The Great Gatsby

1. Historical, Biographical Context, Themes, and Introduction The Great Gatsby

2. Historical Context The Roaring 20’s

3. Highlights from Documentary • Money, Money, Money • “Decade of Play and Prosperity” • At the beginning of the 1920’s, just after The Great War, 2% of Americans owned most of the wealth. There was a great divide between the poor and wealthy. • By 1926, after the rise of factories and Industrial America, there were 11,000 millionaires in this country. They were not part of the super-wealthy 2%, but were establishing a new upper-middle class. This was the economic boom that sparked the “Roaring 20’s”. • Rural life became replaced by a rush of urban, city life. • Factories decreased the amount of time and energy spent meeting people’s basic needs, and consumer America was born. • Leisure time increased, creativity flourished, and entertainment became a central part of the American life.

4. Highlights from Documentary • Post-War Intolerance • After the disastrous bloodiness and tragedy of WWI, Americans favored isolationism, desiring to separate the country from the troubles, revolutions, and affairs of foreign nations. • Fearful of the revolution in Russia, Americans became intolerant of immigrants who may threaten the American way of democracy and capitalism. This became known as the Red Scare. • Not only were Americans fearful of potential communists and immigrants, but they extended their desire for dominance over minorities in this country. Racism was rampant, and discrimination against anyone who was not “White, Protestant, and American” was rampant. • American limited immigration from Eastern Europe and Japan, only accepting immigrants from Western European, democratic, and capitalist countries. • Patriotism for the American Identity is a critical component of the Roaring 20’s.

5. Highlights from Documentary • The Moral Question • As life moved from rural America to urban cities, the transition impacted the traditional moral values of many Americans. • Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution became a heated debate between the conservative, traditional rural Americans and the less-religious, more modern views of urban Americans. • Prohibition took effect, making the manufacture, sale, or consumption of alcohol illegal by Federal law. This actually resulted in more crime as people began to drink in secrecy and develop illegal manners of manufacturing and transporting alcohol. Obviously, prohibition was supported by the nation’s rural conservatives, and fought by the new urban-dwellers. • Prohibition was revoked, and alcohol continued to be a large part of the Roaring 20’s entertainment and social scenes. • A new a-morality was growing in America.

6. Highlights from Documentary • The Jazz Age • With basic needs being more easily met, and the development of a wealthier middle class, entertainment became a huge industry in America. • Americans had the money to support art and entertainment in an unprecedented way. • Jazz music from New Orleans spread to New York and became a staple of the time period. • George Gershwin, Georgia O’Keefe, and film stars created the legacy of the Jazz Age.

7. The 1920’s Woman • Who was she? • She was emancipated. • She was entertained. • She was educated. • She was employed. • The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. This was pivotal in the emancipation of women. Their clothing, hair, careers, and education all reflected the new idea of an independent woman. • Just as other traditional values were replaced, marriage became a true option, rather than an expectation. Women could work and create their own careers, go to college, and remain single if they wanted. • The “1920’s Woman” was a critical piece of “Adolescent America”. Just like the new emancipated woman, America was in it’s adolescent years, enjoying new-found freedom and abundance.

8. Biographical Context Who is F. Scott Fitzgerald?

9. Biographical Highlights • Born in 1898 to Catholic parents in the Mid-West. • Came from a middle-class to upper middle-class family, with inherited money from his mother’s side but a string of unsuccessful employment opportunities for his father. • Sought personal achievement and distinction from an early age, and was encouraged by his teachers in Catholic schools to continue this ambition. • Attended Princeton, where he was placed on academic probation and subsequently left school to join the army. • Fell in love with Zelda Sayre, who broke off their engagement until he found success and distinction as a writer. • They married after he achieved a level of success in the literary realm, and travelled the world as he wrote novels. • The Great Gatsby was written in France and Rome in 1924-1925. • The marriage between Zelda and Fitzgerald struggled from the influences of alcohol, Zelda’s eccentric behavior (and ultimately, her confinement to a asylum), and their poor financial planning. • Fitzgerald died in 1940, believing himself to be a failure. Zelda died in 1948 in a hospital fire.

10. Application • What parts of the text of Chapter 1 are examples of the influence of the historical context of the 1920’s? • What parts of the text of Chapter 1 are examples of the influence of the biographical context of the author?

11. Chapter 1 Details • In your notebook, make a chart. Leave room for additional notes as you continue your reading of the novel. Use an entire page.

12. Chapter 1 Details Continued • In your notebook, make notes regarding the imagery provided by Fitzgerald in the novel and how this imagery creates a scene in the mind of the reader. • What sort of scene is being developed? Use descriptive words to capture the scene. • What words are used by the author to describe the setting near Daisy? What about that of Tom?