ipl-logo

Compare The 1920s And The Great Gatsby

1188 Words5 Pages

Between World War I and the Great Depression, the 1920’s were unique and special years in American history. The best way to represent that time would be by historian Frederick Lewis Allen providing the historical account of America in the 20’s in Only Yesterday and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famed novel, The Great Gatsby. Both of them reflect America in the Twenties by showing lifestyles and behaviors of people who lived in that time. We can follow their beliefs, actions, and morality through the works. While Allen was seeking to capture a decade, F. Scott Fitzgerald did a good job by pointing to the main issues during that time. We can put them into 3 groups: disillusionment, rise of “new money” and their behavior, and business replaces God and …show more content…

The society was divided in 2 groups: old and new money. People had got rich quick and they were trying to show how rich they are every possible time. “As year followed year of prosperity, the new diffusion of wealth brought marked results… There was an epidemic of outlines of knowledge and books of etiquette for those who had got rich quick and wanted to get cultured quick and become socially at ease” (Frederick Lewis Allen, Only Yesterday, 1931). There was a leap from 75 to 283 in the number of Americans who paid taxes on incomes of more than a million dollars a year. Money got the same meaning as “culture”. Men and women were disillusioned about politics, love, or family, but they believed that the most important is negotiable legal tender. “ On a chance we tried an important-looking door, and walked into a high Gothic library, paneled with carved English oak, and probably transported complete from some ruin overseas...He waved his hand toward the book-shelves. “About that...They’re real.” “The books?” He nodded. “Absolutely real--have pages and everything.”” (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 1925). People could spent millions and millions of dollars on useless things, just to show how rich they are. Education was playing an important role, so it was really prestigious to have own library in the house, full of books. But it was very expensive to have real ones, so people used “fake” books just to create an illusion how rich they are. Nouveau riche were pointing on everything and were not shy to talk about their money. Good word to describe that time period --

Show More
Related

Comparing 'The Great Gatsby And Only Yesterday'

753 Words | 4 Pages

Now a lot of people know the Great Gatsby as a novel of the 1920’s and one of the best of it’s time but how accurate is it in that of it’s placement in age. Now people believe the 1920’s was one of the best ages ever in the U.S and “The Great Gatsby” gives people a look into that but does “The Great Gatsby” really show the historic point of 1920’s. There are 2 authors F. Scott Fitzgerald the author of “The Great Gatsby” and Frederick Lewis Allen who wrote “Only Yesterday” we’ll be comparing Allen’s facts on the 1920’s and Fitzgerald’s aspect of the 1920’s. We’ll be address 3 points in the 1920’s Disillusionment, Rise of New Money, and Business V.S God and compare a book of fiction and a book of facts and prove the question “Does the Great Gatsby reflect America in the 1920’s”.

Read More

The Great Gatsby Dbq

1279 Words | 6 Pages

In fact Frederick Lewis Allen 's book, Only Yesterday in 1931, it states that only, “Three years between from 1924 to 1927 there was a leap from 75 to 283.” and they also had, “Knowledge and books for etiquette for those who got rich quick and wanted to get cultured quick.” (Doc.C). The amount of everyday people being millionaires have now almost quadrupled during this time because the stock market was at its peak, But also during the three years, people were living in confusion that money will be waiting for them. So the “new money” generation wants to act as the “old money” since they acquired their wealth in a new manner.

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis The Great Gatsby

516 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author uses many differnt retorical devices to add a personal flare to his work. He uses diction, symbolism, and irony to adress many different themes. These themes include Materialism, The American Dream, and includes a sharp and biting ridicule on American society in the 1920’s. The main point of Fitzgerald, arguement is one where he sharply criticizes the Society of the time.

Read More

Society In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

529 Words | 3 Pages

The Roaring Twenties, known as the decade of the 1920s in the Western World, consists of dramatic changes in social values. The cultural differences between the 1920s and the Victorian era changes people's behavior, where they become more free-will, youthful and carefree, despite of being more conservative before. People are more open-minded and found satisfaction through the “open pursuit of sex, money, and booze” (Berman 53) as they suggest their wealth and status in the society. New York City had become one of the cities where materialistic wealth has become the key of happiness and the standard to judge people's success, further leading Americans to pursue each other in a negative, acquisitive way. Through the different scenes and characters of the famous novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald explores how the society twisted the original idea of

Read More

Loyalty In The Great Gatsby

1150 Words | 5 Pages

One decade that made this goal was the 1920’s. Today we will star in our movie as we learn about how the 1920’s were exemplified in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. First, we will powder our noses as we talk about alcohol abuse. Then, we will reread our lines as we see how women were treated. Finally, we will get to our places,

Read More

Examples Of Morality In The Great Gatsby

756 Words | 4 Pages

The Roaring Lack of Morality in the 20s Morals were not thought of as a strict moral code during the roaring twenties, and many people found them rather irrelevant. Those whom threw parties, cheated, and lied, were those who were happiest during these times. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, paints a picture of the 1920s by expressing many themes: the need for wealth, the want for love, and the act of betrayal in marriage through the Modern Era.

