The Great Gatsby: Historical Perspectives

The Great Gatsby: Historical Perspectives

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is considered the defining work of the 1920's, as it references the defining features during the Jazz age. During this time America had come out of World War I resulting in a melancholic time of recovery and the Prohibition. Comfort from this came in the form of fun energetic parties and the desire to achieve the American dream of success and prosperity. Conservatism and moderation were disregarded and replaced with instead, pleasure-seeking and fast times as it became America’s new national values.

One of the most important themes in The Great Gatsby is its focus on money as the foundation of American society. During this time of optimism and aspiration, individuals felt that they could leave behind their pasts completely and could become anyone they wanted to be. It seemed as if any person could rise to become a member of the social or economic elite. At the turn of the twentieth century, immigrants were coming to the United States by the millions because they believed in the American Dream of abandoning a past of poverty and embracing the possibility of rolling in money in the land of freedom and liberty. They fled the economic and political oppression of their own countries because they believed that in the United States, they could do anything that they put their minds to. Gatsby had believed in that same dream and believed that he could win anything, even love, with money.

During the 1920's, the country also experienced an unprecedented economic boom that allowed the values of materialism and ambition to take over the American mindset. With social mobility apparently possible for everyone during the 1920's, many Americans sometimes were involved in illegal activities such as gambling and bootlegging. Meyer Wolfshiem had been the man responsible for fixing the 1919 World Series for gamblers who had made bets on