Innholdsfortegnelse
Task 1
Works Cited
Works Consulted

Utdrag
F. Scott Fitzgerald criticizes the society that he is currently living in through his novel, The Great Gatsby.

It is unique how he is able to see the American society from the outside the way that he does, that early in the 1920’s.

Fitzgerald’s novel is packed with societal criticism without taking the focus away from the story. All the issues that Fitzgerald addresses are weaved into the story of Jay Gatsby and his love for Daisy Buchanan.

America in the 1920’s is known for its over-the-top lifestyle. “The Roaring Twenties” was a time of economic growth filled with luxury, prosperity and serious social changes.

The invention of assembly lines made production a lot more efficient, and the result of a better economy and larger, more efficient productions, was a materialistic society.

A society filled with greed and infinite unsatisfaction, where everyone constantly wanted more. Fitzgerald shows this materialism through the character of Daisy.

Daisy’s only focus in the world is what can give her the most wealth, power and benefits. She did not want to be with Gatsby the first time she met him because he was not wealthy enough.

The second time they meet, she is flattered, but she is not flattered by Gatsby himself, but by his wealth. Fitzgerald writes, “Suddenly, with a strained sound, Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily.

“They’re such beautiful shirts,” she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. “It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such – such beautiful shirts before.”” (p.119)

She cries, not because she loves him, but because she loves his money. Daisy’s character represents the shallowness, the greed, and the self-centeredness of the 1920’s.

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The fact is that the United States of America is divided into social classes. Especially at the time of this novel, there was a clear distinction between people, and racism was widespread.

That is why the American Dream is unrealistic. Fitzgerald divides Americans into three classes: “old money”, “new money”, and “no money”.

He points out the interesting fact that there is not just “rich” and “poor”, he distinguishes between two types of rich people.

There are wealthy Americans who have had money in their family for years and years, and who have never worked for what they have.