Conservative Ideals In The Great Gatsby

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Pages: 4

The 1920’s, or commonly know as the prohibition era, saw many changes to the conservative views by which most people abided at the time. The 1920’s was a time of change, not just for America, but for the entire world. Events such as the war and prohibition laws caused an upstir in American society and forced typically conservative people to re-evaluate their ideals. Most of these ideas derive themselves from the Christian ten commandments, which are considered to be the basic morals that lead to a spiritually healthy life. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, conveys this expansion in conservative ideals established in the forms of adultery, the social standings of women at the time, and the justice employed by the government upon criminals.
As stated previously, the amount of corruption in the government is surprising in the novel, despite the unification that major events like war should bring to a country. Most people rely on their government to be a trustworthy organization that protects the good citizens from the bad, but The Great Gatsby really challenges that idea when the exact opposite happens. One major example of
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Women in the novel appear to have more freedom in comparison to the complete dominance they lived under in earlier times, as seen by the rebellious nature of both. The multiple instances of adultery also challenge the idea that spouses should dedicate themselves to each other, and no one else. Even some of the most trusted and powerful pinnacles of society, the government, is put into question in the novel through the multiple instances of crime that it intentionally ignores. Conservatism is the preservation of old ways of living, but as time passes on, these ideas are stretched and warped by the current society to fit its needs, whether it turns out for the better or