The Great Gatsby

1. The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald

2. F. Scott Fitzgerald 1896-1940 • Distant relative of Francis Scott Key • Met Zelda Sayre while at basic training for WWI • She refused to marry him until he proved his financial success • Publication of his first novel made him an overnight literary sensation • The couple were known for excessive partying and drinking • Zelda was institutionalized for schizophrenia • Fitzgerald died of a heart attack due to life-long alcoholism

3. Historical Context • Jazz Age & Roaring 20’s • Economic boom after WWI • Wealthy families grew even wealthier • The newly rich spent money on cars, houses, parties, etc. • Women’s Independence • Independent women created the “flapper” style • Wore feather boas, bobbed hair cuts, jewelry, and danced the “Charleston” • Prohibition • Conservative groups managed to make alcohol illegal • Speak-easies and bootlegging flourished

4. NYC & Urban Corruption • Politicians and police took bribes to ignore bootlegging, prostitution, and gambling • The era of the “gangster” • Arnold Rothstein controlled all illegal activities in the city • Gangsters like Al Capone became rich from bootlegging • Traditional morals were non-existent

5. The 1919 Chicago “Black Sox” • Chicago White Sox heavily favored in World Series • Arnold Rothstein paid off eight players to intentionally lose the series • Rothstein and his friends bet on the Cincinnati Reds • Rothstein appears in The Great Gatsby as the character Meyer Wolfsheim

6. Themes • Culture Clash • Traditional Mid-Western Values vs. amoral East Coast • Old money vs. Newly rich • East Egg vs. West Egg • American Dream • Self-made wealth & happiness; youth & resourcefulness • Corruption of the American Dream due to materialism

7. Appearance vs. Reality • Gatsby is not what he seems • The attempt to re-create the past • Moral Corruption • There are no spiritual values in a place where money reigns • God and religion are dead • There is no place for honesty and selflessness in Gatsby’s world