Research Paper on:
Society's Influence on Fitzgerald and Williams

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
situations and the pain of and conflict between various and specific characters, both stories also helped accurately define and color the times in which they were based.  The Great Gatsby, which was published in 1925, took place during the roaring 20s, a time that consisted of a fun and frolic veneer  that covered the instability and disillusionment of a society bewildered by the aftermath of an inconceivable and fatal World War. As a result, people - particularly the younger generation -  dealt with their confusion about the world by not caring and by partying instead. These fun-seekers were aided by the fact that the economy was growing by leaps and bounds  - factories produced more and more durable goods (especially since Henry Ford had introduced the concept of "mass production" less than 20 years before in building his Model T cars),  and people were buying more and more into the stock market and gaining instant millionaire status. Yet even with all the "things" that the factories produced and all the money  that people were making hand over fist, the 1920s was a time of bitter indifference and constant searching. Flappers - young women with the latest hairdos and the shortest hemlines  and a truly brazen attitude - were in vogue, as was drinking. Although Prohibition was in force to try to prevent people from imbibing in so-called "evil spirits," (and to  try to cut down on the influence of the mob), Speak-Easys, small, hidden out-of-the-way bars, catered to those who had connections and money and who were willing to swill down  bootlegged whiskey. The super-wealthy, i.e., much like Gatsby and the Buchanans on Long Island, regularly threw their own parties, stocked with lots of booze and fun.