The Great Gatsby A Social Satire Essay - 1276 Words

The Great Gatsby can be regarded as a social satire and an observation of The American Dream The Great Gatsby is observed as a social satire of the United States in the roaring twenties, where Fitzgerald exposes the American Dream as a flawed fantasy merely generated by over-indulgence. America was established in the conception of equality, where any individual could have equal opportunities and success on the substratum of their abilities and effort, which can be described as the American Dream. The former president Abraham Lincoln confirmed this surmise, as he himself was an impoverished, disadvantaged little boy who became president through his efforts. The Great Gatsby is set in the twenties, which was a period of†¦show more content†¦Therefore, this observation proves that no amount of wealth or power can upraise him into the social circle of the Buchanans. As affluence and success propagated among people, there was an expanding loss of ethics as it was replaced by social rankings and materialism. The elite group of Gatsby’s time distorted their own moral values in order to gain worldly possessions. Tom, a man from an extremely wealthy background, is an example of a character that obviously does not have an ounce of moral ethics. His character is described as a metaphor by his physical appearance as having â€Å"a hard mouth with arrogant eyes and a speaking voice with a gruff husky tenor, which added to the impression of fractiousness he conveyed.(pg.7)† The lack of moral ethics caused people to rely on their possessions and material comforts to give them immediate pleasure. Daisy demonstrates this in her struggle to occupy herself as she says â€Å"what will we do with ourselves this afternoon, and the next thirty years†. This shows that the society in Gatsby’s time rely on material wealth and social standi ngs for contentment and virtually do not have a purpose in life as materialism jeopardizes their goals. Through the novel, we become aware of the failure of the American Dream through the behavior and moral values portrayed by the society. Although theShow MoreRelatedThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1621 Words   |  7 PagesThe 1920s were a time in American history that profoundly depicted social inequality, immorality, superficiality, and unrest. During this time period, the iconic story of F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, was written and published. In this revolutionary novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald revisits his fascinating childhood in a more fictitious manner. 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