The Great Gatsby, a self-made man
In 1926 the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was first published and is often described as a great love story. But I will focus on the time period this story takes place and try to set it in context with the culture of the 1920s during which Fitzgerald himself was a leading figure and helped give the name to an age, the Jazz Age. I will also use the idea of the self-made man as a basis for discussion in this paper, arguing how this idea can be seen in The Great Gatsby by taking a closer look to the symbolism and characterization in the novel.The names attributed to this period such as The Roaring Twenties or the The Jazz Age reflect the changes in American life after World War I with economic growth resulting from mass production and mass consumption. The introduction of the phonograph and motion picture gave rise to a new popular culture. In the new consumer culture of leisure and entertainment young Americans pursued their personal freedom and happiness which reflected a change in moral conduct. Gatsby's big parties evokes this aspect of the American society in the 1920s, where fun- loving wild, superfluous people, consume food, music and liquor in their pursuit for happ
Gatsby wants Daisy to leave Tom without thinking of the her and Tom's child. Not least due to the development of the assembly-line production techniques that made cars cheap enough for the common American. He is determined to fix everything so her feelings for him will be the way it was before. The old values and belief in the church is gone so who is left to do the judgment ? The old billboard over Wilson's garage with the eyes of T. She tries to enter by having an affair with Tom as a ticket to a better life. » (The Great Gatsby, p 171-172)Gatsby's goal of getting Daisy back is what finally costs him his life. The corruption of values and the decline of spiritual life affects not only the society but one of the corner-stones of America, The American Dream. At Gatsby's parties, we meet a lot of people drinking too much and getting drunk which is kind of interesting, since at the same time there was a legal ban called Prohibition on the manufacture and sale of alcohol. It was full of money- that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals' song it. The eyes are looking down at all the imorality going on at the garage: Myrtle's death and Daisy driving away from her responsibility, andTom's shameless affair. From a very early age, when his name was still James Gatz, he believed that perseverance, hope and the ethic of hard work would result in success against all odds. Tom and Daisy live on the East Egg with only other rich people who have been brought up with money and are far more refined and well bred than Nick and Gatsby who are on the West which is for people who haven't any real standing even if they have money. When Daisy delivered her daughter she said «_that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool». It eluded us then, but that's no matter- tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms out further. Money is clearly one of the central proponent of dream's destruction.
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