The period between the First World War and the Second World War brought dramatic change to the values, lifestyles, norms and culture of the American way of life. It also brought a new kind of literary philosophy known as Modernism. Modernism was a movement which portrayed the world of men as a harsh and hostile environment in which life had lost its meaning and the American dream had disappeared completely from reach because of the corrupt world. Many of these modernist revealed their discontent with this new way of life with books and paintings that uncovered the ugliness of the society they lived in. One of the most famous books was the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald which follows a young American man named Nick Caraway in his experience at Long Island and New York during the roaring twenties. The author explores many modernist themes including decadence, resistance to change, social upheaval and excess. Through the chosen quote, Fitzgerald reveals the lousy and careless lifestyles that the wealthy had during the Modern period in order to criticize the morally corrupt and untraditional life’s that many were living because their existence was losing its meaning.
Nick began to read the book after he got drunk for the second time. Nick’s drinking history shows just how traditional and pure like he is during the beginning of the story. However, once he is poisoned or infected by the new way of life he changes. He is no longer a calm and smart young man but a wild and careless one. His drunken period shows just how easy it was to corrupt someone into acting like the rest of society. He later reveals that he had read a “chapter of Simon called Peter” which he was confused on whether it was “terrible stuff or the whiskey distorte...
... middle of paper ...
...money. Her only reason for living seems to be money which shows how her life is really meaningless and the traditional values are no longer meaningful to her also. This of course is all because of the monetary value that society has put on everything during her time even women themselves.
The Modernism Period was a period full of reckless and shellfish behavior. Modernist writers like Fitzgerald knew how terrible the people were acting during the period and how away they have gone from tradition values. People like Daisy were only living for monetary gain and had a meaningless life with no real love. There were also people like Nick who were pure and still followed traditional values but were later corrupted by society’s way of life. At the end it was the Modernist who shed light to this kind of living so people would understand how dumb and lousy they were living.
The Roaring Twenties was a time of excitement for the American people, with cities bustling with activity and a large community that appreciated Jazz, thus creating the title the “Jazz Age.” The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald takes place in this magnificent age characterized by Jazz and the popular new dance, the “Charleston.” Through the midst of all this new activity, we follow a character named Jay Gatsby through the eyes of the narrator, Nick Carraway. Fitzgerald’s themes of friendship and The American Dream is seen in The Great Gatsby through Nick and Jay’s companionship and Gatsby’s growth from being a simple farm boy to becoming a wealthy man.
The 1920s era is known for different names such as the Roaring Twenties, the Jazz Age, the Age of Intolerance, and the Age of Wonderful Nonsense. Moreover, the era claimed the beginning of Modernism in America, which led authors to stray away from traditional writing styles. A commonality seen in Modernists’ works is the desire for characters to fit into societies that they believe to be more substantial or well off than their own. In the novels The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Passing by Nella Larsen, the characters Jay Gatsby and Clare Kendry use social environments and interactions with others in attempt to reject their pasts and gain acceptance. Jay Gatsby longs to forget his past and focus on the present and future in hopes
Certain authors, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, wanted to reflect the horrors that the world had experienced not a decade ago. In 1914, one of the most destructive and pointless wars in history plagued the world: World War I. This war destroyed a whole generation of young men, something one would refer to as the “Lost Generation”. Modernism was a time that allowed the barbarity of the war to simmer down and eventually, disappear altogether. One such author that thrived in this period was F. Scott Fitzgerald, a young poet and author who considered himself the best of his time. One could say that this self-absorption was what fueled his drive to be the most famous modernist the world had seen. As The New Yorker staff writer Susan Orlean mentions in her literary summary of Fitzgerald’s works, “I didn’t know till fifteen that there was anyone in the world except me, and it cost me plenty” (Orlean xi). One of the key factors that influenced and shaped Fitzgerald’s writing was World War I, with one of his most famous novels, This Side Of Paradise, being published directly after the war in 1920. Yet his most famous writing was the book, The Great Gatsby, a novel about striving to achieve the American dream, except finding out when succeeding that this dream was not a desire at all. Fitzgerald himself lived a life full of partying and traveling the world. According to the Norton Anthology of American Literature, “In the 1920’s and 1930’s F. Scott Fitzgerald was equally equally famous as a writer and as a celebrity author whose lifestyle seemed to symbolize the two decades; in the 1920’s he stood for all-night partying, drinking, and the pursuit of pleasure while in the 1930’s he stood for the gloomy aftermath of excess” (Baym 2124). A fur...
