THE Great gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald

A little bit about F. Scott… Born in Minnesota; 1896-1940 (age 44) Published 4 novels, 160 short stories Named the 1920’s “The Jazz Age” Lived the glam party life with wife Zelda in Long Island and as an expatriate in France

Fitzgerald Timeline 1896-born in St Paul, Minnesota to upper-class Catholic family 1913-enters Princeton, but drops out and enlists in army 1918: Stationed near Montgomery, Alabama, meets Zelda Sayre, a celebrated dancer, socialite and local beauty He moves to NY to seek his fortune. Zelda won’t marry him…he doesn’t have the $!

Fitzgerald Timeline (cont’d) 1920: Publishes This Side of Paradise-becomes enormously famous and marries Zelda 1920’s - begins drinking heavily. Turbulent marriage to Zelda who is mentally unstable Publishes two more novels and several short stories 1925 - goes to France and writes The Great Gatsby. The book is well-received, but sales are disappointing. Fitzeralds are part of partying expatriate crowd in Paris, which includes Ernest Hemingway.

Fitzgerald Timeline (cont’d) 1930’s - Zelda is hospitalized several times with nervous breakdowns Scott is a drunk and broke; he lives in hotels near Zelda’s hospital. 1940: Writes much of The Love of the Last Tycoon, but dies of a heart attack on December 21, 1940

“An author ought to write for the youth of his generation, the critics of the next, and the schoolmasters of ever afterward.” -Fitzgerald, 1920

$$ Old Money vs. New Money $$ Nouveau Riche: French for “new money” Refers to someone who acquires wealth in his own generation The term is often used in a derogatory manner by people with “old money” Nouveau Riche people are often stereotyped as: Lacking the experience or finesse as someone with old money Discussing matters of money (how uncouth!) Purchasing gaudy and numerous items to “show off” their wealth

$$ New Money – Whohoo! $$ "They call me new money, say I have no class, I from the bottom, I came up too fast." - 50 Cent

$Old Money$ John D. Rockefeller Andrew Mellon JP Morgan Andrew Carnegie

Narrative point of view & structure Nick Carraway-narrator Central figure of the novel: story will be about Gatsby, but it’s a story about Nick as well Voice of the novel: Nick is 1st person narrator What do you think Fitzgerald achieves by having Nick Carraway tell Gatsby’s story?

CHAPTER I-Exposition The Characters; The Setting P. 1 Dad’s advice: “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone…just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” Advantages and disadvantages of following this advice? p.1 Nick:“I’m inclined to reserve all judgements .. …reserving judgements is a matter of infinite hope.” What does this mean? Is it true? How do you expect Nick to react to people he disapproves of?

CHAPTER I (cont’d) The Characters; The Background p. 2 Nick: “When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever…” What kinds of experiences would make a person want the world around them to be more “moral?” P.2 Nick: “Only Gatsby was exempt…Gatsby who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn…it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men.” How does this passage place Gatsby in a special category, apart from other characters?

“Twenty miles from the city a pair of enormous eggs…jut out into the most domesticated body of salt water in the Western Hemisphere, the great wet barnyard of Long Island Sound” (9)

West Egg “I lived at West Egg, the – well, the less fashionable of the two, though this is most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them.” “The one to my right was a colossal affair by and standard – it was a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool….It was Gatsby’s mansion.”

East Egg “…a cheerful red and white Georgian Colonial mansion overlooking the bay…” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_WONtJ 3GVQ

Valley of Ashes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lRX291 VGyw “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens, where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and risking smoke…”

Illustrated maps

Create an illustrated map of Gatsby’s New York including East Egg Tom and Daisy’s house West Egg Nick’s house Gatsby’s house The Valley of Ashes Wilson and Myrtle’s house

Theme 2: Appearance is not reality Gatsby: appearance = parties with hundreds of people; reality = he is a lonely man, used by most. Only 3 people at funeral. Gatsby: “Oxford” accent, fine clothes, “old sport” - but really a criminal (bootlegger and bond forger)… “The Great Gatsby” - illusionist Daisy - white (pure) on the outside, yellow (corrupt) on the inside Myrtle – tries to be something she is not (changes clothes at parties at Tom’s NYC apt, waits for “just the right” cab)