Frantic Pursuit of the American Essay

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On the other hand, Nick is genuinely concerned for the human side of his friendships and romantic liaisons. Unlike Gatsby or Tom, Nick seems to truly understand the meaning of universal suffrage and other key gender revolutions taking place during the 1920s. He is deeply disturbed by what he finds in West Egg, in particular what passes for manners. Extramarital affairs, rather than political and economic empowerment for women, are the result of the Roaring Twenties in the Great Gatsby. Nick finds that his love interest Jordan "looked like a good illustration" more than a human being by the time he leaves West Egg.

The tragedies that take place are not simply a result of Gatsby's infamous parties. Rather, the broken relationships and Myrtle's death are symbols of the breakdown of the American Dream. Through the characters of Tom and Gatsby, Fitzgerald critiques the relentless pursuit of wealth and prestige.

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Fitzgerald does mock Gatsby in particular, though. His phony English accent and pretentious manner of speaking are tremendously irksome, as if Gatsby has no past, no identity. Fitzgerald contrasts Gatsby with Nick, who never forgets his life in the Midwest and therefore returns to it in the end.

Fitzgerald also addresses Prohibition and the hypocrisy of the Eighteenth Amendment. During the 1920s, the Women's Christian Temperance League achieved landmark legislation banning the manufacture, sale and distribution of alcohol on a federal level. Gatsby was one of the bootleggers. Prohibition failed miserably, leading only to a flourishing black market and the blossoming of organized crime. Gatsby earns his fortune in part because of Prohibition. In the Great Gatsby Fitzgerald satirizes American culture during the Roaring Twenties while embracing the positive elements of social change including shifting gender norms and a flourishing of….....

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