Contradictions in the Great Gatsby

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Recommended: American social classes in the 1920s

Contradictions in the Great Gatsby

They were known as the roaring twenty’s because the economy at the

time was through the roof and people were partying all over the place.

At the time there was a prohibition on the manufacturing and sales of

intoxicating drinks. Since a lot of people did not feel like drinking

gin they made in their bathtubs all the time, there was a huge market

for organized crime. Organized criminals catered to the needs of the

drinking public by illegally supplying them with liquor and made a

fortune doing it. Even with all the crime in the jazz age, it will

still be remembered for its glittering lights and unbridled romance.

This just goes to show that life is filled with contradictions. Even

with all the crime that went on, the twenties was still an era that

was filled with excitement and joyous occasions. There are many

contradictions in The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, on

one hand it’s glamorous, romantic and exciting and on the other hand

it’s crude, corrupt and even disgusting. This double vision applies to

people, places and events.

Fitzgerald creates the roaring twenties by showing the division of

society. The Buchanan’s live on one side, East Egg, and Jay Gatsby

lives on the other side, West Egg. The West Egg is saturated with no

rules or restrictions from past generations. It is a place that is

filled with colorfulness yet everything clashes with each other. It

has a sense of rawness to it and it is very much unstructured. The

West Egg represents the fast moving-chaotic twenties. Gatsby is a part

of West Egg society. West Eggers are the newly rich; the people who

have worked hard and earned their money in a short period of time.

Their wealth is based on...

... middle of paper ...

...in the 1920s, where it has come from and where it is

going. Jay Gatsby personifies the American Dream in modern terms, a

perverse interpretation of what it was at inception. The American

Dream is that anybody can pull themselves up by their bootstraps.

Fitzgerald is saying that this is not necessarily true. He implies

that socio-economical circumstances heavily influence a person’s

ability to achieve the American Dream. America is an illusion, just an

image that is presented. People in and outside America accepts the

American ideals which are presented through the media, especially

through visual mediums such as movies and television. This serves to

create an ideal image of America which people hold falsely. When they

try to achieve the American Dream, which is presented to them

constantly, they realize the brutal reality which hides behind the

illusion.

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