The Roaring Twenties

Stylistically speaking, we have been told that Fitzgerald sets many of his scenes during parties. So far, there have been two gatherings of some sort. In each, Nick has met at least one new person, and formed an opinion about him or her quickly. Whether he is biased or not remains unseen to me. I do not agree that he is 100% neutral. It's possible, but I am not convinced yet. His opinions of people are harsh. Tom is not a good person, but I doubt he's as horrible as Nick believes. To me, Tom has a temper, and gets bored easily. I wouldn't want to associate with him, but he must have his good points. However, so far, all we are seeing are his bad points, described by Nick.

The reason for my post though is not to discuss Nick's narration, but the setting of the novel. It takes place in the summer of 1922, a time of jazz and prohibition; one of ten years that constitute as the "roaring twenties." What I'm wondering is why that's such a popular time to write about. Couldn't this novel have taken place at a different time? Coming from a theatre geeks prospected, the roaring twenties is almost cliché because it is so over-used. And in each play, musical or novel I've seen or read, there has a been at least one moment of illegal drinking. Now those two words have a different meaning these days, but back then, alcohol was illegal. I don't understand why this common denominator exists. The question I'm posing is: Why the twenties?

Introduction: Words from F. Scott Fitzgerald

The first four paragraphs of the Great Gatsby are a message from the author to the reader, describing the lens through which he intends to portray his thoughts. In the first paragraph, Nick introduces a quote from his father, which tells him to consider a person's history before judging them. This is Fitzgerald's way of letting the reader know that he has done his research, and that all future criticism in the book is based off of reality and not skewed interpretations. Next, Nick states that he is 'inclined to reserve all judgements,' or in other words, will not be biased. This, again, is the author, proving to the reader that he will be fair with his assessments of other people and their actions, and will not show unnecessary rudeness, or state untruths. Finally, Nick mentions an 'intimate revelation' which he has had. In this introduction, Fitzgerald is promising to portray said 'intimate revelation' to the reader, and writes almost as though the entire purpose of the book is to do so: to share his newly crafted ideas with the world. However, is it possible to tell everything exactly as you see it? Is there a way to enlighten the world on something you have noticed but to do so in a way that is fair to everyone involved in said enlightenment? This question may not have a yes or no answer, so I pose you one more: What can an author do, in terms of writing techniques, literary devices, or simply word choices, to convey to the reader that they have an unbiased view on the matters that they are discussing?