Gatsby Context

Question 1

Fitzgerald

Answer 1

• Fell in love with Zelda, she rejected him because he was poor but after his publication of his successful book pursue him.
• “Nice girls don’t marry poor boys”

Question 2

Roaring 20s

Answer 2

• In 1920s there was a public fascination with Gangsters and bootleggers’ lifestyles, ignoring the brutality, they became celebrities in the sense, sensationalised
• 1920s America centred on money, sex, consumerism makes true love difficult as they’re sustained by individuals’ financial status.
  Social awakening amidst the 1920s of a rejection of traditional values: notably views surrounding marital commitment and fidelity.

Question 3

American Dream

Answer 3

• Gatsby’s fixation with Daisy reduces her from a human to a passive object of his gaze.
• She represents his desire for the status and wealth he lacked in his youth.

Question 4

Tom

Answer 4

• The Buchanan’s relationship is the only one that survives with a final moment of unity- the interest in protecting their name and place in upper society unites them.

Question 5

Gatsby

Answer 5

• Gatsby’s unrequited and idealised love is thwarted by social norms and class expectations.
• Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship is a metaphor for the incompatibility of inter-class love.