Hailed as an emblematic landmark in American literature, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s magnum opus The Great Gatsby is the quintessential depiction of the reckless abandon associated with the Jazz Age of the 1920s. The novel captures the frivolity and culture of prosperity that grew out of the material abundance of this era, weaving them into a satiric portrait of the Roaring Twenties. In the aftermath of World War One, American society experienced profound social changes as a result of rapid urbanization and the acceleration of mass production. Relaxed morals, hedonistic values and habits of mass consumption heralded the rise of a consumer-oriented economy and mass entertainment. In turn, overindulgence and infatuation with opulence became fixated as the ideals of contemporary American society. As new technologies such as motorcars for the masses, moving pictures, and the radio were introduced, there was a sudden increase of spending on discretionary and luxurious items that the advertising industry propagated as absolute necessities. This pervasive attitude that emphasized immersion in a lifestyle of excess, grandeur and self-gratification was viewed by many as liberation from the United States’ Victorian past. Yet, for others, this decade came to represent a period of social degradation and the weakening of the fabric of American morals. Fitzgerald himself uses this national ethos as the basis of his critique on the moral vacancy of the Roaring Twenties and its concomitant materialist, conformist and intemperate mass culture through The Great Gatsby. In the novel, he reflects his disillusionment with the shallowness of the Jazz Age through his portrayal of a decadent society depraved by the notion of equating money with happiness and the singular prioritization of attaining aristocracy. Thus, through the portrayal of the corrupting effects that Jazz Age America’s consumerist spirit induced on the characters of Myrtle Wilson, Jay Gatsby, and the Buchannans, Fitzgerald succeeds in using The Great Gatsby as a means of satirizing and denouncing the amorality that the glamour of the 1920s superficially masked.
Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald uses Myrtle Wilson as an exemplification of the destructive effects that commercial culture effectuates in the lives of Americans who have been deceived by its allure. Myrtle is enamored with the acquisition of material goods because she is convinced that temporal abundance will allow her to ascend the social hierarchy of the Roaring Twenties and join the ranks of the aristocrats in society. Mesmerized by what she reads in the “scandal magazines of Broadway” (Fitzgerald, 31) and advertisements, Myrtle succumbs to the belief that purchasing au courant items will elevate her status to that of a distinguished woman. It is important to note that the advertising industry of the 1920s focused primarily on how consumers could become an ideal and higher-ranking version of themselves through the procurement of the right products. The substantial amount of influence that advertising exerts over Myrtle’s perceptions is demonstrated through frivolous behaviours such as buying a dog “because they’re nice to have” (Fitzgerald, 29). The living room of her apartment in New York is “crowded to the doors with a set of tapestried furniture entirely too large for it” (Fitzgerald, 31) in a pitiable attempt to imitate aristocratic dwellings through extravagant furnishing. During Nick’s first meeting with Myrtle, she says to him “I’m going to make a list of all the things that I’ve got to get. A massage and a wave, and a collar for the dog…” (Fitzgerald, 38). This earnestness to mechanically spend money on things she feels compelled to purchase is a satirical take on the consumer hysteria that spread throughout America in this decade. Fitzgerald also employs Myrtle’s affair with Tom Buchanan to highlight how American society during the Jazz Age attributed happiness to wealth rather than personal fulfilment. Myrtle feels trapped in an unhappy marriage with her husband, George Wilson, because they are confined to the Valley of Ashes and the location’s concomitant lower-class reputation. The Valley is a poverty-stricken industrial dumping ground that is situated between the affluence of the Egg societies and the urban excitement of New York City. It is a symbolic representation of the human misery and labour that leaves the less privileged in society choking on dust while the wealthy continue to perpetuate this desolation by exploiting those who lack social influence. Myrtle engages in a lifestyle of immorality and infidelity with Tom in order to get a taste of the aristocratic world she wishes to be part of while escaping the substandard status that is attached to those who inhabit the Valley. Her willingness to endure Tom’s physical abuse and cruelty in exchange for the rush of gratification she feels when provided with the material items that she is deprived of at the working-class hands of her husband captures the essence of the Roaring Twenties’ consumer-oriented society and infatuation with the elite. Lastly, the use of the automobile, the materialist symbol par excellence of the 1920s, as the instrument of Myrtle’s death is a choice deliberately made by Fitzgerald for its irony. The automobile is the most prominent invention of the Roaring Twenties, as motorcars were made available to the American masses for the first time in history at a relatively affordable price. As a result, auto ownership became an integral objective in the average American’s dream of overcoming social stratification and forging a reputable name. Myrtle clings to the idea of Tom being the savior who would eventually emancipate her from her seemingly unworthy life in the Valley of Ashes. She runs out in front of the moving vehicle believing that Tom is behind the wheel, driving into the Valley to liberate her, and is killed in the process. The car wreck is symbolic of her indifference to the destructive immoral behaviour she engages in and of consumer desolation as a result of enslavement to commercial culture. Myrtle loses her life in the pursuit of consumerist ideals, even though she believed that these are what gave meaning to her existence in the first place. Consequently, Fitzgerald makes use of Myrtle’s character to lampoon the devastating consequences of sidelining American values and centralizing materialistic dreams in a moralistic void.
