The Use of Satire in The Great Gatsby
The author use satire to point out a vice of the society or group of people. The author of The Great Gatsby , Scot Fitzgerald uses characters events and symbols to point out the vice of people in 20’s in America. In the following paragraphs I will focus on : parties Gatsby and the use of alcohol.
The parties are prime example of satire in The Great Gatsby. First party is made by tom in his house this party sows us Tom and Daisy as the ideal couple living American Dream. They have house ,money, and a family but this illusion is shattered when Tom receives a call from his mistress Tom is not fulfilled with the American Dream which is why he has an affair. He is tempered and controlled at his party in East Egg. However, a different side of him, a more volatile side of him is show at Myrtle’s party. Daisy refers to him as a ‘hulking, brute of a man’ which Tom clearly does not like. But he does nothing more than object. When he’s with Myrtle and he dislikes the fact that she is referring to Daisy, he lashes out and hits Myrtle. This shows us the differences between upper class and low class. The violence is not showed in east egg but in new York is showed. In Gatsby parties, Many people who attended the parties were never even invited. This disregard for propriety illustrates the crassness and thoughtlessness that seemed to run rampant among the rich and famous during the twenties. An example of carelessness is when a large group of people at one of the huge soirees, decides to continue the party in the massive, expensive fountain in Gatsby’s lawn .They just jump right in and begin to dance without concern for their health, much less concern for the well being of the fountain. After the galas had died down, most of the participants went home, leaving a monstrous mess and sometimes even their clothes or shoes.
Gatsby seemed to be a rich, well-rounded man who was always very poised and eloquent. But when turned inward, this confident man seemed very self-conscious and scared. He was scared that people would find out about his past and realize that he was not always the rich and graceful man that he now is. Throughout the novel, Gatsby informed all of his acquaintances that he was an Oxford man and that he came from a well-to-do family. However, this was not the case. Gatsby did not attend Oxford and was not from a well-to-do family. He was poor as a child and obtained most of his money from illicit business ventures. This is why Gatsby was rarely seen at his own parties and why he never liked to talk about his past or where he earned his living.
Prohibition was passed in the early nineteen hundreds to try to eliminate the use of alcohol. But it is clearly obvious that at all of Gatsby’s parties and throughout the entire novel, intoxicating beverages are abundant. At all of Gatsby parties , cases of champagne and liquor are consumed by the dozens. Tom even brings a bottle of liquor along as he Daisy, Jordan, Gatsby and Nick prepare to go for a drive. Fitzgerald employs the use of alcohol to show that no matter what the law states, people will find a way to break it and do what they please.
In conclusion, the vice of the people in twenties is showed through parties, Gatsby character and the use of alcohol. Parties shows us how the carelessness of people, Gatsby character shows us how new rich earned their money and the use of alcohol shows us that no matter what the law states ,people will find a way to break it and do what they please.
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