The Great Gatsby Historical Context And Introduction

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The Great GatsbyHistorical Context and Introduction"It was an age of miracles," Fitzgerald wrote of theJazz Age. “It was an age of art, it was an age ofexcess, and it was an age of satire.

F. Scott Fitzgerald1896-1940A Short Biography

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald wasborn in St. Paul, Minnesota onSeptember 24, 1896.His parents, although poor, hadsome social status.Fitzgerald was named after hissecond cousin, Francis Scott Key,the author of “The Star-SpangledBanner.”

While his family was notprosperous, Fitzgerald’smother nurtured socialambitions in her only son.An elderly aunt helped financehis tuition at a private Catholicboarding school in New Jerseycalled The Newman School andthen, in 1913, at PrincetonUniversity.At the time, PrincetonUniversity was viewed as atraining ground for theAmerican upper class.

Coming from a background of “financial anxiety,” while at Princeton,Fitzgerald developed a fascination with the very rich.While his grades were low, he excelled in his writings for the PrincetonTriangle Club Dramatic Society and the Princeton Tiger. Fitzgerald’swriting from that time shows that he was self-conscious about thedifferences between himself and his wealthy classmates.Although his grades were suffering, Fitzgerald was more upset with hisstruggles to make the Princeton football team.

In 1917, during his third year atPrinceton, Fitzgerald left schoolin order to enlist in the UnitedStates Army. After passing aspecial examination, he wascommissioned a Second Lieutenantin the infantry.In June 1918, while stationed atCamp Sheridan, near Montgomery,Alabama, twenty-one year oldFitzgerald met and fell madly in lovewith eighteen-year-old Zelda Sayre.She was a local debutante, theyoungest daughter of anAlabama Supreme CourtJudge.

After being discharged from the Army in 1919, Fitzgerald went to New Yorkto seek his fortune so that he could marry Zelda. By day, he workedin an advertising agency, and by night, he wrote stories, submitting themto magazines. For his efforts, he collected nothing but rejection slips.While Fitzgerald was failing financially as a writer, Zelda broke theirengagement. She was unwilling to live on his small salary in theadvertisement business. Fitzgerald returned to his parents’ house in St.Paul to rewrite his novel, changing the title to This Side of Paradise.

This time the novel was accepted byScribner’s and published in March 1920 whenFitzgerald was twenty-three years old. Hecalled it “the story of the youth of ourgeneration.” Considered daring andintellectual, This Side of Paradise was asmashing success and an immediatebestseller. Fitzgerald was perceived asthe style-setter for the times, and heachieved celebrity status.Following his great success as awriter, Fitzgerald and Zelda resumedtheir engagement and were marriedin St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New Yorkin 1920.

Their only child, a daughter named Frances Scott(Scottie) Fitzgerald, was born in October 1921.

Fitzgerald’s life in the 1920swas a mirror to eventsoccurring nationally duringthat decade.The Roaring Twenties,also commonly referred to asThe Jazz Age, was a time ofchallenge to the establishedorder, of personal indulgence,and even self-destructiveexcess.Fitzgerald was its selfproclaimed spokesman andsymbol.

While this was an era of Prohibition,Fitzgerald and Zelda drankalcohol publicly and partiedlike there was no tomorrow.Their tastes were for life in NewYork’s luxurious Plaza Hotel,expensive and gigantic cars, countryhomes on Long Island or inConnecticut, and villas in France.They spent money as fast asFitzgerald could make it. In fact,they spent more than he couldmake, and they found themselvesin debt. Fitzgerald was to spend therest of his life in a futile struggle tomake ends meet.

Published in 1925, The Great Gatsby isfrequently nominated as “the greatAmerican novel.”A quintessential story of not only the1920s , but also of the Americanexperience, the novel chronicles theexuberance, as well as the malaiseof the decade, showing howAmerica’s fascination withmaterial success was erodingvalues.The novel received critical praise, butsales were mediocre.The fact that the novel did not sell wellwas a disappointment from whichFitzgerald never recovered.

Life in the second half ofthe 1920s becamedesperate for theFitzgeralds.As the Jazz Age drew toits traumatic close withthe stock market crashof 1929, so did much ofFitzgerald’s life andcareer.An alcoholic since age 22,Fitzgerald’s drinking gotout of control, earninghim the dubious title,“America’s DrunkestWriter.”

In 1930 Zelda suffered the first ofseveral complete nervousbreakdowns. She spent the lasteighteen years of her life in sanatoriumsin Europe and the U.S.To pay Zelda’s high medical bills andother debts, Fitzgerald focused on writingshort stories for popular magazines, forexample, The Saturday Evening Post andEsquire. He also worked in Hollywood asa screenwriter.On December 21, 1940, while he was inHollywood, Fitzgerald died of a heartattack. He was 44 years old.Fitzgerald’s early death is oftenattributed to his alcoholism, thepressure to earn money to pay his debts,and the collapse of the decade into theGreat Depression.

What happened to Zelda?In 1948, a fire broke out inthe kitchen of HighlandHospital in Asheville,North Carolina whereZelda was being treated.The fire moved through thedumbwaiter shaft,spreading onto every floor.The fire escapes werewooden, and caught fire aswell. Nine women,including Zelda, died. Shewas 48 years old.

