“The Great Gatsby“ was published in 1925. It was Fitzgerald’s third novel. He began writing it in June 1922 and submitted the revised proofs in February 1925. F. Scott Fitzgerald declined an offer of $10,000 for serial rights to the novel to publish it sooner. He eventually made very little from the book, which was not nearly as successful as his first two novels.
Historical Context
Fitzgerald popularized the term “Jazz Age.” It’s used today to define the period Fitzgerald lived and wrote about. It is also sometimes referred to as the “Roaring Twenties.” This was a period of shifting morals post-WWI, flappers, prohibition, and wild parties. There were new freedoms for women, and they demonstrated their freedom by cutting their hair short and changing what they wore. The novel, set four years after WWI, is considered a portrait of this period, with characters like Daisy Buchanan representing, to a degree, the flappers of the day and Gatsby’s parties reflecting the celebrations seen regularly throughout the city.
World War I is also featured in other ways in the novel. Nick and Gatsby are war veterans, although the latter’s history is less clear. The Jazz Age ended in 1929 when the stock market crashed and the Great Depression began.
Author Background
F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in 1896 and came of age during World War I. Like many writers of his generation, the war disillusioned him, and his work often reflects the moral confusion of the era. Before “The Great Gatsby,” Fitzgerald achieved success with “This Side of Paradise,” which cemented him as a voice of the Jazz Age. He was fascinated with wealth, privilege, and the allure of high society, which informed much of his writing. His struggles with fame, financial instability, and an unfulfilled marriage to Zelda Sayre deeply influenced his depiction of Gatsby’s hollow pursuit of the American Dream.
Often, readers try to compare Fitzgerald’s life and the characters’ lives in The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald’s wife, Zelda, is sometimes compared to Daisy Buchanan. This comparison is strengthened by the fact that the two didn’t marry until Fitzgerald published his first book, which proved to be a financial success. This is similar to how Daisy and Gatsby didn’t marry because the latter lacked the means to give Daisy the life she wanted. This is why she married Tom Buchanan, and the loss inspired Gatsby to strive for the life he achieved. It also led to his downfall and death. The parallel is almost prophetic, as Fitzgerald’s later decline is commonly attributed to Zelda’s influence.
Cultural Context
In “The Great Gatsby,” Fitzgerald examines the cultural landscape of the Roaring Twenties, a time marked by prosperity and moral decay. While the surface glitters with tales of wealth and success, Fitzgerald exposes the darker side of the American Dream. In the novel, the Valley of Ashes, a desolate wasteland, is a stark symbol of the forgotten underclass. It contrasts sharply with the lives of the rich in East and West Egg, showing how wealth blinds the upper class to the struggles of those left behind. Living in the ashes, George Wilson works tirelessly but is ultimately powerless.
Prohibition, the era’s attempt to legislate morality by banning alcohol, is also a significant background influence. This backfired, leading to the rise of organized crime and, in Gatsby’s case, illicit wealth. Gatsby’s fortune, built on bootlegging, makes him a symbol of “new money”—rich but never truly accepted by “old money” families like the Buchanans. This cultural clash between old and new wealth drives much of the novel’s tension, revealing the American elite’s shallow, exclusive nature.
Fitzgerald further explores the changing roles of women through the character of Jordan Baker, a flapper. With her bobbed hair and athletic fame, Jordan represents the modern woman, liberated from old societal constraints. Yet, beneath her independence lies an unspoken judgment from others, showing that even in an era of supposed freedom, women faced criticism for breaking traditional roles. Through Jordan, Fitzgerald critiques the contradictions of a society that embraced change while clinging to outdated values.
Literary Context
Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” emerged in the literary world of the 1920s, a time shaped by the Lost Generation. Writers like Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Faulkner, who had experienced the disillusionment of World War I, turned their focus toward themes of alienation, moral decay, and the pursuit of meaning in a changing world. “The Great Gatsby” captures this so well—the emptiness behind the glamour of wealth and the American Dream.
What makes Fitzgerald stand out in his time is his ability to blend the luxury of the Jazz Age with a deeper, more haunting critique of the pursuit of success. While Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises” showcases disillusioned expatriates, Gatsby centers on those who stayed in America but lost themselves in another way—through the hollowness of materialism. Much like Hemingway’s, Fitzgerald’s characters seek fulfillment but find it elusive.
While “The Great Gatsby” fits into the modernist genre, its style is distinct. Writers like James Joyce or Virginia Woolf often relied on stream-of-consciousness to explore inner lives. Still, Fitzgerald’s prose is more lyrical and straightforward, making its themes of loss and yearning all the more powerful. Through Nick’s narrative voice, we see not just the surface but the cracks beneath the glitter of Gatsby’s world.
Critical Reception
When F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” first appeared in April 1925, it was met with admiration and skepticism, like a painter’s new canvas, bright yet untested. Critics, like Edwin Clark of The New York Times, saw it as a shimmering glimpse into the Jazz Age, filled with glamour and mystique. Yet, others, such as H.L. Mencken, found the plot too improbable, a criticism that cut deep into Fitzgerald’s heart. He felt the sting of misunderstanding; he had crafted a work steeped in symbolism and romantic ideals, not mere realism.
Many lauded his prose as elegant and refined, while some quickly labeled the novel inconsequential, a disappointment following his earlier successes. The voices of dissent echoed, claiming he had grown weary, his creativity dulled. Despite the praises from fellow writers like Willa Cather and T.S. Eliot, the commercial response was tepid, with fewer than 20,000 copies sold by autumn.
Fitzgerald’s hopes for acclaim waned as he watched the world outside view his labor of love as merely nostalgic, a relic of a past era. After his passing in 1940, however, the tides began to shift. The novel found new life among a generation of readers and writers, particularly those seeking solace during the difficulties of war. It became a cherished companion for soldiers, a glimpse of a dream in turbulent times.
As the years passed, “The Great Gatsby” emerged from the shadows, rising to the status of a literary masterpiece. It began to symbolize the American Dream, a poignant reminder of fulfilled and thwarted aspirations. By the mid-20th century, critics and readers alike hailed it as one of the finest works of American literature.
Modern Relevance
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” resonates with our modern world, where the echoes of the Roaring Twenties find their place amid today’s economic boom. Back then, wealth flowed like wine but created a divide between the rich and the poor. Today, as technology and globalization shape fortunes, we see a similar disparity. The extravagant lives of billionaires—marked by lavish homes and exclusive events—mirror the hollow glamour of Gatsby’s parties. In both eras, wealth is celebrated, yet the deeper human connections often remain elusive.
Materialism drives society now, just as it did in Gatsby’s time. Characters like Tom Buchanan parade their riches, while Gatsby builds his life on a dream fueled by money. This obsession with wealth, however, breeds loneliness. The images of success plastered across social media perpetuate a longing for a better life, even as many struggle to find their footing in an increasingly polarized economic landscape.
The story of “The Great Gatsby” has inspired various adaptations, most notably Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 film, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby, Carey Mulligan as Daisy, and Tobey Maguire as Nick. Its vibrant visuals and modern soundtrack bring to life the themes of excess and emptiness that run deep in the narrative.
