100% satisfaction guarantee Immediately available after payment Both online and in PDF No strings attached
logo-home
Summary Essay on the Great Gatsby - Jazz Age through the eyes of Fitzgerald CA$17.21   Add to cart

Summary

Summary Essay on the Great Gatsby - Jazz Age through the eyes of Fitzgerald

 5 views  0 purchase

This essay thoroughly explains how Fitzgerald reflected on the Jazz Age in his novel, the Great Gatsby. There are many instances in which Fitzgerald reflects his own views of this unique time period and even uses Nick to relay his feelings to the reader. This full-length essay provides multiple exa...

[Show more]

Preview 1 out of 3  pages

  • July 26, 2023
  • 3
  • 2022/2023
  • Summary
  • Secondary school
  • 12th Grade
  • English 30-1
  • 1
All documents for this subject (2)
avatar-seller
txt
The Jazz Age Through the Eyes of Fitzgerald

The Jazz Age, often referred to as the Roaring Twenties, was a time between the 1920s
and 1930s when the economy was booming and cultural changes were taking place. During this
time, jazz music was becoming more popular, the poor were becoming rich, and alcohol was
being banned. F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, had his own views on the Jazz
Age and he shared these throughout the novel. Fitzgerald relays his thoughts on the Jazz Age
through the eyes of the narrator of The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway. Nick’s actions and speech
provide the reader with a view of Fitzgerald’s own thoughts and feelings on the many aspects of
the Jazz Age, shown in the novel. The thoughts of Nick often differ from the other characters,
showing that Fitzgerald’s point of view was different from his contemporaries. Fitzgerald’s
interpretation of the Jazz Age is shown through his candid remarks on criminal activities, wealth,
and racism during the 1920s.

Criminal activities, such as selling alcohol during prohibition, are shown throughout the
novel, but nothing good is ever associated with them. Whenever alcohol is present, things go
wrong and Nick always wants to leave these types of situations. Nick also starts to doubt and
dislike Gatsby whenever his name is connected to any sort of criminal activity. This was
Fitzgerald’s way of showing that businesses like speakeasies, were wrong and that he
disapproved of them. When Tom tells everyone that Gatsby and Wolfsheim “brought up a lot of
side-street drug-stores here and there in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter,” Nick
gets really upset with Gatsby (Fitzgerald, 141-142). As someone who overly praises Gatsby, it’s
unusual for Nick to be mad at him. Nick doesn’t like the idea of earning money by illegally selling
alcohol, and he’s disappointed with Gatsby for having chosen to do so. Fitzgerald repeatedly
linked accidents and violence with parties that had alcohol present to show his disapproval of
criminal activities. Speakeasies and gangster-related activities were everywhere during the
1920s, and in Fitzgerald’s eyes, they were something that shouldn’t be praised. Just like how
Fitzgerald disliked criminal activities in the 1920s, he also disliked the way that the wealthy
acted in the 1920s.

During the 1920s, many people were gaining masses of wealth but little behaved
properly with the money they had. People with money took pride in their possessions and their
negative qualities were always shown. The wealthy were wasteful with their money, and thought
that they could do whatever they pleased because of their wealthy status. These people were
shown to be of a lower class in terms of morality, compared to those with less money. The Jazz
Age was full of wealthy people who acted this way and Fitzgerald included the characters of
Tom and Daisy to represent them. Nick says that “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy -
they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money… and let other
people clean up the mess they had made” (Fitzgerald, 190). Nick, showing Fitzgerald’s own
point of view, points at the carelessness of wealthy people, and how they simply didn’t care
about others. If they did something wrong then they would hide behind their wealth, and pretend
as if nothing happened. The wealthy didn’t have to pay for the consequences of their actions,

The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.

Quick and easy check-out

Quick and easy check-out

You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.

Focus on what matters

Focus on what matters

Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!

Frequently asked questions

What do I get when I buy this document?

You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.

Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?

Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.

Who am I buying these notes from?

Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller txt. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.

Will I be stuck with a subscription?

No, you only buy these notes for CA$17.21. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.

Can Stuvia be trusted?

4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)

81033 documents were sold in the last 30 days

Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now

Start selling
CA$17.21
  • (0)
  Add to cart