Perspectives

Historical perspective

The Great Gatsby is set in the early years of the 1920s. Since Fitzgerald wrote the book just a couple of years after the book’s time setting, the book is closely inspired by Fitzgerald's own time and experiences and so has a particular historical context.

Politics

To better understand the novel’s historical context, it is useful to know that the US experienced significant economic growth after the First World War had ended in 1918, with industry and trade doing well. This gave rise to an era of prosperity known as “The Jazz Age” (a term coined by Fitzgerald) or “The Roaring Twenties”, and many people became very wealthy. This included many former members of the lower and middle classes, and society was quickly changed by this shift in money. Many of the aristocratic families maintained their wealth, but increasingly people from non-traditional backgrounds (like Gatsby) were building large houses and changing the way society was structured.

Politically, there was also a large change in the position of women, who were granted the right to vote across the country in 1920. During the First World War, many women had enjoyed greater freedom and taken up many jobs traditionally done by men. Many continued to pursue this freedom in the 1920s, often seeking financial independence or employment. Notably, in The Great Gatsby, Jordan Baker makes her living as a professional golfer.

In 1929, the Wall Street crash marked an abrupt end to the Jazz Age, plunging the US into economic depression within a short span of time. In a way, The G...

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