Compare/Contrast "The Miller's Tale" & "The Reeve's Tale"

Isaac Atayero

M r. John Campion

Advanced Placement English Language

November 21, 2011

  In Geoffrey Chaucer’s short story, The Miller’s Tale, the Miller tells an embarrassing tale about the Reeve. As an act of retaliation, the Reeve tells  an equally embarrassing story of the Miller in The Reeve’s Tale. Although shorter and bawdier, The Reeve’s Tale is not as well told as The Miller’s Tale. When the Miller tells his tale he is in a jolly mood while the Reeve narrates his tale out of retaliation.Despite the fact that the two fabliaux are responses to the stories told before them, The Miller’s Tale is a better parody of the tale that precedes it . The Miller’s Tale surpasses The Reeve’s Tale because the Miller is much more descriptive than the Reeve. With these observations, one should come to the conclusion that The Miller’s Tale is the better tale .

    The Miller’s Tale is more appealing because the Miller is in a merry mood when he tells his story while the Reeve narrates his story while he is in a vengeful mood.The host originally wanted the monk to “repay the Knight a little for his tale”(86) but before the monk could, “the Miller ,very drunk and rather pale”(86) interrupts and promises to “pay the Knight his wages”. The Miller then tells a rather raunchy tale “of an old carpenter and...his wife, and how a student came and set his cap”(87). Drunk and lighthearted, The Miller’s Tale is told for pure fun and the joy of telling a funny and ribald story. The mood of the merry Miller gives the tale an easy tone that is carried on through out The Miller’s Tale.

       Unlike the Miller, the Reeve tells his tale with the intention of avenging himself. The Reeve’s ill will creates an hostile atmosphere for his tale, this causes his story not to be as effortless as the Miller’s.The Reeve “was a little angry”(106) with The Miller’s Tale because “he was a carpenter by trade”(106) and The Miller’s Tale was about “how a carpenter was made a fool of”(108). The Reeve initially tried to stop the Miller from telling the tale by shouting “Shut your trap!...can’t you handle some other tale?”(87), but the Miller pressed on with his tale.The Reeve is angry because he thinks the Miller told his tale to “score off me”(108). Angered by this, the Reeve decides that the Miller should be “paid out...with my story”(119).Setting out to avenge himself causes the Reeve’s story to seem forced and insincere unlike the Miller’s story. The “drunken Miller”(108) tells a better fabliau because he is in a cheerful mood unlike the Reeve who was the only “soul it seemed to grieve”(106).

     The Miller’s Tale is superior to The Reeve’s Tale because The Miller’s Tale is a better satire of the tale prior to it. After the Knight’s tale, the Host asked “Sir Monk, if you’ve a tale to tell”(86) because he wanted the storytelling to be in order of social class. To the Host’s chagrin, the Miller interrupts and puts himself under the pressure to tell a story that equals the Knight’s noble tale. Although the Miller’s raunchy tale is expected of him, it is clever because it does not attempt mimic The Knight’s Tale rather the Miller uses his tale to banter the Knight’s. The Knight’s Tale was a “noble story worthy to be remembered for its glory”(86) while The Miller’s Tale caused “majority (to be ) dissolved in laughter”(106). Although the Miller draws parallels with the characters in The Knight’s Tale with characters in his tale, he puts a different spin on the characters. Arcite and Palamon,“Princes of the Royal Blood”(30) in The Knight’s Tale become “Nicholas the Gallant”(89) and “jolly Absalon”(93) in The Miller’s Tale. The Miller mocks “Emily the Bright”(49) with Alison,“the fair young wife...(with) a lecherous eye”(90). The Miller does not tell of idealistic characters like the Knight but instead low class people like himself. The Miller’s mockery of The Knight’s Tale is not only hilarious, but it is also a clever choice.

