Social And Political Changes In The Great Gatsby By Scott Fitzgerald

The 1920s were a time where it was apparent that the wealthy class was chasing the wrong means to happiness. The emptiness of money and a spot in the higher social class was all that was important to the society of the 1920s. This was clearly depicted in the novel The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald. An age of dramatic social and political change also began in the 1920s which was commonly known as “The Roaring Twenties”. Also during this time, more people lived in cities than farms. This caused the United States ' economy to dramatically increase and the nation 's wealth grew to more than double it 's original size during this time as well. All this was due to the formation of the consumer society, where everyone spent more money. America …show more content…
Many new ideas and states of living were formed. The 1920s presented the “New Woman” which came with many changes in women 's lives. Probably the most notable would be the term “flapper”, a young woman who bobbed her hair, smoked, drank, wore short skirts and used bad language which directly resembled Myrtle Wilson. Woman were portrayed differently in this decade and the lifestyle of the upper class was one of scandal and disloyalty. Another important development of the time was the birth of mass culture. This meant that people had more money to spend on consumer goods such as home appliances, ready-to-wear clothes and by far the biggest, automobiles. So many cars were purchased because of the low prices and the generous credit that was put forth by the car companies. In the novel, Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby owned several cars in their garages which mirrored the availability of cars in the 1920s. Another trend that was arising during this time was the so called Jazz Age. This was the idea that everyone could do what they wanted and go where they please. A popular activity for the public was to go out dancing and go to parties. Jay Gatsby had many parties at his house which included a large amount of dancing which reflected the trend well. The 1920s and The Great Gatsby compliment each other well with regards to the realism of the times and the stellar writing of …show more content…
When the novel first came out, you could not buy the novel or even find it in and stores. A highly acclaimed critic of the time named H. L. Menckens said that “The Great Gatsby is in the form of no more that a glorified anecdote and not to probable at that.” (Time Machine: H. L. Menckens 1925 review of The Great Gatsby) Reviews like these are what made Fitzgerald feel like his novel and his career were a failure. It was not until the 1950s that the book surfaced and became a trend among college students to read and discuss the novel. Again the novel surfaced in 2012 with the release of a remake of the movie starring Leonardo Dicaprio. That was the sequence of events that ultimately brought the novel back into the lime light and into