The 1920’s, also known as “The Roaring Twenties” was a period which consisted of rapid lifestyles, jazz, excess money, intellectual movements and a fast pace in technological progress. A boisterous era, it also boomed in literature and was a time of literary creativity. Some of the works that give an insight into the culture and life during the 1920’s are “The Great Gatsby” and “Bernice Bobs her Hair”. The Great Gatsby focuses more on the bigger picture of the 1920’s. On the surface, The Great Gatsby resembles a romantic love story between two long lost lovers. However, the story has a much wider meaning and paints “The Roaring Twenties” along with its moral and social corruptness. Meanwhile, Bernice Bobs her Hair focuses more in depth on the
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The first evident common theme is materialism. “The parties were bigger, the shows were broader, the buildings were higher, the models were looser, and the ban on alcohol had backfired, making the liquor cheaper.” This sums up what life during the 1920’s was like. It is without a doubt known that the 1920’s was an age of appearances and materialism. Many people of that age were known not to be drunks who did contribute to society. “Back then, all of us drank too much. The more in tune with the times we were, the more we drank. And none of us contributed anything new” says Nick. In The Great Gatsby, it was all about the lavish lifestyles, exaggerated parties, exotic cars, women and showing off. The main characters such as Tom, Daisy and even Gatsby himself were constantly boasting about their extravagant lives in the attempts to impress one another. Being wealthy seemed to have meant a lot more back then, everything revolved around wealth and status. …show more content…
Traditional upbringings were challenged, and corruption became very common. Immorality in people of that age can be seen through their racism, corruption, outspoken nature and scandalous behavior. Immorality was a very recurrent issue in The Great Gatsby. The main characters such as Daisy, Tom and the rest were described as a “rotten bunch” by Nick Callaway, and they were indeed a rotten bunch. Nick’s perspective of people had completely changed and in the opening scene he is seen saying “When I came back from New York, I was disgusted, disgusted with everyone, and everything”. Both Daisy and Tom only looked out for their own interests, and were willing to destroy anything or anyone that would come in their way. Daisy was attention seeking, selfish and unfaithful. In many scenes it is evident that she doesn’t love anyone but herself and is a cold hearted woman. Daisy not only cheated on her husband back and forth, she also broke Gatsby’s heart by leaving him in times of trouble, failing to even attend his funeral and instead fleeing with her husband whom she doesn’t even truly love. Tom on the other hand was racist, corrupt and hungry for power. Much like Daisy, he himself cheated on her constantly and only had her as a trophy wife. He was racist towards the help and
The first evident common theme is materialism. “The parties were bigger, the shows were broader, the buildings were higher, the models were looser, and the ban on alcohol had backfired, making the liquor cheaper.” This sums up what life during the 1920’s was like. It is without a doubt known that the 1920’s was an age of appearances and materialism. Many people of that age were known not to be drunks who did contribute to society. “Back then, all of us drank too much. The more in tune with the times we were, the more we drank. And none of us contributed anything new” says Nick. In The Great Gatsby, it was all about the lavish lifestyles, exaggerated parties, exotic cars, women and showing off. The main characters such as Tom, Daisy and even Gatsby himself were constantly boasting about their extravagant lives in the attempts to impress one another. Being wealthy seemed to have meant a lot more back then, everything revolved around wealth and status. …show more content…
Traditional upbringings were challenged, and corruption became very common. Immorality in people of that age can be seen through their racism, corruption, outspoken nature and scandalous behavior. Immorality was a very recurrent issue in The Great Gatsby. The main characters such as Daisy, Tom and the rest were described as a “rotten bunch” by Nick Callaway, and they were indeed a rotten bunch. Nick’s perspective of people had completely changed and in the opening scene he is seen saying “When I came back from New York, I was disgusted, disgusted with everyone, and everything”. Both Daisy and Tom only looked out for their own interests, and were willing to destroy anything or anyone that would come in their way. Daisy was attention seeking, selfish and unfaithful. In many scenes it is evident that she doesn’t love anyone but herself and is a cold hearted woman. Daisy not only cheated on her husband back and forth, she also broke Gatsby’s heart by leaving him in times of trouble, failing to even attend his funeral and instead fleeing with her husband whom she doesn’t even truly love. Tom on the other hand was racist, corrupt and hungry for power. Much like Daisy, he himself cheated on her constantly and only had her as a trophy wife. He was racist towards the help and