The Great Gatsby Introduction Powerpoint

Gatsby Intro

1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

2. F. Scott Fitzgerald Born September 24, 1896 Died December 21, 1940 Only son of an “aristocratic f ather” and “energetic mother” – named after Francis Scott Key, a relative of his father’s Went to private schools and attended college at Princeton Leading figure in a dramatic society, The Triangle Club Neglected his studies – flunked out and joined the army

3. F. Scott Fitzgerald Met his wife, Zelda, while s tationed in Alabama She refused to marry him due t o his lack of success 1920 - p ublished his first novel This Side of Paradise – it made him famous! Zelda agreed to marry him The couple had a daughter, Scotty, in 1921 The family moved to the French Riviera Wrote Gatsby there Gatsby was published in 1925

4. The Great Gatsby - Basic Plot Midwest native Nick Carraway arrives in 1922 New York in search of the American dream. Nick , a would-be writer, moves in next-door to millionaire Jay Gatsby and across the bay from his cousin Daisy and her husband , Tom. Nick becomes drawn into the captivating world of the wealthy and -- as he witnesses their illusions and deceits -- pens a tale of impossible love, dreams, and tragedy.

5. The Great Gatsby - Setting Setting The East and West Eggs – fictionalized peninsulas on Long Island Sound East Egg – representative of “old money”; Tom and Daisy live here West Egg – the newly rich live here – not quite accepted by the “old money”; Gatsby’s mansion is here

6. The Great Gatsby – Setting Cont. Setting Gatsby’s mansion : set on 40 acres; colossal, flashy, ostentatious Symbolic of Gatsby’s success and the “American Dream” Also symbolic of the hollowness of money, success Serves as Gatsby’s lure for Daisy

7. The Great Gatsby – Setting Cont. Setting New York City and Plaza Hotel – symbolizes excess of the times Where much of the irresponsibility and excess of the novel take place

8. The Great Gatsby – Setting Cont. Valley of Ashes - where George and Myrtle live Considered to be Flushing, in Queens, NYC Dead, gray, powdery People passed through the area in cars and on trains on their way to and from Manhattan

9. Historical Background: The 1920s – The Jazz Age Fitzgerald himself coined the term Reaction to the death/destruction/loss of innocence from WWI (post-war prosperity) There was a mass migration from rural areas to cities where “parties were bigger, the pace was faster, the buildings were higher, the morals looser” (Fitzgerald)

10. Women’s fashion of the 1920s

11. Men’s fashion of the 1920s

12. Prohibition Meant to improve lives of Americans (faith-driven initiative) Instead, liquor consumption grew Created criminals (lots of $$ to be made) – Gatsby? Speakeasies were the places to consume liquor (bars) 1920-1933 – sale of alcohol was prohibited in the United States; mandated by Constitutional amendment

13. The Great Gatsby - Themes Money isn’t always the key to happiness The fraudulence of the American Dream The recklessness of the 1920’s The perils of dishonesty The futility of recapturing the past The pleasure and pain of love