The Great Gatsby- Context

The Great Gatsby- Context

1. The Legacy of WW1

   • Gatsby fought in war
     • Won war medals
       • Montenegro
     • Nick thought he was lying
   • USA suffered very few losses
     • Only joined in 1917
     • Led to glorification of war
     • Disillusionment

2. The Jazz Age

   • New money
   • Flappers
   • Consumerism
   • Prohibition of alcohol

3. The Criminal Underworld

   • Al Capone
     • Most famous gangster of 1920s
     • Bootlegger
   • Meyer Wolfsheim
     • Gambler
     • Fixed 1919 World Series
       • Baseball
       • Real event
   • Gatsby
     • Served illegal alcohol at parties
     • Used drug-stores to sell alcohol
       • Whisky could be prescribed by doctors for medicinal purposes
   • Jordan cheating at golf

4. Women and Flappers

   • Jordan Baker
     • Plays golf
       • Defies femininity of Victorian era
       • Masculine sport
   • Characteristics
     • Short skirts
     • Bobbed hair
     • Makeup
     • Smoking
   • Right to vote
     • 1920
   • Zelda Sayre
     • Fitzgerald's wife
     • Prime example of a flapper

5. The American Dream

   • Hard work= success (rich)
   • Wall Street Crash
     • After publication of Gatsby
     • 1929
     • American Dream ruined
   • Gatsby
     • Hopes to impress Daisy with wealth
       • Ultimately unsuccessful
     • Rags to riches
       • Came from poor family
       • Became rich via crime
   • George Wilson
     • Plans to leave VoA with Myrtle to find new life

6. Mass Production and Advertising

   • Dr T.J. Eckleburg
     • Optometrist
     • Eyes of God
       • Omniscient
       • Religion replaced with consumerism
   • 'Money can't buy happiness'
     • Gatsby opposes this
       • Needs wealth to please Daisy
         • Daisy= source of happiness
         • Parties
         • House

7. The Entertainment Industry

   • Gilda Gray's understudy