1. The Great Gatsby Overview PPT

2. Background to The Great Gatsby

3. World War I

4. Post WWI Standard of living increased for most
Americans abandoned small towns in exchange for urban living
Economy prospered as Americans tried to forget troubles of war
- frivolous spending
- illegal liquor
- immorality

5. The 1920s: Nicknames The Roaring ‘20s The Jazz Age The Flapper Era
The Aspirin Age
The Age of Wonderful Nonsense

6. 1920’s Context WWI made Americans question traditional ideals.
Literature and art denied foundations of the past and went for the new.
The philosophy of the Jazz Age was called “modernism."

7. Modernism
Modernism was an artistic trend that sought to find new ways to communicate
Writers stripped away descriptions of characters and setting and avoided direct statements of themes and resolutions
This “fragmented” style of writing enabled the reader to choose meaning for himself, believing life had no meaning.

8. The Jazz Age / Roaring Twenties
: the years after the end of World War I, continuing through the Roaring Twenties and ending with the rise of the Great Depression.
The age takes its name from jazz, which saw a tremendous surge in popularity among many segments of society.
Jazz music set exalted standards – Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington
This was a period of pleasure seeking & reckless exuberance
Most of Fitzgerald’s stories provide a picture of youthful hedonism and the antics of the liberated young women known as “flappers”, affronting conventional values with short skirts, short hair and make-up.

9. Prohibition
18th Amendment to Constitution prohibited manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages
Thousands turned to bootlegging
Mob activity increased to supply the demand for what was once legal

10. More 1920’s This period has been referred to as “The Lost Generation”.
Hemingway, in his novel “The Sun Also Rises” depicts a group of expatriate Americans, wandering aimlessly through Europe, sensing that they are powerless and that life is pointless in the aftermath of the Great War.
“The Great Gatsby” can be seen to encapsulate this perception of life without purpose, of restlessness, dissatisfaction and drifting. It was published in the middle of the decade and reveals a mindless quest for pleasure and a loss of direction in life.

11. Historical Connections
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote and set The Great Gatsby in the United States in the 1920s.
The novel chronicles an era that Fitzgerald himself dubbed the "Jazz Age." Following the shock and chaos of World War I, American society enjoyed unprecedented levels of prosperity during the "roaring" 1920s as the economy soared.
At the same time, Prohibition, the ban on the sale and manufacture of alcohol made millionaires out of bootleggers and led to an increase in organized crime.
Although Fitzgerald, like Nick Carraway in his novel, idolized the riches and glamor of the age, he was uncomfortable with the unrestrained materialism and the lack of morality that went with it.

12. Conspicuous Consumption
This term was originally coined to refer to the rise & power of extremely rich businessmen, who displayed their wealth in ostentatious houses & extravagant behaviour.
This was invariably wasteful & implied increasing poverty among the lower classes in society.

13. Advertising & the mass market
By the time “The Great Gatsby” was published, the American population had almost doubled.
solution = mass production.
Led to technological development - cars, air travel and the telephone - as well as new modernist trends in social behaviour, the arts, and culture. Central developments included Art Deco design and architecture.
This growth in commodities led to standardisation, where all citizens might have the right to buy items that were available to all.
The early years saw a corresponding change in advertising – products were given brand names as a sign of reliability. But new advertising also sought to create the desire for commodities & packaging became more important

14. F. Scott Fitzgerald Born in Minnesota in 1896
Started writing in school - finished his first play in 1911
In 1914 he met and fell in love with a girl who rejected him because he was not rich enough.
In 1917 he received a commission as an infantry second lieutenant.
In 1918 he reported to Camp Sheridan in Montgomery, Alabama, where he met Zelda Sayre, who later became his wife.

15. The Great Gatsby
After the birth of their child, the Fitzgeralds moved to Great Neck, Long Island in October 1922, appropriating Great Neck as the setting for The Great Gatsby.
Fitzgerald's neighbours included newly wealthy New Yorkers. Great Neck, on the shores of Long Island Sound, sat across a bay from Manhasset Neck or Cow Neck Peninsula, and was home to many of New York's wealthiest established families. In his novel, Great Neck became the new-money peninsula of "West Egg" and Manhasset Neck the old-money peninsula of "East Egg.”

