At the end of the Civil War, the frontier had disappeared, and Americans began to expand across the nation. It is during this time period that the great industrialists, such as Andrew Carnegie and John Rockefeller, made their fortunes. American ideals changed as the "image of the American as a boisterous frontiersman, became important to a country seeking to heal its wounds and see itself as a healthy, growing nation" (Adventures in American Literature, 378). As Americans took pride in the fact their nation could survive such a struggle, industrialism continued to grow and people began to make large amounts of money, introducing materialistic values to most Americans. .
After the first World War, a new culture began to emerge. This culture is most prominently seen in the 1920's. Also referred to as the roaring twenties, the 1920's was a decade of American prosperity and optimism. Young women, "flappers," set themselves free cutting their hair and wearing short skirts, dances such as the Charleston and jazz music became popular, and the automobile was widely distributed. However, the most prominent symbol of the twenties was the wealth of most Americans, and the high-society lifestyle. It was "an age of a consumption ethic that was needed to provide markets for the new commodities that streamed from the production lines" (Sheldon 1). Materialism, or the theory or attitude that physical well-being and worldly possessions constitute the greater good and highest value in life, was a common characteristic of the members of the upper class within the society of the twenties. This materialism is prevalent in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.
Fitzgerald was born to a poor family in Minnesota in 1986, and throughout his childhood, he worked hard to become a member of the famed upper class. It is said that "He thought by his gifts and hard work he could join this charmed circle, and he wrote about other ambitious youths and young men obsessed with sharing the special magic of the rich" (Adventures, 486).