Social Issues In The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is an American Novel of fiction that gained popularity in 1920's following the end of the First World War. America and the rest of the world had never experienced such a war. The author was keen on the society of the Americans which he was part of. In the book, he addressed issues that were affecting America socially and that up to today are somehow influential in the Americas social setting. The book was viewed as a mirror placed in front of the Americans. This period after the war was marked with a lot of growth and prosperity. Issues of corruption were also very rampant. The then government of G. Harding was keen at rebuilding the nation through business. This was, however, a nightmare and faced many difficulties because of the corruption that was deeply rooted in the officials in his government. There was also a lot of pressure from the opposition. There were organized crimes and unions were organized by the opposition to stage strikes. All these slowed down the efforts to get to the feet once again.

The social issues

In its effort to resurrect business, the government undermined the rights of the workers. Strikes were very rampant. Many industries in the agriculture, mining and the textile industries faced many problems due to the new labor laws. Employees resigned and moved to towns to look for employment. This led to the development of many cities. The government also introduced taxation so as to find revenue to use in rebuilding the nation. Most people that were still working in the industries were forced to move because of the taxation. It was seen as a way of demotivating people as the harder you worked to earn more, the more you were taxed. This taxation benefited people in the upper class. However with technology advancement, production of goods increased. This led to growth in the economy until 1929 when America suffered the greatest economic crisis. There was, however, an increase in the goods produced. Production cost was also low, and people started to buy products. This led to economic growth. People earned and spent on consumer goods. People also started spending on leisure.

Women Take their Place

After this time, men had still been in the war. Women had been left to work and they gained wealth. They still kept their jobs. Women could work in the industries and other professionals. They were also allowed to vote and hold leadership positions.