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Warren Susan argues that in the 20 th century, "Personality is the quality f being somebody. " This could be elaborated int: Having my is the quality f being somebody, which would further add up t Having my is being a personality. Twenties was a period known fr its property, which in turn made many fortunes ver night. The gap between the wealthy and pr in society was still painfully bus, and many writers case this social inequality t make statements abut through their nvel's. Many changes were taking place in the 1920 s, which seriously affected the younger generation. Capitalism was line its popularity, and many like t ther frm's f government, such as socialism, t satisfy their needs. The attitude f the Twenties was als a backlash against the experience f World War I.
Yung people turned their backs n the values f their parents, and Fitzgerald was ne f many writers t make social comments n this phenomenon. In The Great Gatsby, Daisy portrays perfectly the carefree, self-absorbed attitude f the time. Nick even says, "They were careless people, Tm and Daisy. They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back t their my r their vast carelessness r whatever it was that kept them together, and let ther people clean up the mess they made" (187).
Fitzgerald, and ther "lst generation" writers based their characters n the attitudes and pinin's f real people. The economy f the 1920 s was being, and as people began receiving higher wages, there was a rash f spending n convenience which advertisements stated people could nt live with. Materialism spread rapidly thought the country, and people became mre greedy and self-blessed. Fitzgerald express this deepening flw f consumerism and hw it affects people. Through his nvel's, he shw's hw while they might have everything they " ll ever need, nne f them are really happy. Fr example, Daisy and Tm press many things and are still miserable people; Gatsby is a millionaire, and he is very unhappy.
People gain material wealth, but remain spiritually bankrupt. The main these f the new is the rise and fall f the American Dream. It is debatable whether Buchanan represents the American Dream, by which people brain their wealth penny and legally, whatever their status in society, in contrast t Gatsby, fr whm the acquisition f wealth has its rights in the underworld. Tm Buchanan is unfaithful; Daisy Buchanan is artificial; Gatsby himself is an enigmatic and shady figure. Jay Gatsby, the central figure f the story, is a character wh lng's fr the past. Surprisingly he devices mst f his adult life trying t recapture it and, finally, dies in its pursuit.
In the past, Jay had a love affair with the beautiful and seemingly innocent Daisy. King he could nt marry her because f the difference in their social status, he leaves her t accumulate his wealth t reach her economic and social standards. nce he acquires this wealth, he me near t Daisy, "Gatsby but that huse s that Daisy would be just across the bay (83), " and this extravagant parties, having by chance she might shw up at ne f them. He, himself, des nt attend his parties but watches them frm a distance.
When his hpe's dnt shw true he asks and casually if any know her. Sn he meets Nick Carraway, a casino f Daisy, wh agrees t set up a meeting, "He wants t know... if yu " ll invite Daisy t yur huse sme after and then let him cme ver (83). " Gatsby's personal dream symbolizes the larger American Dream where all have the ppr tunity t get what they want. Gatsby was "lst" because he is different frm the rest f the characters in the new. He seems t realize that his my des nt mean anything, and he searches fr a broader meaning in his life. Nick is clearly an example f the "lst generation" because he sees the problems with the material nature f his friends, and he tries t set himself apart frm that.
He identifies the greed in ther people and believes that he can be part f that. It is interesting hw Freud's there are pre in The Great Gatsby. The history f a man, according t Freud, is the history f his suppression. Bth his social and biological existence is subjected t the cultural suppression as well as separate parts f his being and structure f his instincts. However, such situation creates the necessary prerequisites fr progress. The main instincts f a man, wh wants t achieve his aims, are incompatible with any using fr self-preservation: they destroy at the same place where they unite.
This is the exact description f Jay Gatsby, wh has everything a man possible could have, and this brings him an understanding that he actually des nt have much. The new discusses questions f racism through the character f Tm Buchanan wh, n tp f his lse means, is als a white supremacist. This theme, however many in its fcu's, adds t the Buchanan's' corruption in contrast t Gatsby. Tm Buchanan's aversion t Gatsby has less t d with class than with race. Fr wh is Gatsby? Is he perhaps a Jew, hanging ut as he des with the likes f Meyer Wlfsheim?
In any case, he is nt "ne f us. " This same idea is stated in The Mismeasure f Man by Stephen Jay Gold "[... ] the abstract f intelligence as a single entity, its location within the brain, its quantification as ne number fr each individual, and the use f these numbers t rank people in a single series f worthiness, invariably t find that pressed and disadvantaged grupsraces, classes, r sexes are innately interior and deserve their status" (pp. 24 - 25). Anther example f social relations in The Great Gatsby is the contrast between East and West. Fitzgerald cntrast's the Eastern and Western print f the United States in many f his wrk's (Diamond as Big as the Ritz is a prime example) but in Gatsby, the West Egg (where Nick lives) is visually the mre garish f the tw and f a distinctly lower class, while the East Egg is where the "ld my" lives, and f a higher class. This even mre bus contrast gives the reader a clear idea f the author's pain n social classes in America during his time. Bks and news papers are free mentioned in The Great Gatsby. They played an important in the bk, and in twenties in general.
Nick frequently refers t the The Saturday Evening Pst. Jan Baker reads this newspaper and t Tm. Twn Tattle and the Tribune are als mentioned in the bk. Public pain is a bk n media and democracy by Walter Lippmann. And ther things, it argues that "the manufacture f content" amounts t "a revolution" in "the practice f democracy" because it all the elites essentially t cntrl the mind f the public. This, he argues, is useful and necessary because "the can interests" the general concerns f all people "elude" the public and s must be the domain f what he called a "specialized class." The Great Gatsby is still a very modern and up-t-date new.
It reflects many social issues, such as classes in society, consumerism, racism, personality desires and dreams. Fitzgerald was nt the first person t discuss them, but he surely expressed his clear pint and gave an answer t there f Freud, Lippmann and Gold in his brilliant new, The Great Gatsby. Bibliography: Fitzgerald, S. (1925) The Great Gatsby. Scribner; Reprint edition (June 1, 1995) Freud, S. (1961).
Civilization and Its Discontents. Trans. and Ed. James Strachey. Intro. Peter Gay.
New York: W. W. Norton & Company. Gould, Stephen J (1981). The Mismeasure of Man, New York: W. W.
Norton & Company; Lippmann, W. (1922), Public Opinion, New York: Free Press Paperbacks
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