The Great Gatsby Historical Connection The movie, The Great Gatsby, is full of many historical connections.

It is at first a seemingly upbeat movie portraying the good life during an important era. After a while the movies plot developments into the true reality of the people living during that time who were prosperous. It was a time of corruption and a lack of happiness among the people. This movie connected to our textbook The Unfinished Nation specifically in chapter twenty-two. In chapter twenty-two, entitled The New Era, life in the roaring twenties is discussed. The first turning point of the recession was seen between 1921-1922 when the economy began to thrive again. Along with the economic growth came a rise in industry, specifically auto and telecommunication. The consumer culture began to rise due to the fact that people had discretionary funds with which people bought items for pleasure. The emergence of the flapper also was seen as a way for women to freely express themselves. The idea of the self-made man began to decline because people believed that there was more to gaining wealth and fame through just hard work and talent. Those who were considered self-made men were idolized. People became obsessed with material wealth which eventually influenced writers to criticize the culture of consumerism. New York, Harlem in particular, was the source of the Harlem Renaissance and the period of jazz culture. Throughout all of the new societal developments, the period of prohibition had taken effect in 1920. The noble experiment failed due to the widespread availability of alcohol and organized crime. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, was a novel written in 1925 (eventually converted into two movie versions) that was a romance story in the midst of a depicted criticism of the culture of consumerism and wealth. The movie introduced various concepts covered in chapter twenty-two as realities for the people of that time. As it was narrated in the beginning, the main character Nick Carraway said things like all of us drank too muchand none of us contributed anything new. Those

statements let viewers know that this was a period of pure consumerism and what seemed like happiness, but in reality they were accomplishing nothing. This also informed us that prohibition had been a failure due to bootleggers and speakeasies, which we later realize, was a sole reason why Gatsby was so wealthy and successful. The city grew to great extents and the jazz culture was a prominent background throughout the movie. This also depicted how the automobile industry not only had become popular, but how it became a way to allow people to escape the crowded urban life and live on the outskirts of the city (like Nick, Daisy, and Gatsby). Another aspect of the culture during that period was the visual interpretation of marriages. Men were the breadwinners and were not faithful in the least bit. Women stayed in relationships even though they were unhappy. The development of womens roles was also depicted through Daisys friend, Jordan, who was a female athlete (represented the new woman) and Myrtle who was Toms mistress. Being a mistress and a flapper was very popular among the lower-middle and working class women. Lastly was Gatsby himself. He was the idea of the selfmade man and was the talk of the city. No one really knew the truth or even cared to know the truth behind Gatsbys story. The entire city was consumed with the idea of his wealth and amazed by the parties he threw. His story revealed that even though he had accomplished all the wealth and materials one could wish for, he was never happy. Many people throughout the story never achieved true happiness. These connections plus many more minute details throughout the Great Gatsby made it the famous story it is today. It was a great realistic example of what life was really like back in the twenties. Although these people appeared to have everything, they were still the unhappy characters of the story. This story showed how the laws and government were loosely regulated and how the true leaders in theses urban areas were the wealthy and corrupt businessmen . This period was an emergence of a completely different lifestyle. Luckily for us this period did not last long, or else our society today would have gone to hell.