   Unlike the Miller, the Reeve does not mock the tale prior to his, instead he copies it.The Reeve wants to use his tale to “tweak the Miller by the cap, for lawful ‘tis to give him tap for tap”(108). Even though The Reeve’s Tale causes the “miller was (to be ) paid out in proper fashion”(119), it is not original. When telling his tale, the Miller used a different approach to repay the Knight, unlike the Reeve who just imitates the characters from The Miller’s Tale. “The silly carpenter” (99), from The Miller’s Tale parallels “the bumptious miller”(118) from The Reeve’s Tale. Nicholas and Absalon are strikingly similar to John and Alan, the“two poor young Bible-clerks”(110) that engage in intercourse with the miller’s wife and daughter.The Reeve simply expands on the Miller’s story. The Miller is more creative because he looks at The Knight’s Tale with a different perspective. By being more original, the Miller proves to be a better story teller than the vengeful Reeve. The lack of originality in The Reeve’s Tale is one of the reason that The Miller’s Tale is the finer tale of the two.

      The Miller’s Tale outmatches The Reeve’s Tale because the Miller places more value on words in his tale than the Reeve does in his tale.  Although the Miller admits “I’m drunk”(87), he uses surprisingly intricate and brilliant descriptions for his characters. The Miller goes into very detailed descriptions of his characters. The Miller is surprisingly very descriptive of Alison, he tells of “her apron was as white as morning milk”(90) and “her girdle hung a purse of leather, tasselled with silk and silver droplets, pearled;”(90). The Miller goes on and on describing Alison to make the readers and listeners aware of her femininity.The Miller’s comparisons of his characters and characters from bestiaries in his tale are a delightful and pleasant surprises for the readers. The Miller says Alison’s “body (is) as slender as any weasel’s”(90) to let the reader know that Alison goes from man to man for copulation. The miller compares Alison’s singing to a “swallow’s chirping”(90) and her skipping to that of “any kid or calf behind its mother”(90) to further illustrate Alison’s lustful lifestyle. In his tale, the Miller also says Absalon’s eyes were “as grey as goose”(92) because goose in bestiaries have a good sense of smell and later in the tale “Nicholas...let a fly fart...as if it were a thunder- clap”(105) in Absalon’s face.There are many intelligent comparisons and description in The Miller’s Tale.  The Miller’s Tale is better because he uses his words more delicately to help his readers and listeners understand his characters better.

    In The Reeve’s Tale,there is more value in actions than there is in words, which is why The Miller’s Tale is the better tale. The Reeve’s Tale is much shorter than The Miller’s Tale because the Reeve is rather quick in describing his characters.For instance, all the Reeve says about the nameless Miller’s daughter is that “she was a girl of twenty summers’ growth;...her rump was broad, her breasts were round and high; she’d very pretty hair”(110). Any other attribute or characteristic of the miller’s daughter is left to the imagination of the reader or listener. In comparison to the Miller, the Reeve says less about his characters and does not go in depth with their descriptions. Instead the Reeve places more importance on the significance of the deeds of his characters rather than on their features. Another good example is when the miller went “up to the horse...with quiet skill and strips the bridle off him there and then”(112). By doing this, the miller unknowingly provokes the students , who revenge by laying in bed with his daughter and wife. Another example of an important deed in The Reeve’s Tale occurs when John “steals towards the cradle, lifts it...and lays it by his bed”(116). John does this to fool the miller’s wife to lay with him but this action ends up confusing Alan and causes chaos in the household. Actions play a larger role in The Reeve’s Tale than words do. Being in a merry mood gives the Miller the advantage of taking his time with his storytelling, as opposed to the Reeve who rushes his way through his tale.The Miller, like any good storyteller, understands the value of words in any story. Unlike the Reeve, the Miller takes his time with his story, which puts his story above the Reeve’s. The Reeve obviously does not and delivers a swift story that races for the punchlines and denies the reader or listener the chance to get to know the characters. By placing emphasis on actions rather than deeds is one of the reasons that cause The Reeve’s Tale to come behind The Miller’s Tale.

