1. 1 F. Scott Fitzgerald and the 1920s Background Notes for the Reading of The Great Gatsby

2. 2 The 1920s A time of great social change including fashion, music, politics, attitudes, etc.. Forces clashed to produce the most explosive decade of the century, a time when most of the established rules of society were broken. World War I ended in 1918 setting the stage for the Roaring Twenties, a decade in America of madcap behavior and materialism.

3. 3 Cultural Context of the Novel Among the rules broken were the age-old conventions guiding the behaviors of women. The new woman demanded the right to vote and to work outside the home. Symbolically, she cut her hair into a boyish “bob” and bared her calves in the short, sleek skirts of the fashionable twenties “flapper.”

4. 4 Cultural Context of the Novel Another rule often broken was the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, or Prohibition, which banned the public sale of alcoholic beverages from 1919 until its repeal in 1933. Speak-easies, nightclubs, and taverns that sold liquor were often raided, and gangsters made illegal fortunes as bootleggers, smuggling alcoholic beverages into America from abroad.

5. 5 Prohibition and Gangsters Gangsters profited during this decade by smuggling alcohol and distributing it to different illegal businesses. Al Capone was one of these gangsters who made $105 million a year on smuggling alcohol into the United States.

6. 6 The Black Sox Scandal Another gangland activity was illegal gambling. Perhaps the worst scandal involving gambling was the so- called Black Sox Scandal of 1919, in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox were indicted for accepting bribes to throw baseball’s World Series.

7. 7 Cultural Context of the Novel It was also an era of reckless spending and conspicuous consumption, and the most conspicuous status symbol of the time was a flashy new automobile.

8. 8 Advertising Advertising was becoming the major industry that it is today, and soon advertisers took advantage of new roadways by setting up huge, often incongruous billboards at their sides. Both the automobile and a bizarre billboard play important roles in The Great Gatsby.

9. 9 F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby Anticipation Activity Directions: respond to the following anticipation questions for The Great Gatsby. Be prepared to support your response.

10. Question #1 Would you marry someone for money? 10

11. Question #2 Is a family with old money different from/better than a family with new money? 11

12. Question #3 Does a college degree make you more socially acceptable? 12

13. Question #4 Is there a circumstance in which adultery should be allowed? 13

14. Question #5 Are people with money happier than people without money? 14

15. Question #6 Do you think that you can be in love with more than one person at a time? 15

16. Question #7 When one comes by wealth illegally, do you believe he or she is very likely to pay for it in the end? 16