The 1920s

The 1920s – The Jazz Age Fitzgerald himself coined theterm Reaction to thedeath/destruction/loss ofinnocence from WWI (post-warprosperity) During this time, there was amass migration from rural areasto cities where “parties werebigger, the pace was faster, thebuildings were higher, themorals looser” (Fitzgerald) Some called it the first trulymodern decade

I. Life in the 1920s:A. Changing Role of Women:19th Amendment (1920) – granted women suffrage(right to vote)New jobs opened up during WWI and the womendidn’t want to give their jobs up when the mencame back home – so more women began to go tocollege

I. Life in the 1920s: Flappers – modern women of the 1920s – young,rebellious, fun-loving, and bold – short hair, shortdresses (to the knees), more makeup (esp. lipstick) –attitudes changes – ex: began to smoke and drink inpublic

I. Life in the 1920s:B. Prohibition Era (1919-1933):18th Amendment (1919) – prohibited the making,selling, or transportation of alcoholVolstead Act – law passed by Congress to enforceprohibition – ignored by most of the cities on theeast coast

I. Life in the 1920s:Success of prohibition:-consumption of alcohol decreased-arrest for drunkenness decreased Why did Prohibition eventually fail?1) Not enforced – some police depts. were corrupt,just didn’t care, or were scared of the gangsters2) Most people didn’t take prohibition seriously –drank anyway

I. Life in the 1920s:3)The crime wave that began made most peoplethink that the amendment should be repealed-organized crime got involved in bootlegging (theillegal selling of alcohol)-the most famous gangster of the 1920s was AlCapone from Chicago

The Novel

Francis Cugat’s jacket design for The GreatGatsby is the most celebrated andwidely disseminated jacket art inAmerican Literature. After appearing onthe first printing in 1925, it was revivedmore than a half-century later for the“Scribner Library” paperback editions (1979– present).Cugat’s painting is iconic: the sad, hypnotic,heavily outlined eyes of a woman beamlike headlights through a cobalt night sky.Their irises are transfigured into recliningfemale forms. From one of the eyes streamsa green luminescent tear; brightly rougedlips complete the sensual triangle. Below, onearth, brightly colored carnival lightsblaze before a metropolitan skyline.

to Characters

Jay GatsbyThe title character. JayGatsby is a formermid-westerner whomoved East in order towin over DaisyBuchanan, the love helost five years earlier.His desire to win overDaisy leads him frompoverty to extremewealth. He isconsidered “newmoney.”

Nick CarrawayThe novel’s narrator. Nick isalso a mid-westerner whomoved East.He happens to be Daisy’scousin.Nick happens to move to asmall house next to Gatsby’smansion in West Egg.His mid-western sensibilitiesgive us an outsidersperspective on how thewealthy socialites like theBuchanans lead their lives.

Daisy BuchananDaisy is beautiful and “delicate”. Gatsby is obsessed withwinning Daisy back. Even the sound of her voice he findsabsolutely mesmerizing.She grew up in a wealthy and privileged family. She married avery wealthy man, Tom Buchanan, who is considered part ofthe “old money” elite.

Tom BuchananDaisy's hulking brute of ahusband. Tom comes froman old, wealthy Chicagofamily and takes pride inhis rough ways.He leads a life of luxury inEast Egg, playing polo,riding horses, and drivingfast cars. He commandsattention through hiswealth, physical size, andobnoxious behavior.

Jordan BakerProfessional golfer known for herquestionable integrity.A friend of Daisy’s, she also representswomen of this elite social class. She is usedto being admired by women wherever shegoes.Fitzgerald often wrote about athleticwomen who played sports such as golf ortennis. This was considered very modernat the time.

Meyer WolfshiemGatsby's businessassociate and link toorganized crime.A professionalgambler, Wolfshiemis attributed withfixing the 1919 WorldSeries.

George and Myrtle WilsonA local auto mechanicGeorge’s wife (Tom’s mistress)

Old Money Vs. New Money New Money: Old Money Someone who has Money from familyachieved the AmericanDream Not as respected in the1920’swealth Born rich Not earned through workdone by yourself Respected above all inthe 1920’s

Settings in The Great Gatsby West Egg- where Nickand Gatsby live,represents new money East Egg- where Daisylives, the morefashionable area,represents old money

Settings in The Great Gatsby The City- New York City, where the charactersescape to for work and play The Valley of Ashes- an industrial area between theCity and West Egg, where Wilson’s garage is located.

Symbols in The Great Gatsby Green Light- at the end of Daisy’s dock and visiblefrom Gatsby’s mansion. Represents Gatsby's hopesand dreams about Daisy.

Symbols in The Great Gatsby The Valley of Ashes- the area between West Egg andNew York City. It is a desolate area filled withindustrial waste. It represents the social and moraldecay of society during the 1920’s. It also shows thenegative effects of greed.

Symbols in The Great Gatsby The Eyes of Dr. T. J. Ekleburg- A decaying billboardin the Valley of Ashes with eyes advertising anoptometrist. There are multiple proposed meanings,including the representation of God’s moraljudgment on society.

The Great Gatsby Historical Context and Introduction "It was an age of miracles," Fitzgerald wrote of the Jazz Age. “It was an age of art, it was an age of excess, and it was an age of satire. F. Scott Fitzgerald 1896

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