16. F. Scott Fitzgerald
His death in 1940, was not unlike Gatsby’s. Despite having once been the golden boy of the Jazz Age, upon his death, many of his obituaries were condescending, capitalizing on his personal hardships. Not one of his books remained in print and every indication suggested he was on his way into obscurity.
However, after World War II, interest in his work began to grow and by the 1960s, he had begun to secure a place among the great twentieth century American authors.
His works provide a valuable voice for exploring themes of ambition, justice, equity, and the American dream—themes that are still current—affording him with a well-deserved place in the American literary canon

17. Characters of The Great Gatsby
Jay Gatsby- The self-made wealthy man who lives next door to Nick Carraway and loves Daisy Buchanan

18. Characters of The Great Gatsby
Nick Carraway- the narrator, Daisy’s cousin, Gatsby’s neighbor

19. Characters in The Great Gatsby
Daisy Buchanan- married to Tom, Gatsby’s love interest before the war, socialite

20. Characters in The Great Gatsby
Tom Buchanan- Daisy’s husband, has an affair with Myrtle
Myrtle Wilson- Tom’s woman in the city, married to George
George Wilson- owns the gas station
Jordan Baker- Daisy’s friend, professional golfer

21. Old Money Vs. New Money New Money:
Someone who has achieved the American Dream
Not as respected in the 1920’s
Old Money
Money from family wealth
Born rich
Not earned through work done by yourself
Respected above all in the 1920’s

22. Settings in The Great Gatsby
West Egg- where Nick and Gatsby live, represents new money
East Egg- where Daisy lives, the more fashionable area, represents old money

23. Settings in The Great Gatsby
The City- New York City, where the characters escape to for work and play
The Valley of Ashes- between the City and West Egg, where Wilson’s gas station is Located

24. Symbols in The Great Gatsby
Green Light- at the end of Daisy’s dock and visible from Gatsby’s mansion. Represents Gatsby's hopes and dreams about Daisy.

25. Symbols in The Great Gatsby
The Valley of Ashes- the area between West Egg and New York City. It is a desolate area filled with industrial waste. It represents the social and moral decay of society during the 1920’s. It also shows the negative effects of greed.

26. Symbols in The Great Gatsby
The Eyes of Dr. T. J. Ekleburg- A decaying billboard in the Valley of Ashes with eyes advertising an optometrist. There are multiple proposed meanings, including the representation of God’s moral judgment on society.

27. Important Quotes
“I hope she’ll be a fool- that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”
Daisy’s description of her daughter
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” –the last line of the novel

28. Important Quotes
"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made." – Nick’s description of Tom and Daisy

29. The American Dream
Gatsby is the ideal image of one who has achieved the American Dream.
What is the American Dream and who has achieved it in our time?

30. American Dream Cont.

31. Critical Overview of the Novel
How has the reception changed over the decades?

32. The 1920s
While fellow writers praised Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, critics offered less favorable reviews.

33. Newspaper Reviews
The Baltimore Evening Sun called the plot “no more than a glorified anecdote” and the characters “mere marionettes.”
The New York Times called the book “neither profound nor durable.”
The London Times saw it as “undoubtedly a work of great promise” but criticized its “unpleasant” characters.

34. The 1930s
Fitzgerald’s reputation reached its lowest point during the Depression, when he was viewed as a Jazz Age writer whose time has come and gone.
The Great Gatsby went out of print in 1939.
When Fitzgerald died a year later, Time magazine didn’t even mention The Great Gatsby.

35. The 1940s
Interest in Fitzgerald was revived with the posthumous book, The Last Tycoon.
A literary critic was the first to point out that Gatsby, despite its Jazz Age setting, focused on timeless, universal concerns.

36. The 1950s
Fitzgerald’s reputation soared with a new biography entitled The Far Side of Paradise.
The London Times affirmed that Gatsby is “one of the best-if not the best-American novels of the past fifty years.”

37. What is the reputation today?
The Great Gatsby’s place as a major novel is now assured.
Most high schools teach this novel

38. It’s time for you to decide,
Old Sport…

39. Themes Jazz Age / Roaring Twenties Long Island and USA
The American Dream
Position of women
The Automobile
Prohibition & organized crime
Success & failure
Hope & sense of purpose
Role of time
Conflict betw. Illusion & reality
Honesty vs lies

40. Symbols Eyes The East & the West Dust & ash
Money & wealth (old vs new)
Significance of colours

41. Characterization Gatsby Daisy Buchanan Tom Buchanan Jordan Baker
Nick Carraway (Narration)
Myrtle Wilson
George Wilson
Meyer Wolfshiem