The Great Gatdsby
Páginas: 2 (366 palabras)
Publicado: 22 de julio de 2012
THE GREAT GATSBY
F. SCOTT FITZGERALD
BACKGROUND AND THEMES
The Jazz Age (the Roaring Twenties):
- The Jazz Age began soon after World War I and ended with the stock market crash of1929.
- Prohibition, the ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol, made millionaires out of bootleggers.
- The period saw the beginning of a new style of music which combined ragtime andblues.
- It was an exciting time, but its basis was money and the extravagances that money could buy.
- This emptiness was in sharp contrast to the purity of the American Dream which held thatanyone could succeed if they strove to improve themselves and anyone could get wealthy through hard work and perseverance.
The American Dream:
- The American Dream was originally aboutdiscovery and the pursuit of happiness.
- The 1920s, however, was an era of decayed social and moral values, when prosperity and material excess have corrupted this dream, especially on the East Coast.- The unrestrained desire for money and pleasure surpassed more noble goals.
- In the novel, Nick thinks of the disintegration of the American Dream as Gatsby’s dream crumbles.
Class:During the Roaring Twenties anyone from any social background could make a fortune, but there was a class structure. Fitzgerald uses a geographical motif. West Egg represents the newly self-mademillionaires, East Egg the American aristocracy, i.e. families with old wealth. The East Egg crowd scorned the new rich in West Egg. Tom’s attitude towards Gatsby is typical of this class. Ultimately thiswide class gulf is the reason why Daisy chooses to stay with her husband, who is from the same class as she is.
Irresponsibility:
Fitzgerald portrays how people could use their position tolook down on others and live their lives not caring about other people. Tom and Daisy exemplify this stereotype. Tom cheats on Daisy, Daisy often goes over to Gatsby’s, and they run away from the...
F. SCOTT FITZGERALD
BACKGROUND AND THEMES
The Jazz Age (the Roaring Twenties):
- The Jazz Age began soon after World War I and ended with the stock market crash of1929.
- Prohibition, the ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol, made millionaires out of bootleggers.
- The period saw the beginning of a new style of music which combined ragtime andblues.
- It was an exciting time, but its basis was money and the extravagances that money could buy.
- This emptiness was in sharp contrast to the purity of the American Dream which held thatanyone could succeed if they strove to improve themselves and anyone could get wealthy through hard work and perseverance.
The American Dream:
- The American Dream was originally aboutdiscovery and the pursuit of happiness.
- The 1920s, however, was an era of decayed social and moral values, when prosperity and material excess have corrupted this dream, especially on the East Coast.- The unrestrained desire for money and pleasure surpassed more noble goals.
- In the novel, Nick thinks of the disintegration of the American Dream as Gatsby’s dream crumbles.
Class:During the Roaring Twenties anyone from any social background could make a fortune, but there was a class structure. Fitzgerald uses a geographical motif. West Egg represents the newly self-mademillionaires, East Egg the American aristocracy, i.e. families with old wealth. The East Egg crowd scorned the new rich in West Egg. Tom’s attitude towards Gatsby is typical of this class. Ultimately thiswide class gulf is the reason why Daisy chooses to stay with her husband, who is from the same class as she is.
Irresponsibility:
Fitzgerald portrays how people could use their position tolook down on others and live their lives not caring about other people. Tom and Daisy exemplify this stereotype. Tom cheats on Daisy, Daisy often goes over to Gatsby’s, and they run away from the...
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