'The Great Gatsby' Context Flashcards
1
Q
Jazz Age/Roaring Twenties
A
- Economic boom after WW1 (post-war haze)
- Era of unprecedented prosperity + unrestrained desire for more money
- Conspicuous consumption/materialism/rise of capitalism
- Decadent, ostentatious, opulent, wasteful, excess, decay, atrophy
2
Q
Flappers
A
- Young woman who exercised unprecedented freedom
- Lifestyle viewed as immoral + dangerous at time
- Disposable incomes
- Sign of women’s newfound sexual freedom
- Era ended with Great Depression
3
Q
Prohibition
A
- Nationwide ban on sale, production + consumption of alcohol
- Led to speakeasies + bootlegging
- Factory owners supported prohibition as hoped it would prevent accidents
- 30% drop in alcohol consumption
4
Q
Al Capone
A
- Earned $60 million annually from bootlegging + speakeasies
- Wolfsheim based on real-life gangster, Arnold Rothstein
5
Q
1776 Declaration of Independence
A
- Unequal notion of ‘Life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness’
- ‘All men are created equal’
- Illusion of American Dream
6
Q
Gospel of Wealth/Robber Barons
A
- Rise of monopoly capitalism
- ‘Gospel of Wealth’ written by Andrew Carnegie in 1889, saying that unrestrained capitalism will reward best/most virtuous people + they will use their fortune to benefit society
- Gatsby = robber baron as both come from poor backgrounds but Gatsby hides his poor background instead of showing it off (Nick: “I think he hardly knew what he was saying”)
7
Q
Scott Fitzgerald
A
- Lost Generation (alienated)
- Ginevra to Fitzgerald (“rich girls don’t marry poor boys”)
