The Great Gatsby (1925) is a novel that many critics, and Fitzgerald himself, consider to be a masterpiece of American literature of that period. In the authoritative Oxford list of the 'One Hundred Major Books of the Century,' overtaking Proust's 'In Search of Lost Time,' 'The Great Gatsby' took second place, behind only Joyce's 'Ulysses.' Jazz is the key word that can be used to 'discover' the essence and meaning of the novel. America, the 20s of the XX century - the time of 'prohibition' and gangster 'showdowns', a time of enchanting holidays organized by the 'new Americans' against the backdrop of general poverty. It was with this novel that Fitzgerald 'created' a generation that would later be called 'lost.'