The dazzling spectacle and amusement of the 1920’s will always be a glorified era for the modern person. During this time, new traditions and intemperate lifestyles began to form, even with the disillusioned past haunting the entire world. The 1920’s was covered by a mask of grand parties, illegal drinking, and introduction of flappers. In the 1920’s, men returned from World War I with little direction for their lives. They had to reunite themselves with a new modernized society. Among these returning veterans was author, F. Scott Fitzgerald. This writer of the lost generation wrote one of the most quintessential pieces of American fiction, The Great Gatsby.

The Great Gatsby is a story told by the narrator, Nick Caraway, who moves to West Egg in Long Island in the 1920’s. His neighbor is the mysterious Mr. Jay Gatsby who owns a gigantic, Gothic mansion that hosts extravagant parties every weekend. On the other side of Gatsby’s house lives Nick’s cousin, Daisy Buchanan. She is known as the golden girl who has an irresistible presence and illusion of purity and innocence. Her husband, Tom Buchanan, is a strong, malicious man who seeks to control everything around him with his money and power. Mistakenly, he sounds like the antagonist in the novel, but in my perspective, Fitzgerald made it so that no character in was pure. All were flawed in one way or another, just like in the real world.

As the narrator, Nick highlights the good, the bad, and the ugly of all the characters, including himself. However, in the beginning of the novel, Nick makes a point to single out Gatsby as the one person immune from his social paradox. The story continues as Gatsby works to achieve his one goal: win Daisy Buchanan.

Prior to Gatsby receiving his wealth, he actually knew Daisy while he was a soldier. His uniform served as a veil to disguise his poverty. Daisy was wealthy, youthful, and beautiful, so Gatsby seized his opportunity to get everything he ever wanted. Five years later, Gatsby grew in power and wealth and seeks to win back the same Daisy he meet during the war. Gatsby’s desire to turn back time and repeat the past ultimately leads to his demise.

On the edge of Daisy’s house is a green light.  Every night Gatsby looks toward the green light as if he is so close to reaching his goal, for that moment he can be free from his own anxious spiral of lost years. The green light symbolizes hope and an invitation to dream. It is one of the most recognized symbols in American literature. We all have our green light that motivates us to reach our own goals. The Great Gatsby is a green light that influences literature and still teaches readers valuable life lessons.

The Great Gatsby was an insightful and entertaining novel that has left an impression on me. Leaving me to wonder if the 1920’s really is a golden age or just an extravagant exaggeration meant to distract the cynical and lost from the 21st century.