The Great Gatsby

A detailed Summary of The Great Gatsby

The 1920s is the decade in American history known as the "roaring twenties." Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby is a reflection of life in the 1920s. Booming parties, prominence, fresh fashion trends, and the excess of alcohol are all aspects of life in the "roaring twenties."

The booming parties in Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby reflect life in America during the 1920s. Gatsby displays his prominent fortune by throwing grand parties. From next door, Nick Carraway witnesses the scene of Gatsby's fabulous summer parties:

There was music from my neighbor's house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and women came and went like moths among the whisperings of champagne and the stars...On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city, between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all the trains (Fitzgerald 43).

Gatsby's house illuminates, the jazz music blares for the entire town to hear, the bubbly is served, and the guests dance until one A.M. The parties are "roaring." Gatsby's parties display the way Americans socialized and the lifestyle they lived during the 1920s when "Americans dance

The fashionable clothing flaunted in The Great Gatsby is an example of life in the 1920s. Gatsby's parties are used as a spacious "catwalk" for men and women to exhibit the latest and most expensive designer wear. At one of Gatsby's parties, Lucille, a young female guest, chats with Jordan and Nick about an expensive new gown she received. She states, "When I was here last I tore my gown on a chair, and he asked my name and address-inside of a week I got a package from Croirier's with a new evening gown in it...It was gas blue with lavender beads. Two hundred and sixty five dollars"(Fitzgerald 48). Lucille expresses the importance of brand, the detail, and the price of the evening gown. All of these aspects determine the fashionable from the unfashionable. Another aspect that determined high fashion in the 1920s was fads. Fads were spread throughout America and "the 1920s could be called the age of fad-a sudden explosion of interest in some product..."(Nash 382). Interest in fashion exploded throughout the nation. Certain styles became favorable. Fashion is an important aspect in the novel The Great Gatsby. The men and women who use Gatsby's home as a fashion show demonstrate 1920s Americans flaunting their clothing. Fashion is not the only asset to society during the "roaring" decade. The infamous liquor plays another very strong role.

The consumption of alcohol in The Great Gatsby directly reflects the way of life of Americans at the time. During each of Gatsby's parties, the entire social event revolves around serving, tasting, and excessively drinking alcoholic

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Approximate Word count = 1077
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English