How Does the 1920s Influence the Events in The Great Gatsby?

How Does the 1920s Influence the Events in The Great Gatsby?

Author: MARTIN MUNYAO MUINDE
 Email: Ephantusmartin@gmail.com
 Website: https://academiaresearcher.com/

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction

  2. Historical Context: The Roaring Twenties and the Jazz Age

  3. Economic Prosperity, Consumerism, and Social Stratification

  4. Prohibition, Crime, and Illicit Wealth

  5. Changing Gender Roles and Social Mores

  6. Technology, Urbanization, and Mobility

  7. Disillusionment, Moral Decay, and the Aftermath of War

  8. How the 1920s Frame Key Events in The Great Gatsby

  9. Conclusion

  10. References

1. Introduction

  1. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925) is deeply rooted in the social, economic, and cultural milieu of the 1920s in America. To understand its plot events, characters’ behavior, themes, and ultimate tragedy, one must consider how the decade known as the Roaring Twenties or the Jazz Age influences nearly every aspect of the novel. This essay explores how the 1920s shaped the events in The Great Gatsby—how economic boom, consumerism, prohibition, shifting gender roles, urbanization, disillusionment after World War I, and class stratification set the stage for the story.

By analyzing these influences, readers can see why Gatsby’s parties, the relationship between Tom, Daisy, Gatsby, and Myrtle, and the moral failures all make sense within their time. Further, understanding these connections deepens appreciation for the novel’s themes: ambition, disillusionment, illusion vs. reality, and the corrupting power of wealth. This paper will show that The Great Gatsby is not simply a romance or tragedy, but also a social document of its time, with the events of the novel shaped by the influences of the 1920s.

2. Historical Context: The Roaring Twenties and the Jazz Age

The decade of the 1920s in the United States is often called the Roaring Twenties or the Jazz Age. This was a period following World War I in which America experienced strong economic growth, rapid industrialization, mass consumerism, and significant social change. SparkNotes+2Encyclopedia Britannica+2

After the hardships and disillusionment of World War I, many Americans embraced newfound freedom, modernist art, jazz music, increasing leisure, and a departure from older Victorian moral strictures. Harlem Renaissance, racial tensions, prohibition, the tension between “old money” vs “new money”, and technological innovations such as the automobile, radio, and film were part of this context. JSTOR Daily+3SparkNotes+3Sky HISTORY TV channel+3

For Fitzgerald, the Jazz Age was not only a backdrop but an essential influence. It defined the aspirations, anxieties, contradictions of his generation. In The Great Gatsby, both setting and plot are interwoven with the characteristics of the 1920s: extravagant parties, bootlegging, moral ambiguity, and the dream that anyone could reinvent themselves in a land of opportunity. Without understanding the 1920s, the motivations of characters like Gatsby, Tom, Daisy, Jordan, and Myrtle lose much of their force.

3. Economic Prosperity, Consumerism, and Social Stratification

One of the critical influences of the 1920s on The Great Gatsby is the dramatic economic prosperity and the rise of consumer culture. After WWI, America saw major industrial expansion, stock market booms, and an increase in wages for many. Many Americans had more disposable income, credit became more widely available, goods were mass-produced, and there was a surge in consumption. SparkNotes+2Encyclopedia Britannica+2

In The Great Gatsby, this prosperity is reflected in the wealth flaunted by characters. Gatsby’s mansion, the parties he gives every weekend, the elaborate cars, and lavish clothing are products of that consumerism. The “new money” class (Gatsby, Myrtle) contrasts with “old money” (Buchanans) in that they use conspicuous consumption to assert status. The pursuit of wealth, its symbols, and its display are central to many events: Gatsby’s parties are designed to be seen and to impress Daisy and the social elite.

Simultaneously, social stratification intensified in the 1920s. The gap between rich and poor grew; distinctions of class, ancestry, old vs new money, geographic location (East Egg vs West Egg), become meaningful forces pulling characters apart. Daisy and Tom represent old aristocracy, who view themselves as inherently superior; Gatsby tries to break into that world by wealth alone. Myrtle’s longing to escape to a higher social status leads to her ill-fated affair with Tom. Thus, many events–conflicts, tragedies, moral breakdowns–are rooted in class tensions born of 1920s economic inequality.

