On the surface, Fitzgerald paints the picture that these
people sought material wealth and fame as their means to happiness. What has made his
work so powerful is the timelessness of this theme and the consequences of the
idea.
First of all, America was founded on the values of
hard work. We still preach to children in elementary schools that if they work hard they
too can be the next president of the United States, or they can be very wealthy.
However, during the 20s, people began looking for shortcuts to that ideal. These
shortcuts proved to have dire consequences. For example, bootlegging became a highly
profitable industry. Many people lost their lives in the competition for and
distribution of alcohol. Because of prohibition, some people became wealthy by breaking
the law. This was also an era of easily attainable credit. People began buying cars and
homes on credit. The began to understand they could have whatever items they wanted
without paying for them now, they could always pay
later.
Fitzgerald particularly illustrates this by the way
people attend Gatsby's parties. These parties were free and he lavishly shared all he
had with his patrons. You may recall the expensive dress Gatsby purchased for a woman
who ruined hers at a party. These people had the perspective at Gatsby's parties that it
was all for fun and that they had nothing to lose. They wore their best clothes and
flirted with the rich and famous. Sometimes, just rubbing shoulders with people like
that made the average people feel more worth in
themselves.
Today, people work on credit as much as
possible. We do it so much so that we have created a failing economy much like that
which put our country into a Great Depression. We also do things that satisfy right here
and right now, much like Gatsby's parties. With Twitter and Facebook today, we are made
to feel like we can get to know celebrities and participate in life with
them.
No comments:
Post a Comment