In the last century in America, one of the decades that stood out most as a period of change was the 1920s. In the post-war economic boom, the decade was a time of cultural and social change. Between partying and a more relaxed lifestyle, Americans experienced new wealth and luxury. Capturing the essence of the Roaring Twenties is a daunting task, especially given the many different factors that contribute to that decade's fame. However, F. Scott Fitzgerald managed to capture and define the spirit of the 1920s through his novel. In Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, the characters and events of the novel manifest the distinctive qualities of 1920s America. In the 1920s, a new genre emerged at the forefront of American music: jazz. A product of the Harlem Renaissance, according to "The Decade that Roared," jazz music played a significant role in changing American culture and society in the 1920s. This influence led Fitzgerald to give the era its name, "The Jazz Age". The attraction of jazz was its unpredictability due to improvisation; the great jazz musicians knew how to play according to the mood and spirit of the audience. This meant that no two shows were ever the same. Because of this, jazz musicians attracted large audiences and inspired new dances. The wild nature of the music sparked a new feeling among those who listened and danced to it. Like music, a new American culture emerged, one of spontaneity and lightheartedness (“The Decade that Roared” 5). This wild new phenomenon is mirrored in the seemingly endless parties at Gatsby's mansion. In The Great Gatsby, Nick, during his first experience at one of these parties, observes that the behavior at said parties resembles an amusement park (Fitzgerald 44)....... middle of paper...... I characters create for themselves and the means by which they resolve them serve as a way for Fitzgerald to exemplify the defining qualities of the decade while simultaneously criticizing them. Although it was a time of improvements in the lifestyle of all Americans, along with it came a certain moral decadence. With a new sense of comfort and carefreeness, a contempt for law and order, and a desire for wealth, the Jazz Age marked a crucial turning point in America, captured precisely by Fitzgerald. Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association. Network. February 24, 2014. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 1996. Print.Batchelor, Bob. Gatsby: The Cultural History of the Great American Novel. Print.Zeitz, Joshua. "The Roaring Twenties." The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Network. February 24. 2014.