Read More

Wealth In The Great Gatsby

2065 Words | 9 Pages

He rightly identified that money - both its presence and its absence - does something to people” (1). These ideals reflect what can be seen in all of his literary

Read More

The American Dream In The Great Gatsby Essay

702 Words | 3 Pages

F.Scott Fitzgerald is an American novelist and a short story writer. He is the author of the famous novel “ The Great Gatsby”, which is written in the 1920’s. The period of the 1920’s is well known as the roaring twenties due to lack of morales and the lowering of standards and expectations, people intended just to have a good time not caring about the outcomes of their and how they will effect their lives. Fitzgerald wants to prove in his novel the death of “The American Dream” it’s just a myth. The author of this novel shows the death of the american dream through the events surrounding Gatsby, and Daisy.

Read More

The Great Gatsby Resolution Analysis

708 Words | 3 Pages

They were only attracted to the “new-money” of the “American Dreams”. It shows how corrupted many became due to the

Read More

The Sense Of Self In The Great Gatsby

1037 Words | 5 Pages

‘A Sense of Self’ Essay A Sense of Self is a unique quality that differs from one person to another and yet may involve multiple identities. Explore the extent to which the protagonists in the texts you have studied appear to possess one or more identities. Refer closely to the texts in developing your response. This essay will revolve around four main texts, namely ‘The Great Gatsby’, ‘Twelfth Night’, ‘New Selected Poems’ and ‘The Lost Continent’ by Scott Fitzgerald, William Shakespeare, Carol Ann Duffy and Bill Bryson respectively. ‘The Great Gatsby’ is a highly symbolic meditation of America in the 1920s.

Read More

Social Hierarchy In Edith Wharton's House Of Mirth

1478 Words | 6 Pages

The novel, House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton, documents the struggles of beautiful Lily Barton as she attempts to both find suitable husband and be accepted into New York City’s elite class during the turn of the nineteenth century. Being a part of this class herself, Wharton uses this novel to comment on the true nature of the rigid social hierarchy that dictated one’s survival during this time period. Using her plethora of different characters as examples, Wharton states that one’s place in this social hierarchy is dictated by the amount of money one has and in order to be accepted into the elite class, one must bend morals to succeed; furthermore, Wharton reveals that despite its innocent and revered exterior, the upper class is made up of

Read More

How Is The Great Gatsby Different In The 1920s

1246 Words | 5 Pages

In the book The Great Gatsby in 1920 they make some references to sports and other things that are different from the 1920 era. The sports were way different from today. The time they took to sit back and relax looked different too. In the book The Great Gatsby we notice that they talk a lot about different sports like Jordan baker liked to golf, and Arnold Rothstein was accused of rigging the World Series.

Read More

Examples Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

1726 Words | 7 Pages

Extended Essay: American dream in the USA of the 1920’s, as depicted by “The Great Gatsby” by F. S. Fitzgerald Introduction The modern American literature is a topic as broad as it can be; there is, however, one novel which often appears as the one called “the greatest American novel of all times”. The novel in question is “The great Gatsby”, written by Francis Scott Fitzgerald and published in April of 1925. [1] There are a number of reasons for why it is deemed so special, with its’ current position in modern pop culture and status of a classic, compulsory for every reader. One of the major causes is the layered meaning, which leaves whole lot of room for interpretation.

Read More

Examples Of Duality In The Great Gatsby

884 Words | 4 Pages

The 1920’s was a very interesting time in United States history. After all World War I had ended and many Americans did not realize that the Great Depression was in the near future, so the 1920’s fell between these two dramatic events. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby teaches many morals, but none more important than the duality of the 1920’s. Duality is evident in Gatsby's dreams, his death, his lover Daisy, his wealth, and his parties, which all reflect the duality of the 1920’s. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald makes the concept of achieving the American dream seem improbable.

Read More

Universal Issues In The Great Gatsby Essay

1102 Words | 5 Pages

Society’s evolution has abolished many social issues, but not all. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, portrays several themes that were applicable to the 1920s, and are still apparent today. Fitzgerald refers to issues from before the publication of the book, as they are universal problems and will relate to generations to come. In conclusion, although published in 1925, The Great Gatsby does make profound comments concerning the basic problems of the 21st

Read More

More about Compare The 1920s And The Great Gatsby

Related Topics

Open Document