      The Miller’s Tale and The Reeve’s Tale are exemplarities of what a good fabliau should be. However, The Miller’s Tale is more polished than The Reeve’s Tale for several reasons. Firstly, the Miller’s state of mind when telling his tale put him in the position to be a better story teller than the Reeve, who was in a vengeful mood. Secondly, the Miller does a better job of ridiculing The Knight’s Tale than the Reeve does when he pays back the Miller. Finally, by placing a bigger significance on actions rather than words , the Reeve robs his readers and listeners the opportunity of knowing his characters better. The Miller, on the other hand is very skillful when it comes to describing his characters. All of these reasons help one come to the understanding that the Miller tells the better tale.

Compare/Contrast "The Merchant's Tale" and "The Franklin's Tale

Isaac Atayero

Sir. John Campion

Advanced Placement English Language

12/19/11

  In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, a set of pilgrims have a story-telling competition while travelling to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury. The Merchant and the Franklin both participate in this competition by telling their own tales. Unlike The Franklin’s Tale, The Merchant’s Tale is a commentary on the previous tale. The Merchant’s Tale is probably the better of the two because it is inspired from personal experience. The Franklin’s Tale, however, is simply a retelling of an older tale. The Merchant tells the very last ribald tale of all the pilgrims. The Franklin, who tells his tale after the Merchant, tells a rather noble tale. The two tales have similar character structures, a female and two males. The two tales deal with the topic of medieval love, faithfulness and commitment in marriage. The two tales show Chaucer’s versatility as a brilliant writer. The following factors show how similar but yet different the two men and their tales are.

    Prior to The Merchant’s Tale, the Clerk  tells a tale about Griselda, a noble wife, whose husband tests her with a series of gruesome occurrences. Even with the unnecessary and extremely unpleasant tribulations that befall her, the wife “and her patience”(355) remain faithful and  ever loving to her husband. In his prologue, the Merchant says he can relate to the “weeping and wailing...and..sorrow”(356) that marriage can bring although he has only “been wedded...two these months past”(356). The Merchant claims that his wife is such “a shrew”(356) that “ if a fiend were coupled to my wife, she’d overmatch him”(356). The Merchant declares marriage as a “snare”(356) and if you fall into it your life will be filled with nothing but “grief and care”(356).  The Host then tells the Merchant to tell a tale about marriage since he “know so much about the art of marriage”(357). The Merchant then responds “with pleasure”(357) and tells his tale. The Merchant then tells his moderately lewd fabliau about January and his vivacious bride, May.

     The Merchant’s Tale is about a man who has been a bachelor all his life but upon turning sixty decides to get married. January, the main character of the tale, is a self centered nymphomaniac who gets married solely for the pleasure. He gets married for selfish and wrong reasons. These reasons vary from practical ones like wanting someone to take care of him to lewd ones such as wanting a pretty maiden he can sport with at any time. January’s most selfish reason for marrying May is so that he does not go to hell for leaving such a lewd and fun-filled life. May eventually cuckolds January and copulates with young Damien. When January, with the help of Pluto, witnesses her adultery, May with the help of lady Proserpine, comes up with a brilliant excuse and January forgives her.

   The Merchant’s Tale possesses a certain authenticity that The Franklin’s Tale lacks because it is drawn from personal experience. This authenticity in The Merchant’s Tale allows it to be easily  categorized as the better of the two tales. The Merchant’s Tale is more relatable to both the reader and the listener than the Franklin’s recitation of one of the songs “of ...the noble Bretons”(408). The Merchant’s Tale can also be expected of his audience because of his prologue. The Franklin’s Tale can also be expected of the reader but is not in context like the The Merchant’s Tale. Unlike the The Franklin’s Tale, the The Merchant’s Tale is a reflection of the tale told prior to his. This gives the The Merchant’s Tale an element of consistency that the The Franklin’s Tale wants.

       The Franklin’s Tale is also not as good as The Merchant’s Tale because the Franklin is “not a cultivated man”(408) and he possesses “untutored speech”(408). The Franklin even admits that he cannot “give colouring to my words”(409). The lacks of description in The Franklin’s Tale causes it to fall behind the Merchant’s heart felt fabliau. The Franklin, unlike the Merchant, “have no feeling”(409) while telling his tale. This is because neither he nor his audience cannot relate to the tale he is telling. The monotone quality in the tale is the product of an uninspired story teller. The Merchant, who is able to tell from personal experience, tells a brilliant and funny tale. The two tales prove that the personality of the  storyteller affects the quality of the tale.

