THE ROARING TWENTIES

1. THE ROARING TWENTIES F. Scott Fitzgerald’s World

2. The Roaring Twenties (1920-29) • World War I (aka The Great War) finally ended in 1918. The promise of a new century also ended. [World War I: 1914-1918] • Many people who survived the Great War never fully regained the normality of their former lives. • They were left scarred in many ways: emotionally, psychologically, spiritually, culturally, and for some, physically.

3. The Roaring Twenties (1920-29) • Gertrude Stein coined the term “Lost Generation,” which described much of the damaged youth who were traumatized or embittered by World War I. • Writers who defined “Lost Generation:” Fitzgerald Hemingway Stein Eliot

4. The Roaring Twenties (1920-29) • The 1920s brought back the vitality that most of the Lost Generation had lost. • During the 1920s, there was great economic boom and mass production of new technology. • Automobiles became readily available and less expensive, so anyone could afford one. • The first film, “The Jazz Singer” debuted in 1927. It was the end of silent film.

5. The Roaring Twenties (1920-29) • Radio became the form of mass media, defining the Golden Age of Radio. • Golden Age of Radio: mass marketing, radio programming, radio shows. Radio was to the 1920s as TV is to the present day. • Electrification began to spread—no more coal, electricity began to take over. • Modernization developed: telephone lines, indoor plumbing, and modern sewer systems were installed across the cities.

6. The Roaring Twenties (1920-29) • The 1920s was a time of growth, optimism, and a renewed hope. • African-Americans also found a rebirth in their heritage and celebrated their culture with the Harlem Renaissance. • With the advent of radio, jazz music also became popularized. • The Roaring Twenties is also known as the Jazz Age.

7. The Roaring Twenties (1920-29) Important Historical Dates/Events

8. 18th Amendment: Prohibition • This law passed in 1920. • Prohibition Amendment forbid the import, export, transport, and sale of alcoholic beverages. • This amendment increased crime activity in America: illegal home brewing, bootlegging, and a mobster violence. • The most famous mobster: Al Capone.

9. Gibson Girls • The Gibson Girl image was popular in early 20th century. Created by Charles Dana Gibson. • Gibson Girl idealized what women should look like. Women imitated the fashion, make-up, and social behaviors.

10. 19th Amendment: Voting Rights for Women • This amendment was passed on August 18, 1920. • Women were finally given the right to vote. • This defined a new image and ideal of women. Fashion before the war: women were only expected to be ornamental.

11. 19th Amendment: Voting Rights for Women • Women began to enter the work force, due to lost husbands or fathers who died in WWI. • They provided a second income to the family. • This gave many women more self-confidence and independence. Fashion after the war: androgynous or femme fatale

12. Gibson Girls vs. Flappers • The term “flapper” originated in Britain, when a writer described young girls (adolescent teens) as awkward, like they were young birds still trying to learn to flap their wings. • Flappers rebelled against the Gibson Girl image. • They cut their hair, wore shorter dresses, and participated in activities that were considered “unladylike:” smoking, dancing, actively pursued men, treated sex casually, wore excessive make-up, drank alcohol, etc. • The Flapper girl started the “modern woman” movement.

13. Flapper Fashion Charleston Dancing/Jitterbug—this started the “swing dance movement of the 1940s Bob hairstyle

14. Immigration Act of 1924 • This limited the number of immigrants who came to the United States, specifically Southern and Eastern Europeans, East Asians, and Asian Indians from coming into the country. • Foreigners who were not eligible for citizenship could not own land. • After WWI, it appeared that the U.S. and Canada became xenophobic.

15. One of the Lost Generation The Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald

16. Biography • Francis Scott Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota. • He began writing for the school paper at St. Paul Academy. His first story to be published was a detective story when he was thirteen. • Fitzgerald attended Princeton University, but was not a bright student. • He dedicated more time to writing for his literary apprenticeship rather than studying.

17. Ginevra King, Fitzgerald’s 1st love • Ginevra King, believed to be the model for Daisy Buchanan, a character in The Great Gatsby. • She and Fitzgerald were romantically involved from 1915-1917.

18. Ginevra King • Ginevra met Fitzgerald in January 1915 while he was home for Christmas vacation. • For Fitzgerald, Ginevra was the ideal woman: independent, attractive, and unattainable. • They corresponded through letters and exchanged story ideas. • One of her stories contained a basic plotline of The Great Gatsby.

19. Ginevra King • Ginevra was of higher class status; Fitzgerald was from a middle-class working family. • Although she felt equal passion for Fitzgerald as much as he felt for her, their romance ended because she could not marry him. • Their romance ended in 1918, but not before leaving an impression on Fitzgerald that inspired him to model one his female characters after her.

