The Great Gatsby is a classic work of F. Scott Fitzgerald, an American author of short stories and novels. The book was first published in 1925 during a period known as the Jazz Age. The novel was purely creative work of the author.
The story was set on North Shore in Long Island in New York City. F. Scott Fitzgerald was one of the greatest writers in America in the 20th century. He wrote the novel during the First World War when American society enjoyed success. The period was known as roaring 1920s when the economy soared. During this period, the manufacturing and sale of alcohol were banned. This prohibition made millionaires become bootleggers.
The Great Gatsby is a love story that embraces American ideals of 1920s as viewed through the characters’ actions throughout the novel. The story is about Jay Gatsby, a wealthy man, and his love for Daisy Buchanan. The book addresses the lavish life that most people lived in America during the 20s, a period referred to as roaring 20s.
The 1920s of America was a rebellious decade, a period when the younger generation mainly focused on having fun and fritting their time with friends instead of family. During this period, some amendments were made in the American Constitution, which included enforcement of prohibition.
Nobody was allowed to produce, sell, or even consume alcohol in America. With the existence of probation law, crime also increased in America. All these characteristics of America during 1920 are evident and inherent in the main character, Jay Gatsby, in the novel The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald portrayed Gatsby as an extravagant young man who loved parting and bootlegging.
This is evident in the book: “Tom accused Gatsby of bootlegging and other illegal activities (Bruccoli 100).” Gatsby discovered that Nick, who is the narrator of the story, is related to Daisy, the woman he fell in love with. The love that Gatsby had for her had been buried, but when he saw Daisy at Nick’s place, that love rose again, which caused mayhem among Tom, Nick, Daisy, and him. The plot of the book presents an intertwined love story, and the characters’ actions bring out the American ideals of the 1920s.
Gatsby also presents the economic status of Americans during the 1920s. After the end of World War I, there was financial peace in America, and many people had the potential to acquire wealth. Many people began to spend money on cars, tourism, and houses.
Gatsby is an excellent example in the novel; he did everything in his power to acquire wealth, and after that, he began to misuse it. In the beginning, Gatsby was an ordinary man without much wealth; this was before he met his love Daisy (Bruccoli, 89). This story also depicts America before the 1920s when its economy was not stable yet.
After the war, many soldiers decided to come back home to their families. This is one of the themes in the novel The Great Gatsby. Gatsby strived to go home at the end of the war, but he ended up in Oxford. However, when he finally managed to get back, Gatsby began to look for the love of his life, Daisy. Based on American ideals, one can say that those soldiers that went to fight in World War I in Europe had a strong love for their country. They went back home to look for their loved ones.
The financial stability in America during the 1920s is evident through the kind of life that the characters in The Great Gatsby had. Gatsby and his friends used to spend freely more on entertainment and leisure. They used to go out to lavish parties, which were attended by everyone. The preface of alcohol beverages accelerated this in the Prohibition period (Bruccoli, 140).
In conclusion, The Great Gatsby is a love story that embraces American ideals of the 1920s as viewed through the characters’ actions throughout the novel. The book addresses the lavish life that most people were living in America during the 20s, a period referred to as roaring 20s.
Works Cited
Bruccoli, Joseph. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby: A Literary Reference. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2000.