Effects Of Romanticism In The Great Gatsby

In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald the 1920s are displayed as a time alcohol, parties, and glamour. The Volstead Act banned the commercial distribution of alcohol making it more appealing than ever before. The ban led to the development of speakeasies, illegal nightclubs where people would gather to drink, dance, and have the time of their lives. The 20s were also a decade of economic prosperity. People bought everything they could afford and even more was bought on credit with little regard for possible future consequences. Women wore short dresses, cut their hair, and dressed much more revealingly than the Gibson Girls of the past decade dressed in floor length dresses and high collars. It was the age of movie stars and radio. Also,

This directly relates to the carefree lifestyle and romanticism of the people of the 1920s which will eventually lead to the Great Depression.

The author also takes many universal literary ideas and alters them to demonstrate that just as the reader doesn’t expect certain twists in the plot of the novel, the people of the time did not expect the 1920s to experience such a terrible change in fortune. Fitzgerald switches around

This is similar to how under the surface, the 1920s was not what it appeared to be. Daisy Buchanan, for example, is rich and beautiful. People see her as just a pretty face and believe that she can’t think for herself. In reality, this is just a front she puts up in order to protect herself from being emotionally damaged by Tom’s affair. George Wilson appears to be lifeless and a pushover, but once Myrtle dies he goes out and murders Gatsby. The best example of this, though, is Jay Gatsby. He is nothing like the audience anticipates him to be. From the moment the reader picks up the book, Gatsby is known as the Great Gatsby and people expect him to be incredible. The first few chapters include rumors that Gatsby murdered someone, is related to the Kaiser, and is a German spy. The perception of Gatsby is that of The Wizard Oz, there is greatness in his mystery. Due to this mystery, rumors spread and build him up to be an incredible and brilliant man. It is brought to light that Gatsby isn’t as great as the title says. He is self-conscious, careless, unhappy, and alone. The moments when he is at his worst are before he dies and is waiting for a phone call from Daisy. The author describes that “...Gatsby himself didn’t believe it would come, and perhaps he no longer cared. If that was true he must have felt that he had