Roaring Twenties In The Great Gatsby

The Roaring Twenties in the Great Gatsby 2.0
By: Isaiah Aguilera
The 1920s in the United States was a time where the US was going through a cultural revolution. The United States had just came out of the 1st World War Victorious, The country’s economy had thrived on producing War Supplies for its allies. The 18th amendment had banned the production and sale of the Alcohol. With Prohibition in action most of the American people did not agree with prohibition and some Americans began to open secret bars called “Speakeasies”, This also caused a rise in Organised Crime during the 1920s. The invention of radios had given Americans a new kind of way to know what was going on around the world. Radios were also used as a new form of entertainment and
a way to introduce new products by using commercials. During the 1920s the Women of America began to break away from the usual mannerism and behavior that Woman usually followed. Woman began to change hairstyles and fashion. In the next few pages we will go over the things that had happened during the 1920s and see how they are present in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Book, The Great Gatsby which is set in the early to mid 1920s.
The Jazz Age
In the United States, especially in the New York area, The Jazz Age prompted people to not care how much money they spent, most likely due to the introduction credit.
Which so many Americans abused because of the lack of how credit worked and the Jazz Age comes tumbling down later when Black Tuesday or more well known as the Stock Market Crash. “It was in such a profusion around you.” is stated in the Great Gatsby on page 3 by Nick Carraway. Nick could be referring to the massive amount money being spent or the massive amounts wealth being thrown around. The most important thing in the Jazz Age was the rising popularity of Jazz Music. During the War, Jazz was barely even considered as music in the US up until 1918 when the war ended. Large parties like the ones hosted by Mr.Gatsby were pretty common during the 1920s. People who hosted these so called “Gatsby” parties often tried to make the party as luxurious as possible and really did not care who came to the party as long as they were enjoying it, It was considered rude to not let people freely attend your party. In fact, people often considered these parties a place to hold private meetings because of how much is going on in the party that no one would even pay attention to them. I find the Jazz Age very interesting because of how parties were always open doors and how grand the parties
were.
Era of Prohibition
Prohibition was the political forbiddance of producing and selling alcoholic beverages in the US. When the 18th Amendment was enacted, Prohibition was put into effect. Bars, Saloons, and Breweries were shut down around the Country. During the first days of Prohibition, Stores that sold alcohol were often bought out by people who were trying beat the Police from confiscating it. The Government believed that the National Prohibition Act would help reduce criminal actions like homicide, assault and battery. They hoped to reduce poverty and to improve the economy and the quality of life. It actually did the complete opposite as Organized Crime gangs opened up secret bars called “Speakeasies”. The reason why these secret bars were called “Speakeasies“ is because it was where people could socialize without the fear of Police. “Speakeasies” often were located in drug stores and other commercial businesses. They often required you to know a secret password or have “membership” with the “Speakeasy”.
Women of the 1920s
The end of the 1st World War, The role of women as housewives changed drastically.
They were forced to work and to earn their own money which was the first step towards their independence. Women had came to the conclusion that there had to be more in life than just looking after the children and the house. These new types of women had no plans in their lives and they can afford to wait whatever happens during their lives. An example of these women is Jordan Baker in The Great Gatsby. She represents the new woman who calls herself a “Flapper”. Her desire for success and a very arrogant attitude are Jordan Baker’s main characteristics. Nick Carraway notices this arrogance as soon as he meets her: “She was completely motionless, her chin raised a little.” On Page 2 of the Great Gatsby. Daisy Buchanan is another example of a flapper. In contrast to Jordan Baker, she is more emotional. She is looking for the perfect gentleman with a lot of money and a favorable family background. They both represent the women's new way of life even if they have different personalities.
The American
Dream
The American Dream originated in the early days of the American settlement, with the mostly poor immigrants searching for opportunities. It was manifested in the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence says that “all men are created equal and that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and pursuit of happiness”. In The Great Gatsby the American Dream plays a big role in the plot. You can clearly see what happened during the 1920s. The values have totally changed, instead of striving for equality, Everyone just wanted to get as rich as they possibly could. I believe that the American dream was long dead before the roaring twenties because the rich were getting richer as the poor kept getting poorer.
Rise of the Automobiles In 1885, C. Benz built the first car, with the well known combustion engine, that was usable.
As time went on, Vehicles improved more and more, they were called motorized carriages and in 1923 Ford had started the mass production of the Model T, which was a very cheap car everybody was able to afford. 15 million Model Ts were produced without changing their designs in anyway, and so the era of the automobile had begun. Millions of dollars were spent in the mass production and all over Europe and USA, car manufacturing factories were built very fast. It was and still is a kind of status symbol to own the newest and fastest car which has got the best trimmings. In the Great Gatsby, the cars had a special function, it represented the reckless actions of the flapper society. Cars in the 1920s were not bought for the use they are today. If you were rich during the 1920s you had 2 or 3 Automobiles and usually went for a ride on Sundays just to show off your wheels.
Technology had made it possible to improve the standards of a normal car in a major way. During the 1920s the importance of the automobile grown tremendously. In this decade there was some kind of a “revolution“, cars were built to emphasize the actual fashion instead of functions. A lot of knick-knack was installed for example a “three noted horns” The Great Gatsby pg, 51…