ipl-logo

How Is Gatsby Portrayed In The 1920s

496 Words2 Pages

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, illustrates life on Long Island during the 1920s and accurately portrays the prohibition, the flappers and the overall mindset of the country. The 1920s, often referred to as the roaring-twenties and The Jazz Age, was a time where people prioritized money and status. The country was on an artificial high from their victory in World War One causing the lifestyle of everyday Americans to drastically change. Life was all about going to the most extravagant parties and acting recklessly, and that epitomizes just what the characters in The Great Gatsby did and the overall mood of the country. The extravagant lifestyles of the wealthy during the 1920s is accurately portrayed in this novel, which exemplifies the superficiality of society. …show more content…

Consumerism was at an all time high due to the end of WWI in 1918. For the first time people could live in excess leading to the glitz and glamour of this decade. In 1920, Women had earned the right to vote. Women, who were previously very modest, now cut their hair short, drank and smoked, they wore short flapper dresses, t-strap shoes and makeup. Daisy, Myrtle and Jordan demonstrate the defining qualities of a flapper girl and represent the “new women” of the 1920s in The Great Gatsby.
People during this time had more opportunities to rise in social status. Jay Gatsby, much like John D. Rockefeller, built his reputation up from nothing. Gatsby was born into a poor family and built himself up to be a very wealthy man. People who were not born into wealth now had the opportunity to make something of themselves. These people who had newly acquired money lived in East Egg, while the people with old money lived in West

Show More
Related
1245 Words | 5 Pages

When the idea of the 1920’s comes up the first thought is “the roaring twenties” with parties, wealth, and dancing. Often the issues of the time are forgotten. However, The Great Gatsby stands as a window into the social system of the 1920’s. With references to racism and prohibition, Fitzgerald created a story that gives a sense of society at this time. However, the most evident issue is the sexism often portrayed.

Read More
726 Words | 3 Pages

The 1920’s, America booming with newly found individuality, independence, and freedom that bared from the fallout of World War 1, a time where practically penniless men turned into billionaires overnight, and back again within the next, where women could dress, do, and go wherever they desired, but above all, what began to determined the world of some, that determined the world of many. “The Great Gatsby”, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a perfect example of this truth. This literary piece exemplifies a almost satire like critique of American life in the 1920’s. Each character of “The Great Gatsby” display a certain quality of a particular persona of the middle to high white social classes that were common at the time. All of which are observed by the self righteous judgemental eyes of Nick Carraway, through him we observe immoral, ill content, and irrational actions that enact all in the name of the pursuance of love and happiness.

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
943 Words | 4 Pages

The 1920s in New York were full of glamour, large parties, scandalous activities and avid drinkers. New York had become split into three main areas: West Egg, full of new up and coming millionaires, East Egg, made up of the old money; the people who had been wealthy for generations; and the valley of ashes, a place full of succumb, dirt and disgust. Many of the people who lived here were of poor descent and couldn't seem to move up in the world. In the book the Great Gatsby, written by F. S. Fitzgerald. Narrator Nick Carraway exposes the secrets behind the glitz and glamour.

Read More
1429 Words | 6 Pages

Money Isn’t Everything The Roaring 20’s, was an era filled with lavish parties, fancy cars, and big houses. The 1920s was a prosperous time for many, there were new goods being produced, and more time for a life outside of work. F Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” was written and takes place during this time, highlighting the American dream, of having wealth and power.

Read More
901 Words | 4 Pages

The 1920s was a period of economic, social, and political change. WW1 had just ended and it had sent the economy surging. This era is known as the “Roaring Twenties'' or the “Jazz Age.” The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is set in the 1920s, and it is shown continuously throughout the large parties or even the simple problems that arise in the book. The Roaring Twenties brought major wealth to individuals, and as Fitzgerald once said, referring to the very rich, “...They are different from you and me.

Read More
853 Words | 4 Pages

During the twenties the economy of the United States was changing greatly. Due to the establishment of the prohibition of alcohol the billionaires were those who would smuggle the goods to society. The Great Gatsby is a novel which portrays the different societies of the United States during the twenties differently. F. Scott Fitzgerald focuses on revealing the types of lives lived by each social group. Throughout the book we are exposed to the marginalization of women and the lower class during the time, since the important individuals in society were the wealthy people who impacted the economy of the country.

Read More
549 Words | 3 Pages

The 1920’s were a period in time that have been known by many names. F.Scott Fitzgerald, one of the greatest American authors of the 20th century, knew them as the “Jazz Age.” As well as the “Jazz Age” this interval was also known as “The Roaring Twenties”, which Fitzgerald represented very well in his book The Great Gatsby. The book was mainly about a man named Nick Carraway, who moved to New York and lived next to the millionaire, Jay Gatsby(Who was in love with Nick’s cousin Daisy, also extremely wealthy). This is where Nick becomes drawn into the fascinating world of the wealthy.

Read More
742 Words | 3 Pages

Changing to the Modern Age of the 1920s Introduction The 1920s was a prosperous time period which included many new changes such as technological advances, change in fashion, and music. In Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, he exemplifies how during the 1920s it was a prosperous time period where people began to be consumed by the idea of wealth and freedom. In Fitzgerald’s novel, one of main characters is Jay Gatsby who is shown as a self-made man, a person who starts out poor but achieves economic or moral success through hard work and perseverance. Through Gatsby’s journey he altered his destiny from a son of poor farmers to a wealthy man living in West Egg.

Read More
2747 Words | 11 Pages

This place is hardly even that far from East and West Egg, so those not even a few miles away live in affluence. The contrast between the living conditions between these two areas is extremely apparent and one of the worst impacts of wealth on individuals without it. This concept is also shown by Gatsby’s mere existence in East Egg. His house is massive and luxurious, he has servants answering to his every beck and call, and everything is at the tips of his fingers. He can afford almost anything.

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
582 Words | 3 Pages

The “Glitz and Glam” of the Roaring 20’s seen throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby creates a surreal environment where Fitzgerald is able to explore the many social issues during the 1920’s. Throughout the story the differences in social class are highlighted by Fitzgerald due to his use of literary elements. Fitzgerald clearly breaks his characters into three different classes: the old money wealthy elite, the newly-rich, and the working class. Throughout The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald uses well detailed settings and characterization to show the social issue of class class difference in the 1920’s.

Read More
1481 Words | 6 Pages

The Roaring 20’s, a time known for its grandeur and changes to societal restrictions that inevitably lead to the stock market crash of the 1930’s, sending the glittering nation of America spiralling into an uncertain and desperate future. After the first World War, no one could imagine life worse than the world seeping into madness with new weapons of war, along with the terrible methods involved, and all for what? The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald tells the tale of a man who became intertwined in the sweeping and fleeting current that was the world after ‘the war to end all war’, but quickly realizes that those involved in the glamourous world of money and magic is a fading facade in which all attempt to “live life to the fullest”;

Read More
461 Words | 2 Pages

While the 1920’s is seen as a party era where everybody is having such a grand time, these behaviors were actually used to hide shallow, hollow, lonely lives. American author F. Scott Fitzgerald is most well known for his famous novel The Great Gatsby, which was published in 1925. This novel is a detailed illustration of the Jazz Age, a name given to the 1920’s in the United States. Fitzgerald saw the moral decline of the time period, as members of today’s society may worry about relevant declining issues. One of the reasons this story remains so pertinent is the complicated characters it showcases and how they can be interpreted in various ways by new readers.

Read More
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

More about How Is Gatsby Portrayed In The 1920s

Related Topics

Open Document