Contradictions in the Great Gatsby Essay -- English Literature

Contradictions in the Great Gatsby They were known as the roaring twenty’s because the economy at the time was through the roof and people were partying all over the place. At the time there was a prohibition on the manufacturing and sales of intoxicating drinks. Since a lot of people did not feel like drinking gin they made in their bathtubs all the time, there was a huge market for organized crime. Organized criminals catered to the needs of the drinking public by illegally supplying them with liquor and made a fortune doing it. Even with all the crime in the jazz age, it will still be remembered for its glittering lights and unbridled romance. This just goes to show that life is filled with contradictions. Even with all the crime that went on, the twenties was still an era that was filled with excitement and joyous occasions. There are many contradictions in The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, on one hand it’s glamorous, romantic and exciting and on the other hand it’s crude, corrupt and even disgusting. This double vision applies to people, places and events. Fitzgerald creates the roaring twenties by showing the division of society. The Buchanan’s live on one side, East Egg, and Jay Gatsby lives on the other side, West Egg. The West Egg is saturated with no rules or restrictions from past generations. It is a place that is filled with colorfulness yet everything clashes with each other. It has a sense of rawness to it and it is very much unstructured. The West Egg represents the fast moving-chaotic twenties. Gatsby is a part of West Egg society. West Eggers are the newly rich; the people who have worked hard and earned their money in a short period of time. Their wealth is based on... ...in the 1920s, where it has come from and where it is going. Jay Gatsby personifies the American Dream in modern terms, a perverse interpretation of what it was at inception. The American Dream is that anybody can pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Fitzgerald is saying that this is not necessarily true. He implies that socio-economical circumstances heavily influence a person’s ability to achieve the American Dream. America is an illusion, just an image that is presented. People in and outside America accepts the American ideals which are presented through the media, especially through visual mediums such as movies and television. This serves to create an ideal image of America which people hold falsely. When they try to achieve the American Dream, which is presented to them constantly, they realize the brutal reality which hides behind the illusion.