The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby can be read not only as a critique of modern America, but also as a criticism of Western technological progress and advancement. Using the themes, events, and characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic work, please address the following questions in your analysis:

1. What is the historical backdrop against which the novel was written? What were the major events (in your opinion) that shaped the era of the 1920s in the Western world?

2. Who are the characters that exemplify this historical background?

3. How might this novel be seen as an indictment of the idea of Western exceptionalism that had become a prominent feature of the Western world by the late 19th and early 20th centuries?

Your essay should be between 3 and 4 pages long. It also must use proper style formatting(MLA) complete with citations and a works cited page.