Summary On The Roaring Twenties: The Age Of Degeneration
The Roaring Twenties: The Age of Degeneration Moral values, the standards of good and evil, are the foundation of a society, allowing a person to value integrity and make the right choices. However, during the Roaring Twenties in the United States, as we enter a new era of cultural and economic dynamism, the values are being overthrown by the new lust for money, power, and most important of all, pleasure. The Great Gatsby juxtaposes the new money’s extravagant life and the old money’s crumbling aristocratic values. F. Scott Fitzgerald exposes this dramatic phenomenon in his novel, where he crafts a strikingly realistic painting of the society in the Roaring Twenties, where materialism thrives and leads to the loss of moral standards.
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Jay Gatsby’s world revolves around a single dream that he holds as the lifeline in his story.
It is a dream of wealth and aristocracy. After his adventure in luxury with Dan Cody, who becomes his father figure, Gatsby finds his dream embodied by Daisy Fay, because “Her voice is full of money” (Fitzgerald 120). She represents wealth and class. She has a very lighthearted conduct and charismatic behavior. She is “the golden girl” (Fitzgerald 120), born in a wealthy, upper-class society, and married to a rich man. However, we also see that her shiny image is only a façade to cover her degeneration. We first catch a glimpse of her true character when she decides to confide to Nick that “the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (Fitzgerald 17). She fully embraces the new concept of women in the Roaring Twenties and is ready to give up her self-respect to conserve her luxurious lifestyle. Daisy also shows the lack of maternal love. Even though she is a mother, she is so engrossed in her love affairs and lavish life that she never takes care of her daughter. She only dresses Pammy up for special occasions, as if her daughter is just another possession in order to promote her image. In Gatsby’s vision, Daisy is symbolized by the green light on her dock. It holds a “colossal significance” (Fitzgerald, 93) because it is the color of money and envy. Daisy is the perfect example to illustrate the prevailing rise of materialism in the Roaring …show more content…
Twenties.
Another woman, who is seemingly the perfect opposite of Daisy Fay, is also a model woman of the Roaring Twenties. Myrtle Wilson belongs to the working class but wishes to strive in the social ladder and acquire the extravagant lifestyle of the richer classes. She is ready to have an affair with a man who wants her only as a tool to relieve his stress. She is his escape to another life, where he can fully express his most odious sides. However, in the end, it is this exact same dream, which at first may seems like an escape to her, that kills Myrtle in the most violent way. Instead of working hard to gain her position, she lets her materialistic needs bring the dissolution of her morality. Ironically, Myrtle is killed by a luxury car, which symbolizes wealth and independence. This lust for money, characteristic of the Roaring Twenties, has destroyed her.
The rise of materialism is symbolized most strongly through the eyes of T.J.Eckleberg. The advertisement sign of T.J.Eckleberg is situated in the Valley of Ashes, a place that lies between New York and the West Egg. It is where all the waste from New York and the Eggs are stored, causing piles of ashes swallowing everything. We can consider it as a backstage for the lavish life in New York and the Eggs, where all unpleasantness produced by the upper class’s glamorous lives is stored and hidden. George Wilson, Myrtle’s husband, lives and works there. After his wife’s tragic death, he points at the advertisement sign of T.J.Eckleberg and claims that “God sees everything” (Fitzgerald 160) The fact that T.J.Eckleberg is considered by George as a God shows the disorientation of the Twenties’ society. Hidden behind the glimmering lights of the cities, the Valley of Ashes represents the decaying morality of the society. The concept of God is lost, and the people are desperately looking for a spiritual guidance in their life. But only an advertisement board represents this guidance. This fact shows that materialism has conquered spiritual values and has now become the society’s religious belief. Fitzgerald uses this striking image to convey the power of materialism over the society.
