). Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby in the Roaring Twenties, an era largely influenced by gaudiness, independence, and corruptness, which is immediately reflected in the central characters. Writers are products of their time, so knowing what they would have assumed to be true makes reading their work richer. She was not able to endure being at a disadvantage, and given this unwillingness, supposedly she had begun dealing in subterfuges when she was unusually young in order to keep that fresh insolent smile turned to the world, and yet satisfy the demands of her hard jaunty body (Fitzgerald and Bruccoli 63). Nick's love of Manhattan as a diverse melting pot is illustrated by the appearance in. Everyone who comes to the parties is attracted by Gatsby's money and wealth, making the culture of money-worship a society-wide trend in the novel, not just something our main characters fall victim to. Youve successfully purchased a group discount. The aim was to provide a vivid description of the rebelliousness that is associated with the youths of the time. Everything You Need to Know: The Great Gatsby Era, Get Free Guides to Boost Your SAT/ACT Score, this novel's publication and reception history. What Makes the great Gatsby by F.S Fitzgerald Great? Journal of Education 1.2(2012): 73-78. American Culture in the Novel "The Great Gatsby". Don't leave your college application to chance. Tom and Daisy's movements are also supported by their money. This pessimism is also reflected in the fates of Myrtle and George, who are both trying to increase their wealth and status in America, but end up dead by the end of the novel. Excited to dive in? However, drawing from her work, these prohibitions seemed to have little implications (Zeitz 23). This speaks to her materialism and how, in her world, a certain amount of wealth is a barrier to entry for a relationship (friendship or more). Retrieved from https://ivypanda.com/essays/american-culture-in-the-novel-the-great-gatsby/. "Old money" families have fortunes dating from the 19th century or before, have built up powerful and influential social connections, and tend to hide their wealth and superiority behind a veneer of civility. Published in 1925, the book is not only an important work of English-language literature, it is an excellent period piece that displays the social, cultural, and political tensions of the 1920s . Wed love to have you back! The theme of The Great Gatsby is decadence and the decline of society. Daisy and Jordan are both old money socialites, while Myrtle is a working class woman married to a mechanic. One of the major topics explored in The Great Gatsby is the sociology of wealth, specifically, how the newly minted millionaires of the 1920s differ from and relate to the old aristocracy of the countrys richest families. Gatsby admits this fact (Fitzgerald and Bruccoli 127). Abrief recap of what happened. Cars are clearly used to display wealth and status - even Tom, normally secure in his superiority, wants to brag to George Wilson aboutthesuper-fancy Rolls Royce heborrows from Gatsby. First of all, he makes it clear that he has "an unaffected scorn" for the ultra-rich, and eyes both new money and old money critically. So all three women push the boundaries of their expected societal rolesDaisy's affair with Gatsby, Jordan's independent lifestyle, and Myrtle's affair with Tombut ultimately either fall in line (Daisy, Jordan) or are killed for reaching too far (Myrtle). F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Age of Excess. The reckless jubilance that led to decadent parties and wild jazz musicepitomized in The Great Gatsby by the opulent parties that Gatsby throws every Saturday nightresulted ultimately in the corruption of the American dream, as the unrestrained desire for money and pleasure surpassed more noble goals. Gatsby never stands a chance of succeeding with his attempt to win back Daisy, who is a part of that society and of a different status. Anyone can read what you share. How does Tom find out about the affair between Gatsby and Daisy? All rights reserved. What is the importance of the character Owl Eyes? Jordan Baker is the best example of this kind of woman. Women were granted the right to participate in voting. World War I dramatically affected the United States in the 1920s (and, of course, shaped much of the 20th century all over the world as well). We touched on this a bit with the quotes, but all of the characters can be analyzed from the point of view of their wealth and/or how materialistic they are. The various social climbers and ambitious speculators who attend Gatsbys parties evidence the greedy scramble for wealth. Gatsbys failure to attain the American Dream suggests the Dream is both an unattainable and unwise goal. "She's got an indiscreet voice," I remarked. March 4, 2023, SNPLUSROCKS20 When Nick tells Gatsby that you can't repeat the past, Gatsby says "Why of course you can!" Car ownership increased mobility between cities and outer suburban areas, which enabled the wealthy to work in one place but live in another. This claim suggests that 1920s were marked by the coming out of an impatient society that was led by the adolescents who opposed honorable margins that were constant in the previous age group. Narrator Nick Carraway is . Print. jazz music is a fixture of Gatsbys parties, and almost every song that Fitzgerald describes is a real life piece of music. For the first three years, the U.S. remained neutral, instead profiteering from the war by selling supplies toboth sides of the conflict. So money here is more than just statusit's a shield against responsibility, which allows Tom and Daisy to behave recklessly while other characters suffer and die in pursuit of their dreams. Continue to start your free trial. Alongside the juxtaposition of the Midwest and the East, Fitzgerald also reflects the culture of the 1920s with descriptions of Prohibition and the law breaking that came as a result. Copyright 2023 - IvyPanda is operated by, American Culture in the Novel The Great Gatsby. When Nick Carraway, narrator of The Great Gatsby, . In the novel, West Egg and its denizens represent the newly rich, while East Egg and its denizens, especially Daisy and Tom, represent the old aristocracy.
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