         The Franklin’s Tale is about a soldier who goes by the name of Arveragus and has to go fight in a battle in order “to seek high deeds of arm and reputation”(411). Arveragus leaves his wife, Dorigen, behind. Dorigen “mourned...and lamented”(411) for her husband’s absence like all “noble  wives will do when inclined”(411). Dorigen  then witnesses some people die because of a set of rocks. Dorigen becomes even more miserable because she feels terrible about the accident. Aurelius, Dorigen’s suitor, attempts many a time to persuade her to marry him. Being the noble wife she is, Dorigen rejects him all these time. Then one day she dares him as a joke, to remove the rocks from the water. And she promised to marry him if he is able to do so. The cunning Aurelius then hires a magician to make the tide rise which causes all the rocks to disappear. Dorigen becomes in distraught when she sees this and explains this to Arveragus when he returns. Arveragus claims Dorigen has to keep her word , he does this because he is a noble knight. Touched by Arveragus’ nobility, Aurelius releases Dorigen and allows her to return to her noble husband.

     The Franklin’s Tale also show the lack of imagination and originality of the Franklin. He says “I remember one...i will render to you as best as i can”(408). It is simply a recitation without any references or coloring. The beauty of The Merchant’s Tale is not only its authenticity but its originality. The Merchant’s bawdy tale seems more thought out unlike The Franklin’s noble tale . For example, the merchant references characters from earlier tales. One of them is May, the main female character who is also a direct inspiration to the Miller’s character Alison. The Miller, one of the pilgrims, tells of a character similar to May both in appearance and behavior. The Merchant’s ability to take all that inspires him and craft it into an intelligent tale definitely puts him ahead of the unlearned Franklin.

     The Merchant’s Tale and The Franklin’s Tale do possess some similar qualities. One of these qualities is the structure of the characters. The Merchant’s Tale consists of January,“a knight one time of good renown”(357), May “a maiden...whose beauty as indeed of great renown”(367) and “a squire called Damian”(371). The Merchant’s Tale revolves around  these three characters. The Franklin also has similar characters in his own tale. In The Franklin’s Tale there is Arveragus, “a knight enthralled to love”(409), Dorigen, Arveragus’ wife who “was among the loveliest under the sun”(409) and Aurelius, Dorigen’s suitor. Although these characters are similar they differ in personality and traits like their tellers.

      The Merchant’s Tale is Chaucer’s last ribald tale in The Canterbury Tales. The Franklin’s Tale is Chaucer’s last tale on lover, relationships and marriage. Chaucer puts so much depth into the creation of the formation of his last tale on love and ribaldry. For example in the The Merchant’s Tale, Chaucer uses the names of the characters to represent their behavior. January is the knight’s name because he is cold and unfruitful like the month. May represents the maiden’s name because she is vibrant and fruitful like the beautiful month of May. The name Damien is assigned to the young student because it means to tame. This is fitting because Damien eventually tames May in the tree. Chaucer also uses the tales to reflect the personality of their tellers as a continuation of his mockery of medieval society. The Merchant, who is an educated man tells a tale consistent with his person. The Franklin, a common landowner, recites a tale that is thoroughly consistent with his character type. Chaucer’ genius in these tales is in the details that make the entirety of both tales pieces worth reading. In The Merchant’s Tale, when Chaucer writes himself into a corner he introduces Pluto and “ lady of his elfin band”(383), two extraneous characters. He does this again in The Franklin’s Tale, when he introduces the magician. These tales further highlight Chaucer’s genius not only as poet but a storyteller. From the Merchant’s sinister tale to the Franklin’s noble tale, Chaucer proves his versatility and amazing imagination.