We can observe the collapsing self-discipline through almost every character in this novel. This perversion of character shows the extent of corruption throughout the society. Jordan Baker, who is Nick Carraway’s romantic interest, is a perfect example. Even though she is the narrator’s lover, the description of her conduct makes it impossible for the readers to sympathize with Nick. She is a very careless person. She is a “rotten driver” (Fitzgerald, 58) but she still drives hastily because “it takes two to make an accident” (Fitzgerald, 58). Jordan’s arguments prove that she is a haughty, irresponsible woman who believes that she should never take the blame. Furthermore, Nick notes that she is “incurably dishonest” (Fitzgerald 58) because she cheated during sport competitions. She also chooses to lie because it was easier to be dishonest in order to “satisfy the demands of her hard, jaunty body” (Fitzgerald 58). Jordan Baker always chooses to obey her physical needs at the expense of her virtues.
This carelessness is not exclusive to Jordan, but is a shared trait between almost every character in this novel, like Tom Buchanan for example.
He is hypocrite who uses Myrtle as a way to satisfy his physical needs. He owns an apartment in New York where he holds his affair. We can observe through his visit in his love nest that the people in New York witness unfaithfulness with nonchalance, as if it has become a habitual thing. At Myrtle and Tom’s party, we can fully witness these people’s carelessness. The guests drink excessively and the hosts “disappeared” (Fitzgerald 29) to make love in spite of their guests’ presence. Myrtle also spends money carelessly, buying too much furniture for the apartment. She also buys a dog spontaneously but abandons it to die. The party at Tom and Myrtle’s love nest exposes the immorality of the
city.
As a narrator in this novel, Nick Carraway shares with his readers that he is disgusted by the carelessness of Jordan, Daisy, Tom and the whole society in general. However, he can see one person who he can still respect. That person is Gatsby. After Gatsby’s death, Nick leaves the East because of the “foul dust [that] floated in the wake of [Gatsby’s] dreams [has] temporarily closed out [his] interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men" (Fitzgerald 2). Even though Gatsby has a very dark past, he is fundamentally a good person. We can see through his childhood notebook that he considers being “better to parents” (Fitzgerald 173) an important quality that he needs to remember. His only bad decision is to devote his entire life to Daisy. He has turned her into his absolute dream. In order to achieve this dream, he has to attach his life to “the foul dust,” which is the criminal and extravagant life that Gatsby leads in order to be worthy of Daisy. He even sacrifices his own life to protect Daisy from her crime. Gatsby is worth “the whole damn bunch put of together” (Fitzgerald 154) because Daisy, Tom and Jordan, even though not associated to organized crimes, are even more immoral than he. Nick’s acquaintance with Gatsby unravels the degeneration of his society, corrupted by the interminable seeking of “elations” through wealth, alcohol and sex.
Nick is “one of the few honest people” (Fitzgerald, 59) in this novel. Although, he does lie occasionally, his lies are said in good intentions. For example, when Henry C. Gatz arrives at Gatsby’s mansion upon hearing the news of his son’s death, Nick states that they are “close friends” (Fitzgerald 168). As a person who always tries to value moral standards, I understand Nick’s feelings when he gives this lie. I do not believe that this dishonesty puts him on the same level as Jordan Baker or other dishonest character, because his lie isn’t said to protect himself, but to protect another from unnecessary pain. I also have been put into circumstances where telling the truth would be too rude or hurtful to the other person, so I also lied, just like Nick. I believe that sometimes, saying the truth would be the wrong thing to do, given the circumstances. For example, my cousin had a hamster that she dearly loved. One day, she was enrolled in a very prestigious mathematics competition, and she had to travel to another country to participate in it. I came to her house after she left, to congratulate her parents, only to find out that her hamster had died while she was away. From then on, whenever she called home and asked about her hamster’s health, I always reassured her by saying that he was fine. This lie allowed her to concentrate on her exams and eventually get good results. Even though I lied, it was in good intention because I knew that the truth would be too much pain for her to handle. This experience allows me to understand Nick’s intention and feelings. F. Scott. Fitzgerald, through this novel, criticizes the materialism of the Roaring Twenties’ society, as we enter the phase of transition between old-fashioned, conservative standards and modern, freethinking ideals. We can hear Fitzgerald’s voice through Nick Carraway’s ending prediction about the “orgastic future that year by year recedes from us” (Fitzgerald, 180). We can understand his emphasis on physical pleasure through the word orgastic. Fitzgerald contemplates that the future we all hope for is forever out of reach of the disoriented society of 1920s.
