Roaring Twenties And Modernism In The Great Gatsby

The Roaring Twenties was a movement that gripped America in the 1920s and spurred the creation of many classics as well as the intellectual formation of many of the period’s most notable authors, namely Francis Scott Fitzgerald. During this period, authors began to compose a unique writing style as they felt that their peers were becoming increasingly secluded by mass culture. One of the factors that led to the formation of the Roaring Twenties were the horrors of World War I, which gave many individuals a reason to stray from the traditional American lifestyle and live a carousing, festive, and immoral lifestyle. Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby epitomizes the Roaring Twenties and Modernism. Utilizing the example of high society in the 1920s, Fitzgerald illustrates society’s habit of satisfying their desires through dishonest, hypocritical, and infidelious manners. The novel also drew comparisons to
However, as a result of devoting his time to his talent, Fitzgerald paid little attention to his coursework. Fitzgerald was placed on academic probation and in 1917 he dropped out of the prestigious university and enlisted in the United States Army. During his time with the Army he was assigned to Camp Sheridan near Montgomery, Alabama. At this camp Fitzgerald encountered the daughter of an Alabama Supreme Court judge who went by the name of Zelda Sayre. Fitzgerald was never deployed and the war ended in November 1918. Similar to Fitzgerald, Gatsby met the love of his life at an Army camp called Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky (Lombardi). Upon his discharge, Fitzgerald seeked a lucrative career in advertising in order to persuade Zelda to marry him. In order to pursue this career, he moved to New York to begin his occupation. After a few months, Fitzgerald quit his position and moved back to St. Paul in order to rewrite a novel known as the This Side of Paradise