Patriotism In The Great Gatsby

The Roaring Twenties was a dramatic time period that will go down in history for the vast trends that it brought about. It came at the conclusion of World War I, when patriotism was at an all-time high, along with the heights of new buildings and economic prosperity. Unfortunately, these were not the only trends that grew to new heights, as sin, also, grew to an unforeseen everyday norm, especially for the wealthy. Author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, fictionalizes these record-setting norms for sin, most notably for the wealthy, in his popular novel, The Great Gatsby. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born September 24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was born to the parents of Edward Fitzgerald and Mary McQuillan. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s mother was a daughter of wholesale grocers from an Irish-Catholic family in Minnesota. His father was an unsuccessful businessman in the wicker furniture industry. After his failure, he became a salesman for Procter & Gamble which moved his family to upstate New York. He was unlucky again, however, as he lost his job. …show more content…
The novel accurately depicted the idea of the American Dream, the behavior of the different classes, and aspects of Fitzgerald’s life. During the Roaring Twenties, the old traditions were thrown out the window and new unforeseen movements became the everyday norm. Characters of the novel, such as Tom Buchanan and Jordan Baker, displayed the infidelity and dishonesty that came along with that period of time. Other characters, such as Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan, correlated to his life, as Daisy refused to marry him due to his stature and wealth. This can be seen when Daisy says to Jay that “rich girls don’t marry poor boys” drawing out a remembrance of what Zelda Sayre relayed to him when he proposed to her (Fitzgerald 127). Due in large part of these exhibitions, the novel became a huge seller after it was