ipl-logo

How Did Gatsby Survive The 1930s

844 Words4 Pages

During the 1920s, men and women strived to live the “bigger, better, faster” mentality by purchasing unneeded materialistic items. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, main character, Jay Gatsby goes from “rags to riches” and uses his money to build his enormous mansion displaying our first tension, wants over needs. We see the constant issue of prioritizing wants over needs throughout the 1920s. Transforming into the 1930s, the tension dramatically shifts to needs over wants. To survive the 1930s, parents needed to take money from their own children to get to work and fight for any type of income. Most people didn’t see the downfall of the 1930s coming, but throughout the book, The Great Gatsby, hints of this economic failure were shown. A start …show more content…

Gatsby’s plan entailed him using his house to win back Daisy, but the plan obviously didn’t work. Daisy still chose Tom over Gatsby, making his house an “incoherent failure” (179). Clearly, the three years he spent saving money to buy it, resulted in nothing. Although he put forth so much effort to show Daisy that he has the money to take care of her and has a beautiful house to live in, he never had a chance with her. The reason being Daisy is an Old Money upper class women that was not willing to go down in her socioeconomic status. Gatsby is New Money and he never had a chance to have Daisy as his wife, which resulted in only an affair. Another interpretation of the “incoherent failure” of a house can be that it is hinting towards the downfall in the 1930’s. During the 1930’s, many people were left on the streets and without a home, due to The Great Depression. This depression caused people to sell their homes in order to have any source of money available during this horrible time. Due to the loss of homes, the popular shantytown structures called, “Hoovervilles” were built by the unemployed and impoverished people. Gatsby’s house is the opposite of a “Hooverville.” A house made of marble steps and a 40 acre garden that servants tend to every weekend after the ostentatious parties thrown. Fitzgerald focuses the reader’s attention on having an extravagant house and still failing, which

Show More
Related
563 Words | 3 Pages

Gatsby purchased that house in that location in order to be closer to Daisy and easily show her he finally has the money she was looking for. Having that mansion also allows Gatsby to show off his fortune to Daisy by throwing parties. We are informed of this implication made by Jordan when she implies “I think he half have expected her to wander into one of his parties, some nights, but she never did” (79). Gatsby throwing all his ‘lavish parties’ is another example of him going to endless lengths to earn Daisy’s love. His enormous wealth is a symbol for the amount of work he has dedicated to impress

Read More
966 Words | 4 Pages

The Moral Decay of the Materialistic Although F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby debuted in 1925– before the Great Depression– it serves as a prophetic exemplification of the the material excess of the 1920s that drowned out signs of the coming Great Depression. The book’s plot follows the bootlegger Jay Gatsby as he pursues his old love Daisy Buchanan through flaunting his new extravagant lifestyle, mainly by throwing ostentatious parties. Yet, in the end, Daisy chooses her unfaithful husband Tom over Gatsby. Through Fitzgerald’s use of wealthy, materialistic characters, he comments on the effect of the material excess of the roaring twenties: moral corruption.

Read More
1374 Words | 6 Pages

Gatsby has spent his whole life trying to prove to Daisy and everyone around him that he is worthy of her. The only way to be on the same social level as her is to turn himself into new money. Since this is not possible, he has to try to convince to others that he truly is old money. To do this, he becomes rich, and lies about his past, but the only way for him to complete this idea is if he is with Daisy. She is the final piece in his American dream.

Read More
679 Words | 3 Pages

However, Daisy's refusal to leave her husband, Tom, and her retreat into the safety of her wealth and status expose the fallacy of Gatsby's dream. He realizes the Daisy he idealized never truly existed, leaving him broken. Beyond Daisy, Gatsby's disillusionment stems from the realization that the world he desperately sought to enter is inherently corrupt. He believed that by amassing wealth, he could win Daisy back and achieve happiness. However, Gatsby's lavish parties, filled with shallow guests, highlight the

Read More
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
1327 Words | 6 Pages

Plain Classy: An analysis of the Buchanan’s House and Residents in the Great Gatsby F. Scott’s Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby is a novel centered around lavish parties, the upper-class, and elaborate mansions. The two estates mentioned the most include the homes of Jay Gatsby and of Tom and Daisy Buchanan. The novel even devotes entire paragraphs with the sole purpose of defining the house’s build. Gatsby’s house replicates the Hôtel de Ville in Parris, and was built only a few decades prior.

