The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald • Born: Sept 24, 1896 • Named after ancestor (Francis Scott Key) • 1913 - enrolled in Princeton University (didn’t graduate) • 1917 – enlisted in army • Fell in love with Zelda Sayre • She agreed to marry him once he was a success • 1920 – his book This Side of Paradise is published

The Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald (cont.) • The book is successful; Zelda agrees to marry him • Daughter – Frances • 1925 – The Great Gatsby • Parties and alcoholism • Zelda’s breakdown and death • Died: 1940 (heart attack)

Great Gatsby Information • Time period – 1920’s • Setting – East Egg, West Egg, NYC • List of Main Characters • Nick Carraway (narrator) • Tom Buchanan • Daisy Fay Buchanan • Jordan Baker • Jay Gatsby • George Wilson • Myrtle Wilson

Prohibition • The Eighteenth Amendment (1919) to the Constitution forbade the manufacture, sale, import, or export of intoxicating liquors. • The Twenty-first Amendment (1933) repealed the Eighteenth Amendment. ALCOHOL

The Roaring Twenties • Prohibition • Speakeasies • Bootlegging • Organized Crime • Jazz Age • Dancing • Flappers • Women’s rights

1920 • More people in the city than in the country • # of radios in homes – 2,000 • First radio broadcast aired • Harlem Renaissance begins • League of Nations established • 19th Amendment – women granted the right to vote in the US

1921 • Warren G. Harding is inaugurated as President of the United States of America • Knee length skirts become fashionable • The first Miss America pageant • First drive-in food place

1922 • Flapper dress makes its debut • Speakeasies in NYC = 5,000 • First radio commercial broadcast

1923 • Hollywood sign goes up • Americans see on avg. 1 movie/week • President Harding dies • Vice President Coolidge becomes President • 15 million cars registered in the US • Charleston dance becomes popular

1924 • # of radios in US homes – 2.5 million • 1st Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade • Coolidge is reelected

1925 • Fitzgerald publishes The Great Gatsby • Hitler publishes Mein Kampf • The first woman Governor of a U.S. state (Wyoming) is elected. • The Scopes Trial • Evolution in schools debate • First trial broadcast over the radio • Frisbie invented

1926 • 40 hour work week (used to be 84 hour) • 1 in 6 Americans owns a car • 1st supermarket • Mae West – arrested for moving navel during play • US woman swims the English Channel • Deaths due to bad booze in NYC = 750

1927 • Charles Lindbergh flies solo across the Atlantic Ocean • First talking movie (The Jazz Singer) • Telephone service is opened between New York City and London (AT&T) • Speakeasies in NYC = 30,000 • Deaths due to bad booze in 1 hospital in NYC on New Year’s Eve = 41

1927 (continued) • Al “Scarface” Capone earnings • $100 million – alcohol sales • $30 million – protection business • $25 million – gambling • $10 million – vice and sundry rackets

1928 • U.S. signs Briand-Kellogg Pact - outlawing war • Amelia Earhart flies across the Atlantic • Women compete for the first time in Olympic field events • Penicillin discovered • 1st televisions are sold - $75 • Mickey Mouse in first cartoon • Divorce rate – 1 in 6 marriages

1929 • Empire State Building construction begins • Speakeasies in NYC = 32,000 – 100,000 • Speakeasies in Chicago = 10,000 • Valentine’s Day Massacre • “Bugs” Moran gang killed by Al Capone’s men • Car radio invented • Stock Market crash • October 29 • “Black Tuesday” • $9 billion lost on that one day

1920’s compared to today

Bibliography • http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pictures/a-f/fitzgerald-f-scott/fitzgerald-med.jpg • http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.shortstory.by.ru/fitzgerald • http://library.thinkquest.org/C005846/introduction/introduction.htm • http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/timeline-1926.html • http://www.defenselink.mil/photos/Feb2003/030114-O-0000D-001.html • http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/incredibles/ • www.theconnection.org/.../ 04/20040402_b_main.asp • http://www.apple.com/ipod/ • http://www.cadillac.com/cadillacjsp/models/gallery.jsp?model=escalade • www.allsports.com/ mlb/yankees/frommer42.htm • http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/baseball/20050323-9999-1s23bonds.html

Assignment • What would the US be without the following 1920’s events/inventions? • Pick one from the following list and write 50 words in your journal explaining your opinion. • Radio • Car radio • Television • Miss America Pageant • Prohibition • Fast food places • 40 hour work week • Skyscrapers • Penicillin

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald