& INTRO TO THE GREAT GATSBY
Modernism
Historical Context
1914-1918 - World War I1920-Women gain the right to vote1920s
alcohol is outlawed Falling farm prices
1929 – Stock market crash1930s – Great Depression
Historical Context
Until now the American dream has existed as a belief in America as a land of opportunity, progress, and individualism
After WWI, many Americas fell disillusionment with the American dream
Disillusionment =A feeling of disappointment, even depression, arising from the realization that something is not what it was expected or believed to be
The Jazz AgeProhibition comes into effect
Speakeasies (illegal bars) come into vogue, esp. in New York City to revolt against religious zealous people
Women gained right to vote in 1920
Production of goods goes up, so cost comes down
Hollywood and entertainment industry begins to boom
Prohibition causes illegal alcohol trafficking.
“Gangster” image (Al Capone)Women become independent
in fashion, workplace, education.
Materialism comes into vogue. Cars become affordable and serve as status symbol.
Hedonism—pursuit of pleasure and instant gratification
Society starts to become obsessed with the “rich”
Sens e o f d i s i l lu s i o nment a nd a l o s s o f f a i t h i n Am er i ca n d r ea m
Re jec t io n o f s en t im enta l i t y a nd a r t ific i a l i t y in f a vo r o f ca p t ur ing r ea l i t y
Em pha s i s o n bo ld ex per im ent a t i on in s t y l e a nd f o r m, r eflec t ing t he f r a g m ent a t io n o f s o c ie t y
I n te r es t i n t he ind i v idua l a nd the inner wo r k ings o f t he huma n mind
TRAG IC H ERO
Elements of modernism
F. Scott Fitzgerald
1896-1940Coined the term “Jazz Age”The Great Gatsby – 1925Notorious during the 1920s for his heavy
drinking
Nick (Narrator)
“Whenever you feel like criticizing any one, just remember that all the people in the world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had” (Fitzgerald 1/1).
“I’m inclined to reserve all judgments…”(Fitzgerald 1/1).
“Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope” (Fitzgerald 2/1).
What kind of person do you think Nick is?Why might this glimpse into his character be
important?
Nick (Narrator)
“When I came back from the East last summer I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart” (Fitzgerald 2/2).
Why? What happened last summer?
Gatsby
“Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book, was exempt from my reaction – Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn” (Fitzgerald 22). Unaffected (unchanged) scorn (disgust) Gatsby represents everything that Nick has always
hated (had an unaffected scorn for). BUT – he was not a reason Nick wanted the world “at a sort of moral attention” – WHY?
Why would Nick write a book about Gatsby?
East Egg: Tom and DaisyOld Money
West Egg: Gatsby and NickNew Money
Whose residences are pictured below? What details from the text
support your responses? (Cite them!)
Whose residence is pictured below? What details from the text support
your response? (Cite them!)
HOMEWORK:
FINISH READING CHAPTER 1