Written during and around the 1920s, F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' is both a representation of this particular social and historical context and a construction of the experience of composer of this era. Present-day beliefs and practices also play a crucial role in shaping the text, particularly by changing how literary techniques are interpreted. Respondents today are strongly influenced by their own personal experiences, some of which essentially reinforce Fitzgerald's themes, while others compete, establishing contemporary interpretations of the novel. Nicknamed the "Roaring '20s", due to the massive rise of the American economy, this social and historical context is widely remembered for its impressive parties and sensationalist attitude. However, Fitzgerald also conveys a more sinister side of this culture through numerous affairs, poverty, and the rampage of organized crime. By highlighting this moral decline, Fitzgerald reveals to his interlocutor the value of the American dream and his belief in its decline. As a writer, Fitzgerald has always been very interested in the present times, consequently, his writing style and plot reflect his experiences of this era. The lives of Fitzgerald's characters were so similar to his own that he once commented, "sometimes I don't know whether Zelda (his wife) and I are real or whether we are characters in one of my novels." In 1924, Fitzgerald was affected by Zelda's brief affair with a young French pilot, prompting him to lock her up at home. A construction of this experience can be seen in how Fitzgerald describes the context of the 1290s. For example, in "The Great Gatsby", there are numerous affairs and at one point, Mr. Wilson locks up his wife to pre...... middle of paper ...... an intense image of fiction which he believed was what the upper class felt like in the 1920s. In literature, the rose is usually a symbol of beauty and love, however Fitzgerald comments that in reality the 1920s are not quite the wonderful era they are made out to be. Although the issue of materialism is still very relevant in the modern context, the force behind it is very different. Materialism is not so much the result of society's search for love and happiness in an unethical culture, rather high wages and relatively inexpensive goods mean that modern, upper-class society forces itself into the world of consumerism simply because can. Through his extraordinary use of techniques and style, Fitzgerald has created a realistic construction of his 1920s experience, which is also strongly shaped by the beliefs and practices of today's practitioners.