The Disillusionment of the 1920’s as Revealed in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and The Beautiful and Damned
In the aftermath of The Great War, later known as World War I, the people of the United States experienced a great rush of prosperity and optimism (Moss & Wilson 1). Over 17 million people were killed during World War I, yet when the War was said and done The United States was able to benefit from it. During this time period the stock market was up, oil was prosperous, big cities were booming, and Americans were living life to the fullest through lavish parties (Moss & Wilson). However, many Americans, such as the writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, did not feel the burst of life that everyone else did after the War. Fitzgerald makes his feelings known in his two literary works The Great Gatsby and The Beautiful and Damned, where he uses
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imagery, characterization, and tone to explain the disillusionment of the 1920’s. First, Fitzgerald used realistic imagery to show how life went on after the War. In The Great Gatsby he captures the reader’s attention by describing the lively cocktail parties Gatsby hosted and by painting pictures of the lovely gowns the girls would carelessly wear. One of these parties can be described as follows: There was music from my neighbor’s house through the summer nights. In his blue Gardens me and girls came and went like moths among whisperings and the champagne and the stars. At, high tide in the afternoon I watched his guests diving from the tower of his raft, or taking the sun on the hot sand of his beach while his two motor-boats slit the waters of the Sound, drawing aquaplanes over cataracts of foam. On weekends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains. (Gatsby 39) This type of living is also portrayed in Fitzgerald’s The Beautiful and Damned in that the main character Patch is lazy due to his wealth. As he waits for the $30 million he is to inherit when his grandfather dies, he passes the time by drinking and socializing with his wealthy aristocrat friends that graduated from the same Ivy League school as him. Geraldine first starts to realize Patch has a drinking problem followed with no drive in life during a conversation at a luncheon that goes: “You drink all the time, don’t you?” she said suddenly “Why, I suppose so,” replied Anthony in some surprise. “Don’t you?” “Nope. I go on parties sometimes ---- you know, about once a week, but I only take two or three drinks. You and your friends keep on drinking all the time. I should think you’d ruin your health.” (Beautiful 76) Second, Fitzgerald’s use of characterization allows us to compare Daisy and Gloria from both stories.
In The Great Gatsby, Daisy is married yet is in love with Gatsby. She is portrayed as the town beauty and socialite who never had to ask for a date (Moss & Wilson 24). Because Gatsby is so in love with Daisy he would literally do anything for her as described on page 83, “He hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes.” (Gatsby 83) In this same way, Patch loved Gloria in The Beautiful and Damned. Like Daisy, Gloria is described as your typical upper class women of the 1920’s (Constantakis 30). In the same twisted way that Gatsby loves Daisy, Patch loves Gloria. Though towards the end of the book he does not show it often, his love is described by Fitzgerald on page 92, “He sprang excitedly to his feet. How inappropriate that she should be out! He had realized at last what he wanted---to kiss her again, to find rest in her great immobility. She was the end of all restlessness, all malcontent.” (Beautiful
92). Lastly, Fitzgerald ties all his thoughts together for both books through the tones of the books and their similar endings. The end of The Great Gatsby is very morbid and unlively compared to the rest of the book. The main narrator finds both Gatsby and the husband dead causing a very depressing ending. Also, although Gatsby threw the biggest socialite parties around, he only had one friend attend his funeral. Fitzgerald uses these words to describe the scene of the funeral as it is raining “Blessed are the dead that the rain falls on” (Gatsby 154). This quote gives a sense of finality to Gatsby’s death. In The Beautiful and Damned Patch had nothing left to live for when he inherits his 30 million. He has nothing left to look forward too. He has lost the affection of his wife through his action and because he achieves satisfaction through wanting and not having, in the end he is the one left damned. At the very end of the book Patch’s final thoughts give insight to how miserable he becames. It goes “He had been exposed to ruthless misery, his very craving for romance had been punished, his friends had deserted him---even Gloria had turned against him. He had been alone, alone---facing it all.” (Beautiful 358) In conclusion, Fitzgerald did a phenomenal job using imagery, characterization, and tone to convey the disillusionment of the 1920’s. His two works The Great Gatsby and The Beautiful and Damned show not just the finer side of the 1920’s, but the actual dark truth and that was that even though the upper-class looked like they were enjoying life, they were actually miserable, unhappy, and depressed because they were focused on the wrong thing. Though much of the upper-class enjoyed the 1920’s, the everyday American was left scarred from the war. Fitzgerald understood this better than anyone.
Looking at the way Gatsby talks about Daisy makes us question which Daisy Gatsby is really in love with. Throughout the book, Gatsby is constantly reminiscing on the past, and others begin to take note, specifically Nick. “He talked a lot about the past, and I gathered that he wanted to recover something some idea of himself, perhaps that had gone into loving Daisy” (111). The references that Gatsby constantly makes to taking back the past makes us think about the obsession he has with the idea of previous times. If Gatsby is so caught up with his life before and everything and everyone in it, how could he possibly loving ...
