Great Gatsby's Accomplishments

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The 1920s was not only a time of great prosperity in the economic world but also a time of immense change. The cultural shifts leading up to and in the 1920s where things some people would never think to happen. Women were given the right to vote, flapper culture began to rise due to the popularity of jazz music, and the prohibition struck. The economic growth also led to the wealthy searching for other means of happiness. F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts this in his groundbreaking novel, The Great Gatsby. The wealthy were highly respected and it was commonly sought after to be in the upper class, however the only thing that seemed vital to some people was securing a higher spot in the social class which led to a skewed morality and a fading …show more content…

While attending the university he began to focus on perfecting his craft. This led to him writing non-stop. He wrote scripts for the university musicals as well as writing for the school magazines. Although he was focused on his writing, this began to drag him away from his coursework. After being placed on academic probation Fitzgerald soon dropped out of the university and enlisted in the United States Army. The fear of death became a reality to him once he enlisted. He felt he an obligation to fulfill his literary purpose to himself and wrote his first novel The Romantic Egotist. Because of the rush put into the writing of this novel it was not well received and the publisher rejected it. Though it had been rejected the reviewer encouraged him to send in more writings in the future. While stationed in Montgomery, Alabama he met the love of his life, the 18-year-old daughter of an Alabama Supreme Court Judge, Zelda Sayre. However, Zelda refused to marry him because he did not have a job and was about to be deployed. The war ended before Fitzgerald could ever be deployed and he moved to New York in hopes to get a job good …show more content…

Fitzgerald captures the culture of the roaring twenties perfectly. The economic boom that occurred led to the shift in morals in the upper class. They began to spend their money in immoral ways and partake in other immoral actions. One thing that led to the immoral actions was the prohibition in the 18th amendment. The outlawing of alcohol embarked the era of speakeasies and the rise of gangsters. The upsurge of speakeasies made bootlegging a lucrative business. The jazz culture and bootlegging is exposed throughout the book. Tom Buchanan calls out Jay Gatsby for being a bootlegger. The parties that have been painted so vividly within the novel perfectly depict the flapper culture and the spirit of the jazz age. At the parties everyone would dance and enjoy the positive energy contained by music itself. F. Scott Fitzgerald did a fantastic job exposing the corrupt life of an upper class individual. The American dream began to fade away due to the ambition of the upper class. It was a constant fight to be in the eminently sought after upper class. They wanted always wanted more, the dream was not big enough. This led to affairs and other immoral deeds becoming socially acceptable throughout society as presented in the