Destruction and Failure of a Generation in Fitzgerald’s...

The Great Gatsby and the Destruction of a Generation The beauty and splendor of Gatsbys parties masks the decay and corruption that lay at the heart of the Roaring Twenties. The society of the Jazz Age, as observed by Fitzgerald, is morally bankrupt, and thus continually plagued by a crisis of character. Jay Gatsby, though he struggles to be a part of this world, remains unalterably an outsider. His life is a grand irony, in that it is a caricature of Twenties-style ostentation: his closet overflows with custom-made shirts; his lawn teems with the right people, all engaged in the serious work of absolute triviality; his mannerisms (his false British accent, his old-boy friendliness) are laughably affected. Despite all this,†¦show more content†¦Despite these admirable qualities, he dies alone, drunk, and betrayed. Through Dan Cody, Fitzgerald suggests that 1920s society manipulates its visionaries, milks them for their hard-earned money, and then, promptly forgets them. This formula is reiterated through the story of Gatsby. A child growing up in a nameless town in the middle of Minnesota, Gatsby dreams of the impossible and makes the impossible a reality. He begins this grand undertaking in an endearingly methodical way: he makes a list of General Resolves: Study electricity, baseball, practice elocution and how to attain it. . . Less than two decades later, he is one of the richest men in New York. Gatsby, too, is exploited by the very society of which he longs to become a part. At his own parties, Girls were swooning backward playfully into mens arms, even into groups, knowing that someone would arrest their falls - - - but no one swooned backward on Gatsby, and no French bob touched Gatsbys shoulder, and no singing quartets were formed with Gatsbys head for a link. His home was full of the Leeches, Blackbucks, Ferets and Klipspringers or at least it was while the champagne was flowing, at Gatsbys expense. When he dies, no one attends his fune ral: Gatsby dies alone, and only a handful of people mourn hisShow MoreRelatedThe Great Gatsby and the American Dream1442 Words   |  6 Pagesimpossible to reach, like F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby examines the Jazz-Age generations search for the elusive American Dream of wealth and happiness and scrutinizes the consequences of that generations adherence to false values. In the years following World War one, many American writers, known as the Lost Generation, were disillusioned with American society and they rejected the values of American materialism. The generation was lost in the sense that they believed itsRead MoreFitzgerald Explores the Jefferson ´s Ideal of ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’ in The Great Gatsby2090 Words   |  9 Pagesoriginally inserted into the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson and is a clear and overriding concern in The Great Gatsby. 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