20. Life as a Writer • He dropped out of college during his third year and enlisted in the army in 1917. • He was commissioned as a second lieutenant. • He was so sure he was going to die in the war and never get anything published that he wrote one story called “The Romantic Egoist” in a rushed fashion. • Fitzgerald never saw battle; he was never shipped to Europe to fight in the war.

21. Major Works by Fitzgerald • This Side of Paradise, 1920 • The Beautiful and the Damned, 1922 • The Great Gatsby, 1925 • Tender is the Night, 1934 • The Last Tycoon, unfinished,1940 (The Love of the Last Tycoon)

22. Zelda Sayre, Fitzgerald’s wife • During Fitzgerald’s stint in the army, he was assigned to Camp Sheridan in Alabama. • He met Zelda Sayre, the daughter of judge in the Alabama Supreme Court. • Zelda was 18 when they met, widely known for her beauty.

23. Zelda Sayre • Zelda was also an aspiring artist—writer, painter, and dancer. • Fitzgerald, in order to prove that he could financially support her, revised “The Romantic Egoist” but it was rejected a second time. • He went to New York to start an advertisement business in order to support himself and his writing.

24. Zelda Sayre • Zelda could not live on his small salary and broke off their engagement. • “The Romantic Egoist” was revised and finally published as This Side of Paradise. • The novel was an instant success and Fitzgerald became a famous writer. • He pursued Zelda again, and this time, she married him.

25. Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous • The 1920s were “self-absorbed in wealth and everyday luxuries” (wikipedia, “Lost Generation”) • Fitzgerald and his wife traveled to New York. • In 1921, when Zelda also discovered she was pregnant, they traveled to Europe for the first time.

26. Frances Scott Fitzgerald, “Scottie” Frances Scott Fitzgerald was born in October 1921. She was the only child the Fitzgeralds were to have.

27. Balancing Career and Family • They lived freely—lots of partying and drinking. • Living in New York was too distracting; it prevented the completion of his third novel. • Both Fitzgerald and Zelda began to drink regularly, but he always wrote sober. • His alcoholism created rumors that he wasn’t a responsible writer.

28. Balancing Career and Family • Fitzgerald wrote short stories for quick money to support his family. • In 1924, they traveled again to Europe to get a break from literary critics. He began to finalize the draft for The Great Gatsby. • Their marriage was damaged when Fitzgerald discovered that Zelda was involved with another man. • In 1925, The Great Gatsby was finally published with great success. • While living in Paris, Fitzgerald met Ernest Hemingway, whom he thought was a genius.

29. Balancing Career and Family • The Fitzgeralds remained in France until 1926. • Fitzgerald tried writing for Hollywood, but failed, so he stuck to writing novels. • The Fitzgeralds moved to Delaware, where he tried to work on Tender is the Night. • At this time, Zelda decided she wanted to become a professional ballet dancer. • Her ambition and his career led to their estrangement.

30. Balance Career and Family Life • In April 1930, Zelda suffered her first mental breakdown. • They moved to Switzerland, where Zelda could be treated at a clinic. • Fitzgerald lived in hotels, trying to finish his novel, and writing short stories to pay for Zelda’s psychiatric treatment. • Although he was an established writer and making enough money, he and Zelda always spent the money faster than he earned it.

31. Balancing Career and Family Life • The Fitzgeralds returned to America in 1931, but Zelda suffered another breakdown. She spent the rest of her life as a patient of sanitariums. • In 1932, Zelda wrote her autobiography Save Me the Waltz. • Her autobiography caused more bitterness between her and her husband. • In 1934, Tender is the Night was finally published, but regarded as a failure.

32. Balancing Career and Family Life • The years of 1935-37 are known to be “the crack-up” period. • Fitzgerald suffered from illness, alcoholism, debt, and unable to write commercial stories for quick cash. • His publisher Harold Ober and his wife became the surrogate parents of Fitzgerald’s daughter.

33. Balancing Career and Family Life • Fitzgerald returned to Hollywood to try screen writing again, this time with more success. • Although he was making more money and paid off his debts, he wasn’t able to save money. • He constantly visited Zelda in the East coast, but his visits were often disastrous. • Fitzgerald fell in love with Sheilah Graham, a movie columnist with whom he worked in Hollywood.

34. The End of Fitzgerald’s Era • When MGM did not renew his contract, he began writing for Esquire magazine. • He began writing his manuscript for The Love of the Last Tycoon in 1939, but died of a heart attack in 1940 and left it unfinished. • Zelda died in a hospital fire in 1948. • Fitzgerald died believing that he was a failure. His obituaries were scathing and condescending.