Voice of an Era
(the Roaring 20’s)
F. Scott
Fitzgerald
The 1920s: The Jazz Age
“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.”
-F. Scott Fitzgerald
The 1920s: The Jazz Age
• Most serious indictment of
the American Dream
• Aftermath of World War I
– Attitude toward life has
changed
– Confusion between the
spiritual and material
• God is money
The Early Years
• Named after relative, Francis Scott Key
• Born in Minnesota
• Attended prep school in New Jersey, then Princeton in
1913
• So absorbed in the Triangle
(a musical comedy society)
he was “invited” to repeat
his junior year
• Went back to St. Paul, Minnesota,
where he fell in love
with a wealthy socialite . . .
His First “Dream Girl”
It was his birthday [Sept.
24th] when he met and
fell in love with a
beautiful rich girl named
Ginevra King. She got
engaged to somebody
else because Fitzgerald
didn’t have many
prospects. He later said,
“She was the first girl I
ever loved … [and] she
ended up by throwing
me over with the most
supreme boredom and
indifference.”
Zelda Sayre: “The top girl”
• Returned to Princeton, still
a mediocre student;
• In 1917 left Princeton to
enlist in WWI
• Went to Camp Sheridan
where he met Zelda Sayre
She loves me . . . She loves me not
• Zelda, daughter of Alabama Supreme Court
justice and “top girl” of youth society
• Became engaged; he went to New York
• She broke off the
engagement because
she was not convinced
he could support her
• This Side of Paradise
was published in 1920; she married him
Fitzgerald:
The incurable romantic
1925 - The Great Gatsby
• The money and fame
enabled him to make
several trips to Europe
• Became friends with
expatriate community
in Paris, especially with
Hemingway
Hemingway “Strikes”
Hemingway’s A Moveable
Feast had some chapters
about Fitzgerald and
Zelda, whom Hemingway
did not like.
He created the legend that Zelda
was Fitzgerald’s downfall, the
ruin of a great American writer.
Scott and Zelda:
An Unhappy ending
• Zelda developed
schizophrenia in 1930
• She was hospitalized
in Maryland
• She wrote her fictional account of their lives
together in Europe (Save Me the Waltz)
• Fitzgerald was able to convince Scribner to
change the content
Taking Care of Zelda . . .
Fitzgerald’s last complete
novel, Tender is the Night,
came out in 1934.
It is the story of man’s care
for a woman at the outset of
mental illness.
The novel received mixed
reviews.
The Last Years:
Doomed to Obscurity
• Fitzgerald felt like he was doing
“hack” work in Hollywood; disliked writing for
movie studios but did for money
• Fitzgerald was living with his lover, a Hollywood
gossip columnist
• A heavy alcoholic since college, he suffered two
heart attacks and died at 44.
• Zelda died in a fire in an Asheville, NC, mental
hospital.
• The year of his death, Fitzgerald’s books sold a
total of 72 copies, for royalties of $13.
A Great Book: The Great Gatsby
Today, The Great
Gatsby sells 300,000
copies a year.
“There’s no such thing . . .
as a flawless novel. But if
there is, this is it.”
from Charles Jackson’s
The Lost Weekend
The Great Gatsby: The Movie
What You Need to Know
• Jay Gatsby was a young officer
who falls in love with a beautiful
young socialite, Daisy.
• But while he is away at World
War I, she is wooed and won by
Tom Buchanan. She admits she
did not wait for Jay because he
was not rich.
• His wealth gained, Jay buys a
mansion across the harbor from
Daisy, hoping to recapture the
past.
The Great Gatsby
Celebration of youth, beauty, and
money
A world of illusions
The New American Dream
Illusion versus Reality
Themes in the Novel
• The Corruption of the
American Dream
• Hope
• Paradox
• Self-Discovery
• Illusion versus Reality
• Possessiveness and Jealousy
The Corruption of the American
Dream
– Early European settlers believed one could
start a new life here, limited only by the limits
of one’s dreams.
– Jay Gatsby personifies the “extraordinary gift
for hope, a romantic readiness” that is the
hallmark of the American dream.
– Gatsby believes the American dream can be
bought. The other characters are corrupted by
that same belief to some degree.
– He believes the past can be recaptured.
