Essay on The Great Gatsby and the Great Depression

The Great Gatsby and the Great Depression When F. Scott Fitzgerald published The Great Gatsby in 1925, it was impossible for him to predict that only four years later his story would be enacted in real-life during the Great Depression. There are many prophetic symbols in the novel that tie The Great Gatsby and the Great Depression together. The twenties was a decade full of new financial opportunities in a society unable to adopt so much so quickly. All of the new possibilities, such as credit and loans, led to greater debts and bigger holes to fill. Society began getting too deeply in debt and was becoming increasingly unable to get itself out. So, they began searching for alternate means of wealth.†¦show more content†¦Although Gatsby didnt live to know it, he was right. By Daisy not coming to Gatsbys funeral, it shows that she plummeted and took a long time to recover, as did the stock market during The Great Depression. To society of the twenties, the one true love was wealth. Tom Buchanan, who represents the high society of the time, wanted Myrtle Wilson. Therefore, meaning she is symbolic of what the rich wanted - wealth. Although Myrtle herself isnt wealthy, wealth is what the society of the twenties wanted. Tom, the wealthiest character, wanted Myrtle, as almost all of society in the twenties wanted wealth. Therefore, she was the most prized possession of the twenties - wealth. When the stock market - Daisy - crashed (both financially and with an automobile) the wealth of the time was destroyed. Myrtle paid the ultimate price after the crash of the stock market. It is strange that Fitzgerald chose Myrtle to die in a crash since the wealth of the twenties died in a crash as well: the disastrous stock market crash of 1929. After the stock market destroyed the earned wealth of society, the rich (such as Tom) had to pay more attention to the stock market in order to gain wealth (or its true love) back. 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