The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Roaring Twenties
• In 1918, Prohibition had been
introduced into America. This law
banned the sale, transportation
and manufacture of alcohol.
However, there was a ready
market for alcohol throughout the
1920's and the gangsters provided
it. Capone's earnings at their peak
stood at $60 million a year from
alcohol sales alone with $45
million from other illegal ventures.
• Notorious in
Chicago, Capone
achieved national
celebrity status
when he appeared
on the front of the
celebrated "Time"
magazine.
• The general intent of the this Amendment
was to lower crime and improve the
general status of life. But the opposite
happened, crime increased as people
rebelled against not being able to drink
alcohol. Numerous illegal bars called
“speak easies” were created to provide
drinks for the people that required
alcoholic beverages. This time period also
included bathtub gin and other versions of
homemade alcohol.
• Women received the right to vote by
the 19th Amendment, but they still
had little interest in politics. During
this time period, women asked guys
out, they wore the new flapper style
of clothing and were more assertive.
They took the same jobs as men and
women still fought for laws against
inequality.
Edna St. Vincent Millay’s famous lines from
A Few Figs from Thistles (1920) express the
popular sentiment of the era:
My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—
It gives a lovely light.
THE FLAPPER
by Dorothy Parker
The Playful flapper here we see,
The fairest of the fair.
She's not what Grandma used to be, -You might say, au contraire.
Her girlish ways may make a stir,
Her manners cause a scene,
But there is no more harm in her
Than in a submarine.
She nightly knocks for many a goal
The usual dancing men.
Her speed is great, but her control
Is something else again.
All spotlights focus on her pranks.
All tongues her prowess herald.
For which she well may render thanks
To God and Scott Fitzgerald.
Her golden rule is plain enough Just get them young and treat them
rough.
• In the 1920s, a new
woman was born. She
smoked, drank,
danced, and voted. She
cut her hair, wore
make-up, and went to
petting parties. She
was giddy and took
risks. She was a
flapper.
• The 1920s was the Jazz Age and one
of the most popular past-times for
flappers was dancing. Dances such
as the Charleston, Black Bottom,
and the Shimmy were considered
"wild" by older generations. As
described in the May 1920 edition of
the Atlantic Monthly, flappers "trot
like foxes, limp like lame ducks, onestep like cripples, and all to the
barbaric yawp of strange
instruments which transform the
whole scene into a moving-picture of
a fancy ball in bedlam." For the
Younger Generation, the dances fit
their fast-paced life-style.
• "The music is sensuous, the female
is only half dressed and the motions
may not be described in a family
newspaper. Suffice it to say that
there are certain houses appropriate
for such dances but these houses
have been closed by law.”
The Catholic Telegraph
• The Flappers also went out
without a man to look after
them, went to all-night parties,
drove motor cars, smoked in
public and held men’s hands
without wearing gloves.
Mothers formed the Anti-Flirt
League to protest against the
acts of their daughters.
• Along with jazz went the
‘crazies’ when people
would do crazy things for
fun such as sitting on top
of a flag pole for as long
as possible; marathon
dances that went on until
everybody had dropped
and wing flying when you
stood strapped onto the
wing of a flying plane
until it landed.
• This was also
the era of great
sports
champions such
as Babe Ruth
the baseball
player and
Bobby Jones
"the greatest
amateur golfer
of all time."
• The decade saw the first "talkie" "The Jazz Singer" starring Al Jolson.
Many silent screen stars lost their
jobs as their voices sounded too
strange or their accents were
difficult to understand.
• The stars lived lavish lifestyles Beverly Hills was the place to live
and they cultivated in peoples minds
the belief that you could succeed in
America regardless of who you were.
Monkeys and Missionaries
• Amid the psychological and cultural
rubble of World War I, many Americans
questioned the old faiths. Liberal
Protestants preached a Social Gospel
and made the first tentative gestures
toward modern ecumenism. At the other
extreme, Fundamentalism (the term was
coined in 1921) swept much of the South
and Midwest. Revivalist preachers led by
the controversial Aimee Semple
McPherson drew overflow crowds and
huge radio audiences.
• Another, very different figure at the
center of a religious storm was
John Scopes, a young Tennessee
biology teacher whose challenge to
that state's law prohibiting
classroom instruction in the theory
of evolution set off a celebrated
1925 courtroom encounter between
Clarence Darrow and William
Jennings Bryan. "You believe in the
age of rocks," said Bryan, "I believe
in the rock of ages." Scopes lost the
case but won the war; Bryan,
humiliated, died a week after the
trial ended. On his tombstone were
carved the words, "He kept the
Faith."
• For the first time since the train and the
bicycle, a new form of faster
transportation was becoming popular.
Henry Ford's innovations were making the
automobile an accessible commodity to
the people. Cars were fast and risky perfect for the flapper attitude. Flappers
not only insisted on riding in them; they
drove them.
• Unfortunately for their parents, flappers
didn't just use cars to ride in. The back
seat became a popular location for the
new popular sexual activity, petting.
Others hosted petting parties. Though their
attire was modeled after little boys' outfits,
flappers flaunted their sexuality. It was a
radical change from their parents and
grandparents' generations.
