The Great Gatsby: Symbols of the Jazz Age - Research Paper Example

Therefore, in this research I am going to explore the symbols and representations of the Jazz Age in this novel. The approach I will use is to explore the symbols and discuss them with reference to the novel and other sources discussing the Jazz Age period. Hence, this research explores the different symbols of the jazz age in Fitzgerald’s novel the Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald achieves a remarkable expression of American society during the 1920s by capturing and presenting the symbols of the Jazz Age.

In the novel, the life of the main character Gatsby is a depiction of the lifestyle of the larger population during the Jazz Age (Moran 176). He is a wealthy man whose source of wealth is bootlegging and who throws large extravagant parties, a characteristic of the times. The parties constituted of abundant food and drink, and were not complete without playing jazz music. The Jazz Age got its name from the popularity of jazz music during those times. The popularity of jazz music among black Americans influenced the Europeans in the urban areas this genre of music.

Hence, a party with abundant food and drinks, as well as plenty of jazz music is one of the symbols that marked the American society in the 1920s during the jazz age. Further, Fitzgerald depicts the Jazz Age in different ways. There is the moral and virtues perspective depicted by their lack of these elements. There is rampant belief in materialism and the disillusionment that results from the failure of both the lack of morality and virtue and the failing ability of material gain to fulfill the happiness that both offered.

These characteristics are depicted throughout the novel using the different characters including Daisy, Tom, Gatsby and Nick Carraway (Bloom 18). Materialism in the Great Gatsby is shown by the popularity that Gatsby amasses by virtue of his extravagant parties that he throws every weekend. The extravagance is