Works Cited
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/orgastic
Jay Gatsby’s world revolves around a single dream that he holds as the lifeline in his story.
It is a dream of wealth and aristocracy. After his adventure in luxury with Dan Cody, who becomes his father figure, Gatsby finds his dream embodied by Daisy Fay, because “Her voice is full of money” (Fitzgerald 120). She represents wealth and class. She has a very lighthearted conduct and charismatic behavior. She is “the golden girl” (Fitzgerald 120), born in a wealthy, upper-class society, and married to a rich man. However, we also see that her shiny image is only a façade to cover her degeneration. We first catch a glimpse of her true character when she decides to confide to Nick that “the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (Fitzgerald 17). She fully embraces the new concept of women in the Roaring Twenties and is ready to give up her self-respect to conserve her luxurious lifestyle. Daisy also shows the lack of maternal love. Even though she is a mother, she is so engrossed in her love affairs and lavish life that she never takes care of her daughter. She only dresses Pammy up for special occasions, as if her daughter is just another possession in order to promote her image. In Gatsby’s vision, Daisy is symbolized by the green light on her dock. It holds a “colossal significance” (Fitzgerald, 93) because it is the color of money and envy. Daisy is the perfect example to illustrate the prevailing rise of materialism in the Roaring …show more content…
Twenties.
Another woman, who is seemingly the perfect opposite of Daisy Fay, is also a model woman of the Roaring Twenties. Myrtle Wilson belongs to the working class but wishes to strive in the social ladder and acquire the extravagant lifestyle of the richer classes. She is ready to have an affair with a man who wants her only as a tool to relieve his stress. She is his escape to another life, where he can fully express his most odious sides. However, in the end, it is this exact same dream, which at first may seems like an escape to her, that kills Myrtle in the most violent way. Instead of working hard to gain her position, she lets her materialistic needs bring the dissolution of her morality. Ironically, Myrtle is killed by a luxury car, which symbolizes wealth and independence. This lust for money, characteristic of the Roaring Twenties, has destroyed her.
The rise of materialism is symbolized most strongly through the eyes of T.J.Eckleberg. The advertisement sign of T.J.Eckleberg is situated in the Valley of Ashes, a place that lies between New York and the West Egg. It is where all the waste from New York and the Eggs are stored, causing piles of ashes swallowing everything. We can consider it as a backstage for the lavish life in New York and the Eggs, where all unpleasantness produced by the upper class’s glamorous lives is stored and hidden. George Wilson, Myrtle’s husband, lives and works there. After his wife’s tragic death, he points at the advertisement sign of T.J.Eckleberg and claims that “God sees everything” (Fitzgerald 160) The fact that T.J.Eckleberg is considered by George as a God shows the disorientation of the Twenties’ society. Hidden behind the glimmering lights of the cities, the Valley of Ashes represents the decaying morality of the society. The concept of God is lost, and the people are desperately looking for a spiritual guidance in their life. But only an advertisement board represents this guidance. This fact shows that materialism has conquered spiritual values and has now become the society’s religious belief. Fitzgerald uses this striking image to convey the power of materialism over the society.
We can observe the collapsing self-discipline through almost every character in this novel. This perversion of character shows the extent of corruption throughout the society. Jordan Baker, who is Nick Carraway’s romantic interest, is a perfect example. Even though she is the narrator’s lover, the description of her conduct makes it impossible for the readers to sympathize with Nick. She is a very careless person. She is a “rotten driver” (Fitzgerald, 58) but she still drives hastily because “it takes two to make an accident” (Fitzgerald, 58). Jordan’s arguments prove that she is a haughty, irresponsible woman who believes that she should never take the blame. Furthermore, Nick notes that she is “incurably dishonest” (Fitzgerald 58) because she cheated during sport competitions. She also chooses to lie because it was easier to be dishonest in order to “satisfy the demands of her hard, jaunty body” (Fitzgerald 58). Jordan Baker always chooses to obey her physical needs at the expense of her virtues.
