Individualism In The Great Gatsby

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Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald is the author of the twentieth century American classic, The Great Gatsby. It is a story of the American dream, settled down in the 1920’s, with issues of the time period being, prohibition, women, class structure, crime, and many more, The Great Gatsby has a taste of each. Fitzgerald incorporated subjects of his time and his very own experiences into the story to portray an era of social and moral values. The 1920’s were a time of breaking morals Class structure and wealth were among the highest pleasures achievable. The 20’s were an era of Jazz; with extravagant music playing throughout all hours of the night. Not only men went to fancy parties, but women as well were invited, sometimes appearing to have no company. Times were changing for women, for they could go out on their own and dress spontaneously. In many occasions throughout the book we get sights of the characters drinking, another big boom of this era; we know that prohibition was an enormous debate about this time as people began to drink more (Fitzgerald). All of this ties together, because Fitzgerald’s vision of the American dream was about discovery, individualism, and the pursuit of happiness. Were his works for the characters of his book and his readers, or for himself? It is believed that Fitzgerald incorporated his life situations and emotions into his stories. Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896 (PBS). He was born into a family of hard workers on his father’s side.
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