The Great Gatsby

             Scott Fitzgerald is one the most famous novels written by an American in the early twentieth century. Many critics, like James Dickey, describe this novel as an "American masterpiece." In the preface of the novel, Fitzgerald is quoted as saying, "I want to write something new - something extraordinary and beautiful and simple + intricately patterned." From reading this novel, Fitzgerald accomplished what he set out to do. He wrote a masterpiece loved by generations. .
             The Great Gatsby exemplifies the "American dream" in the person of Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby, the novel's tragic hero, came back to his home country after fighting in World War I and became a self-made man. He is living proof of what many foreigners see the United States as, "the land of opportunity." The novel was published in 1925, which was in the bridge between World War I and the Great Depression. Fitzgerald displayed the attitudes and actions of people during the times of the "Roaring Twenties." During this time, there was sort of a reckless abandon taken by people. Everyone went to lavish parties with one's gaudy dress or suit worn and drank excessively to the point of no return. The mood of the country during the "Roaring Twenties" was that of a five-year-old at a birthday party.just keep having fun. This ideal is very prevalent in The Great Gatsby through the parties that are thrown, and the actions of the guests. No one knows the guest and vice versa; however, if there is a party, one has to be there. F. Scott Fitzgerald's social insight in The Great Gatsby focuses on a select group: privileged young people between the ages of 20 and 30. In doing so, Fitzgerald provides a vision of the "youth and mystery that wealth imprisons and preserves." Fitzgerald, himself, was a participant of the "Roaring Twenties." He went to wild parties with his wife, Zelda, and drank heavily. The novel as a whole is Fitzgerald's perception of what an "American Character" is.