Read More
1014 Words | 5 Pages

In the book, Gatsby is very foolish, his actions are unreasonable and unrealistic. “He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: "I never loved you."” (125) Gatsby had expected Daisy to be the same girl she was five years ago, but the truth is that she isn't. Many things had happened to the both of them and he had set up a foolish expectation that Daisy was willing to leave Tom for him. Gatsby’s foolishness originated with Daisy.

Read More
1169 Words | 5 Pages

In today’s duplicitous society, men often pursue the “perfect woman”. This woman is construed to be; fit, provocative and ravishing. However, in greatly distinguished American novel, The Great Gatsby, the men have strayed from stalking women for their looks. Instead, Gatsby chases Daisy to achieve her as a prize of his bounty and any affection Gatsby demonstrates toward her, is simply to appease to her sense of status and wealth. The author F. Scott Fitzgerald, exhibits Gatsby’s these feelings for Daisy through the clever usage of connotation, symbolism and metaphors.

Read More
133 Words | 1 Pages

How does having money lead to material gain? In the Roaring Twenties, people from all social classes suddenly became aware of the class differences. This awareness is a result of the jump on the Stock Market and the World War1. There were clear distinctions among social classes according to location, amount of material possessions and the way one acted. Fitzgerald explains these differences by giving the characters in his novel the Great Gatsby different social classes and he also shows these social divisions in the way the characters behave.

Read More
114 Words | 1 Pages

The economical standpoint in The Great Gatsby and the way characters such as Gatsby and Tom spent their money reflect how rich economy was and how others living during the 1920s spent their money. During The Roaring Twenties, “many people had extra money to spend on things other than food, housing, and other basic needs” ('Roaring Twenties' a Time of Economic and Social Change). Just like in The Great Gatsby, people living during the 1920s saw that there was more money than usual, so this became something they desired. The economy in both The Great Gatsby and the 1920s in America expanded and therefore purchasing things other than the necessities was considered true success.

Read More
789 Words | 4 Pages

The cost of living in The Great Gatsby and in our day can be compared by looking at how wealthy individuals try to dominate us, how wealth divides people, how social safety has changed since The Great Gatsby's time, and how programs are used today. The theme of The Great Gatsby, which emphasizes the corrupting effects of wealth and power, is one that is still relevant in contemporary culture. Money still plays a significant role in politics and industry, and there is still a significant concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a small number of people. As we continue to witness the detrimental repercussions of the concentration of wealth and power, the novel's themes of greed, corruption, and the emptiness of prosperity are still pertinent in today's

Read More
226 Words | 1 Pages

Gatsby’s mansion symbolizes love, but it also portrays “new money.” The new money classes have made their fortune through hard work and determination. For example, Gatsby’s house portrays his love for Daisy. He used his new money to build this vast mansion, but also a place that looked

Read More
1261 Words | 6 Pages

The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a classic 20th century story -that period was also known as the “roaring twenties”- which critiques the vision of the American Dream people in general have. At that time, the idea of a free market, and industrial revolution provided the opportunity for many to seize the market and people were starting to see that they could become rich without having any type of restriction. New York city was the centre of this wealth-creating society. After the war, this movement generated new opportunities and ambitions for people wanting to start a wealthy upper class life. That period of time was all about alcohol, partying, gambling, fashion, and money.

Read More
610 Words | 3 Pages

Living rich, living poor, and living life in between. During the 1920’s life in New York was booming, unemployment rates were low, partying was high, families were happy. After World War II people were happy getting to see loved ones who had gone to fight. People partied all the time, constantly, weekly. Life in New York during the 1920’s was always exciting if you knew the right people.

Read More
783 Words | 4 Pages

Two themes that connect very well together in The Great Gatsby are materialism and money. As the story gets told through the eyes of Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby achieves his wealth through the motivation of his first love, Daisy Buchanan. Since the story of The Great Gatsby takes place around the 1920s, money also became a great deal to Gatsby since it helped him flourish a lavish lifestyle that he built around the woman he loved. Furthermore, both of these themes apply a great effect towards Gatsby’s character.

Read More

More about How Did Gatsby Survive The 1930s

Related Topics

Open Document