1. The 1920s and the American Dream
The Great Gatsby
The 1920s and the American Dream
The 1920s were an era of “mindless materialism and consumption and pursuit of private wealth.”

2. Who was F. Scott Fitzgerald?
Born in 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Attended Princeton University; joined the army in 1917
His would-be wife, Zelda, would not marry him until he could publish This Side of Paradise.
Wrote The Great Gatsby in 1925, after Zelda had an affair
Critics of the time called him an “irresponsible” writer
Drank heavily
Died in 1940 believing himself to be a failure
His works were celebrated only in the 1950s and 1960s

3. The 20s: transition after the war
Prohibition became law in 1920; “bootleggers” prevalent
19th Amendment gave women the right to vote
The Great Gatsby was loosely inspired by his wife’s affair, and the relationship between himself and his life
Ideals of grandeur and disillusionment were common after soldiers returned from war and dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Party scene of Europe was brought to America
Introduction to the “jazz era”  music, stylish automobiles, “uninhibited” young women with bobbed hair, short skirts.
Fitzgerald wrote: “It was an age of miracles, it was an age of art, it was an age of excess, and it was an age of satire.”
1918 the war had been won but nothing worth winning had been gained, because idealism had been used-up, that caused uneasy feelings and a general disillusionment among the people which caused nervousness: racism, intolerance, violence, Ku Klux Klan, immigrants, political intolerance "ghost of bolshevism" behind every form of social protest/ strikes.

4. “Roaring Twenties” Summarized
Economy was booming
America partied
Organized crime was prevalent
Prohibition Act was introduced
A major decline of moral standards
Decline or destiny? Period between wars.

5. OPTIMISM ABOUNDS Business, change, and innovation
Laissez-faire economy
Rapid growth of industry and mechanization: unlimited progress
Many previous “luxuries” of the rich became commonplace for average people
A new" Golden Age" for America
View of contemporaries

6. CRITICS of the ERA
Many people dubbed the 20s a decade of “decline and degradation”
America was caught by a "surge of materialism”
People failed to grasp life’s meaning/significance
Many critics lost faith in the dangerous social progress that was bringing about a lack of interest in politics
Mainly from literary intellectuals

7. SOCIAL ATMOSPHERE OF CHANGE
Relaxing of structures within the sphere of private and public morality
Change in relationship between the sexes
Change in the status of women
Unchecked pursuit of material wealth, which led to a lack of spiritual life and purpose

8. SPIRIT OF THE 20s Fascination with the dream of success
Cinema introduced as a medium of entertainment
New popularity of jazz
Increased mobility (mass produced automobile)
Women drank and smoked freely in public
Female alcoholism was a major problem for the first time
“Liberated” young women were called flappers
In Gatsby, Jordan Baker is an example of this “new” type of woman (lives alone, self-confident, equal to males)

9. Romanticism/Realism/
CONTRAST of ERAS
Puritan/Age of Reason
Romanticism/Realism/
Modernism
Man is corrupt but redeemed through God, work
God is in Man
God is sovereign
Belief in pre-destination (fate)
Theocracy
Man is divine
God present in nature
God is detached
Fate is unpredictable
Flaws are part of the whole
Nature is violent at times
Modernism: disillusioned – no spiritual connection
“Lost” generation

10. SETTING East and West Egg, Long Island New York
West Egg  poorer side (Nick Carraway)
East Egg  “Beverly Hills” of Long Island (Tom, Daisy)
The “Eggs” show the dichotomy of “The American Dream.”

11. PLOT – CONDENSED Nick Carraway lives next to the mysterious Jay Gatsby
Nick meets Jordan Baker at Daisy’s house
Daisy is unhappy in her marriage, and seems desperate to escape domesticity
Tom takes Nick to meet Myrtle Wilson (his mistress)
Tom and Myrtle’s relationship is justified by the fact that they were “vastly” unhappy in their marriages
Nick and Jordan attend one of Gatsby’s parties, and learn that almost no one really knows who Gatsby is

12. NICK CARRAWAY Narrator of the story Daisy’s cousin
Comes of age (loss of innocence)
Moral compass of novel: subjects
every act and motive to the scrutiny of a lively moral sense
Conflicted about Daisy & Gatsby, Tom & Myrtle
Unable to decide whether or not Gatsby is to be trusted
Gatsby creates him to be almost like a father figure

