In what ways does ‘The Great Gatsby’ present the reader with a critical vision of America as a socially divided and morally chaotic society?

In what ways does ‘The Great Gatsby’ present the reader with a critical vision of America as a socially divided and morally chaotic society?

For the Pilgrim Fathers the passage to America was to a new Eden. They were striving to achieve a democratic society in which all men could succeed. The poem ‘Bermudas’ by Andrew Marvell depicts the ideals of the original dream, describing the migration across the ocean to a new world, free from the corruption of Europe. They ‘row’d along’ through the water working in accordance with Providence to move history forwards. However, the pursuit of material success has created social disorder. The 1920s has been described as the Jazz Age, the era of ‘flaming youth’, when young people danced to syncopated ‘African’ rhythms, careened about the countryside in cars in search of pleasure and forgetfulness, and made gods of movie starts and professional athletes. Through ‘The Great Gatsby’, Fitzgerald examines the fate of ...