The Roaring Twenties were a time of excitement for the American people, with cities bustling with activity and a large community that appreciated jazz, thus creating the title "Jazz Age". The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is set in this magnificent era characterized by Jazz and the new popular dance, the "Charleston". In the midst of all this new activity, we follow a character named Jay Gatsby through the eyes of the narrator, Nick Carraway. Fitzgerald's themes of friendship and the American dream are seen in The Great Gatsby through the companionship of Nick and Jay and Gatsby's growth from being a simple farm boy to becoming a rich man. Scott Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The success of his first novel made him famous and allowed him to marry Zelda, but he later began drinking while his wife had developed many mental problems. Immediately after the “failed” Tender is the Night, Fitzgerald moved to Hollywood to become a screenwriter. He died at the age of 44 of a heart attack in 1940, his last novel only half completed. Fitzgerald, of course, was an author, so the reason behind writing the book was that he hoped to gain popularity and make money, which he successfully accomplished. For Fitzgerald, the novel was a "self-consciously artistic achievement" and allowed him to achieve his goals of status and gain, even if fame came slightly later than he had hoped. The novel is set in the Roaring Twenties, or “the Jazz Age.” ”, which was actually a term coined by F. Scott Fitzgerald himself! He called it the jazz age due to the fact that jazz music was rapidly growing in their culture. Along with Jazz came some effects that some considered "mischievous... middle of paper... Isy left him some time ago because he wasn't rich enough. Money plays an important role in Gatsby's life, which is why he's a little hard to believe that he would also like to be friends with the not very rich Nick Carraway. In the book it is clear that his love for Daisy is exaggerated by her money and luxury. Gatsby wants to be part of high society, but, in reality, he is a stranger to his social class. An important note is that he is a very rich person and has an expensive mansion, yet he lives in East Egg, while the "real" high society people live in West Egg. Towards the end of the novel, Nick showed the reader that he was one of Gatsby's only true friends; showed when Nick was one of only three people who attended his funeral Nick seems to be more or less the only one to care for him after his death.