In Echoes of the Jazz Age, Fitzgerald describes the 1920s as an age of

• A. satire
• B. decline
• C. prosperity
• D. confusion

Answer: (A)

Irony and satire are the lens Fitzgerald uses to critique the Jazz Age. In Echoes of the Jazz Age, he treats the 1920s not as a straightforward celebration but as a time whose glittering surface exposes deeper hollowness—excess, superficiality, and moral ambiguity—through sharp humor and ironic distance. The era’s abundant wealth, Prohibition-era notoriety, and flashy social life are shown with a wry tone that both fascinates and unsettles, signaling that the era’s vitality is inseparable from its underlying critique of society. While prosperity and confusion are real aspects of the decade, the method by which Fitzgerald presents the period—the satirical, wry commentary—best captures his attitude and purpose. This approach aligns with the way he later treats wealth, status, and modern life in works like The Great Gatsby, where glittering surfaces conceal deeper critique.