Jordan temporarily flouts expectations by ""[running] around the country," (1.134) playing golf, and not being in a hurry to marrya freedom that she is allowed because of her money, not in spite of it. The journey to reaching a fulfilling life and the American Dream came with struggles, and many people resorted to crime and dishonest behavior as a way to circumvent their actual problems. It was all very careless and confused. The second nickname refers to this period's changing social norms and daring artistic movements. Furthermore, the rest of that quote explicitly describes Daisy as "High in a white palace, the King's daughter, the golden girl" (7.106). Ask questions; get answers. So the American Dream, which in the first half of the book seems attainable based on Gatsby's wealth and success, reveals itself to be a hollow goal. Myrtles affair with Tom is her approach of taking advantage of him to reach an extravagant lifestyle, Daisy allows Gatsby to take the blame for Myrtles death without regret, and Gatsby changes his whole name and way of life in order to feel personally accomplished; all eventually realize that the happiness they expected to receive in the end resulted in misery, especially with the deaths of Myrtle and Gatsby. . 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. Daisy and Tom have similar traits, which support materialist culture that was prevalent in the 1920s American society as portrayed in The Great Gatsby. "Her voice is full of money," he said suddenly. Hence, consumer spending increased tremendously since more people gained access to the well-paying job opportunities. 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. . This marked a shift both in how black culture was understood and appreciated by the rest of the country and in how womens rights were progressing, as well discuss in the next sections. . Upon renouncing his parents, Gatsby is considered a child of a supernatural being (Fitzgerald and Bruccoli 98), with the only thing that he believes in being money. The book will always be considered a great classic in American literature for its exceptional plot and the themes it conveys. Though all of its action takes place over a mere few months during the summer of 1922 and is set in a circumscribed geographical area in the vicinity of Long Island, New York, The Great Gatsby is a highly symbolic meditation on 1920s America as a whole, in particular the disintegration of the American dream in an era of unprecedented prosperity and material excess. Read more about how the American Dream is treated in The Great Gatsby and whether the novel is ultimately optimistic or pessimistic about the dream. The database is updated daily, so anyone can easily find a relevant essay example. Print. (7.106). It was a decade of tremendous wealth in the United States following the deprivations of the First World War. Materialistic nature of the characters in the novel validates this claim. | The Decline of the American Dream in the 1920s. This makes Daisy sound like the princess that the hero gets to marry at the end of a fairy talein other words, she's a high-value prize. Cars also now created a totally new danger, particularly in combination with alcohol consumption. "American Culture in the Novel "The Great Gatsby"." This claim implies that they thought that money could make them more authoritative than other people. This is IvyPanda's free database of academic paper samples. Curious to see how much Daisy and Myrtle's struggle for more echoes the lives of real women? This implied that people had substituted responsibilities that were done by hand such as maintenance with technology such as vacuum cleaners and washing gadgets. Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Myrtle explains that she married George because she thought he was a gentleman, suggesting she hoped hed raise her class status. We get our best look at Myrtle in Chapter 2, when Tom takes Nick to see her in Queens and they end up going to the New York City apartment Tom keeps for Myrtle and hosting a small gathering (after Tom and Myrtle hook up, with Nick in the next room!). The description of Gatsby's parties at the beginning of Chapter 3 is long and incredibly detailed, and thus it highlights the extraordinary extent of Gatsby's wealth and materialism. (2022, August 12). Romer, Christina. As an example, let's look briefly at Myrtle. Fitzgerald wroteThe Great Gatsby while in Paris, surroundedby this group. This period of women's liberation saw young women with short hair and increased freedoms. Myrtleboth working class and a womanis thus trapped between a rock (her gender) and a hard place (her lack of money), and perhaps for this reason receives the cruelest treatment of all. The second nickname refers to this period'schanging social norms and daring artistic movements. Because he creates characters that personify the American Dream, juxtaposes western and eastern American cultures, incorporates examples of law breaking under Prohibition, and depicts the corruption of the wealthy, Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby as a reflection of Americas culture in the early twentieth century by highlighting the cultures successes and failures. Literary Themes for Students: The American Dream. Jordan Baker is the best example of this kind of woman. Although many previous events eventually influenced the 1920s, there are two crucialpieces of background history that you have to know. 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! 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. The rising immorality also explains the cultures of loosening morals in The Great Gatsby. Check out our guide to Jay Gatsby for the complete story. Anyone can read what you share. 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? She was not able to endure being at a disadvantage, and given this unwillingness, supposedly she had begun dealing in subterfuges when she was unusually young in order to keep that fresh insolent smile turned to the world, and yet satisfy the demands of her hard jaunty body (Fitzgerald and Bruccoli 63). Vol. But there are other themes at play here, too. He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing them, one by one before us, shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel which lost their folds as they fell and covered the table in many-colored disarray. To get a really good sense of why characters in the novel do what they do, it's useful to know the specific historical circumstances they are dealing with. Selling alcohol was accomplished in many ways, including throughspeakeasies - basically, underground social clubs. Additionally, the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919, which banned the sale of alcohol, created a thriving underworld designed to satisfy the massive demand for bootleg liquor among rich and poor alike. . To Nick, the way that Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby line up morally correlates with their geographical choice of lifestyle (The Great Gatsby Novels 73); in other words, Nicks unsophistication and simplicity reflect his admiration for the Midwest just as Toms, Daisys and Gatsbys materialistic and immoral behaviors mirror their affinity for the fast-paced life of New York. A mentionable character representing the American Dream was Jordan Baker and her representation of womens independence. In the monied world of The Great Gatsby, class influences all aspects of life, and especially love. "There was music from my neighbor's house through the summer nights. (3.1-3.6). Get the latest articles and test prep tips! It would help your argument to talk about the sudden skyrocketing prevalence of cars on the road in the 1920s, connecting them to increased danger, status symbol consumerism, and modern life. Print. 