Symbol
A symbol is something such as an object,
picture, written word, sound, or particular
mark that represents something else by
association, resemblance, or convention.
Symbolism in the Novel
1. Nick’s career vs. Gatsby’s career
2. Unread books
3. Valley of Ashes
4. the eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleburg
5. Rain
6. Dan Cody
7. East vs. West Egg
8. Heat
9. Wolfsheim’s cufflinks,
10. Gatsby’s faded timetable,
11. Gatsby’s car and clothing.
Gatsby’s Career Versus Nick’s Career
Gatsby made his money as a bootlegger while
Nick made his money as a bondsman.
Compare these two jobs. What is symbolic of
each job and what it takes to achieve success
in each career.
Gatsby’s Unread Books
• Gatsby has a library of untouched books.
None of them have been read. Why are
these books important to Gatsby?
Important Symbols:
East Egg Versus West Egg
Old Money Versus New Money
East Egg vs. West Egg
What is symbolic in the differences between
old money and new money? How does new
money vs. old money allow people to “clean
up” their messes?
East Egg Versus West Egg
• East Egg: Where people with “Old Money”
lived
–
–
–
–
Considered my legitimate wealth
What everyone wants; values
Say they don’t know anyone in West Egg
Daisy and Tom live
there
Important Symbols
East Egg Versus West Egg
– Considered “trashy”
West Egg: Where
because they got their
people with “New Money” wealth too easily and
probably illegally
live; Gatsby lives here.
– Spend money too
freely
– World of illusioncollapse of America
idealism
Important Symbols:
The Valley of Ashes
• Road between West Egg and New York City
• Compared to a wasteland; vapid, empty
• Home of the poor, working class people
– Home of George and Myrtle Wilson (Tom’s
mistress)
Important Symbols: The billboard
The Eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg
An optometrist’s billboard that
features enormous and
weather-worn eyes
They “look down upon the
Valley of Ashes.”
- They are “the eyes of God”
Owl Eyes
What do owls symbolize? What about large
glasses? Or magnifying glasses? Place
these together. What could the owl-eyed
man be symbolic of (think about this in
terms of Gatsby’s life)?
Dan Cody
• Who is Dan Cody?
How was he
important to
Gatsby’s life? What
is he symbolic of in
terms of an
influence to
Gatsby?
Heat
• In chapter seven, the characters are faced
with a day of intense heat. What can heat
symbolize? What effect can heat have on
people?
Wolfsheim’s Cufflinks
This is one of the most interesting symbols in the novel.
What could these cufflinks made of molars symbolize?
What words could you use to describe these cufflinks if
you saw them on someone in public? Think about the
character that is wearing them: a powerful, wealthy,
Jewish man. Is he refined? Where would he belong,
West Egg or East Egg?
Gatsby’s Faded Timetable
• In Chapter Nine, Gatsby’s father finds a faded timetable
in his book. This timetable outlined the events of his day
including: rise from bed, dumbbell exercises, study
electricity, work, baseball and sports, poise and how to
attain it, study needed inventions….
• With your understanding of Gatsby’s character, what
could this timetable symbolize?
Important Symbols:
The American Automobile
• Symbol of power, money, and success
• Status symbol
Color Symbolism
Red:
energy, passion, love, speed, strength, heat,
fire, blood, war, violence, danger
Yellow:
joy, betrayal, hope, sunshine,
dishonesty, jealousy, illness, gold, hazard
Green:
nature, environment, healthy, renewal,
youth, generosity, fertility,
inexperience, envy, misfortune, vigor.
White:
reverence, purity, birth, simplicity,
cleanliness, peace, precision,
innocence, youth, winter, good,
sterility, marriage, death, cold
Important Symbols:
The Green Light
•Light at the end of Daisy’s pier
•Green=renewal, new life (when he gets
Daisy), hope
The Color White
What does the color white symbolize? Who
is wearing white the first time we are
introduced to them? How is this
appropriate?
Silver and Gold
There is a point in chapter four where Daisy is
taken through Gatsby’s house and he shows her
his wardrobe. When Daisy sees all of Gatsby’s
silver and gold colored shirts, she begins to cry.
What about these shirts made her cry? What do
the colors silver and gold symbolize?