• Authors such F. Scott Fitzgerald and artists
such as John Held Jr. used the term
“Flapper” to the U.S., half reflecting and
half creating the image and style of the
flapper. Fitzgerald described the ideal
flapper as "lovely, expensive, and about
nineteen." Held accentuated the flapper
image by drawing young girls wearing
unbuckled galoshes that would make a
"flapping" noise when walking.
Slang introduced
A
• all wet: incorrect
ankle: to walk, i.e.. "Let's ankle!"
apple sauce: flattery, nonsense, i.e.. "Aw,
B
applesauce!“
baby: sweetheart. Also denotes something of high
value or respect.
baloney: Nonsense!
Bank's closed.: no kissing or making out ie. "Sorry,
mac, bank's closed."
bearcat: a hot-blooded or fiery girl
bee's knee's: terrific; a fad expression. berries: (1)
perfect (2) money
big cheese: important person
bimbo: a tough guy
blotto (1930 at the latest): drunk, especially to an
extreme
blow: (1) a crazy party (2) to leave
bootleg: illegal liquor
C
• cat's meow: great, also "cat's pajamas" and "cat's
whiskers"
cash: a kiss
Cash or check?: Do we kiss now or later?
chassis (1930): the female body
check: Kiss me later.
clam: a dollar
coffin varnish: bootleg liquor, often poisonous.
cuddler: one who likes to make out
D
• daddy: a young woman's boyfriend or lover,
especially if he's rich.
doll: an attractive woman.
dolled up: dressed up
don't take any wooden nickels: don't do anything
stupid.
dope: drugs, esp. cocaine or opium.
doublecross: to cheat, stab in the back.
drugstore cowboy: A well-dressed man who loiters
in public areas trying to pick up women.
dry up: shut up, get lost
dumb Dora: an absolute idiot, a dumbbell,
especially a woman; flapper.
E
• earful: enough
edge: intoxication, a buzz. i.e. "I've
got an edge."
F
• fag: a cigarette. Also, starting
around 1920, a homosexual.
fish: (1) a college freshman (2) a first
timer in prison
flat tire: a bore
flivver: a Model T; after 1928, also
could mean any broken down car.
floorflusher: an insatiable dancer
G
• gay: happy or lively; no connection to
homosexuality. See "fag."
gin mill: a seller of hard liquor; a cheap
speakeasy
H
• hair of the dog (1925): a shot of alcohol.
hard-boiled: tough, as in, a tough guy, ie:
"he sure is hard-boiled!"
hooch: booze
hood (late 20s): hoodlum
hop: (1) opiate or marijuana (2) a teen
party or dance
hopped up: under the influence of drugs
I
• ish kabibble (1925): a retort meaning "I
should care." Was the name of a musician
in the Kay Kayser Orchestra of the 1930s.
J
• jack: money
Jalopy: a dumpy old car
Jane: any female
java: coffee
john: a toilet
joint: establishment
juice joint: a speakeasy
K
• knock up: to make pregnant
L
• level with me: be honest
limey: a British soldier or citizen, from
World War I
line: a false story, as in "to feed one a line."
live wire: a lively person
lollapalooza (1930): a humdinger
lollygagger: (1) a young man who enjoys
making out (2) an idle person
M
• manacle: wedding ring
munitions: face powder
N
• neck: to kiss passionately
necker: a girl who wraps her arms around her
boyfriend's neck.
nifty: great, excellent
noodle juice: tea
O
• old boy: a male term of address, used in
conversation with other males. Denoted
acceptance in a social environment. Also "old
man" "old fruit." "How's everything old boy?"
on a toot: a drinking binge
ossified: drunk
owl: a person who's out late
P
• pet: necking, only more; making out
petting party: one or more couples making out in a
room or auto
piker: (1) a cheapskate (2) a coward
putting on the Ritz: after the Ritz Hotel in Paris
(and its namesake Caesar Ritz); doing something in
high style. Also "ritzy."
R
• rag-a-muffin: a dirty or disheveled individual
razz: to make fun of
Real McCoy: a genuine item
rummy: a drunken bum
S
• sap: a fool, an idiot. Very common term in the 20s.
scratch: money
skirt: an attractive female
smarty: a cute flapper
speakeasy: a bar selling illegal liquor
spill: to talk
spoon: to neck, or at least talk of love
sugar daddy: older boyfriend who showers girlfriend with
gifts in exchange for sex
swanky: (1) good (2) elegant
swell: (1) good (2) a high class person
T
• take someone for a ride: to take someone to a deserted
location and murder them.
tasty: appealing
teenager: not a common term until 1930; before then, the
term was "young adults."
Tin Pan Alley: the music industry in New York, located
between 48th and 52nd Streets
tomato: a "ripe" female
torpedo: a hired thug or hitman
U
• unreal: special
upchuck: to vomit
upstage: snobby
V
• vamp: (1) a seducer of men, an aggressive
flirt (2) to seduce
W
• water-proof: a face that doesn't require
make-up
wet blanket: see Killjoy
Y
• You slay me!: That's funny!
Z
• zozzled: drunk