Great Gatsby and the Resonating

¶ … Great Gatsby and the Resonating Detriments of the Jazz Age

The changes which occurred during the jazz age, that is, the period in which F. Scott Fitzgerald famous novel, The Great Gatsby was set, were detrimental to society because they endorsed corruption, greed and materialism. The 1920s were a time of opulence and greed; a time when material gain far surpassed humanistic aims. The character of Jay Gatsby is at the center of these changes, and although he longs for the love of Daisy in his heart, his attempts to win her through shallow, ostentatious displays ultimately signifies the over-reliance on materialism of the time.

Although the novel is fictional, the vast consumerism of the so-called "leisure class" is not far at all from the reality of that which occurred during the Jazz Age. This was a period where outward appearances were everything; they signified a person's worth far more significantly than a person's kindness or intelligence or wit. In many ways, this mindset has continued on into the 21st century. Therefore, for those who value inner beauty over outer beauty, the jazz age was the evil catalyst that transformed America from a society of simple, church-going, hard-working people into a culture obsessed with consumption, indulgence and instant gratification. The effects of this era continue to resonate today, making the 1920s the detriment to society that "keeps on giving."

The narrator of the novel, Nick Carraway, is the observer of this mounting corruption. While intricately involved in the story, he is forced to merely watch from the sidelines as American values get turned upside down, and the people he knows begin to turn into people he no longer recognizes. Nick views the larger essence of society in much the same way that he views his immediate surroundings: "Sometimes a shadow moved against a dressing-room blind above, gave way to another shadow, an indefinite procession of shadows, who rouged and powdered in an invisible glass" (p. 108). These types of seemingly innocuous observations are actually powerful commentaries on the darkness that is spreading over society in the 1920s, and the divisions between those on one side of the glass from those on the other.

The separation of the classes; that is, the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor in America, can also be traced to jazz age, providing further evidence that this period was a detriment, as opposed to a benefit, to society. Those on the side of the glass enjoying their lavish parties and their fancy cars and their expensive clothing were oblivious to those who remained on the outside looking in, because wealth had become so important that it defined human existence. If one did not have the largest house or gaudiest jewelry, then they did not deserve any acknowledgement.