Self-Regulation Definition of Terms
10 novel reacts to the culture. There are two related studies that have the same topic
as this paper. The first study is from Oliviana 2002, titled The Socio-Historical
Criticism towards the 1920s American Society Seen through Gatsby’s Life in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. In her study, there are three main points that are
discussed. The first is about how Fitzgerald describes Gatsby‘s character and life.
The second is about how Gatsby becomes a reflection of the writer, and how Fitzgerald describes the life of the America society in the novel. The writer of the
study tries to connect the social, historical, and Fitzgerald‘s biography aspect. She
finds that Gatsby as the main character of the novel has two characteristics that are really different. Gatsby has a big motivation to reach his dream and he is
really ambitious to reach his dream. However, on the other side, the way he reaches his dream is bad. She also finds that it reflects Fitzgerald‘s life at that
time. It is found that the society in New York in 1920s often conducts many
parties, do some happy things, and free sex. Social inequality, criminal acts, and moral decadence can be found as the conflicts in this novel as reflected in the
main character, Gatsby. In the previous study, it discusses more about the culture and how the main character lives his life which also reflects Fitzgerald as the
writer of the novel at that time. It is true that Fitzgerald admits that at that time he lives in the middle of society that likes party very much. However, here in this
study, the writer tries to discuss the opposite of Gatsby‘s and society‘s life as reflected in a minor character.
11 The second study is from Falth 2013 titled Social Class and Status in
Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. In his study, he finds that the novel shows the importance of social class and how difficult it is to ignore the
person‘s social background. He says that that background of someone is really important to assess
their social status in the world of 1920s American upper class. Fitzgerald clearly shows the significance of social class and status in society and the depth of it, as
there are more factors to it than what we can assume by looking at a certain lifestyle. As shown in The Great Gatsby, no matter how hard a person tries to
create a different life or past, stratification by social class is very difficult, if not impossible, to escape Sebastian Falth, 2013. From the study, the writer tries to
develop it. In the previous study, it tells about how the culture also makes a different social class and how the society understands and sees it. When all of the
people in the society assume that social class is important and start to get influenced by its culture, it is shown from different point of view from a minor
character.