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The Great Gatsby

Explore the tumultuous 1920s and the concept of the American Dream through F. Scott Fitzgerald's iconic novel, The Great Gatsby. Delve into the Jazz Age, prohibition, changing roles of women, and the social atmosphere of change. Discover the optimism and disillusionment of the era and follow the characters as they navigate love, wealth, and the pursuit of happiness.

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The Great Gatsby

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  1. The Great Gatsby The 1920s and the American Dream

  2. Roaring Twenties • Sometimes called: The Jazz Age, The Age of Intolerance, and the Age of Wonderful Nonsense • Embodies the beginning of Modern America. (Literature movements: Modernism and The Harlem Renaissance) • Post WWI and after pulling through a worldwide Flu epidemic many American’s felt hemmed up and the new decade would be a time of change for everyone---not always in a good way.

  3. Proponents • business, change and innovation, laissez faire- economy • rapid growth of industry and mechanization: unlimited progress effecting an even wider distribution of the blessing of civilizations : electricity; automobile • even skeptics believe in progress and in solving of problems: new" Golden Age" for America

  4. Critics • they called the decade "decline and degradation" • Americans are caught up in a "surge of materialism", people who had failed to grasp the meaning and significance of life • feel disillusioned or disenchanted - lost faith in life and in the possibility of social progress • consumerism

  5. SOCIAL ATMOSPHERE OF CHANGE • relaxing of structures within the sphere of private and public morality • relationship between the sexes • change of the status of women

  6. SPIRIT OF THE 20s • urbanization • fascination with the dream of success • popularity of jazz • increased mobility via mass produced automobile

  7. PROHIBITION • the 18th Amendment(1919) prohibited the sale and consumption of alcohol. • although alcohol was illegal it was distributed through “bootleggers” and “speakeasies” • Government was virtually unable to enforce it • Al Capone / St. Valentine's Day massacre / Mafia

  8. THE CHANGING ROLE OF WOMEN • The 19th Amendment(1920) gave women the right to vote • during the Twenties 9 million women were employed and earned money on their own • women bobbed their hair • they were able to drink and smoke in public • the liberated young women were called “flappers"

  9. FACTS ABOUT THE DECADE • 106,521,537 people in the United States • 2,132,000 unemployed, Unemployment 5.2% • Life expectancy: Male 53.6, Female 54.6 • 343.000 in military (down from 1,172,601 in 1919) • Average annual earnings $1236; Teacher's salary $970 • Dow Jones High 100 Low 67 • Illiteracy rate reached a new low of 6% of the population. • Gangland crime included murder, swindles, racketeering • It took 13 days to reach California from New York There were 387,000 miles of paved road.

  10. Who is F. Scott Fitzgerald? • Born in St. Paul, Minnesota / 1896 - 1940 • Princeton University / 1917 joined the army • Met beautiful / troubled socialite: Zelda • Published The Great Gatsby at 23 in 1925 • “Speaker of the Jazz Age” • Alcoholic • Died believing himself a failure

  11. WHAT IS THE AMERICAN DREAM? • It describes an attitude of hope and faith that looks forward to the fulfillment of human wishes and desires. • The Great Gatsby is seen as commentary on this concept: watch for Fitzgerald’s opinions on / suggestions about The American Dream.

  12. Review Eras Puritan/Age of Reason Romanticism/Realism/ Modernism Man is divine God in nature Flaws are part of the whole ------------------------- Irony God is detached Fate unpredictable Nature is violent at times Modernism – disillusioned – no spiritual connection Lost generation • View of God: All Sovereign • Man is depraved • Predestination • Pray for perfection • Theocracy • Man is good • God in man

  13. Modernism • Literature that attempts to break from the traditional forms of the past • Self-conscious break with tradition (Ezra Pound “Make it new”) • Against established religious, social, political views • No such thing as absolute truth. All things are relative. • No connection with history or institutions. • Human experience = alienation, loss, and despair. • Championship of the individual and celebration of inner strength

  14. Literary Characteristics • self-consciousness and irony • narration through fragmented, internalized, or multiple perspectives or viewpoints • non-linear time, or other distortions of time-conventions in Realistic fiction • destabilization and fragmentation of reality • symbolic, suggestive, allegorical elements • alienation and isolation • inner reality > external life

  15. The Great Gatsby • Setting: The Summer of 1922 on Long Island and in New York City • Topics: • The idea of the American Dream • The spirit revolving around the 1920’s • Social issues: class, women • Past, present and future

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