13. JAY GATSBY Originally “James Gatz” from North Dakota
Mentored by Dan Cody (a wealthy tycoon)
Alone, mysterious, obsessed
Fell in love with Daisy Buchanan before WWI
Moved to West Egg in order to be near her
Relentlessly lives in the past
Lives without a conscience, except perhaps
where Daisy is concerned
Willing to give up just about anything for
for Daisy (hoping that she will one day
love him again)

14. DAISY BUCHANAN “Femme fatale” Yearns to be independent
Does she truly love Gatsby? Or is she playing him?
The best thing a girl can be is a “beautiful fool” (17)

15. TOM BUCHANAN “Devoted” husband of Daisy Conniving, quick to anger
Has difficulty persevering “when the going gets tough”
Emphasizes the double standard on adultery at that time

16. JORDAN BAKER Golf pro Independent, self-confident
Career tanked after a cheating scandal
(result of living in male dominated society?)
Nick’s love interest
A reason why Nick “hates” Gatsby?

17. MOTIFS, SYMBOLS, THEMES SYMBOLS, MOTIFS:
eyes, songs in chapters, cars, light/dark imagery
THEMES:
domesticity is impossible to escape, even with independence
the American Dream can be found, but at a price
the unfulfilled dream of the past can ruin the present, but it may hold insight into the future
glamour in the Prohibition Era
PTSD and the aftermath of war
corruption of individuals / society

18. WHAT IS THE AMERICAN DREAM?
The American Dream describes an attitude of hope and faith that looks forward to the fulfillment of human wishes and desires.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
- Thomas Jefferson (Declaration of Independence)
These wishes were expressed in Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence.
The concept of the American Dream is presented from two different POV

19. FAILURE OF THE AMERICAN DREAM
For all the progress and prosperity, and for all the declaration of democratic principles, there remains:
Poverty
Discrimination
Exploitation
Hypocrisy
Corruption
Suppression
The American Dream has totally failed to bring any kind of fulfillment, whether spiritual or material.
For all the progress and prosperity, for all the declaration of democratic principles, there are still poverty, discrimination, exploitation
As far as morality and values, there are also hypocrisy, cu=corruption and suppression.
The Great Gatsby also comments on this. Condition.

20. HOW IS THIS FAILURE DEVELOPED?
through the five central characters
through dominant images and symbols
through diction

21. AFTER READING

22. PLOT – CONDENSED CONT’D
At lunch, Nick learns that Gatsby attended Oxford University and that his family is “all dead now”
Gatsby reveals that Daisy is the only woman he has ever loved and that they dated before the war
Gatsby’s house is built so he can be closer to Daisy
The green light at the end of the dock symbolizes Gatsby’s hopes that they will one day be together again
Daisy and Gatsby reunite and their relationship resumes
On the way to New York, Gatsby and Tom switch cars, and Daisy rides with Gatsby
Tom learns that Wilson has locked Myrtle in the house because of her continued affair with an “unknown” man

23. PLOT – CONDENSED CONT’D
Tom confronts Daisy about her relationship with Gatsby
Gatsby insists that Daisy choose the man she loves
Daisy fails to make a decision and takes off with Gatsby
Daisy kills Myrtle Wilson despite Gatsby’s efforts to avoid a collision
Tom and Daisy flee, unable to take responsibility for their actions
George Wilson kills Gatsby, then commits suicide
Few attend Gatsby’s funeral
Nick reflects on Gatsby’s life in a bitter-sweet way

24. AMERICAN DREAM – ANALYSIS
Gatsby represents the American Dream, and more importantly, the conflict that exists in exploring the hidden boundary dividing reality from illusions. Sometimes, the illusions in this novel seem more real than reality itself.
Gatsby is stretched between a “golden past” and a “golden future,” betrayed by a desolate present. Imprisoned in his present, Gatsby belongs even more to the past than he does to the future.
The Great Gatsby is a profound affirmation of the American spirit in the midst of an American world that denies the soul.
The American Dream relates to a desire for spiritual and material improvement.
But what happened was the material aspect clearly outraced the spiritual ideals… it was achieved too quickly. So there emerged a state of material well-being but lacking in spiritual life or purpose.

25. LINGERING QUESTIONS
Other than when his doom has been secured, does Gatsby actually learn anything over the course of the novel?
Unlike the Eastern rich, the racketeers, and the Westerners who adopt Eastern ways (all of whom are debased by selfish motives of personal/sensual gratification), Gatsby actually acts for a “good” that he believes—almost absurdly—to be beyond personal interest. Is his effort heroic and worthy of sympathy?
In this novel, the past is represented as a loss, but also as a source of strength. Who experiences the greatest “loss” in this novel? Why are the losses significant?
In what ways is Gatsby “great”?