...im to critique American society in the 1920s, and Zelda specifically was the inspiration for the character of Daisy Buchanan. The parallel can be drawn between the two women when examining their similarly wealthy upbringings and their selfish personalities. It is often said that the key to good writing is to ‘write what you know’, and in this case, Fitzgerald did just that- this novel is basically a thinly veiled autobiography. His unpleasant life experiences led him to be very critical of the wealthy, and it was ultimately his own wife that inspired this criticism. However, the importance of this great novel is not that its author drew on life experience to craft his critique. While that is interesting, what really matters is that it continues to be taught, because Fitzgerald’s message that society is corrupted is certainly one that still applies today.
By the end of World War I, many America authors were ready to change their ways and views on writing. Authors were tired of tradition and limitations. One of these writers was F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was a participant in the wild parties with bootleg liquor, but he was also a critic of this time. His book, The Great Gatsby is an excellent example of modernist literature, through its use of implied themes and fragmented storyline.
The message of numerous literature novels are connected to the context of the time and can enlighten readers to understand the meaning. This is true of the novel, The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and first published in 1926. It highlights a materialistic and consumerist society where social and moral values were slowly decaying. Portrayed through the eyes of the narrator, Nick Carraway, itillustrated the world , the people surrounding him and their values; starting with Daisy and Tom Buchanan and the infamous Jay Gatsby, a man chasing after his first love.
The 1920’s was a time of great change to both the country lived in as well as the goals and ambitions that were sought after by the average person. During this time, priorities shifted from family and religion to success and spontaneous living. The American dream, itself, changed into a self centered and ongoing personal goal that was the leading priority in most people’s lives. This new age of carelessness and naivety encompasses much of what this earlier period is remembered for. In addition, this revolution transformed many of the great writers and authors of the time as well as their various works. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, perfectly symbolizes many emergent trends of the 1920’s. More importantly the character of Jay Gatsby is depicted as a man amongst his American dream and the trials he faces in the pursuit of its complete achievement. His drive for acquiring the girl of his dreams, Daisy Buchanan, through gaining status and wealth shows many aspects of the authors view on the American dream. Through this, one can hope to disassemble the complex picture that is Fitzgerald’s view of this through the novel. Fitzgerald believes, through his experiences during the 1920’s, that only fractions of the American Dream are attainable, and he demonstrates this through three distinct images in The Great Gastby.
The 1920's, sometimes referred to as the "Jazz Age" or the "Roaring Twenties," was known as a time of social change in rural America. In many aspects of life, women and men were changing their past accepted lifestyles and quickly adopting lavish lifestyles. Emerged during the twentieth century, one of the most notable writers of his time, F. Scott Fitzgerald, developed one of the greatest novels written, The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald used his novels to reveal his feelings and opinions on times in the US. He was known as a writer from the "Lost Generation" because his negative beliefs were known to be different from the rest of Americans beliefs. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald offers a critical idolization of wealthy Americans but shows the portrayal of these Americans unrestrained materialism and lack of morality.
