Gatsby- Context Flashcards
What class family was Fitzgerald from?
Upper-middle class
Held onto the ‘upper’ area.
Why did Fitzgerald eventually become relatively poor?
1897, his father’s wicker business failed.
Mother was daughter of an Irish immigrant, constant sense he doesn’t belong.
Who did he fall in love with before Zelda?
Ginevra King
What did he hear Ginevra King saying?
‘Poor boys shouldn’t marry rich girls’
What book of his was rejected by publishers?
The ‘Romantic Egotist’.
Why did Zelda reject Fitzgerald’s proposal
He was too poor.
When did Zelda agree to marry Gatsby?
When he re-wrote the ‘Romantic Egotist’ to ‘This side of Paradise’, successful novel.
When was the wall-street crash?
1929, Great Depression
Why did Fitzgerald’s life end similarly to Gatsby?
Great Depression ruined him, showed how much money he had lost.
Lower class people cannot be wealthy.
Focus on sex in roaring twenties example:
Flaming Youth (1922)
What did Fitzgerald say about the ending of the Jazz Age?
(Focus on sex)
‘The most expensive orgy in history was over’.
What was the new style of women?
Flappers
Short skirts
Lots of makeup
What had women recently gained?
The right to vote.
Gatsby is about America’s _________?
America’s de facto aristocracy.
How does the ‘new woman’ link to Gatsby?
Daisy, Myrtle and Jordan all versions of the ‘new woman’.
They all violate the patriarchal taboos.
Show unhappiness in marriage and Jordan isn’t married, has a career of her own.
Shows post-WWI discomfort with this ‘new woman’.
