Written in 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald 's, The Great Gatsby ' is often referred to as The Great American Novel ' and as the quintessential work, which captures the mood of the Jazz Age '. In this paper I will examine how class is an articulation of insecurities felt by the American people in the years following the First World War. I will also be writing about the idea of the American dream and corruption of this dream by avarice. The roaring twenties ' is the collective name for these significant years, which would ultimately culminate in The Great Depression (the great depression refers to the collapse of the American economy in 1929. It was an event whose reverberations were felt the world over.) America, which had just returned from the war, was quite shaken up by what it had witnessed on the war front. Therefore on returning home, people gave themselves up to a culture of decadence and revelry to compensate for the hardships undergone. They could well afford to do so. Unlike its allies, America had entered the First World War towards the end and did not suffer much economic loss. Americans had also sold costly war supplies to its allies. The European economy was in shambles and in the wake of the disruption of its industries; America became the leading exporter of goods. The dizzying rise of the stock market, government policies, low taxes, Prohibition and easy credit led to a consumer culture. Public demand increased for things like cars, electrical products, and domestic goods. This lead to the setting up of industries on a massive scale, which in turn created more jobs and opportunities. Clearly the 1920s was a time of unprecedented economic prosperity for the U.S.…
Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is the illustration of the contemporary American society of the Jazz Age. It is noted in the text that social status and class prevail there and play very significant roles concerning various issues in the light of American Dream. This classification is mainly an aftermath of World War One because of disillusionment and pursuit of wealth. Three types of social class people, upper class, middle class, and lower class, are nicely presented by Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby. The dominance of the rich over the poor is a noted effect of this social stratification in this novel. People try to change their existed social class and upgrade reputation by any means. As a result, the characters of the novel become…
The three texts present a similar point that the true appearance of the upper class is only revealed through a character’s words and actions with their appearance deceiving society from recognising their true identity and as a result “worshippers of wealth, status and beauty have collected around false idols” . In “The Great Gatsby”, “The Importance of Being Earnest” and “The rape of lock” the upper classes are often portrayed positively on the surface and it is only when you look past this that the shallowness, superficiality and arrogance become apparent. The three authors all realise the power of aesthetics across all three of their eras with a sense that the authors, like Nick Carraway, themselves are “both enchanted and repelled” by the…
In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts the theme of “Wealth can breed carelessness” using the literary devices and/or techniques of irony, flashback, and point of view. Throughout the story, Nick Carraway exposes the affluent main characters through their hideous actions and words. Whether to them it is virtuous or not, the result was completely repulsive. First of all, F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts the theme of “Wealth can breed carelessness” using irony. According to the text, when Jordan is driving with Nick, “‘They’ll keep out of my way,’ she insisted. ‘It takes two to make an accident.’ ‘Suppose you met somebody just as careless as yourself.’ ‘I hope I never will,’ she answered. ‘I hate careless people. That’s why I like…
The Prohibition commenced on 16th Janurary 1920, which was followed by the Volstead Act (formally known as National Prohibition act) a year later. The government's intent was to raise the nation’s moral standards, however, it had the opposite effect. In practice it was difficult to enforce and it was not difficult for drinkers to find alcohol, as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel makes very clear. Bootlegging, the unlawful production and provision of alcohol, became big business, making fortunes for criminals such as the gangster Al Capone. This appears to be the principal source of Gatsby’s wealth, the core of corruption within his…
Wealth corrupts if you don't be careful. One example of many is Tom Buchanan, in the start of the book he says,”I’ve got a nice place here.”(7, Fitzgerald 2004) Tom is wealthy but when you invite someone over you don’t tell them you have a nice house, he is corrupted by his wealth and all he cares about is what makes him look good and wealthy. But Tom isn’t the only one, Daisy gave up her true love for money. “She…
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, illustrates how the desire for money and materialism compels the American dream to decay. Fitzgerald uses Tom and Daisy’s daughter, Gatsby’s bootlegging, and the sin of adultery to show the downfall of ideals during this time period. The Great Gatsby examines the collapse of society’s morals and values in their attempt to try and pursue the American dream.…
How human beings behave in society is dictated by moral standards of conduct that are generally accepted as right or proper. This sense of morality can become perverse such that the lines between right and wrong are blurred. The person becomes depraved and their behavior eschews what is generally considered to be right. In the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald the characters are portrayed in an immoral manner. F. Scott Fitzgerald displays the destruction of morals in society during the era of the “Jazz Age.” The main characters: Nick Carraway, Daisy Buchanan, and Jay Gatsby are categorized as morally corrupt; they lose their values in attempt to find their place in the social world. These…
Later on, while he is trying to get Daisy from Tom, Gatsby is so overly consumed by his want of her he cannot see her immoral character, which creates a strange scene especially after the argument that happened in New York and accident in the Valley of Ashes when Gatsby sits outside and watches Daisy’s home, exclaiming to Nick “I’m just going to wait here and see if he tries to bother her about that unpleasantness this afternoon” (145). This helps establish that Gatsby is blind to her by sitting outside watching over her even when it is clear from Nick’s point of view that nothing will happen yet Gatsby is just paranoid about Tom hurting Daisy. However, it also shows how consumed he is by her, since he just sits calmly waiting to make sure…
Daisy is a great example of how greed can obstruct your judgement and morality. The fact that in the story, Daisy says "Rich girls don't marry poor guys" and "You don't have enough money for me to marry you", tells us that she is all about monetary gain, even if it's at the cost of true love. Even when Gatsby, the man she said those things to, shows back up in her life with a new-found wealth that he obtained solely so he could obtain Daisy's love, she turns him down and stays married to a man stuck in the ways of the "old…
In the novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald illustrates the destructions and immorality, caused by the unrestrained pursuit of wealth, through the symbolism of the village of ashes and Gatsby’s feelings for Daisy.…
In The Great Gatsby, there are examples of corruption in most of the characters introduced. Some examples are more overt, such as Gatsby’s business acquaintance and alleged 1919 World Series ‘fixer’, Meyer Wolfsheim. But there are multiple cases where corruption can be found beyond the surface. Old money Tom and Daisy Buchanan, described by the narrator, Nick, as “careless” and “destructive”, despite having no engagement in illegal activities—with the exception of the novel’s climatic car fatality. Both parties are involved with Gatsby and both relate directly to his dream of gaining both monetary wealth and Daisy’s love.…
The Great Gatsby as Fitzgerald’s explanation of an American Reality which contradicts the American Dream…
In society, money and wealth have many diverse effects regarding to personal integrity, and within writing, copious amounts of literary devices can present various ways to show many relationships between what money can do to personal ethics. Between the pages of the novel Tortilla Curtain, written by T.C Boyle, figurative language and irony convey that when a person has an abundant amount of wealth, the more likely they tend to change their personal morals and ethics to fit what the society thinks is right. In the pages of the novel The House of Mirth, written by Edith Wharton, the point-of-view and diction help show when a person is less than financially successful, the desire for more money leads them to acquire the morals of what the society as a whole thinks.…
In both The Great Gatsby and Into the WIld, the ominous notion of the American Dream is present. In Gatsby, Jay Gatsby epitomizes the corruption of the American Dream; where immense wealth and social status is the Dream everyone strives for. The incessant need to obtain more money and a higher status, and to never be satisfied. Gatsby embodies the warped vision that wealth and prosperity will solve all your problems. Alex McCandless in Into the Wild, completely rejects the theory of the American Dream, forgoing his worldly possessions, and the materialism surrounding his life, caused by his parents. McCandless instead, chooses to pursue a life in the wilderness to experience the real definition of life. “...there is no greater joy than to have…
