If the average reader were to pick a book that best characterized its time
period, the choice would most likely be F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great
Gatsby.” Fitzgerald, writing of the 1920s in the 1920s, proves to be an
accurate judge of American character. His characters develop along lines of
self indulgence, ignorance, and disregard for those outside of their realm
(with the exception of Nick Carroway, who is the lone voice of disconcern).
The story winds through flashbacks of moments never to be relived, inane
conversation, and bouts of frustration with the culture of the Roaring
Twenties. Fitzgerald’s book proves to be an astute observation of the time,
capturing the angst and sadness lurking beneath the roar.
Fitzgerald’s characters were a reflection of the very vices he engaged in his
personal life. The author was a renowned drinker, dancer, and carouser,
marrying Zelda Sayre, a woman of similar temperament. Fitzgerald would
leave the United States for Paris to live in an expatriate community of writers.
His writing was not seen as soaring past his competitors until his first
publishing success, “This Side of Paradise.” “The Great Gatsby” was born out
of over 200 drafts and several short stories. Reviewers felt the book was a
dud, citing its lack of substance as a reason for its failure to meet
expectations. Fitzgerald’s life was difficult following this, with many articles
to write in order to make money, Zelda passing on, and his less than stellar
attempts to make it in Hollywood. Much like his characters, Fitzgerald proved
to ensure his own demise.
The story traces Nick Carroway’s summer in West Egg, an “inferior” residency
in comparison to its lavish companion, East Egg. Carroway is taken through
the doldrums of conversations about houses, literature, and dancing until his
meeting with Gatsby. Gatsby proves to be different than characters like Daisy
or Tom Buchanan because of his modest attempts to remain anonymous. The
East Egg residents appear to be the people most afflicted by advertisements
and dubious science (Tom mentions casually the possible fall of the white race
as science fact). Gatsby and Nick, however, seem fed up with such nonsense
and are more curious about time past and sentiments of love and longing.
Gatsby wants to use Nick as a medium to get to Daisy, a former love from
before the First World War. However, once Gatsby and Daisy do encounter
one another, there is not the rekindling of old flames to fuel a love story.
Rather, a confusing web of romance is made more confusing by another affair
and two crossed connections. Daisy only seeks to attain higher social status
(thus her marriage to the powerful Tom) while fulfilling sexual needs with
others who do not have the same means as her husband. An angry
confrontation between Tom and Gatsby bore this out, showing Daisy’s
ambivalence toward committing to either love or status. This certainly
represents the evolution of women’s sexual roles in the 1920s as well as the
conflict between Victorian ideals on marriage and the liberated choices of
women.
The story ends tragically, with auto mechanic Wilson’s wife killed by a
reckless Daisy. This scene, and the following scene, show the disregard of the
wealthy with the commoner. Instead of facing the music, Daisy and Gatsby
continue to drive and escape from the law. When Tom and Nick stop, Tom
makes a comment about how Wilson would actually get some business out of
this tragedy. Tom’s callous remarks and Daisy allowing Gatsby to shoulder
the balance the blame show a sense of entitlement to privilege for the wealthy
in the 1920s.
The last tragedy in “The Great Gatsby” is the murder of Gatsby by Wilson,
over alleged indiscretions. The following scenes, where Nick tries to trace
Gatsby’s past and get people to show to his funeral, are telling moments.
Daisy, Tom, and Jordan refused to go for fear of reprisal and to avoid the
feelings such a ceremony would entail. Meyer Wolfsheim, a business
associate, realized that his business with Gatsby was completed and did not
believe it necessary to go to the funeral. The scene where Gatsby’s father and
Nick are the only two to attend Gatsby’s funeral was telling of the lack of
importance of Gatsby and his values to the upper crust of society. Fitzgerald’s
style was versatile, ranging from rapid fire dialogue to important flashbacks
to tell elements of the story that were necessary. Fitzgerald portrays these
lavish surroundings with some contrast to the
rest of the world, with his descriptions of ash heaps
surrounding the road from East Egg. The author was deliberate in his
descriptions of the world of East and West Egg, probably as an attempt to
show superficiality in the culture of the Twenties. Fitzgerald’s use of language
is appropriate to the lessons he wanted to convey and the style in this book is
vital to its conclusions.