    The two pilgrims tells these tales to kill time on their way to pay tribute to Saint Thomas Becket, a martyr.The Merchant’s Tale and The Franklin’s Tale although extremely different in themes are both similar in structure. They are testimonies of Geoffrey Chaucer’s genius as a writer and storyteller. Even though The Merchant’s Tale is the better of the two tales it is as consistent with its storyteller as The Franklin’s Tale. The Merchant’s Tale is the more inspired tale of the two. the two tales are great reads and have amazing poetic quality.

Compare/Contrast "The Friar's Tale" and "The Summoner's Tale"

Isaac Atayero

Sir. John Campion

Advanced Placement United States History

12/14/11

  In Chaucer’s genius work, The Canterbury Tales, the Friar  and the Summoner tell tales of mockery about one another. Like the Miller and the Reeve before them the Friar and the Summoner are in rivalry with each other. However the difference between the rivalry between the Reeve and the Miller and the rivalry between the Friar and the Summoner is the competitive spirit. Unlike the Reeve and the Miller, the Friar and the Summoner’s rivalry is not a personal hatred but a hatred for the other’s office.This hatred inspires the tales of  both the Friar and the Summoner. The two tell tales that make a mockery of each other’s occupation. Both The Friar’s Tale and The Summoner’s Tale  discuss the topic of perversion of office.Unlike the Friar, the Summoner does not tell a noble tale but a humorous tale. After both tales, neither the Summoner nor the Friar is able to justify themselves through their tales. It is quite evident that the two tales are consistent with their tellers.

     The Friar’s Tale The Summoner’s Tale are the Friar and Summoner’s way of avenging attacks on their professions. The Friar begins the series of attacks in his prologue. In his prologue “the noble Friar”(292) directly attacks the Summoner. The Friar not only ridicules the Summoner by saying “a summoner isn’t much to be commended”(293).The Friar continues the verbal assailment by accusing the Summoner of “dealing out summonses for fornication”(293). The Summoner interrupts the Friar and promises to “pay him back...tell him all about that job of his”(293) after he is finished telling his tale. The Friar then tells his exemplum about a Summoner who perverts his office by committing “adultery and defamation, breaches of wills and contract, spolitation...and disregard of sacraments”(293).

     The Friar’s moral tale tells a tale about an ugly summoner who forms a fellowship with Satan. The Summoner “did not ... for shame...that he was a summoner”(296) instead he says he is a baliff. The Friar’s tale mocks the idiotic summoner who says “ i’ll hold to my engagement...though you were...the very Devil”(298). The Friar’s mockery of the Summoner and his occupation would soon be repaid by the vengeful and angry Summoner.

     After the Friar’s offensive tale, the Summoner “rose in wrath against the Friar”(303).  As a bitter response to The Friar’s Tale, the Summoner tells a tale that mocks the Friar. Before his tale, the Summoner mocks the Friar in his prologue. In his prologue, a friar goes to hell with an  and he is surprised that of all the friars “none ever come into this place?”(304). The angel then shows the friar “some twenty thousand friars...crept into his (the Devil’s) arse”(304). After his funny prologue, the Summoner then tells his even funnier tale.In The Summoner’s Tale , the tale includes acts of perversion of office committed by the friar. These perversions are mainly related to the Friar’s vow of poverty such as “pretence of praying”(308) for “those who gave him offerings or food”(305).

  Like the Summoner did earlier, the Friar interrupts the Summoner while he is telling his tale , saying “there you lie, you Summoner!”(306). The Summoner continues his tale about a friar who stops at the home of a sickly man named Thomas and attempts to get money from the ailing man and his wife. The Summoner chronicles that the friar “kissed her (Thomas’ wife) sweetly, chirping like a sparrow”(307). When the friar then asks Thomas for money so Thomas, angered, tells the friar he has something “hidden for secrecy”(316). When the friar “launched his hand”(316) for the gift from Thomas, Thomas “blew a fart”(316) into “that friar’s hand”(316). This made the friar “mad as a lion”(316) and later the friar is “chased away”(316) by “the sick man’s servant”(316). The angry friar then storms into the house of “a man of honour”(316), saying “i have received an insult”(317) . Instead of receiving sympathy, the friar is mocked by the man and his wife and servant.

