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Pros And Cons Of The 1920's Deterioration

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The 1920’s: America’s Deterioration Although the 1920’s brought an economic boom and a monumental achievement in women’s rights, the 20’s were not beneficial to the United States of America. There is a widespread misconception that the 1920’s were an American golden age due to the economic success and progress in gender equality; however, America in the 20’s exemplifies the dangers of national complacency after major success. The 1920’s were harmful to America as a country because of the conflict over modernity, or old versus new, the rise of an exploitative consumer culture, the prevalence and promotion of racism, and the lack of respect and equality for women, even after their successful suffrage movement. Despite the increasing benefits …show more content…

The exploitative nature of consumer culture in the 1920’s is exemplified by the “millions” of American families who were overextended in their spending due to numerous luxuries and the effectiveness of American advertising. A considerable amount of Americans were at the mercy of the consumer economy, regretting their earlier purchases of radios and cars when money was too scarce to pay for basic necessities (Henretta 680). Roland Marchand also suggest the negative effects of consumerism by describing the parable of the “Democracy of Goods” in which Americans were invited to measure their democracy in terms of the consumer products that they are able to obtain, with the idea in mind that “every home can afford” the luxuries of a “king” (Marchand 134). F. Scott Fitzgerald also alludes to the abusiveness of consumerism in The Great Gatsby when he uses an advertising billboard for optometrist Dr. T.J. Eckleburg as symbol for oppression in the valley of Ashes, a district populated by the working class. The seeing eyes of Dr. Eckleburg watch over the working class people in the Valley of Ashes and create the illusion that they have zero control in the economy. The people in the Valley of Ashes literally and figuratively have the consumer economy looming over their heads (Fitzgerald

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The most crucial change that occurred in the 1920s was the passing of the 19th Amendment. The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. Continuing the chain reaction, women found more opportunities for employment. For example, advertisers exploited sexual allure to sell everything, which many “old-timers” regarded as a veritable errotic eruption. Although a women’s lifestyle took a giant leap forward, African Americans were still in the same spot.

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To further explain, Fitzgerald captures materialism-induced corruption with

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This quote also shows that the Valley of Ashes is a dumping ground, filled with poor and dispossessed people, such as the Wilsons. Fitzgerald depicts “The Valley of Ashes” as a place that is plagued with destitution and dilapidation showing the need for business regulation. The use of geography is significant, since it proves a big portion delivering Fitzgerald main

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The 1920s carried much change in society. Some of these changes were more rights for women, jazz music, and prohibition. The people of the 1920s were disillusioned by society lacking in idealism and vision, sense of personal alienation, and Americans were obsessed with materialism and outmoded moral values (The Roaring Twenties).Cultural changes were strongly influenced by the destruction of World War I ending 1918. America needed to recover and with it youth rebelled against the norms of the older generations.

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America experienced a sudden disregard of Victorian values following World War I, causing the generation of the 1920s to dramatically contrast the previous. This severe degree of change produced three major manifestations of the contradictions in the twenties. There were massive conflicts to the Jazz Age, technological advancements, and Black Migration. The contradictions of the 1920s reflect America’s conflicted state between advancement and convention, as the cultural and technological developments of the era coincide with the inability of individuals to stray from traditional norms and racist attitudes.

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It shows the working class of people and how they are living the life by the dollar they make a day. Surrounding the valley of ashes is the wealthy people. For example on one side of the valley is gatsby and his mansion of waste. On the other side is Tom with his big mansion and all his horses. Just the setting show how much of a waste gatsby made his life.

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Fitzgerald’s ironic use of the natural imagery of the farm and garden establish this setting as a dead, depressing place. For example, he describes it as a “fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens”(27). Such description serves to juxtapose the common perception of the “Roaring 20’s” with a dreary dismal landscape, in stark opposition to the exciting, grandiose

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The 1920’s was an interesting time in American history. This era was also known as the roaring twenties. Although it is remembered as a fond time before the Great Depression there was also a lot of conflicts arising, Cultural conflicts in particular were at the center. Prohibition and Immigration were two of the main cultural conflicts during this time period.

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An era of decayed social and moral values imbued in reckless extravagance, Fitzgerald hence conveys the ultimate corruption of the

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As Tom wants to introduce Nick to his new lover, they pass by a low class area, where “This is a valley of ashes - a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat to ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the form of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air”(Fitzgerald 23). The description of the commoners is very negative, such as the color of the smoke is dark, and the adjectives - dimly and crumbling, are very insulting expressions to the working class. The description of “Valley of ashes” demonstrates the living environment and lifestyle are so poor for the lower compared to those for the higher class, and the dirty state does not not only describe the appearance but also the personality of the lower class. Likewise the struggling lower class demonstrated the difficulty to compete with the higher class, as seen in 1929, when Robert S. Lynd and Helen Merrell Lynd wrote Middletown: A Study in American Culture demonstrating “The first duty of a citizen is to produce”; and later, “The American citizen’s first importance to his country is no longer that of citizen but that of consumer.

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By the end of the First World War, the American novel had reached a new expressive self-sufficiency, eager and ready to absorb and project the complexity of American life. Scott Fitzgerald started writing when the young generation had just returned from the First World War. Distrustful of the past and disillusioned with culture and conventions, the young people had nothing to fall back upon except their own experience. Fitzgerald fixates on the relationship between individual and society as a tussle between the irreconcilable. Fitzgerald too agrees the same: "I am interested in the individual only in his relation to society” (Callahan 5).

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The novel shows us a peek into the American life in the 1920s. Fitzgerald creates distinct groups but in the end, all the groups have its own issues to deal with. That paints a clear picture as a reminder of what a precarious place the world really is. These are social classes created by the distinct groups — old money, new money, and no money — Throughout the novel, we see strong messages linked to the elitism in every strata of society.

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Women have always played a critical role in the history of many great countries such as America. However, their role has always been overshadowed by male chauvinism and this has blinded the society making it fail to see the achievements and contributions of women to the society and to the nation. The essay below focuses on how women have been able to influence the American history positively by changing how things are done and changing the perception of the community on what women can achieve. The essay below has also focused on specific areas in which women have excelled in and how they have changed the history of America. Women such as Eleanor Roosevelt and Michelle Obama fully redefined the role of a first lady in America.

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An individual’s appreciation of spirituality is dependant on the era in which they live, where TGG and SFTP give insight to the divergent morals as a product of religion, or lack of. The lost generation of New York City in the 1920 's highlights those individuals who lost direction and purpose in life due to the values present in the secular society. Comparatively, the Victorian era was a society structured around religion that shaped the morals and beliefs of the time. The 1920 's produced existentialists who worshipped material possessions and 'lived in the moment; ' the past and future merely illusions due to the secular society and the horrors of WW1. Fitzgerald, through the symbolism and connotations of travelling, explains that the Buchanan 's "drifted here and there unrest… wherever people… were rich together," emphasising how their materialistic nature lead to a lack of purpose and little spirituality.

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“No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members of the upper class are poor and miserable”(Adam Smith). In “The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald portrayed relentless themes that contributed a strong connection to the roaring twenties. One of which is the stratification of social classes that he purposely distinct to convey a strong message, that in the end each class faces their own obstacle. The author relates this theme through vivid visuals among the characteristics traits of the roaring twenties age, and how the social classes were evolved around arrogance, hate, love and selfishness. In the novel, Fitzgerald illustrated the separation of social classes among three ideologies that were known as; no money, new money, and old money.

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