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. 264-276. At the end, you'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges. The Great Gatsby. . These comments might seem a bit odd, given that Nick admits to coming from money himself: "My family have been prominent, well-to-do people in this middle-western city for three generations" (1.5). As further proof of Nicks morals, he declines Gatsbys reward for reuniting him with Daisy, a risky business deal that would provide Nick with a surplus of money, as he realizes its faults, and he retains his dignity. True to the spirit of the times . Free trial is available to new customers only. Discount, Discount Code The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points, How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer. This speaks to her materialism and how, in her world, a certain amount of wealth is a barrier to entry for a relationship (friendship or more). Here are ways to think about frequently assigned topics on this the theme of money and materialism. Jews also served in the American military during World War I in very high numbers. We will write a custom Term Paper on American Culture in the Novel The Great Gatsby specifically for you for only $11.00 $9.35/page. The idea is straightforward: greater income . F. Scott Fitzgerald, though he didn't actually see any fighting during his time in the army, was a member of this generation. It contains thousands of paper examples on a wide variety of topics, all donated by helpful students. New York, NY: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2000. In spite of this, Gatsby is actually more ignored and used as opposed to honored. Print. Modernism was all about breaking with the past. Despite not being as wealthy as Tom and Daisy, his second cousin, they see him as enough of a peer to invite him to their home in Chapter 1. Gatsby is accurately accused of being a bootlegger by those who attend his parties as he displays no signs of difficulty acquiring liquor and breaking the law (Fitzgerald 17). Our introduction to Tom and Daisy immediately describes them as rich, bored, and privileged. 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). He further states that people who came to the party in Gatsbys house arrived and left in the fashion of months. Daisy herself is explicitly connected with money here, which allows the reader to see Gatsby's desire for her as desire for wealth, money, and status more generally. In fact, Nick says. SparkNotes PLUS Detroit: Gale, 1997. Tom's restlessness is likely one motivator for his affairs, while Daisy is weighed down by the knowledge of those affairs. No one comes due to close personal friendship with Jay. This began during WWI as more women began to work to make up for the men fighting abroad, and as more professions opened up to them in the men's absence. Please wait while we process your payment. When Nick Carraway, narrator of The Great Gatsby, . All rights reserved. It was full of moneythat was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals' song of it. We're sorry, SparkNotes Plus isn't available in your country. Ironically enough, Nick resides in West Egg while Tom and Daisy reside in East Egg, this being analogous to where they find their moral values and happiness. As Fitzgerald saw it (and as Nick explains in Chapter 9), the American dream was originally about discovery, individualism, and the pursuit of happiness. This situation created opportunities to satisfy the undying appetite for consumption, opulence, and immorality. Fitzgerald and Bruccoli reckon, Tom would drift on forever seeking a little wistfully for the dramatic turbulence of some irrecoverable football game (10). Everyone who comes to the parties is attracted by Gatsby's money and wealth, making the culture of money-worship a society-wide trend in the novel, not just something our main characters fall victim to. A prime example of such an immoral character is Meyer Wolfsheim who, as Gatsby nonchalantly stated, fixed the World Series back in 1919 (Fitzgerald 73); the character of Wolfsheim acts as a representation of the man who was actually responsible for the crime, Arnold Rothstein. For some time now I have been thinking about the validity or vulnerability of a certain set of assumptions conventionally accepted among literary historians and critics and circulated as "knowledge." This knowledge holds that traditional, canonical American literature is free of, Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership. A Comprehensive Guide. This provision made them perceive themselves as equal to men. Gatsby admits this fact (Fitzgerald and Bruccoli 127). You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Gatsby, like a peacock showing off its many-colored tail, flaunts his wealth to Daisy by showing off his many-colored shirts. He sarcastically describes the "consoling proximity of millionaires" on West Egg and wryly observes Tom and Daisy's restless entitlement on East Egg. Money (or the lack of it!) Gatsby suffers the most from the promise of social mobility inherent to the American Dream. (2022, August 12). You should know about WWI (and its aftermath) because: The war and its devastating after-effects, particularly in Europe, fed into the creation of a new artistic movement: modernism. Car ownership increased mobility between cities and outer suburban areas, which enabled the wealthy to work in one place but live in another. was a self-made man, Gatsby acquired a vast amount of wealth and fortune with perseverance and a fixed purpose in mind. IvyPanda. The aftermath of this desire was the American dream that entailed the search for riches, equal opportunity, independence, and devotion. Every character in The Great Gatsby draws inspiration from the American Dreams promise of wealth and prosperity. However, jumping up beyond her roots, using Tom's money, is ultimately unsustainableher husband finds out and threatens to move out west, and then of course she is killed by Daisy before they can make that move. to start your free trial of SparkNotes Plus. Print. Women who were never contented with pleasure wore knee-length skirts, overly long draping necklaces, and rolled stockings (Leader 14). The first nickname points toAmerica's post-WWIeconomic prosperity and the country's greater influence abroad. The American Dream refers to a shared set of ideals that guide the spirit of the United States. (In a uniform she had no idea he was poor, especially given his sophisticated manners). When describing Gatsbys parties, Caraways says that there was frequent musical noise emanating for his neighbors house throughout all nights in summer (Zeitz 22). So money here is more than just statusit's a shield against responsibility, which allows Tom and Daisy to behave recklessly while other characters suffer and die in pursuit of their dreams. Daisy and Jordan are both old money socialites, while Myrtle is a working class woman married to a mechanic. for a customized plan. Therefore, it is not surprising that the consumerist culture, which Scott Fitzgerald criticizes, had emerged. Youve successfully purchased a group discount. 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.