    The reason for the rivalry between the Friar and the Summoner stems from financial matters. If people receive forgiveness of sins from the Monk then they do not need to bribe the Summoner and vice versa. This brings up a need for competition between the two church officials. The Friar and the Summoner are both characters from the lower class and they tell tales about people from lower classes. The difference, however, is that the tale the Summoner tells seems childish and not as noble in comparison to The Friar’s Tale. The Summoner’s Tale seems not be as well thought out and mature as the Friar’s. The Summoner, unlike the Friar, did not have time to fully think of a proper response for his attacker.

    At the end of both tales, however, neither of the two church officials are able to disprove the claims made against them. The two tales are about attacking and not defending , so the tales are not really meaningful or effective for either of the two. Although the two tales successfully make a fool of its attacker, they do not do a good job of defending the teller of the tale. Neither tale justifies the underlining cause of rivalry between the two church officials. Neither of the tellers are bold enough to include themselves in their own tales. The tales of both the Friar and the Summoner inevitably prove that the two men are hypocrites . The tales tell the reader or listener that the teller and his respective correspondent are fit the description assigned to them by the other person.

    The two tales are expected from both tellers. The rivalry and range of accusations present in the stories should come as no surprise to the audience. The two tales are great means of starting an argument but neither continuing nor defending them. Both tales are interrupted by the other clerk while they are being told. The Summoner’s clever choice to tell a bawdy tale instead of a noble one like the Friar separates the two tales. The two tales are typical of their narrators and are rather underwhelming compared to the tales told by the other pilgrims.

  

Does F.Scott Fitzgerald Accurately Portray The 1920s in The Great Gatsby

Isaac Atayero

Mr. Geary

English 2 Honors: Section 3

23 February 2011

   The 1920s otherwise known as the Jazz Age is a time of moral decay and enjoyment for Americans. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s American novel, The Great Gatsby is about Nick Carraway a young man from the Midwest who moves to the East and adapts to its fast paced and glamorous lifestyle. Fitzgerald accurately portrays elements of the Jazz Age in his American novel The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald accurately portrays the 1920s in The Great Gatsby through corruption by using characters such as Jay Gatsby and Meyer Wolfsheim in the novel. Fitzgerald accurately portrays the 1920s in The Great Gatsby through greed by using the characters Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson. Fitzgerald accurately portrays the 1920s in The Great Gatsby through lack of spirituality by using the characters Gatsby, Tom and Myrtle Wilson. Fitzgerald accurately portrays the 1920s in The Great Gatsby through the constant pursuit of pleasure by using the characters Gatsby, Tom Buchanan and Myrtle. Fitzgerald accurately portrays the 1920s in The Great Gatsby through the attainment of wealth by using characters Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan.

   Fitzgerald accurately portrays the 1920s in The Great Gatsby through corruption by using characters such as Jay Gatsby and Meyer Wolfsheim in the novel. During the 1920s “the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919, attempted to get rid of alcohol. Instead of ending the use of alcohol, “Prohibition prompted the growth of organized crime” (123helpme.com).Wolfsheim, a gangster who mentors Gatsby, teaches Gatsby to become rich by setting up drug stores at which they sell liquors as “bootleggers”( 96). At the time of the Jazz Age bootlegging was considered a crime and bootleggers are known for trying to sell liquor at “speaksies, where illegal alcohol was plentiful” (Applebee). Just like many other actual bootleggers and gangsters at the time, Gatsby and Wolfsheim become wealthy through this mean of corruption. 

  During the 1920s “corruption was rampant; gangsters flourished with the profits from the sale of illegal alcohol” (Applebee).Fitzgerald uses Wolfsheim to accurately portray the corruption of the Jazz Age by causing Nick to chronicle Wolfsheim as “the man who fixed the World Series in 1919” (70). Gambling is another means of corruption that takes place in the Jazz Age that Fitzgerald truthfully portrays in The Great Gatsby by means of Meyer Wolfsheim. The World Series in 1919 is an actual event between two highly competitive teams but “the 1919 World Series was … fixed” (Everstine).According to Brewley’s research The Great Gatsby is an exploration of the American dream as it exists in a corrupt period (38). Fitzgerald accurately portrays this corruption by using an actual event that takes place during the 1920s in The Great Gatsby. After investigation one can concur Fitzgerald accurately portrays the 1920s in The Great Gatsby by means of corruption.

