gatsby context
historical
jazz age
explores major development of the 1920s, such as women's suffrage, new technology, economic prosperity, the birth of jazz, and the growth of Manhattan,
characters served in the war (gatsby, nick) which established the US as a global superpower
jazz myusic was brought to a myainstream audience through black singers, causing ramifications due to segregation
most black americans lived under jim crow laws
the white wealthy characters listen to jazz myusic, but do not socialise with black characters
nick expresses amazement at seeing a group of black people in an expensive car
tom raves about a fictionalised version of a white supremancist book
witnessed positive change for women, with them gaining the right to vote and increasingly finding employment
the female characters interact differently than the societal gender norms
daisy is disappointed that her child is a girl, saying her highest hope would be for her to be a "beautiful fool", conveying her limited view on women
jordan represents a more modern woman, as she is an unmarried, childless golf player, demonstrating independence
myrtle is the only lower class woman depicted, and she is presented as dependent on her husband and lover
fitzgerald demonstrates the three women as ambitious but spoiled and foolish in different ways, and they don't engage in women's suffrage
prohibition
the 1920s were the height of the prohibition, pbanning the ownership or production of alchol under the 18th amendenment
aimed to rid the country of social ills caused by alcohol, but instead forced distribution and production fo liquor underground in illegal distribution rings
created lucrative opportunities for organised crime syndicates
al capone made millions off of bootlegging
al capone potentially a model for gatsby as rose from humble beginnings
literary
realism
literary movement originating in the 19th century, seeking to depict the world and people as they really are
portrays psychologically complex characters to provide insight into human nature
reactionary against romanticism, which protrays an idealised world driven by strong emotion
realist authors set their novels in recognisable locations and incorporate meticulous detail
their plot often prioritised characters' emotional conflicts
social realism specifically critiques a social or political issue
modernism
literary and artistic movement that began in the 1900s as a response to the industrial revolution
modernist writers were interested in the individual internal experience and drew on theories of the unconscious
modernists were interested in stylistic exploration, fashioning new literary forms to explore breakdowns in traditional modes of communication
gatsby has many modernist elements
nick references the first modernist, el greco of the 16th century, called that for the way his paintings distorted reality
many of the descriptions (blue smoke, shining dust) depict fitzegrald distorting reality
the description of automobiles as new and dangerous depicts modernist anxieties of automation
gatsby has many realism elements
satirical portrayal of characters critiques american concept of social mobility
can be read as the false promise of the american dream
explores how characters function in society
fitzegerald
born in 1896 in Minnesota
sent to a boarding school in new jersey
gained a place at princeton, but never graduated, instead enlisting in the army
stationed in Montgomery, alabama, where he met zelda
zelda agreed to marry him, but had an overpowering desire for wealth, so only agreed to the wedding when fitzgerald proved himself as a writer
fell into a life of wild parties, whilst trying to write to raise money for zelda's lifestyle
similar to gatsby throwing lavish parties to win daisy's love
zelda suffered a nervous breakdown and fitzegerald turned to alchol during the depression
died age 44 of a heart attack after moving to hollywood to write screenplays