At the same time, their prominence gave rise to an anti-Semitic backlash, and the revival of the KKK began with the lynching of a Jewish man in 1915. Money (or the lack of it!) Jordan Baker is the best example of this kind of woman. First of all, he makes it clear that he has "an unaffected scorn" for the ultra-rich, and eyes both new money and old money critically. "Her voice is full of money," he said suddenly. One woman is not just adequate. But even Gatsby, who makes an incredible amount of money in a short time, is not allowed access into the upper echelon of society, and loses everything in trying to climb that final, precarious rung of the ladder, as represented by Daisy. She thinks that she deserves to be with Tom whose money, influence, and power provide answers to her (Mytle) problems of poverty. Set in Jazz Age New York, the novel tells the tragic story of Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire, and his pursuit of Daisy Buchanan, a wealthy young woman whom he loved in his youth. Nick and Gatsby are continually troubled by timethe past haunts Gatsby and the future weighs down on Nick. Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan! Discount, Discount Code You can thus compare three very different women's experiences to explore how moneyor a lack thereofseems to change the possibilities in a woman's life in early 1920s America. She wasn't able to endure being at a disadvantage, and given this unwillingness I suppose she had begun dealing in subterfuges when she was very young" (3.160). Wondering what the world was like when Jay Gatsby struck it rich in bootlegging? Fitzgerald positions the characters of The Great Gatsby as emblems of these social trends. What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For? Caroline Brown . Vol. (5.117-118). For instance, rumors exist that Gatsby is involved in the importation and ferrying of illegal liquor amid the existing ban. Gatsby admits this fact (Fitzgerald and Bruccoli 127). ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score, How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League, Is the ACT easier than the SAT? This combination of restlessness and resentment puts them on the path to the tragedy at the end of the book. One of the rumors about Gatsby is that he is involved in a bootlegging pipeline of alcohol from Canada - this is a reference to a real-life scandal about one of the places where illegal alcohol was coming from! For example, it's all well and good to assume that Daisy should leave the boorish Tom, but divorce would have been way more complicated for a woman in the 1920s than it is today. One of the major topics explored in The Great Gatsby is the sociology of wealth, specifically, how the newly minted millionaires of the 1920s differ from and relate to the old aristocracy of the countrys richest families. It was full of moneythat was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals' song of it. This situation is well supported by the fact that after the party and with additional of extra workers, Gatsbys gardeners toiled all day with mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammers and garden shears, repairing the ravages of the night before (Fitzgerald and Bruccoli 121). The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points, How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer. on 2-49 accounts, Save 30% The Great Gatsby Novel by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, Passing' by Nella Larsen Literature Analysis, The Story of an Hour' and 'The Storm' - Women in Literature, The Metaphor of the Storm in Kate Chopins Story, "The Man Who Was Almost a Man" a Short Story by Richard Wright, Tracy Kidders Novel Strength in What Remains. In this phrase, Nick talks about Tom and George upon realizing that their wives are cheating on them and that they had a sort of terminal sickness. Myrtle is obsessed with shows of wealth, from her outfits, to insisting on a specific cab, to her apartment's decoration, complete with scenes of Versailles on the overly-large furniture: "The living room was crowded to the doors with a set of tapestried furniture entirely too large for it so that to move about was to stumble continually over scenes of ladies swinging in the gardens of Versailles" (2.51). She even adopts a different persona among her guests: "The intense vitality that had been so remarkable in the garage was converted into impressive hauteur. In contrast, the old aristocracy possesses grace, taste, subtlety, and elegance, epitomized by the Buchanans tasteful home and the flowing white dresses of Daisy and Jordan Baker. Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.PrepScholar.com, allow you to interact with your peers and the PrepScholar staff. You need wealth, the more the better, to win over the object of your desire. Jordan does not understand the concerns of the need to work hard and genuinely. IvyPanda, 12 Aug. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/american-culture-in-the-novel-the-great-gatsby/. Zeitz, Joshua. Print. Zeitz remarks, taking advantage of prosperity that was experienced in a decade, youths threw lucrative parties, got excessively drunk in illegal liquor, and used sexually arousing dancing styles in the vast number of established jazz clubs (23). (See our article on this novel's publication and reception history for more.). In The Great Gatsby, Scott Fitzgerald documents these changes through an in-depth exploration of cultural changes such as the rise in consumerism, materialism, greed for wealth, and the culture of loosening morals in the 1920s American society. Unsuccessful upon publication, the book is now considered a classic of American fiction and has often been . The Great Gatsby is a very accurate portrayal of the cultural and social changes during the 1920's. 1929, the 19th Amendment has been passed, era of the flapper was strong, Jazz was popularized, prohibition started, greed was more apparent, and morals were lost. These gardeners cleaned the leftovers of the products that had been consumed during Gatsbys parties that were dominated by haphazard expenses. In The Great Gatsby, money is central to the idea of the American Dream. Subscribe now. The post-war boom also had a positive effect on minorities in the U.S. One of the effects was thatJewish Americanswere atthe forefront of promoting such issues as workers rights, civil rights, woman's rights, and other progressive causes. New York, NY: Institute of American History, 2005. Imagine spending weeks in this hole in the ground. A Comprehensive Guide. Hence, consumer spending increased tremendously since more people gained access to the well-paying job opportunities. By exploring themes of wealth, class, love and idealism, The Great Gatsbyraises powerful questions about American ideas and society. Mining the text for a character's attitude toward money can be a very helpful way to understand their motivations in the world of 1920s New York. In this context, The Great Gatsby, which is a novel about the 1920s lifestyles, portrays the American culture as one that eroded the traditional morals and social norms such as denouncing the moral responsibility to remain faithful in marriage. must. Literary Themes for Students. Furthermore, the rest of that quote explicitly describes Daisy as "High in a white palace, the King's daughter, the golden girl" (7.106). hbspt.cta.load(360031, '4efd5fbd-40d7-4b12-8674-6c4f312edd05', {}); Have any questions about this article or other topics? 