4. Prohibition, Crime, and Illicit Wealth

The 1920s in America were defined not only by legal prosperity but also by prohibition, which banned the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcohol (from 1920–1933). Prohibition pushed many activities underground and gave rise to organized crime, bootlegging, speakeasies, and illicit wealth. TheCollector+2SparkNotes+2

In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby’s wealth is implied to have come from illicit sources, including bootlegging and shady dealings. Though Fitzgerald never details Gatsby’s business, events hint that Gatsby’s income is not strictly legitimate—this was plausible in the 1920s where illegal liquor and organized networks could generate huge income, and law enforcement was often corrupt or ineffective. Gatsby’s parties are often served by illegal suppliers, and serve as a front for socializing and impressing high society.

Furthermore, the moral corruption and lawlessness associated with prohibition echo in events such as Myrtle’s death, Gatsby’s murder, and the characters’ careless disregard for others (Tom’s affair, Daisy’s driving, etc.). These events are not isolated personal tragedies but are facilitated by the loosened moral constraints and the prosperity of illicit wealth under Prohibition. The 1920s’ ambiguous legal and moral ground makes the novel’s conflicts believable and tragic: people are chasing dreams in environments that often reward appearance over substance, shortcut over integrity.

5. Changing Gender Roles and Social Mores

Another key influence of the 1920s is the shift in gender roles and social expectations. The aftermath of WWI and cultural shifts led to women gaining more independence, including the right to vote (1920 in the U.S.), new fashions, social freedoms, and changing sexual norms. This change is often associated with the “flapper” image—young women who defied earlier norms through dress, behavior, and public presence. SparkNotes+2TheCollector+2

In The Great Gatsby, characters such as Daisy Buchanan and Jordan Baker embody aspects of this changing role for women. Jordan is independent, athletic, somewhat cynical, and flirts with social norms; Daisy, while more constrained, lives in a world that values her appearance, her social connections, and uses the new liberties to some degree. The events in the novel involving women’s agency—such as Daisy’s decision-making, her affair with Gatsby, her ultimate retreat from responsibility—are influenced by the social looseness and contradictions of the 1920s.

Social mores were in flux. Respectability mattered, but many people engaged in behaviors previously stigmatized: drinking, parties, infidelities. The novel captures this duality: public vs private morality. Many social events in The Great Gatsby—the parties, excesses, the double lives—stem from loosened social constraints in the 1920s. The tension between “old” values (duty, integrity, restraint) and “new” values (pleasure, immediacy, spectacle) drives critical events—Gatsby’s fatal hope in changing the past, Tom’s arrogance and indulgence, Myrtle’s illusion of escape.

6. Technology, Urbanization, and Mobility

The 1920s saw rapid technological change: the automobile became widespread, electricity more common, mass media (radio, newspapers, movies) grew, urban centers expanded, and movement (geographic and social) became more possible. SparkNotes+2TheCollector+2

In The Great Gatsby, technology is an enabler of many key events. Gatsby’s car, the yellow car, is not just status symbol—it becomes integral in Myrtle’s death. Automobiles represent modern mobility and also danger. The setting between urban New York City and Long Island suburbs reflects the shift from rural or slower paced life to fast, modern, impulse-driven living.

Also, urbanization is central: the crowds, restaurants, speakeasies, the social crossings of East Egg / West Egg / New York City. Distance itself becomes symbolic (the green light across the bay, the journey over the bridge, the contrast between the valley of ashes and the glittering city). Characters’ mobility—social, physical, emotional—is both facilitated and constrained by the 1920s infrastructure and urban culture.

