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Decay In The Great Gatsby

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F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, is often regarded as a quintessential depiction of the 1920s, a period of rapid change and social upheaval in American history. Through the novel's characters, setting, and plot, Fitzgerald characterizes the 1920s as a time of excess, superficiality, and moral decay.

One of the most prominent themes in The Great Gatsby is the pursuit of wealth and status. The novel's main character, Jay Gatsby, embodies this theme, as he has amassed a fortune through illegal means in order to win back his lost love, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby's extravagant parties, which are attended by the social elite of New York, are a symbol of the excess and superficiality of the time. The parties are described as lavish and decadent, with endless supplies of food and drink, live music, and a general air of frivolity. However, the parties are also characterized by their emptiness and superficiality. Guests attend not to socialize or connect with others, but to see and be seen. The parties are a microcosm of the 1920s …show more content…

The characters in the novel frequently engage in immoral behavior, such as infidelity, excessive drinking, and reckless driving. For example, Tom Buchanan, Daisy's husband, is openly unfaithful to her and has a mistress on the side. Myrtle Wilson, Tom's mistress, is also unfaithful to her husband and is willing to leave him for a chance at a more luxurious lifestyle. Even the novel's protagonist, Gatsby, is involved in criminal activities and is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals. These characters are not held accountable for their actions, and there is a sense of moral relativism throughout the novel. This breakdown of traditional morality is reflective of the larger social changes that were occurring in the 1920s, as old norms and values were being challenged and replaced with new, more permissive

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Gatsby hosts extravagant parties in an effort not only to boost his social status, but also to look for Daisy. Many wealthy, and often wild people attend these large social events held by Mr. Gatsby. Some of the guests even come lacking an invitation, “Sometimes they came and went without having met Gatsby at all, came for the party with a simplicity of heart that was its own ticket of admission.” (41)

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The hippocratic character of Tom is prevalent throughout the book as he becomes enraged with Daisy for having an affair with Gatsby, despite his long lasting affair with Myrtle. In addition, this is seen yet again when Tom grows infuriated with Gatsby after discovering his wealth comes from selling illegal alcohol while throughout the book, Tom frequently enjoys the pleasures of this illegal substance. While it is clear Tom, who is part of the upper class, has skewed morals himself, his true imorality is evident preceding the death of Myrtle Wilson. Following the death of Myrtle and Gatsby, Nick questions whether Tom has been affected by any of this in which Tom responds that he is infact distraught. However, Tom is not particularly upset by the death of Gatsby, rather upset because his “toy” Myrtle is not longer alive leaving him nothing else to play with.

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The Great Gatsby is an American novel written by Scott Fitzgerald. On the surface, the book revolves around the concept of romance, the love between two individuals. However, the novel incorporates less of a romantic scope and rather focuses on the theme of the American Dream in the 1920s. Fitzgerald depicts the 1920’s as an era of decline in moral values. The strong desire for luxurious pleasure and money ultimately corrupts the American dream which was originally about individualism.

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Symbolically, the social ranks and classes that the novel portrays are finally represented by the characters of Jay Gatsby and his unnatural obsession with Daisy Buchanan (Britannica, “F. Scott Fitzgerald”). Gatsby's ruthless pursuit of wealth and status, represented by pretentious parties and expensive habits, depicts a materialistic American Dream that has no substance. As Gatsby laments, "He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: "I have never loved you" (F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Great Gatsby"). Gatsby is a novel set in the Roaring Twenties. It is a period that is characterized by social and cultural changes and the world is depicted through commercialism and the moral decay through which it is known (Britannica, "Roaring Twenties").

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In the book The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald, the author creates hypocritical characters such as Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby which helps create the theme of dishonesty amongst the wealthy. Tom Buchanan, an extremely wealthy thirty year old man, who is “one of those men who achieved such an acute, limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterwards savors an anti-climax” lacks the high moral standards that he has come to expect from people around him (Fitzgerald 8). Early on in the novel, the reader learns that Tom is having an affair with Myrtle Wilson. Daisy, Tom’s wife, is aware of Tom's mistress, although she acts as if she does not know about his affair. But when Tom learns of Daisy’s affair, he is flabbergasted.

