1920S IN AMERICA
Old Money
New Money
-Money from family wealth
(born rich)
-Not earned by one’s own
work
-Great respect in the 1920s
-Someone who has achieved
the American Dream
-Not a respected in the
1920s as “Old Money”
F. SCOTT FITZGERALD AND THE JAZZ AGE
-Fitzgerald (1896-1940)
-Attended Princeton
-1917 – joined army
-Most famous novel was The
Great Gatsby which he
published in 1925 at age 23
-Fitzgerald names the 1920s
“The Jazz Age”
-Jazz music swept the country,
originating in New Orleans
-Promoted by the recent
invention of the radio (1895 –
wasn’t used to transmit music
until around 1915)
UNDERSTANDING THE 1920S: WWI
-World War I ended in 1918 (1914-1918)
-Disillusioned from the war, the generation that fought in it and
survived was called “The Lost Generation”
-In general, America didn’t know what to do once the war
ended. People were used to devoting time, money, and goods
to the war effort. Now they had more time, money and plenty of
goods to waste.
UNDERSTANDING THE 1920S: FLAPPERS
-”Flappers” were women in the 1920s who
rejected the traditional roles of the nineteenth
century woman.
-They demanded the right to vote (19th amendment in
1920), to work outside the home, and to be treated as
social equals to men.
-Characterized by their boyish “bob” haircuts, shapeless,
short dresses that hid curves and revealed calf muscles
in order to appear more masculine.
-These women smoked cigarettes in public.
UNDERSTANDING THE 1920S: PROHIBITION
A rule often broken was the 18th Amendment (Prohibition),
which banned the public sale of alcohol from 1919 until its
repeal in 1933.
-”Speakeasies,” nightclubs that secretly sold liquor, were
often raided by the police, unless the police became corrupt
and were paid off.
-Gangsters made huge fortunes as bootleggers, smuggling
alcohol into America from abroad.
UNDERSTANDING THE 1920S: GAMBLING
-Gambling, though illegal, became extremely popular in the
1910s and 1920s, probably due to its roots in materialism.
-The worst gambling scandal was the Black Sox Scandal in
1919 in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox were
indicted for accepting bribes to throw the World Series.
UNDERSTANDING THE 1920S: CONSUMERISM
-The most conspicuous symbol of wealth during
the 20’s was a new, flashy automobile. (In 1908
Henry Ford released his Model T car and sold
more than 15 million of them by 1927.)
-Advertising also played a huge role
in consumerism. Companies began putting
up billboards on the side of roads all over the
nation in order to fuel an already blazing
market economy.
GATSBY CHARACTERS
Jay Gatsby –
Self-made,
wealthy man (new
money) who lives
next door to Nick
Carraway and is in
love with Daisy
Buchanan.
GATSBY CHARACTERS
Nick Carraway –
The narrator of The
Great Gatsby,
Daisy’s cousin,
Gatsby’s neighbor in
West Egg
GATSBY CHARACTERS
Daisy Buchanan - Married to Tom Buchanan, cousin to
Nick Carroway, socialite, obsession of Jay Gatsby
GATSBY CHARACTERS
Tom Buchanan –
Daisy’s husband,
has an affair with
Myrtle Wilson
GATSBY CHARACTERS
Myrtle Wilson –
Tom’s mistress,
married to George
Wilson who runs a
garage near the
Valley of Ashes
GATSBY CHARACTERS
George Wilson –
Married to
Myrtle Wilson,
own garage
near The Valley
of Ashes
GATSBY CHARACTERS
Jordan Baker –
Daisy’s friend,
professional
golfer, becomes
“friend” of Nick
THE GREAT GATSBY: SETTINGS
West Egg: Where Nick and Jay live; represents New Money
East Egg: Where the Buchanans live; more fashionable area;
represents Old Money
The City: New York City; where characters escape to work and
“play”
The Valley of Ashes: Area between the city and West Egg; filled
with industrial waste and people with “low level” jobs; represents
social and moral decay of the 1920s and negative effects of greed