Historical Criticism of the Great Gatsby
Introduction
Historical criticism is a branch of literary criticism that investigates literary texts with the aim of understanding the world behind them. The primary goal of historical, literary criticism is to understand the original or primitive meaning of literary texts in their historical context and their literal sense. The secondary goal of this type of criticism is to reconstruct the historical situation of readers of the text or that of the author. This may be achieved by reconstructing the actual events that the text is trying to describe. The goal of this paper is to analyze the “Great Gatsby” novel under the lens of historical criticism.
Historical Analysis of the Great Gatsby
The events in the novel take place at a time that is currently referred to as the Roaring 20s or the Jazz Age. Although published in 1925, the Great Gatsby is set in the year 1922, just when the decade was beginning. In other words, the novel was set in the 20th century; this is the period that is nicknamed “the Roaring 20s” or “the Jazz Age.” The Roaring 20s points us to post WWI America’s greater influence abroad and the country’s economic prosperity. The Jazz Age, on the other hand, points us to daring artistic events and changing social norms at the period.
The 1st World War greatly affected America in the 20th century (the 1920s), and it also shaped many things in the world. On the one hand, the United States was elevated to the position of superpower, and the country experienced an economic boom throughout the decade. On the other hand, the many lives that were lost in the war dispelled the idea that war was a glorious and noble thing. The 1st world war was a trench of shrapnel artillery, chemical weapons, warfare, and gruesome technologies that the world had never witnessed before. When the mass destructions caused by the war are combined with the fact that it was “a territorial stalemate” (no army withdrew, no army advanced – all armies were locked in a tie), we see that the war was meaningless because it claimed millions of lives.
Those who survived the war came to be known as “the Lost Generation” (veterans and even those who came of age during the war). Although F. Scott Fitzgerald did not witness any fighting at the time when he was in the Army, he belonged to this generation. The novel, therefore, reveals many things about the 1st world war and its aftermath through a number of characters. For example, Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway have a military background. Gatsby’s romance with Daisy is intensified by the idealism that he was fighting for a glorious and noble endeavor. The freshness of the war in people’s minds is also denoted by the rumors swirling around Gatsby; there were rumors that Gatsby and Kaiser Wilhelm (Germany’s ruler during the war) were related, and that he spied for the Germans during the war.
The devastating effects of the way led to a new artistic movement known as modernism, which was concerned with breaking ties with the past. Unlike the 19th century, when the status quo was reinforced by writers of the era, modernism rejected moral certitude and heroism ideas, which writers in the 20th century considered to be old-fashioned. The Lost Generation was motivated by devastations of the 1st world war to embrace cynical views of human nature. For example, the author of the Great Gatsby – Fitzgerald – belonged to a circle of modernists that met regularly in Paris. As a matter of fact, he wrote the novel while in Paris. The novel’s descriptions of the West Egg and East Egg extravagance are also connected to modernism. The author is very critical of capitalist success and the wealth that followed the 1st world war; many people became so obsessed with money and status.
As explained above, the novel took place at a time when the US experienced a tremendous economic boom, and the stock market was soaring upwards. Additionally, progressive movements were flourishing, and social restrictions of the 19th century were being rejected. Republican and social activists teamed up to put pressure on the government to prohibit alcohol, which they believed was the cause of many social ills such as drug abuse and gambling. The 20th century was also the period when the 18th amendment was passed to outlaw the sale and production of alcohol. The prohibition led to the birth of underground empires to meet the demand for alcohol. The distribution and production of alcohol then became the business of bootleggers (criminal syndicates). Gatsby, for example, is involved in several criminal activities and bootlegging, which are the source of his millions. Meyer Wolfshiem – Gatsby’s business partner, is involved in organized crime (Wolfshiem’s character is based on the life of Arnold Rothstein, a real-time crime boss in 1919). There are also rumors that Gatsby is involved in an alcohol bootlegging pipeline from Canada (this actually makes reference to an actual place where illegal alcohol came from).
The 1919 passing of the 19th amendment gave voting rights to women. This milestone gave the 1920s women the motivation to keep fighting for other rights. Politically, women’s rights activists pushed for equal rights between men and women. Economically, the number of women with jobs increased as more employment opportunities opened when men went abroad to fight; more vacancies were available in the absence of men. Divorce also became a very common thing, although many still frowned upon it. For example, Daisy considers divorcing her husband but later changes her mind and decides to remain married to him. Women also began to wear less restricting clothes, and they could go out to dance and drink; social norms prohibited women from doing these things at the time. Jordan, for instance, is not so keen on getting married, and she parties a lot. There is also Myrtle, who goes against traditional rules by deciding to cheat on her husband. She is, however, killed in the end.
The boom that followed the war also brought with it goodies for minority groups in the United States. Jewish Americans promoted woman’s rights, worker’s rights, and many other progressive causes. Minority groups were also allowed to serve in the US military. There was also an upshot of African American artists during this period. Jazz music – which Gatsby played in most of his parties – and all other songs described by the author are real-life pieces of music. Nevertheless, minority groups in the USA following the 1st world war gave birth to anti-Semitic and anti-African Americans backlash. In chapter 1, for example, Tom Buchanan expresses concern that white Americans will be overtaken by minority groups.
Conclusion
As explained in the introduction, historical criticism of literary works involves the analysis of literary texts within their historical contexts. The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald – which is set in the 1920s – is full of many historical events that happened in real life. It captures events such as the push for equal rights between men and women by women rights activists, the passing of the 18th amendment, which prohibited the sale and distribution of alcohol, it highlights the activities of bootleggers that emerged following the 18th amendments, among other historical events in America.
Works Cited