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses the title character as an instrument of satire through the depiction of Gatsby being driven to immorality and dishonesty by the social expectations of an increasingly voluptuous society. To begin with, Gatsby’s perpetration of illicit acts reveals the emphasis of the “get-rich-quick” mentality of the Roaring Twenties. As the novel unfolds, it becomes apparent that Gatsby’s riches were not acquired through fortune inheritance or other socially acceptable sources of wealth. Instead, he turns to organized crime and employs capitalistic means such as alcohol smuggling and bond swindling in order to amass vast quantities of money. At the beginning of the decade, the American government issued a nationwide ban, or “Prohibition”, on the production and sale of alcohol. Gatsby willingly violates Prohibition-era laws by becoming a member of the underground bootlegging industry in order to profit from the demand of illegal liquor. During this time, peddlers of this trade used pharmacies as a front to sell alcohol because pharmacists were still allowed to prescribe whiskey for various ailments. He admits to Nick that he “was in the drug business and then… in the oil business” (Fitzgerald, 37), effectively confirming that Gatsby engaged in under the counter dealings with alcohol in the operation of his pharmacies. This indifference towards participating in organized crime highlights how living in a society infatuated with the attainment of affluence circumvents intrinsic moral revulsion and encourages the pursuit of prosperity through any means possible. In addition, the fabricated theatricality of Gatsby’s persona and mannerisms underscores the materialistic values of 1920s society. Gatsby makes no effort to conceal his state of extravagant living—from his polished diction, to his palatal mansion, to the weekly opulent parties, to the vast amounts of expensive dress shirts and cars—he flaunts his garish position in the American social world. In particular, the parties that Gatsby hosts illustrate the culture of money-worship that was prevalent throughout Jazz Age America on a microcosmic level. These festivities are over-the-top and ostentatious in nature, featuring elaborate buffet tables, large orchestras, bootlegged alcohol and spectacular showcases of fireworks, all in order to cement Gatsby’s elitism in the eyes of his guests. The shallowness in the purpose of these parties is also reflected in the behaviours of those who show up to Gatsby’s uninvited in order to take advantage of his hospitality and “went without having met Gatsby at all” (Fitzgerald, 43). The fact that people only flock to his parties in order to temporarily indulge in its materialistic offerings and feel self-gratified as witnesses to such excess wealth without having at least met or thanked the host demonstrates a lack of humanity. Finally, Gatsby’s downfall is employed as a satirical take on the transience of social prowess. At first, Long Island is shocked by the tragic and hopeless death of Gatsby as news headlines sensationalize the lamentable circumstances of the event. In a matter of days, public interest in the ordeal feigns and virtually all of the people who flocked to his parties did not even bother to attend the funeral. Given Gatsby’s societal standing, he should have been extensively eulogized and immortalized, but instead fades out of memory into obscurity as people return to their lives because his money was simply not enough to earn him a legacy worth celebrating. Thus, Fitzgerald succeeds in ridiculing the acquisitive attitude of the 1920s and the vanity of forming material-based relations through the character of Gatsby.
