One of the reasons why The Great Gatsby is considered to be such a significant American historical novel, I think, is due to the dynamic time period in which it was written. The novel takes place in New York City –– the early melting pot of America –– in the thick of the “Roaring Twenties,” an age characterized by dramatic social and political change. The Roaring Twenties were years of sustained economic prosperity and a growing cultural edge in the United States. Americans were swept into an affluent but unfamiliar “consumer” society; technology in the form of automobiles, telephones, motion pictures, and radio began to play a primary role in American lifestyle; jazz music blossomed during this era; and gender roles and social classes were beginning to adapt to the changing times. Above all, the Twenties were a time of a growing “American” spirit of self-definition and novelty associated with modernity and a break from tradition. Do you think that Fitzgerald’s novel critiques or upholds the values of this time? How do his characters embody the certain attitudes present in this unique period?