This carelessness is not exclusive to Jordan, but is a shared trait between almost every character in this novel, like Tom Buchanan for example.
He is hypocrite who uses Myrtle as a way to satisfy his physical needs. He owns an apartment in New York where he holds his affair. We can observe through his visit in his love nest that the people in New York witness unfaithfulness with nonchalance, as if it has become a habitual thing. At Myrtle and Tom’s party, we can fully witness these people’s carelessness. The guests drink excessively and the hosts “disappeared” (Fitzgerald 29) to make love in spite of their guests’ presence. Myrtle also spends money carelessly, buying too much furniture for the apartment. She also buys a dog spontaneously but abandons it to die. The party at Tom and Myrtle’s love nest exposes the immorality of the
city.
As a narrator in this novel, Nick Carraway shares with his readers that he is disgusted by the carelessness of Jordan, Daisy, Tom and the whole society in general. However, he can see one person who he can still respect. That person is Gatsby. After Gatsby’s death, Nick leaves the East because of the “foul dust [that] floated in the wake of [Gatsby’s] dreams [has] temporarily closed out [his] interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men" (Fitzgerald 2). Even though Gatsby has a very dark past, he is fundamentally a good person. We can see through his childhood notebook that he considers being “better to parents” (Fitzgerald 173) an important quality that he needs to remember. His only bad decision is to devote his entire life to Daisy. He has turned her into his absolute dream. In order to achieve this dream, he has to attach his life to “the foul dust,” which is the criminal and extravagant life that Gatsby leads in order to be worthy of Daisy. He even sacrifices his own life to protect Daisy from her crime. Gatsby is worth “the whole damn bunch put of together” (Fitzgerald 154) because Daisy, Tom and Jordan, even though not associated to organized crimes, are even more immoral than he. Nick’s acquaintance with Gatsby unravels the degeneration of his society, corrupted by the interminable seeking of “elations” through wealth, alcohol and sex.
Nick is “one of the few honest people” (Fitzgerald, 59) in this novel. Although, he does lie occasionally, his lies are said in good intentions. For example, when Henry C. Gatz arrives at Gatsby’s mansion upon hearing the news of his son’s death, Nick states that they are “close friends” (Fitzgerald 168). As a person who always tries to value moral standards, I understand Nick’s feelings when he gives this lie. I do not believe that this dishonesty puts him on the same level as Jordan Baker or other dishonest character, because his lie isn’t said to protect himself, but to protect another from unnecessary pain. I also have been put into circumstances where telling the truth would be too rude or hurtful to the other person, so I also lied, just like Nick. I believe that sometimes, saying the truth would be the wrong thing to do, given the circumstances. For example, my cousin had a hamster that she dearly loved. One day, she was enrolled in a very prestigious mathematics competition, and she had to travel to another country to participate in it. I came to her house after she left, to congratulate her parents, only to find out that her hamster had died while she was away. From then on, whenever she called home and asked about her hamster’s health, I always reassured her by saying that he was fine. This lie allowed her to concentrate on her exams and eventually get good results. Even though I lied, it was in good intention because I knew that the truth would be too much pain for her to handle. This experience allows me to understand Nick’s intention and feelings. F. Scott. Fitzgerald, through this novel, criticizes the materialism of the Roaring Twenties’ society, as we enter the phase of transition between old-fashioned, conservative standards and modern, freethinking ideals. We can hear Fitzgerald’s voice through Nick Carraway’s ending prediction about the “orgastic future that year by year recedes from us” (Fitzgerald, 180). We can understand his emphasis on physical pleasure through the word orgastic. Fitzgerald contemplates that the future we all hope for is forever out of reach of the disoriented society of 1920s.
Works Cited
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/orgastic