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F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby exhibits the glitz of society in the 1920’s; Jay Gatsby fakes the rags-to-riches dream life. He starts his life off impoverished, as the son of a farmer, and cheats his way up the societal hiearchy with bootlegging, resulting in becoming rich and unnecessarily well known. Gatsby becomes a prominent figure of the American dream life. Jay Gatsby makes questionable actions which makes him not great because he cut through his persona to obtain his dream and climb up the ladder of societal hiearchy. Jay Gatsby is not substantial because he constructs around his indigent past to create his false luxurious life representing the American Dream.

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The positives and negatives of the grandiosity in the 1920s is seen in Gatsby’s parties, and helps create a window to the

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The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates the nineteen twenties prosperous period as well as the dark secrets of the United States history. James Gatsby is a young man who is raised in poverty to wealth and power. His rise to wealth is the ipodomy of the American dream even though he used illegal means of making money. Gatsby sold illegal liquor through his pharmacy during the prohibition. The Great Gatsby also shows the lack of police enforcement of the new laws from the twenty first amendment.

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Scott Fitzgerald is one of the great American novels of the twentieth century primarily due to book tackling the concept of the American Dream in the roaring twenties. Each of the characters in the novel symbolizes how the American Dream has turned from a form of hope and aspiration towards greed and lack of morals. The general focus of novel is on the character Jay Gatsby, who readers learn about through Nick Caraway’s point of view. Near the end of the novel, the reader learns that Gatsby is a self made man who came from a working class family, joined the army, and through extremely hard work makes a life for himself. Gatsby’s main goal in becoming wealthy was to be with his sweetheart from the army, Daisy.

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5. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the issues of the decline of morality are brought to the forefront. The Great Gatsby is set during the 1920s, a time of moral and social decay, in which several characters grapple with issues such as wealth and greed. Certain characters, such as Gatsby, Tom, and Daisy, struggle with choosing between their wants and doing the right thing. Throughout the Great Gatsby, definite conventions of the time such as obsession with others and oneself along with the desire for wealth define the characters.

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The 1920s in America is regarded as an exuberant era of prosperity, fast cars, jazz, speakeasies, and wild youth. This era is the setting for the novel The Great Gatsby (1925) by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald illustrates the 1920s as a period of decadence and decay as a quest for the American Dream and the inherent belief in work ethic were eroded by a new set of values. Fitzgerald suggests that the search for the American Dream can lead to emptiness, despair, and death. To begin, Fitzgerald demonstrates how the hunt for the American Dream can lead to emptiness when Jordan baker states “’He says he’s read a Chicago paper for years on the chance of catching a glimpse of Daisy’s name.’”

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"The Great Gatsby," written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and published in 1925, is a novel that explores the decadence and excess of the Roaring Twenties in America. Set in the fictional town of West Egg, Long Island, the story follows the protagonist Jay Gatsby as he tries to win back his lost love, Daisy Buchanan. Through Gatsby's pursuit of wealth and social status, the novel delves into themes of the American Dream, class, and the corrupting influence of money. One possible essay prompt on "The Great Gatsby" could be: "How does Fitzgerald use symbolism to convey his message in 'The Great Gatsby'?"

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The Great Gatsby Showcasing The 1920s. The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald represents all sorts of different lifestyles in the roaring twenties. From rags to riches, there is a character for each category. Throughout the 1920s, America went through drastic changes.

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Additionally, the book portrays Gatsby’s parties, characteristic of the 1920’s, as examples of hollow decadence. The parties were filled with alcohol (which at the time was an illegal substance), dancing, rich

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The first incidence of moral decay in the novel is shown through the multiple affairs of the characters. Tom is married to Daisy but still has a mistress named Myrtle. Myrtle is married to a lower class man who she believed to be a gentleman. Through these multiple affairs, the characters do not show any regrets and lack morality. Tom is also an abusive man not only to Daisy but to Myrtle as well, “Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her [Myrtle] nose with his open hand,” (Fitzgerald 37).

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