The Great Gatsby as a social critique.

A detailed Summary of The Great Gatsby as a social critique.


The Great Gatsby, a novel that illustrates society in the 1920's, should definitely be considered as a social critique. Scott Fitzgerald wrote this novel to demonstrate the social flaws and the social attitudes in the 1920's and 1930's or the Jazz Age, which is a time of prosperity and a booming economy. In this novel, Fitzgerald is criticizing the corruption of the American Dream, the immorality of the 1920's and injustice in society.

The most criticized issue in this novel, is the one of the corruption of the "American Dream". The American Dream was based on the assumption that anyone, no matter what their social class is, could have prosperity if the have effort and skill. This novel is about what happened to this American Dream and how the pursuit of wealth corrupted it. The characters in this novel are in constant pursuit of money, glamour, success and excitement to feel complete about themselves. For example, Tom and Daisy are very materia


Scott Fitzgerald gives us a good idea on what kind of discrimination that existed in that period against non-whites and women. At one point in the novel, the characters have a conversation about how civilization is being destroyed as a result of "The Rise of the Colored Empires". The women in the novel were constantly referred to as girls. By the end of story, it was evident that Fitzgerald was trying to portray the racism and sexism that reflected the American life in the first quarter of the twentieth century.

listic, they want a big house, expensive items and everything that seems valuable. Scott Fitzgerald wasn't criticizing the American Dream itself, but the death of it. He wanted to show how the immoral people, who haven't put in hard work and cheated, have all the money. For instance, Jay Gatsby got his fortune through his dealings with organized crime, which was a empty form of success. Gatsby needed his enormous mansion, his money and his

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 643
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

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