  Fitzgerald accurately portrays the 1920s in The Great Gatsby through greed by using the characters Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson. During the 1920s “the economy began to turn around” (Abel) and Americans felt the need to have more than they actually need. Daisy, the love interest of Gatsby, loves money and Gatsby even says that “her voice is full of money” (120). Daisy stays with her unfaithful husband because of his money and Gatsby becomes rich because he feels the only way to win Daisy is by becoming rich. Fitzgerald portrays the women of the Jazz age correctly using Daisy to state that “all they think about is money” (31). Myrtle Wilson shows her greed quite often in The Great Gatsby whenever she purchases something. When she leaves the New York train station, she sees an old man selling dogs and she instantly asks for a police dog. The man tells her he only has an Airedale and that the coat is water-proof, but she still wants to buy it. Myrtle, like Daisy, uses Tom to get anything they want and they always want more. The women of the Jazz Age, like Daisy and Myrtle, feel they had to look like “silver idols” (115)because there are “pressures placed on women to conform” (Applebee 994)  so they “marry men for their money” (Buhle 87) not really for love. Upon investigation, the reader can agree that Fitzgerald accurately portrays the 1920s in The Great Gatsby by using the topic of greed.

  Fitzgerald accurately portrays the 1920s in The Great Gatsby through lack of spirituality by using the characters Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson. Nick chronicles Gatsby throwing “gleaming, dazzling parties” (171) every weekend for people to come and drink and dance without a care in the world. These parties are an example of people doing things and not caring about religious or moral values. During the 1920s “late night jazz parties seem to be normal” (123helpme.com) just like in The Great Gatsby. To further emphasize on the lack of spirituality during the Jazz Age, Fitzgerald causes Nick to chronicle about “the billboard in the valley of ashes” (Maurer). This billboard represents the eyes of God in the book and being in the land of ashes shows that “religion is forgotten by the lost generation” (Glen).Another example of moral blindness is Tom’s public extramarital affair with Myrtle Wilson. This affair shows lust and the fact that the affair is public shows that “the community, as a whole, refuses to condemn unlawful activity and wrongdoings” (Maurer).After the war a lot of things did not make sense to Americans and all the traditional teachings begin to seem outdated. Americans did not believe in the old ways anymore and they feel like they need to rebel against the old ways by becoming less religious. In an address to Ernest Hemmingway about the lack of spirituality of the Jazz Age, Gertrude Stein says “you are all a lost generation”. Americans during the Jazz Age have too much enjoyment to care about spirituality and Fitzgerald portrays this accurately in The Great Gatsby.

  Fitzgerald accurately portrays the 1920s in The Great Gatsby through the constant pursuit of pleasure by using the characters Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson in the novel. Applebee and his fellow senior consultants believe that during the 1920s there is an “economical growth, technological advancement and new ways to have fun” (992). According to Applebee and his fellow senior consultants, many Americans during this time do things because they have more money and more things to buy (992) and the same thing happens in The Great Gatsby. The characters in The Great Gatsby do many things for the pursuit of pleasure which lead to sin and moral decay. Tom Buchanan has extramarital affairs with Myrtle Wilson who is also a married woman for pleasure. Tom confesses to his adultery when he says “once in a while I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself” (251). Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s house and parties to accurately portray the pursuit of pleasure going on during the 1920s. Gatsby builds a mansion which Nick chronicles as an “amusement park” (41) just to get closer to Daisy. Daisy represents Gatsby’s pleasure and in pursuit of her he builds an extravagant mansion and hosts very elaborate parties every weekend. One can also see Gatsby’s weekly parties as an example of pursuit of pleasure that leads to moral decay and sin. Fitzgerald accurately portrays the 1920s by incorporating the constant pursuit of happiness that happens during the time.

