How Did F Scott Fitzgerald Present Racism In The Great Gatsby

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F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby takes place during the roaring twenties a time of great prosperity and technological advancement. In contrast, the 21st century is a time of online presence and idealistic thought. While the setting of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is different to the 21st Century on the surface it shares similarities in Racism, living conditions, and the media. Racism Racism in the 1920’s and the 21st century are largely different on the surface but are quite similar at there roots. As represented through The Great Gatsby, the 1920’s is a time period filled with racism. A fascinating example being Tom Buchanan the snobby, old money character of The Great Gatsby. He believes that the black people will rise up…show more content…
The is evident here when tom says, ‘“Civilization’s going to pieces,’ broke out Tom violently… ‘Have you read ‘The Rise of the Coloured Empires’” (Fitzgerald, 2012, p. 15-16). This conveys that in the twenties racism was just dismissed by people if not acceptable to say. In contrast to the twenties, the 21st century views racism a lot more seriously. One racist comment will go a long way and depending on the severity of the racism you could be punished by law. This is seen here by a quote from the U.S. Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission “It is unlawful to harass a person because of that person’s race or color.” (U.S. Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission [EEOC], 2010). It is shown here that the government handles racism quite firmly, especially when compared to the twenties. However, even though it seems racism is more controlled than it was in the nineteen twenties it still surfaces in the media and throughout daily life. For example, corrupt cops killing unarmed black people because, they stereotype all black people to be criminals. This evident…show more content…
The media was first introduced in the 1920’s in the forms of billboards, silent movies, talkies (movies with sound), and magazines. During these times there was no internet so all media was presented to the people and received by the people at the same time. For instance, billboards; they were becoming popular in the 1920’s because people were beginning to drive around more and more. Moreover, a popular billboard in The Great Gatsby is the one of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg. This billboard is referred to multiple times throughout the story. Similarly, in the 21st century billboards are everywhere they appear just about everywhere you go. They are on the highway, on the side of buildings, video games, and movies. Therefore, the media in terms of billboards haven’t really changed since the twenties. However, the magazine industry has truly changed since the 20’s. Back in the Roaring Twenties, all magazines were purchased at stores and the customer was given a physical copy of the magazine. This is seen here when Nick describes Myrtle’s apartment saying, “Several old copies of ‘Town Tattle’ lay on the table together with a copy of ‘Simon Called Peter’ and some of the small scandal magazines of Broadway” (Fitzgerald, 2012, p. 32). From this, it can be gathered that back in the twenties magazines were sold as a physical copy given to the customer at a store. In contrast, the 21st
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