In the 1920s, the ubiquitous access to media, such as print and radio, unified the American people as it fostered the homogeneity of their culture and values. However, the economic growth on the East Coast from industries profiting off of WWI caused the population’s morality to deviate from commonly held beliefs from before the war. The American Dream blossomed from the equal opportunity for success and honest work; nonetheless, people living in the East (Easterners) turned this model into a corrupted equivalent, one of greed and temptation due to the influx of wealth and opportunity. The errant values Easterners find themselves holding in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby signify the loss of identity and the social constraints individuals …show more content…
Gatsby’s view of himself has always been centered around Daisy from the moment he met her. Originating from this “platonic conception of himself” he lives out this “conception...[faithfully] to the end” (62). Gatsby surrenders his life to Daisy as he lives as a version of himself that's meant only to sate her. With no reference to who Gatsby wanted to be he cannot live for himself; instead, he chooses to live for Daisy. Leaving himself in the hands of someone irresponsible like Daisy will only end in disaster. As careless as Daisy is, things left in her hands will only end up as “smashed up things…[leaving] other people clean up the mess [she] had made” (109). Daisy leads her life through parties and the superficial relationships she has. With no true connection to the things she encounters, no remorse is felt when the things she handles break. When Gataby gets murdered in place of Daisy, instead of feeling grief for her once beloved Gatsby, she “had gone away early that afternoon, and taken baggage with [her](100). She distances herself from the reality of the situation, not caring for anyone but her own desires. She retreats back into her carelessness where she can continue to fuel her own desires instead of breaking free from her artificial