Fahimeh Keshmiri - Fatemeh Zahra Pardis, Farhangian University, Isfahan, Iran
Mina Mahdikhani - Fatemeh Zahra Pardis, Farhangian University, Isfahan, Iran

This paper seeks to present an area of investigation into F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third novel,one of the greatest literary documents of 1920, The Great Gatsby, in which the Americaneconomy soared, bringing unprecedented levels of prosperity to the nation. The chaos andviolence of World War I left America in a state of shock, and the generation that fought the warturned to wild and extravagant living to compensate. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald found thisnew lifestyle seductive and exciting and, like Gatsby, he had always idolized the very rich. Nowhe found himself in an era in which unrestrained materialism set the tone of society, which endsto the collapse of all characters and society. The Great Gatsby represents Fitzgerald’s attempt toconfront his conflicting feelings about the Jazz Age. Here we analyze major characters, symbols,themes and plot of this masterpiece not just as a tragedy, but as a social novel. This creative workhas been identified as one of the greatest novels of all time with Fitzgerald's incredible use ofrealism and symbolism. Moreover; there are some elements that make this work a modernisticand existential one. These key elements that made this work a success are obvious in thedevelopment of characters, plot, themes and setting throughout the novel. It is a highly symbolicmeditation on 1920s America as a whole.

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Social Novels, Twenty Century, Jazz Age