F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Wrote novel
• Married Zelda Sayre (who was later
institutionalized)
• Died at an early age
• Named the Jazz Age
The Jazz Age
• Began soon after the end
of WWI
• Attitudes about life changed after “the war
to end all wars”
• The brutality and carnage (gatling gun, gas
warfare) inspired a “lost generation”
• Large demographic change and industrial
revolution
Prohibition
• 18th Amendment to the
Constitution prohibiting the sale,
transportation, and consumption of alcohol.
• Enacted in 1919 and quickly gave rise to
organized crime in the U.S.
• Bootleggers became wealthy celebrities
Infamous Criminals during
Prohibition
• Al “Scarface”
Capone
• Arnold Rothstein,
was the inspiration
for Meyer
Wolfsheim in The
Great Gatsby
Main Characters
• Nick Carraway - Narrator of the story. He
tells the story from a first person
perspective but withholds judgment on the
characters. Young bond salesman recently
graduated from “New Haven” who lives
next door to Jay Gatsby.
Jay Gatsby
• Wealthy Long Island party giver. Owns a
magnificent estate in the newly rich West
Egg (Great Neck).
• Rumors abound about his background, but
most people only know that he throws
amazing parties.
The Buchanans
• Tom and Daisy have a privileged “old
money” lifestyle but a troubled marriage.
• Daisy is a cousin of Nick Carraway and a
distant associate of Jay Gatsby.
• Tom went to Yale with Nick but had a
reputation as a cruel person.
• They live in East Egg (old money)
The Wilsons
• Myrtle and George live in the “Valley of
Ashes”
• Myrtle is having an affair with Tom
Buchanan and sees Tom as a way out of the
lower middle class
Use of Setting
• author establishes decline of dream
through setting for novel
• division of East and West Egg
• symbolism of Valley of Ashes
• set at time of prohibition where fortunes
made quickly by illegal means
Themes
• Decline of the American Dream in the 20th
Century
• Importance of Dreams
Motifs
• Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or
literary devices that can help to develop and
inform the text’s major themes.
Geography
– In Chapters 3 and 4 the old money feeling of East Egg and the new
jazzy money of West Egg, as epitomized by Gatsby's party, are
brought to the forefront. Fitzgerald's descriptions of Gatsby's party
guests gives us a better idea of how the old and the new rich are
divided. Notice how the gentler and more romantic parts of the
novel take place on Long Island (both the Eggs), while the most
serious conflicts often take place in New York City.
– In Chapter 4 Gatsby is pulled over for speeding in the Valley of
Ashes. Gatsby simply waves a card at the policeman and the
officer lets Gatsby go: apparently the chief of police owes him a
favor. The advantages of being rich are reinforced by the location
of this incident: it occurs in the valley of ashes, where the poor live
their unprivileged lives. This contrast intensifies our image of
Gatsby's charmed existence and all that money can buy.
Weather
– We are in mid-summer, everything is sunny
and happy. Or is it? After summer always
comes winter.
Narrative Style
• Fitzgerald uses narrator as objective
viewpoint
• Nick is an outsider ( from west)
• Reliable , honest , slow to pass judgment
• Told in first person to allow his thoughts
Paradox of Gatsby
• Nick’s contrasting views given at start of
novel
• Fitzgerald’s build up of Gatsby before his
entry
• Various rumors
• Extreme wealth but doesn’t appear at
parties
• very low key entry
Society Built Upon Status
•
•
•
•
Tom and Daisy have money and status
George Wilson has neither
Gatsby has money but little status
Nick has status through birth but little
money
• Lack of morality in rich accepted yet
Gatsby condemned
Gatsby’s Dreams 1
• Introduced through symbolism of
green light
• contrast between intensity of Gatsby’s
dream and shallowness of Tom and Daisy
• contrast shown in depiction of characters
Gatsby’s Dreams 2
•
•
•
•
•
idyllic quality of past (cloak of uniform)
need to obtain money to win Daisy
irony that she isn’t worth the effort
climactic scene in hotel
contrast between Gatsby’s tragic death and
Tom / Daisy’s selfish reaction
Final Verdict
• Fitzgerald’s approval of Gatsby shown by:
• Nick’s assessment of Gatsby / Tom and
Daisy
• Romantic tone of last few paragraphs
linking Gatsby’s dreams with those of
original settlers
Long Island and Manhattan
The End