Claim: The Great Gatsby creates a portrait of the Jazz Age in the 1920s.
Evidence: Considered to be Fitzgerald 's magnum opus , The Great Gatsby explores themes of decadence , idealism , resistance to change , social upheaval , and excess , creating a portrait of the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties that has been described as a cautionary tale regarding the American Dream.
The Jazz Age was a period in the 1920s , ending with the Great Depression , in which jazz music and dance styles became popular , mainly in the United States , but also in Britain , France and elsewhere.