F. Scott Fitzgerald’s
The Great Gatsby
About the Author
Born-September 24, 1896
 Died-December 21, 1940
 Married Zelda Sayre
 Famous works include The Great Gatsby
The Beautiful and the Damned
Tender is the Night

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Impact on
Society



Fitzgerald named the
1920’s “The Jazz Age”
Wrote screenplays for
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Created the The Great
Gatsby which is said to
be the most accurate
description of the 1920’s
The Jazz Age




Prohibition was in effect
Dances such as the Charleston were popular
Popular sayings included 23 Skidoo, Bee’s Knees
Economy was in a “Boom”
World War I

World War I ended in 1918.

Disillusioned because of the war, the
generation that fought and survived
has come to be called “the lost
generation.”
The Roaring Twenties

America seemed to throw itself headlong into a
decade of madcap behavior and materialism, a
decade that has come to be called the Roaring
Twenties.
The New Woman

Among the rules broken were the age-old
conventions guiding the behavior of women.
The new woman demanded the right to vote
and to work outside the home.

Symbolically, she cut her hair into a boyish
“bob” and bared her calves in the short skirts
of the fashionable twenties “flapper.”
The Flappers



Flappers were women
who rebelled against the
fashion and social norms
of the early 1900’s.
They married at a later
age and drank and
smoked in public
Flappers were known for
their carefree lifestyles.
Flapper Fashion



Flappers dressed in
shapeless dresses that
came to the knee.
Dresses were made to
look “boy-like”
Gender bending was
common. Women would
try to make themselves
look more man-like.
Prohibition

Another rule often broken was the
Eighteenth Amendment to the
Constitution, or Prohibition, which banned
the public sale of alcoholic beverages from
1919 until its appeal in 1933.

Speak-easies, nightclubs, and taverns that
sold liquor were often raided, and
gangsters made illegal fortunes as
bootleggers, smuggling alcohol into
America from abroad.
Gambling

Another gangland activity was illegal gambling.

Perhaps the worst scandal involving gambling
was the so-called Black Sox Scandal of 1919, in
which eight members of the Chicago White Sox
were indicted for accepting bribes to throw
baseball’s World Series.
The Automobile



The Jazz Age was also an era of reckless
spending and consumption, and the most
conspicuous status symbol of the time was a
flashy new automobile.
Advertising was becoming the major industry
that it is today, and soon advertisers took
advantage of new roadways by setting up huge
billboards at their sides.
Both the automobile and a bizarre billboard play
important roles in The Great Gatsby.
The American Dream

Gatsby is the ideal image
of one who has achieved
the American Dream.

The American Dream
is the concept widely
held in the United States
of America, that through
hard work, courage and
determination one can
achieve prosperity.
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
Symbolism in
Literature

Sometimes, there’s more to literature than
meets the eye….
Characters
 Items
 Colors
 Names

Symbolism and The
Great Gatsby

Just as characterization, dialogue, and plot
work on the surface to move the story
along, symbolism works under the surface
to tie the story's external action to a
universal theme.
Symbolism Continued…

The mere sight of a skull and crossbones figure and you
know that there is something that you are being warned
against. Roses and images of hearts have become
synonymous with love. Different colors have come to
symbolize different emotions, for example purple for
royalty, green for envy and red for passion or anger.

Symbolism in literature has been a writing method of
choice for many authors and writers due to the
allowance of subtlety that this literary device enables
you with.
Characters as Symbols

Authors sometimes create characters who
represent societal influences



Ex. The Wicked Witch represents the evil that exists
in society
Ex. Glenda the good witch symbolizes the benevolent
side of society
Characters can also represent ideas,
prejudices, beliefs, etc.
Colors as Symbols

The color “green” is normally associated with
jealousy; however, it can also represent
money/wealth. Ex. Green eyed monster–
Shakespeare made up in Othello 

The color white is most often used to represent
purity or goodness whereas darker colors such as
black or gray symbolize wickedness or evil
Places as Symbols
 Water/rivers
are often used to
symbolize a cleansing or freedom
 Hollywood
is a known symbol for
wealth and fame
So what do the people,
places, and items in the
novel we are about to
read actually represent?
It’s time for you to decide,
Old Sport…
Symbols in The Great Gatsby

Green Light- Visible from Gatsby’s mansion~
Not going to tell you what this symbolizes….
You have to figure this out on your own.
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.

Interesting… what could this symbolize????
Symbols in The Great Gatsby

The Eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg- A decaying
billboard in the Valley of Ashes with eyes
advertising an optometrist. There are multiple
proposed meanings, I wonder what they are….
Symbols in The Great Gatsby

East and West Egg- The two major settings of
the novel act as a physical symbol. The barrier
that the water creates between these worlds is
symbolic of the barrier that keeps these people
apart from one another and from much of what
they want.
Topics in The Great Gatsby
(which you will make into themes…)







Marriage and Infidelity
Love
Society and Class
Wealth
Isolation
Gender
Dissatisfaction






Lies and Truth
Relationships
American Dream
Compassion and
Forgiveness
Culture Clash
Carelessness and
Selfishness
Characters of The Great Gatsby

Jay Gatsby- The self-made wealthy man who
lives next door to Nick Carraway and loves
Daisy Buchanan
Characters of The Great Gatsby

Nick Carraway- the narrator, Daisy’s cousin, and
Gatsby’s neighbor
Characters in The Great Gatsby

Daisy Buchanan- married to Tom, Gatsby’s love
interest before the war, socialite
Other 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
Settings in The Great Gatsby

West Egg- where Nick
and Gatsby live,
represents new money

East Egg- where Daisy &
Tom live, the more
fashionable area,
represents old money
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
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
Important Quotes

"They were careless people, Tom and Daisythey 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