gatsby context

Question 1

fitzgerald & alcoholism

Answer 1

• desperation to please zelda by writing to earn money drove him to alcoholism

Question 2

semi-autobiographical

Answer 2

fitzgerald, like nick, was born in minnesota, attended an ivy, and moved to new york post-war

like nick, becomes obsessed with wealth and luxury, falls for a girl outside of his social class

zelda says “i hope it’s beautiful and a fool” when their daughter was born

Question 3

the jazz age (1920s)

Answer 3

• a decade of freedom, prosperity, cultural, social and artistic developments

Question 4

the lost generation

Answer 4

writers in the 1920s disillusioned with the lavishness and overindulgence of the era

Question 5

flappers & freedom

Answer 5

• flappers subverted societal expectations with short hair, skirts and makeup
• 19th amendment in 1920 gave women the right to vote
• characterised through jordan, a foil to daisy

Question 6

the american dream

Answer 6

• america presented as a land of opportunity
• where working hard resulted in financial success
• many migrated for this opportunity
• fitzgerald believed AD boiled down to pursuit of wealth

Question 7

media & mass market

Answer 7

• 1920s rapid increase in materialism opens up more business opportunities via advertising
• represented in book via eyes of dr t.j. eckleburg
• (a symbol of religion too, capitalism as a religion for gatsby & co.)

Question 8

conspicuous consumption

Answer 8

• post-war wealth allowed for technological development
• cars, refrigerators, radios
• products advertised everywhere without regard for differences in financial status
• lower classes excluded from the extravagance of the era
• gatsby’s consumerism seen via parties, cars
• the same car that kills myrtle

Question 9

prohibiton & organised crime

Answer 9

• manufacturing, sale and transportation of alcohol illegal
• brought around an illegal economy
• organised by gangs of criminals
• gatsby placed into this world due to involvement with wolfsheim, how he achieved his wealth
• wolfsheim based on real life gambler arnold rothstein

Question 10

race & prejudice

Answer 10

• immigrants moved to the US in search of the american dream
• prejudice reflected in nick’s description of wolfsheim
• “Mr. Wolfsheim’s nose flashed at me indignantly”