22 Apr. Daisy nearly backed out of her marriage to Tom the day before her wedding, and Tom had an affair within a year of the wedding, but the couple is well-suited because of their shared class and desire for fun and material possessions. Gatsby was Fitzgerald's third novel, and in writing it, he consciously set out to write something more artistic and creative than his previous two books. We touched on this a bit with the quotes, but all of the characters can be analyzed from the point of view of their wealth and/or how materialistic they are. Nick's connection to Daisy in turn makes him attractive to Gatsby. She indeed admires East Eggs people with mega envy together with intense animosity. What the old aristocracy possesses in taste, however, it seems to lack in heart, as the East Eggers prove themselves careless, inconsiderate bullies who are so used to moneys ability to ease their minds that they never worry about hurting others. Her laughter, her gestures, her assertions became more violently affected moment by moment and as she expanded the room grew smaller around her until she seemed to be revolving on a noisy, creaking pivot through the smoky air" (2.56). Check out our guide to Jay Gatsby for the complete story. What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For? In Nicks mind, the ability to create meaningful symbols constitutes a central component of the American dream, as early Americans invested their new nation with their own ideals and values. Developing a richer interpretation of symbols, motifs, and themes. All rights reserved. Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Purchasing (7.103-106). The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, he displays the corrupt moral values of the society and culture, also their assumptions, Jay Gatz is alienated because of his class he is killed as a result of alienation. This analysis can enrich an essay about old money versus new money, the American dream, or even a more straightforward character analysis, or a comparison of two different characters. Gatsby's business partner Meyer Wolfshiem is a gangster who is affiliated with organized crime and is based on the real-life crime boss Arnold Rothstein, who was indeed responsible for fixing the World Series in 1919. Just as Americans have given America meaning through their dreams for their own lives, Gatsby instills Daisy with a kind of idealized perfection that she neither deserves nor possesses. Upon noting the degradation of morality among youths in the 1920s, Samkanashvil claims that the American youths were incredibly concerned with nobility (75). This situation resulted in corruption of the ideal American dream. Print. "American Culture in the Novel "The Great Gatsby"." Similar to Wolfsheims unethical lifestyle, the character of Tom Buchanan also proves to reflect the judgmental attitudes of several biased and racist people in the novels era with his claims that civilization is going to pieces and if we dont look out, the white race will be. This pessimism is also reflected in the fates of Myrtle and George, who are both trying to increase their wealth and status in America, but end up dead by the end of the novel. Gatsbys failure to attain the American Dream suggests the Dream is both an unattainable and unwise goal. "Old money" families have fortunes dating from the 19th century or before, have built up powerful and influential social connections, and tend to hide their wealth and superiority behind a veneer of civility. Daisy's decision illustrates how few choices many women had during that timespecifically, that marrying and having children was seen as the main role any woman, but especially a wealthy woman, should fulfill. His assumption of Gatsby's illegal activities notwithstanding, Nick has the same expectations of integrity from Gatsby and from other men as he does from himself. F. Scott Fitzgerald, though he didn't actually see any fighting during his time in the army, was a member of this generation. It was all very careless and confused. Daisy and Tom have similar traits, which support materialist culture that was prevalent in the 1920s American society as portrayed in The Great Gatsby. As such, the Great Gatsby era is the period in 20th century U.S. history nicknamed both the "Roaring 20s" and the "Jazz Age." The first nickname points to America's post-WWI economic prosperity and the country's greater influence abroad. New York, NY: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2000. So all three women push the boundaries of their expected societal rolesDaisy's affair with Gatsby, Jordan's independent lifestyle, and Myrtle's affair with Tombut ultimately either fall in line (Daisy, Jordan) or are killed for reaching too far (Myrtle). Unlike Jordan, Mytle possesses little material items. If you analyze a character through this theme, make sure to explain: #2: How money/materialism drives their choices in the novel. True to the spirit of the times . Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.PrepScholar.com, allow you to interact with your peers and the PrepScholar staff. Set in the year 1922, the novel occurs during the thriving period of prosperity in America where materialism set the tone of society as reflected by the main characters economic successes. Don't leave your college application to chance. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Myrtle feels trapped in her marriage, which pushes her into her affair with Tom Buchanan, an affair which grants her access to a worldNew York City, wealth, partiesshe might not otherwise have access to. In The Great Gatsby, Scott Fitzgerald documents these changes through an in-depth exploration of cultural changes such as the rise in consumerism, materialism, greed for wealth, and the culture of loosening morals in the 1920s American society.

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