The Great Gatsby displays how the time of the 1920s brought people to believe that wealth and material goods were the most important things in life, and that separation of the social classes was a necessary need. Fitzgerald’s choice to expose the 1920s for the corrupt time that it really was is what makes him one of the greatest authors of his time, and has people still reading one of his greatest novels, The Great Gatsby, decades
The 1920’s was a time of prosperity, woman’s rights, and bootleggers. F. Scott Fitzgerald truly depicts the reality of this era with The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby, an enormously wealthy man, is famous for his extravagant parties and striking residence. However, this is all that is known about Gatsby. Even his closest friends continue to wonder what kind of man Gatsby actually is. The mysteriousness of Gatsby is demonstrated by conceivable gossip, his random departures, and the missing parts of his past.
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 Great Gatsby is one of the most known novel and movie in the United States. Fitzgerald is the creator of the novel The Great Gatsby; many want to recreate his vision in their own works. Being in a rewrite of the novel or transforming literature in cinema. Luhrmann is the most current director that tried to transform this novel into cinema. However, this is something many directors have tried to do but have not succeeded. Luhrmann has made a good triumph creating this movie. Both Fitzgerald’s and Luhrmann’s approach to The Great Gatsby either by using diction, symbolism, transitions from one scene to another, and color symbolism usage in both the text and the movies; illustrate how Daisy and Gatsby still have an attraction for one another, and how they might want to rekindle their 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.
Bewley, Marius. "Scott Fitzgerald's Criticism of America." Twentieth Century Interpretations of The Great Gatsby. Ed. Ernest Lockridge. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. 37-53.
The Roaring Twenties is considered a time of mass corruption and excessive absurdity. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses his novel, The Great Gatsby, to criticize the American society and its values in this era. This criticism is best shown in the behaviour of the people who go to Gatsby's parties; they are careless, rude and only looking out for themselves. It is also shown in the corruption of the police, who are easily paid to look the other way. It is finally apparent in the corruption of friendship and love, the truth being that there is none. This society and its values are self-centered and materialistic, caring very little for consequences and others. Fitzgerald's message is delivered magnificently and causes one to be appalled by the behaviour of the people during this time in history.
In the past century in America, one of the decades that has stood out most as a time of change is the 1920s. In a post-war economic boom, the decade was a time of cultural and societal change. Among the parties and the more relaxed way of life, Americans experienced new wealth and luxury. Capturing the essence of the Roaring Twenties is a daunting task, especially because of the many different factors contributing to the decade’s fame. However, F. Scott Fitzgerald managed to capture and define the spirit of the 1920s through his novel. In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the characters and events of the novel manifest the trademark qualities of America in the 1920s.
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.
Between the book and the movie there were a variety of similarities as well as a margin of differences. A few of the main differences was the point of view, the emotions felt from the story, and how the characters are portrayed and/ or interpreted. The book itself has several conspiracies, such as whether or not the death of Myrtle was truly an accident. The movie however, has several interpretations of these conspiracies due to the several versions of the movie and there being only one book. Some of the points and topics that are viewed in the book line up [although] in a different order.
Book vs. Movie: The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a classic story. The story is told by a man with the name of Nick Carraway, who is the neighbor to a man of the name of, Jay Gatsby. Mr. Gatsby is a rather wealthy man; He wears nice, polished suits, and hosts many lively parties in his mansion.
As an American citizen we seem to make presumption that all cultures are different from ours, and some might even call those cultures weird. Americans fail to realize just how similar we are to these “weird” cultures. By reading Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe and The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald , it makes the reader realize how similar the African culture is from the American culture. There 's those obvious differences we already knew about with the two cultures, but readers can learn that not just American culture value men and give them advantages, but many cultures including 1900 's African culture. In both books we come across two main characters that is portrayed as being more superior compared to others. Okonkwo, main
Stuck in the Past The Great Gatsby is Frances Scott Fitzgerald’s most famous novel . It is a mirror of the jazz era. The author, with great precision, conveys the spirit of the roaring twenties. However, Fitzgerald does not idealize the attributes of those times.
F. Scott Fitzgerald was one of the most compelling twentieth century writers, (Curnutt, 2004). The year 1925 marks the year of the publication of Fitzgerald’s most credited novel, The Great Gatsby (Bruccoli, 1985). With its critiques of materialism, love and the American Dream (Berman, 1996), this dramatic idyllic novel, (Harvey, 1957), although poorly received at first, is now highly regarded as Fitzgerald’s finest work (Rohrkemper, 1985) and is his publisher, Scribner 's most popular title, (Donahue, 2013). The novel achieved it’s status as one of the most influential novels in American history around the nineteen fifties and sixties, over ten years after Fitzgerald 's passing, (Ibid, 1985)