7. Disillusionment, Moral Decay, and the Aftermath of War

Though the 1920s are often glamorized, there was also widespread disillusionment in America following World War I. Many people returned from war with trauma, questioning traditional values, and were critical of older conservative institutions. There was tension between optimism and cynicism. Fitzgerald refers to this duality in his own writing. PDC Rodas+2SparkNotes+2

In The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway, the narrator, is often critical, reflective, and sometimes morally repelled by the carelessness of the wealthy. The moral decay—infidelity, dishonesty, recklessness, lack of responsibility—is not just personal failure but reflects broader societal decay. Gatsby’s dream, Tom and Daisy’s retreat from responsibility after Myrtle’s death, Gatsby’s murder—all show how ideals are corrupted, how innocence is lost.

The events in the novel also reflect a loss of faith: dreams of love (Gatsby’s love for Daisy), of success through honest means, of stability. Gatsby tries to recreate the past; yet the past resists; reality intrudes. The 1920s’ climate—where illusion and appearance often matter more than substance—amplifies this disillusionment and sets the tragic trajectory of the novel’s events.

8. How the 1920s Frame Key Events in The Great Gatsby

After examining the main features of the 1920s, it is useful to see how those features influence specific events in The Great Gatsby.

8.1 Gatsby’s Parties and Social Spectacle

Gatsby’s lavish weekend parties are a direct product of the Roaring Twenties’ consumerism, wealth display, and social loosening. The extravagance comes from the era’s prosperity and its obsession with spectacle. These parties facilitate key plot events: Daisy attending, Myrtle’s tragic confrontation, Tom’s jealousy, and Gatsby’s illusions. Without the 1920s fetish for public display and excess, such parties might seem absurd; in context they are believable motivations and sites for character interaction.

8.2 Gatsby’s Pursuit of Daisy and Reinvention

One of the central events is Gatsby’s reinvention from poor James Gatz to wealthy Jay Gatsby, motivated by love for Daisy. This reinvention is characteristic of the 1920s belief (or illusion) that one can remake oneself socially and economically. America in that decade seemed full of possibilities. Gatsby uses bootlegging and other illicit wealth, moves into the zone between new vs old money, buys a mansion by the water, hosts glamourous events—all strategies of reinvention enabled by the era.

8.3 Myrtle’s Death and Social Consequence

Myrtle Wilson’s death—run over by Gatsby’s car, driven (indirectly) by Daisy—is significant both as personal tragedy and as symbolic of how reckless wealth and social disregard in the 1920s created dangerous consequences. Automobiles, reckless driving, partying, moral carelessness—all these were part of the new modern life. Myrtle’s aspiration to rise socially, her affair, Tom’s patronizing treatment, all reflect the class tensions and illusions of escape in the 1920s context.

8.4 Gatsby’s Death and the Collapse of Illusion

Gatsby’s eventual death—isolated, betrayed, misunderstood—is perhaps the culminating event shaped by the decade’s moral contradictions. His dream was based on illusion: that wealth could buy Daisy, that the past could be rewritten, that honesty or integrity mattered. But the 1920s lack of accountability among the rich, Tom and Daisy’s ability to escape responsibility, and the broader societal willingness to value appearance over moral virtue all contribute to the collapse.

9. Conclusion

The influence of the 1920s on the events in The Great Gatsby is pervasive. From economic prosperity and social stratification, to prohibition, the emergence of new gender norms, technological advances, and underlying disillusionment—all these make the events in Fitzgerald’s novel credible, rich in symbolism, and tragic in their unfolding. Without understanding the 1920s, many of The Great Gatsby’s central events—Gatsby’s rise and fall, the parties, the moral collapse—lose their full force.

The Great Gatsby serves as both a product and critique of its time. Events in the novel are not simply personal choices or dramatic coincidences; they are deeply conditioned by the ethos of the Roaring Twenties. For readers today, the novel remains powerful because its events, though set nearly a century ago, illuminate how social change, economic inequality, moral ambiguity, and the tension between appearance and reality can shape human lives. The 1920s influence the events of The Great Gatsby not just as backdrop, but as engine—fueling the decisions, the tragedies, and the dreams that define the story.

10. References