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Explore the ways in which Waugh in “A Handful of Dust” presents a society that is morally corrupt and in decline. Consider how Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” illuminates your understanding of the core text
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The styles of the two stories are very different, as are the settings (1920’s America and 1930’s England) and yet they convey similar ideas on the sanctity of marriage and how the moving times changed the idea of having an affair within marriage from unthinkable to a commonly practised act, even something to be the subject of gossip and joking; common knowledge within the community. In the short time between two World Wars there was also a lazy, fun loving youth culture who wanted to do nothing but party, find cheap thrilling entertainment and never work. Whilst Waugh uses an omniscient authorial voice to tell the story, Fitzgerald uses a character, Nick, as a narrator- he is, however objective and so sees the actions from the point of view of an outsider and tells an unbiased account- both options allow us to reflect on what is happening from all angles and pass our own judgement, which makes it all the more interesting and draws the reader further into the scandal.
Fitzgerald shows us the America that, in the 1920’s and subsequently the aftermath of the First World War, has become obsessed with money, cars and living a leisurely life, having fun- all that supposedly seems to matter is very materialistic; it could be argued that America has declined into a state of greed, and has left behind it’s morals and spiritual beliefs. This is the side that is being portrayed in the novel. Tom is keen on his motors and athletic pursuits, and jobless mother Daisy says on page 75 “Wh...
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