Through a harsh portrayal of the American aristocracy, epitomized by Tom and Daisy Buchanan, Fitzgerald censures the depravity that material excess induced on those who were wealthy during the Roaring Twenties. He uses the division of the upper class into “old money” and “new money”, represented by the opulent neighbourhoods of West Egg and East Egg, respectively, to comment on the corrupting effects of social stratification. While these two vicinities might look alike on the surface, the main difference lies in the socioeconomic backgrounds of the inhabitants. West Egg is composed of aristocrats, such as the Buchanans, who have inherited their wealth through a successive line of ancestors and are thought to be dignified, sophisticated and notable in society. Contrastingly, East Egg comprises those who have ascended the Jazz Age social hierarchy by having amassed a self-made fortune, as in the case of Jay Gatsby. Throughout the novel, great emphasis is placed on the importance and attractiveness of belonging to old money. Nick describes Daisy’s voice as being “full of money—that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it” (Fitzgerald, 115). At the same time, the nouveau riche population is looked down upon by inheritors of old money who consider themselves to be socially superior. This is exemplified by Daisy’s decision in choosing Tom over Gatsby upon discovery of the origins of the latter’s fortune, as she knew the elitist society of East Egg would never regard a self-made individual in the same manner as one who possesses generational wealth. This demonstrates the aggrandized extent of superficiality in the 1920s, to the point where it is not even about having money, but about being able to boast the right kind. Furthermore, Fitzgerald emphasizes the impropriety of the decade’s upper class through their insensitive and unsympathetic treatment of those belonging to a different social status. Nick perfectly summarizes the unscrupulous nature of the couple when he asserts that “they were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness…” (Fitzgerald, 170). Tom takes advantage of Myrtle’s dependence on him for materialistic gratification, as he physically abuses her and leads her to believe that he wants to leave Daisy but cannot because “she’s a Catholic, and they don’t believe in divorce” (Fitzgerald, 36). He also manipulates George Wilson, who is rendered emotionally unstable by the tragic death of his wife, by implying that Gatsby used Myrtle as his mistress and is thus responsible for her death, in his vendetta against Gatsby. Even though Daisy is in control of the car when the accident unfolds, she willingly allows Gatsby to assume accountability and remove the blame from her shoulders. In doing so, she exploits his romantic infatuation with her and readiness to do anything that will please her. It is this fraudulence that subsequently results in George Wilson being convinced that Gatsby played a role in the killing of his wife and leads to the murder of Gatsby in retaliation. They demonstrate complete disregard for the value of the lives of others, remaining indifferent and apathetic towards the havoc they have wreaked in the wider society. Through the ability of Tom and Daisy to employ their social standing and wealth as a shield against accepting the consequences of their reckless behaviour and prodigality, Fitzgerald criticizes this abuse of privilege at the expense of the disadvantaged. Lastly, Daisy’s nonchalance and apathetic demeanour is employed by Fitzgerald as a way to comment on how a society rooted in moral carelessness can inhibit the ability to form connections of emotional significance. Her indifference towards the possibility of spiritual fulfilment and happiness is depicted through her disinterest in the seemingly non-existent relationship she has with her daughter. When the subject of her daughter comes up during a conversation with Nick, Daisy appears to be absent-minded and steers the topic of discussion in a different direction. This lack of a personal self-realisation can be traced back to when she wept after the birth of her daughter and said “I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (Fitzgerald, 22). With this, Daisy demonstrates how the social environment of the 1920s values subordination and objectification, as opposed to intelligence, in women. She implies that a girl will be able to have a good life if she is able to use her charisma to captivate the attention of men and remain oblivious to the inevitable heartbreak that will arise from doing so. This belief stems from her own personal experiences, as she is pained by her awareness of Tom’s serial affairs but condones his infidelity as part of his right to self-indulgence. In a sense, Daisy’s unhappiness can be attributed to her acceptance of social standards that reduce a woman’s femininity down to serving only to supplement the social standing and wealth of a man. She is desensitized to the affections of her daughter and other individuals as a result of her loveless marriage to Tom, in which she is treated as another one of his many possessions rather than an emotional being. Thus, Fitzgerald epitomizes the degeneracy and emptiness of the American aristocracy through his portrayal of the devastating consequences of the Buchanans’ heedlessness.
Consequently, in The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald satirizes the moral degradation of Jazz Age America as a result of its commercial culture and the depthless values held by society through the characters of Myrtle Wilson, Jay Gatsby, and Tom and Daisy Buchanan. He uses their personalities and behaviours to paint a postwar nation drawn to the glamour of materialistic wealth and corrupted by the depravity that comes with its frenetic pursuit. Each character represents a different way in which consumerism and hedonism debauched the Roaring Twenties. Myrtle Wilson is enslaved to self-gratification, willing to condone infidelity and physical cruelty in exchange for the taste of extravagant living. Jay Gatsby succumbs to moral degeneration, flaunting his wealth and engaging in criminality, in order to attain aristocratic membership. The Buchanans perpetuate misery in the lives of others, relying on their gentility as a means of indemnity for the consequences of their reckless behaviour. Ultimately, the root of all moral decay in The Great Gatsby is wealth—the flaunting of it and the hysteric pursuit of it.