  Fitzgerald accurately portrays the 1920s in The Great Gatsby through the attainment of wealth by using characters Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan in the novel. Americans during the 1920s have more money than they need so they spent a lot new inventions such as cars. After the war, America experiences an economical bloom through which the rich get richer. For Americans “in the 1920s the United States became a modern middle-class economy of radios, consumer appliances, automobiles and suburbs” (DeLong). Due to his wealth, Nick chronicles that Gatsby throws very extravagant parties at which “his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city” (39). Gatsby’s parties portray to the reader the kinds of parties that the wealthy during the 1920s would have. Tom also shows his wealth when he buys the dog for Myrtle at “an inflated price” (Donaldson 28) and says to the man “here’s your money, go buy ten more dogs with it” (28).Not only do Tom’s actions show a sign of wastefulness but it also shows how wealthy and careless people during the time are. After much research, Bewley believes that Fitzgerald perfectly understood the …view of wealth (39).Fitzgerald accurately portrays Americans in the 1920s accurately through wealth in The Great Gatsby.

  The 1920s, also known as the Roaring Twenties, is a time of moral deficiency and great fun for residents of the United States. In F. Scott Fitzgerald‘s American novel The Great Gatsby, he accurately portrays the times. In his genius work, Fitzgerald attempts to represent the time as it existed; and many scholars agree it is a success. One can agree that Fitzgerald correctly portrays the 1920s in his novel through corruption, greed, lack of spirituality, the constant pursuit of happiness and the attainment of wealth.

          

 

Works Cited

Applebee, Arthur N., Andrea B. Bermudez, Sheridan Blan, Rebekah Caplan, Peter Elbow, Susan Hynds, Judith A. Langer, and James Marshall. "Alienation of the Individual." The Language of Literature: American Literature. Evanston, Illinois: McDougal Littell, 2002. Print.

Bloom, Harold, ed. “F. Scott Fitzgerald's the Great Gatsby: Modern Critical Interpretations”. Broomall, PA: Chelsea House, 2004. Print.

Bewley, Marius. "Scott Fitzgerald's Criticism of America." 1954. Ed. Arthur Mizener. F. Scott Fitzgerald : A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice Hall, 1963. Print.

Buhle, Mari Jo. Women and American Socialism, 1870-1920. Urbana: University of Illinois, 1981. Print.

DeLong, Brad. "The Roaring Twenties." Brad DeLong's Website Home Page. University of California at Berkeley; Berkeley, CA, 2 Feb. 1997. Web. 02 Mar. 2011.

Donaldson, Scott. "Possessions in The Great Gatsby." Ed. Harold Bloom. F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2004. Print.

Everstine, Eric W,. "1919 World Series: Black Sox Scandal." Montgomerycollege.edu. Montgomery College, 1998. Web. 25 Feb. 2011.

"The Expatriates of the 1920's :: American America History." Free Essays, Term Papers, Research Paper, and Book Report. 2000. Web. 25 Feb. 2011.

"F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby - Gatsby and the Jazz Age :: Great Gatsby Essays." Free Essays, Term Papers, Research Paper, and Book Report. Company, 2000. Web. 25 Feb. 2011.

Fussell, Edwin. "Fitzgerald's Brave New World." 1952. F. Scott Fitzgerald : A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Arthur Mizener. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall,, 1963. 43-56. Print.

 Glen, Abel. "The Harding/Coolidge Prosperity of the 1920's." Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation. Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation. Web. 25 Feb. 2011.

 "Greed in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby :: Great Gatsby Essays." Free Essays, Term Papers, Research Paper, and Book Report. Company, 2000. Web. 25 Feb. 2011.

Works Cited

Maurer, Kate. "The Portrayal of 1920s Society in The Great Gatsby." Associated Content from Yahoo! - Associatedcontent.com. Yahoo Inc. Web. 25 Feb. 2011. 

 Wanning, Andrew. "Fitzgerald And His Brethren." 1945. F. Scott Fitzgerald : A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall,, 1963. Print.