The 1920’s were a time unlike anything ever experienced in American culture before. Men were returning home from World War I, and women were joining the workforce and gaining more rights. These two instances of the time led to a new attitude of wealth, freedom, and consumerism that ran rampant through the streets, especially for the upper class. Out of this came the era of the modernist movement pioneered by authors such as F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald, who came to be an upper class man himself, changed America with his insights into the shallow lives of upper class society. In many of his novels and short stories he calls to attention the petty and skewed morality that became the new American lifestyle.
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was …show more content…
During his life he faced many run-ins with the upper class where he was treated unfairly simply because he was not as well off as they were. He seems to connect the events of the story with events from his actual life to point out the reality of just how indecent people acted. This is made clear through the many parallels between Fitzgerald’s life and the book’s main characters Jay Gatsby and Nick Caraway. For example, when Fitzgerald was a young man, he was similar to Nick in the sense that he was constantly surrounded by the upper class and their antics, yet he was only allowed to play a passive role as an outsider peering in. However, when he grew older and came to the realization that he must make a fortune to thrive in this society. He expresses this idea through the character Gatsby. Like Gatsby, there was a time when Fitzgerald could not have the woman of his dreams because he was a poor man. In college he was in love with a wealthy socialite named Ginevra King. They dated for two years, but when Fitzgerald was ready for marriage, King’s father rebuked the offer with the famous quote, “Poor boys don’t think of marrying rich girls.” This is said to serve as the inspiration for the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy. However, Fitzgerald also uses Gatsby to call attention to the disillusionment of the American Dream and how society has turned to taking the easy way out instead of working honestly for their money (F. Scott). While in the end Fitzgerald did conform to the egotistic ways of this society, through this novel it is clear that he always held some disgust toward their
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was …show more content…
During his life he faced many run-ins with the upper class where he was treated unfairly simply because he was not as well off as they were. He seems to connect the events of the story with events from his actual life to point out the reality of just how indecent people acted. This is made clear through the many parallels between Fitzgerald’s life and the book’s main characters Jay Gatsby and Nick Caraway. For example, when Fitzgerald was a young man, he was similar to Nick in the sense that he was constantly surrounded by the upper class and their antics, yet he was only allowed to play a passive role as an outsider peering in. However, when he grew older and came to the realization that he must make a fortune to thrive in this society. He expresses this idea through the character Gatsby. Like Gatsby, there was a time when Fitzgerald could not have the woman of his dreams because he was a poor man. In college he was in love with a wealthy socialite named Ginevra King. They dated for two years, but when Fitzgerald was ready for marriage, King’s father rebuked the offer with the famous quote, “Poor boys don’t think of marrying rich girls.” This is said to serve as the inspiration for the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy. However, Fitzgerald also uses Gatsby to call attention to the disillusionment of the American Dream and how society has turned to taking the easy way out instead of working honestly for their money (F. Scott). While in the end Fitzgerald did conform to the egotistic ways of this society, through this novel it is clear that he always held some disgust toward their