Considered the seminal work of the 1920s, F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby was published in 1925, when America was just emerging from a of the most violent wars in the nation's history. The First World War had taken the lives of many young people who fought and sacrificed themselves for our country on another continent. The war left many families without fathers, sons and husbands. The 1920s are a time filled with rich and amazing history, where Americans experienced lifestyle changes, from music to rebellion against the U.S. government. Those born in that era grew up in a more carefree and whimsical environment which would influence their interactions with others as well as their attitude towards themselves and society's expectations. In this novel, symbols are used to represent the changing times and create an image of this era for generations to come. The story, settings, characters and symbols contained in The Great Gatsby exemplify life in 1920s America. Also known as the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties, the American people felt they deserved to have a little fun to forget the emotional highs. the toll and social scars left by the war. The Jazz Age was aptly named because of the illegal activities and good times, which included music, parties, and flapper girls. Jazz was a new musical style that originated in the New Orleans area, where one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time, Louis Armstrong, began his career. The energy of jazz was a very new and almost uncomfortable style for the very traditional and strict family of the 1920s. Young people especially seemed to appreciate this new music more, as it made them feel carefree. The energy of jazz was symbolic of the trans... paper... novel characters of the time, who were forced to completely reconsider their lives, financial decisions, and priorities. The problems faced by the characters in the novel were real-life tragedies that many Americans went through at the end of the Roaring Twenties. The Great Gatsby captured these aspects of what the people, places, and events of the 1920s were really like before the Great Depression – the beginning of the end – took hold across the entire country. Works Cited Epstein, Dan. 20th Century Pop Culture: The Early Years to 1949. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2001. Print.Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. London: Harper Press, 2012.History.com. A&E Television Network, 1996. Web. December 17, 2013..Wukovits, John F., ed. America's Decades: The 1920s. San Diego: Greehaven Press Inc., 2000. Print.