The Great Gatsby as a social critique.

             The Great Gatsby, a novel that illustrates society in the 1920's, should definitely be considered as a social critique. Scott Fitzgerald wrote this novel to demonstrate the social flaws and the social attitudes in the 1920's and 1930's or the Jazz Age, which is a time of prosperity and a booming economy. In this novel, Fitzgerald is criticizing the corruption of the American Dream, the immorality of the 1920's and injustice in society.
             The most criticized issue in this novel, is the one of the corruption of the "American Dream". The American Dream was based on the assumption that anyone, no matter what their social class is, could have prosperity if the have effort and skill. This novel is about what happened to this American Dream and how the pursuit of wealth corrupted it. The characters in this novel are in constant pursuit of money, glamour, success and excitement to feel complete about themselves. For example, Tom and Daisy are very materialistic, they want a big house, expensive items and everything that seems valuable. Scott Fitzgerald wasn't criticizing the American Dream itself, but the death of it. He wanted to show how the immoral people, who haven't put in hard work and cheated, have all the money. For instance, Jay Gatsby got his fortune through his dealings with organized crime, which was a empty form of success. Gatsby needed his enormous mansion, his money and his fame before he could feel confident about winning Daisy back. His transformation from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby shows how people can change themselves according to their ambition for wealth and prosperity, even if it has to do with criminal activities. This showed how the American Dream pushed people who were crazy about money into crime or any immoral behaviors. Jordan is another character in the novel the shows immoral traits, such has cheating during one of her golf tournaments or encouraging Daisy to have an affai
             ...

More Essays:

APA     MLA     Chicago
The Great Gatsby as a social critique.. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 17:43, May 19, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/93243.html