Contradictions in the Great Gatsby Essay -- English Literature

Contradictions in the bang-up GatsbyThey were known as the roaring twentys because the economy at thetime was with the roof and people were partying all over the place.At the time there was a prohibition on the manufacturing and sales of shake up drinks. Since a lot of people did not feel like drinkablegin they made in their bathtubs all the time, there was a big marketfor organized crime. Organized criminals catered to the needs of thedrinking public by illegally supplying them with liquor and made afortune doing it. still with all the crime in the jazz age, it willstill be remembered for its glittering lights and unbridled romance.This just goes to show that life is filled with contradictions. blushwith all the crime that went on, the twenties was still an era thatwas filled with fervor and joyous occasions. There are manycontradictions in The Great Gatsby, create verbally by F. Scott Fitzgerald, onone hand its glamorous, romantic and provoke and on the other handits crude , corrupt and even disgusting. This twin vision applies topeople, places and events.Fitzgerald creates the roaring twenties by showing the division ofsociety. The Buchanans live on one side, East Egg, and Jay Gatsbylives on the other side, westerly Egg. The westward Egg is saturated with norules or restrictions from past generations. It is a place that isfilled with colorfulness yet e verything clashes with each other. Ithas a sense of rawness to it and it is very much unstructured. TheWest Egg represents the fast moving-chaotic twenties. Gatsby is a partof West Egg society. West Eggers are the newly rich the people who develop worked hard and earned their money in a short period of time of time. Their wealth is based on... ...in the 1920s, where it has come from and where it isgoing. Jay Gatsby personifies the Ameri arsehole Dream in modern terms, aperverse interpretation of what it was at inception. The the StatesnDream is that anybody can pull themselves up by their bootstr aps. Fitzgerald is saying that this is not necessarily true. He impliesthat socio-economical circumstances heavily influence a persons capacity to achieve the American Dream. America is an illusion, just animage that is presented. People in and outside America accepts theAmerican ideals which are presented through the media, especiallythrough visual mediums such as movies and television. This serves tocreate an ideal image of America which people hold falsely. When theytry to achieve the American Dream, which is presented to themconstantly, they realize the unrelenting reality which hides behind theillusion.