1 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott FitzgeraldHistorical background, author information, themes, and motifs to look for "I look out at it and I think it is the most beautiful history in the world It is the history of all aspiration not just the American dream but the human dream and…that too is a place in the line of the pioneers.“ - The Notebooks of F. Scott Fitzgerald, ed. Matthew J. Bruccoli

2 Modernism A philosophical and artistic movement of the early 20th century which portrayed the world as a harsh, hostile environment in which life had lost its meaning. The world is one in which dreams are unrealistic and futile No American Dream

3 Modernism= new way to look at lifeModernist believed that the traditional ways of life were no longer valid. They believed that those things that men had traditionally found meaning (religion, patriotism, financial success) no longer were meaningful because of: The horrors of WWI Poverty in the cities The difficulty of making a living Racial injustices

4 Modernism= new way to look at lifeThe loss of meaning in human existence has made our world a moral wasteland in which: There is no God; no real rules for living The world is unfair Human life is so complicated that no one can fully understand one another Men and women are therefore isolated and alone

5 The 1920s – The Jazz Age Fitzgerald himself coined the termReaction to the death/destruction/loss of innocence from WWI (post-war prosperity) During this time, there was a mass migration from rural areas to cities where “parties were bigger, the pace was faster, the buildings were higher, the morals looser” (Fitzgerald) Some called it the first truly modern decade Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington were popular musicians of the day Dances like the Charleston, the Shimmy, and the Toddle were popular https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN AOHtmy4j0

6 Women’s fashion of the 1920s

7 Men’s fashion of the 1920s

8 Prohibition – sale of alcohol was prohibited in the United States; mandated by Constitutional amendment Meant to improve lives of Americans (faith-driven initiative) Instead, liquor consumption grew exponentially Created criminals (lots of $$ to be made) – Gatsby? Speakeasies were the places to consume liquor (bars)

9 Modernist Novels A description of city lifeOvercrowded cities which resulted in poverty and crime People became nameless faces in the crowds Modernist characters who were either trying to find themselves or reinvent themselves The American Dream has become corrupted or unattainable Aspects of human existence lose meaning so does the idea that we can achieve our goals

10 F. Scott Fitzgerald Met his wife, Zelda, while stationed in AlabamaBorn September 24, 1896 Died December 21, 1940 Met his wife, Zelda, while stationed in Alabama She refused to marry him due to his lack of success published his first novel This Side of Paradise – it made him famous! Zelda agreed to marry him Called the “prince and princess” of the generation The couple had a daughter, Scotty, in 1921

11 F. Scott Fitzgerald The family moved to the French RivieraWrote Gatsby there Although Fitzgerald was a famous author, the couple spent the money much Faster than he earned it. Descent into alcoholism In debt Unable to be a present father for Scotty (sent to boarding schools)

12 Famous Works This Side of Paradise (1920)Novels Magazines, Newspaper Short Stories This Side of Paradise (1920) The Beautiful and the Damned (1922) The Great Gatsby (1925) Tender is the Night (1934) The Last Tycoon (unfinished) Featured in Esquire, The Saturday Evening Post All the Sad Young Men (best collection of short stories) Famous Works

13 Other Modernist AuthorsErnest Hemingway Most influential of all post-WWI writers Introduced the “Hemingway hero” Famous work: A Farewell to Arms Langston Hughes African American lyric poet Harlem Renaissance= African American poetry became part of the Jazz Age Famous work: “I, too, Hear America Sing”

14 The Great Gatsby (1925) SettingThe East and West Eggs – fictionalized peninsulas on Long Island Sound East Egg – representative of “old money”; Tom and Daisy live here West Egg – the newly rich live here – not quite accepted into the folds of the old moneyed; Gatsby’s mansion is here

15 The Great Gatsby (1925) SettingGatsby’s mansion: set on 40 acres; colossal, flashy, garish Symbolic of Gatsby’s success and the “American Dream” Also symbolic of the hollowness of money, success Serves as Gatsby’s lure for Daisy

16 The Great Gatsby (1925) SettingValley of Ashes - where George and Myrtle live Considered to be Flushing, in Queens, NYC Dead, gray, powdery People passed through the area in cars and on trains on their way to and from Manhattan

17 The Great Gatsby (1925) SettingNew York City and Plaza Hotel – symbolizes excess of the times Where much of the irresponsibility and excess of the novel take place

18 Narrator Nick Carraway UnreliableOnly hears half of what is going only Drunk the other half of the time

19 The Great Gatsby (1925) Motifs Money Hypocrisy Friendship CarelessnessDishonesty The American Dream Cars/Driving Ashes/Dust Time/Clocks Colors: green, white, yellow, blue, gold, grey

20 The Great Gatsby (1925) SymbolsThe green light at the end of Buchanan’s dock Gatsby’s library/books Dr. T.J. Eckleburg’s eyes on the billboard Owl Eyes Valley of Ashes East Egg/West Egg

21 SOURCES http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/prohibition/about/ rces.htm jpg niche/gallery_photos/36676/images/slideshow_feature_Palm-Court---- Credit-The-Plaza.jpg? bwxOSQ1yiw/s1600/4.jpg