Jazz Music in the Great Gatsby Essay - 953 Words

Jazz Music in The Great Gatsby In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, the reader sees a common theme of corruption of the American Dream. In the 1920’s, the times are changing in America and morals are becoming looser and the lifestyle of the wealthy is more careless. New fashion, attitude, and music is what nicknamed this era the â€Å"Jazz Age,† greatly influencing Fitzgerald’s writing. He created similarities between many things in pop culture and the journey his characters Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, and Myrtle are taking to achieve the American dream. Through the use of the lively, yet scandalous, jazz music from the 1920’s, Fitzgerald reflects the attitudes of the characters in The Great Gatsby at the end of innocence and prevalence of†¦show more content†¦The jazz music of the 1920’s is one example of the scandalous lives of the elite and their elaborate parties that broke barriers for the innovation of American culture. The lyri cs of jazz music also reflected the time of the care free lifestyle. Fitzgerald like to use these lyrics in certain moments of the novel to emphasize a moment. When Gatsby was showing Daisy around his house, he had Klipspringer play the piano. The song chosen was called Ain’t We Got Fun. Lyrics Fitzgerald included in his novel were â€Å"One thing’s sure and nothing’s surer, The rich get richer and the poor get- children† (Fitzgerald 95). These lyrics are describing how the rich are free to live happily in their wealth without much concern for anybody else around them, while the lower classes have the responsibility of raising a family and not going out to party at night. It also shows the struggle of the middle and lower class. The wealthy are already established as so, and their wealth only continues to grow as time passes while the common man is faced with many obstacles that consume large amounts of his money such as a mortgage or their child’s education. The lyrics of jazz can emphasis Fitzgerald’s point of the corrupted American Dream. Even though Jay Gatsby seemed to have everything in the American Dream such as a large house, an elaborate car, and a high social standing, he still didn’t have everything he wanted. His American Dream was to get the love of his life, Daisy to fall back in loveShow MoreRelatedF. Scott Fitzgerald s The Great Gatsby1458 Words   |  6 PagesHonors American Literature 12 April 2016 â€Å"The Jazz Age† The iconic novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, utilizes multiple songs throughout the story. â€Å"Fitzgerald’s wok has become automatically identified with an American decade: The Jazz Age (which he named) or the Roaring Twenties or The Boom.† (Fitzgerald, IX). The Twenties was a time full of exploration of alcohol and music and the move from small farms into large cities. â€Å"Since The Great Gatsby is the defining novel of the Twenties, whichRead MoreF. 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