Why Is The Past Important In The Great Gatsby

Isaac Leman

Mrs. Wertz

English III - 1st hour

10 May 2023

The 1920s were seen as the golden era, the flapper era, the mad era, and the jazz era. This time period shaped the way we live today. It was the first time cars were mass-produced, and women wore more provocative clothing. F. Scott Fitzgerald was best known for his book The Great Gatsby. He expressed feelings from the Roaring 20s like no other author had done before. Fitzgerald showed the world what modern literature was preparing to be. Fitzgerald's exotic writing unveils many themes to us. Fitzgerald uses the past to determine what the future holds, uses their social and economic status to put them on a hierarchy of household names, and uses his writing style to enhance the idea of

The past gives us information about how a person lived, and what decisions they had to make that could possibly have a shocking outcome. “By the next year, I had a few beaux myself, and I began to play in tournaments, so I didn’t see Daisy very often. She went with a slightly older crowd — when she went with anyone at all. Wild rumors were circulating about her — how her mother had found her packing her bag one winter night to go to New York and say good-by to a soldier who was going overseas,” (Fitzgerald 75). Jordan and Daisy had a strong a prosperous friendship before Gatsby came into the picture. Because of the time period, Daisy was one to live in the moment. Whether that was going to clubs and partying, or staying at home and being indecisive about how her life will plan out. While Jordan noticed that there was interest between her and Gatsby, she never thought it was going to proceed the way that it did. “We gave her spirits of ammonia and put ice on her forehead and hooked her back into her dress, and half an hour later, when we walked out of the room, the pearls were around her neck and the incident was over. Next day at five o’clock she married Tom Buchanan without so much as a shiver and started off on a three months trip to the South Seas,” (Fitzgerald 76 ). Daisy expresses herself in very dramatic ways. Not only does she break down, but she collects herself in a small amount of time to

Whether that be parties and dancing, or going out on the streets for a nice evening stroll. Fitzgerald uses the knowledge and experience of his characters to show us what the aspirations were to achieve the American Dream. “I forget that, as my father snobbishly suggested, and I snobbishly repeat, a sense of the fundamental decencies is parcelled out unequally at birth,” (Fitzgerald 2). Nick’s father was a very wise person. He gave many things to Nick, but whether Nick kept them or not was the question. He held on to a few of his sayings which lead him to be the person he is today. When Nick was first introduced to the Buchanan, he was puzzled and confused at the way they lived. They seemed happy, but there was always one thing that made the air tense, like smoke in a small room. “‘I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool — that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool,” (Fitzgerald 17). The 1920s was a place to live in the moment. It was also a period where people didn’t care about how dumb they made themselves look, just as long as they had fun. Daisy was a believer that the world couldn't get better from here and that it is at rock bottom. So why should her daughter try to change that? Her values for her family were not the best, but they thought they could get away with it because they are rich. “GENERAL RESOLVES No wasting time at