“We are becoming like cats, slyly parasitic, enjoying an indifferent domesticity. Nice and snug in the social, our historic passions have withdrawn into the glow of an artificial coziness, and our half-closed eyes now seek little other than the peaceful parade of television pictures.” (Baudrillard) In this quote by Jean Baudrillard, she reflects on the emergence of the new upcoming modernist era. In the 1920s, the development of industrialization and the terrors left behind from World War Ⅰ led to a new set of norms and way of living. In addition, this new realistic view of the world changed various forms of literature. While some scholars say The Great Gatsby does not represents a Modernist novel, there is an abundance of evidence depicting
Considered as the defining work of the 1920s, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was published in 1925, when America was just coming out of one of the most violent wars in the nation’s history. World War 1 had taken the lives of many young people who fought and sacrificed for our country on another continent. The war left many families without fathers, sons, and husbands. The 1920s is an era filled with rich and dazzling history, where Americans experienced changes in lifestyle from music to rebellion against the United States government. Those that are born into that era grew up in a more carefree, extravagant environment that would affect their interactions with others as well as their attitudes about themselves and societal expectations. In this novel, symbols are used to represent the changing times and create a picture of this era for generations to come. The history, settings, characters, and symbols embedded in The Great Gatsby exemplify life in America during the 1920s.
The Modernist movement took place in a time of happiness, a time of sadness, a time of objects, a time of saving, a time of prosperity, a time of poverty and in a time of greed. Two novels, written by Steinbeck and Fitzgerald, portray this underlying greed and envy better than most novels of that period. These novels, The Great Gatsby and The Grapes of Wrath, show that despite the difference between the 1920s and the 1930s, greed remained a part of human life, whether superficially or necessarily, and that many people used their greed to damage themselves and others.
The 1920’s were a time of social and technological change. After World War II, the Victorian values were disregarded, there was an increase in alcohol consumption, and the Modernist Era was brought about. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a perfect presentation of the decaying morals of the Roaring Twenties. Fitzgerald uses the characters in the novel--specifically the Buchanans, Jordan Baker, and Gatsby’s partygoers--to represent the theme of the moral decay of society.
The American Dream and the decay of American values has been one of the most popular topics in American fiction in the 20th century. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises create a full picture of American failure and pursue its ideals after the end of World War I by portraying the main characters as outsiders and describing the transportation in a symbolic way. Putting the aimless journeys for material life foreground, Fitzgerald and Hemingway skillfully link West and men and associate East to not only money but women. As American modernists, Hemingway utilizes his simple and dialog-oriented writing to appeal to readers and Fitzgerald ambiguously portrays Gatsby through a narrator, Nick, to cynically describe American virtue and corruption, which substantially contribute to modernism in literature.
One example of a modernism technique that Fitzgerald uses is loss of control. The characters often lose control and make bad decisions that have horrible effects. For example Tom Buchanan to whom is married to Daisy Buchanan who is the second cousin to nick the main character and narrator of the story, is having an affair with a Mrs. Myrtle Wilson and because she is saying Daisy’s name hits her. “Making a short deft movement Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand,”(page 41). This shows his loss of control over his emotions. He was showing anger toward his mistress and because she was not obeying his demand of not mentioning Daisy’s name. In another instance in The Great Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan ran myrtle Wilson-her husband’s mistress-which killed her instantly. She was hysterical when she discovered Gatsby‘s true source of his money and she could not be linked with someone of “Dirty Money,“(page153). George Wilson, who is Myrtle Wilson’s Husband, is so upset over myrtle’s death that he, after being misinformed, shoots and kills Gatsby to whom he believes is responsible for his wife’s death and then takes his own life. “…the gardener saw Wilson’s body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete,”(page170).
Both Hemingway and Fitzgerald capture the essence of the modernist period, and both approach different aspects of the same genre. The goal of the modernist writer was to create an enjoyable piece of literature, while confronting issues that had never before been raised in the literary world to date. The Modernist hoped to wipe away the images of perfection in the imaginary realties of the literary past and create a clean slate filled with the reality of the modernist period. The Modernist authors will always be remembered for their exploration of language and form, and for their dedication to keeping us in a well lit place, in an otherwise deceiving reality.