American Literature exam reveiw

Color in the Novel

white: wealth, perfection, innocence- Daisy’s car, house, face

gold: riches, luxurious wealth- Gatsby’s suit

blue and yellow: nighttime parties, activity- Gatsby’s house lights

yellow: bright, stand out : Gatsby’s car, dresses of girls

warm colors: peace, calmness (at the end of the day) - Daisy and Tom’s house at the beggining of the novel

Seasons/Weather in the Novel

First, Summer: Nick visits the Buchanans and meets Gatsby

Second, the rain: Gatsby and Daisy’s tea party

Third, the heat: In Chpt. 7 the climax of the story

Fourth, night to day in Chpt 8: the passing of time

Fifth, Autumn: the approach of death

sixth, Rain again: sadness, closing of the story.

East Egg

Beauty and wealth with a rotten center (old rich)

West Egg

New Rich, considered vulgar/without class by the old

NYC appartment

corruption, self gain

Gatsby’s house guests

people come from all over, be it west or east egg

Ash heap

home for the poor, victimized by the rich, a desolate area of land

Gatsby’s uncut books

An illusion of the old rich, Gatsby doesn’t actually read

Wolfsheim’s cufflinks

the ruthless battle for moeny

Parties

* brightness, confusion, magnificence, daring, vulgarity, excess, and excitement


* an aura of magic
* an amusement park
* a stage set

Tom’s gesture

Daisy rides back with Gatsby, illustrates his victory

Daisy

youth, love, entrance into old rich society

Gatsby through the eyes of others

* we are able to get to know him only gradually
* owl eyes’ discovery
* Gatsby isn’t like anyone else in the world

Nick

* seems as hollow as the characters themselves
* Jordan is not the woman he should be with, is he really honest?

The midwest

moral order, personal values, personal tradition

Author of GG

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald family

Father-came from a poor but socially established family

Mother-came from newly rich but less socially correct immigrant family

Fitzgerald schooling

St. Paul Academy and New Jersey Prep School, then Princeton in 1913

Fitzgerald occupations

1. 1917: Army Lietenant. Fitzgerald dreamed of fighting in WW1. but was stationed in Alabama.
2. 1920: Writer. Fitzgerald met Zelda in Alabama, proposed, but she refused unless he could support her. He then went to NY to sell his stories. His first book was This Side of Paradise.

Fitzgeralds reputation

1920: :):):)

1930: :(

1940: :) :)

1950: :) :) :)

1960s: :):)

_____ accelerated during the 1920s

urbanization

NY was home to ____ people

Chicago was home to ____ people

5 million

3 million

Urban life was considered ___

a world of anonomous crowds, moenyseekers, and pleasure seekers

Rural life

considered to be safe, with close personal ties, hard work, and morals

When did WW2 end?

1918

The Lost Generation \*

The generation who fought during WW1 and survived (they were lost because they were disillusioned by the war)

Roles for women in the 20s

* women entered the workplace
* women earned less than men and faced discrimination
* women were more independant and achiving greater freedoms

flapper

empancipated young woman who embraced new fashions and urban attitudes

Why was the 18th amendment passed?

Prohibition was needed to combat the fun and free lifestyle of the 20s

support for prohibition

Alcohol leads to crime, abuse- from the rural south and west -women

against the prohibition

drinking is not a sin- immigrant groups, most americans

speakeasies

Hidden underground saloons

bootleggers

smugglers

what did prohibition do to crime rates?

gambling and bootlegging and other organized crime went way up

Al Capone

famous chicago bootlegger- killed competition, convicted of tax evasion charges in 1931

Black Sox Scandal

8 members of the White Sox were convicted for accepting bribes to throw the baseball world series

Which amendment repealed the prohibition

21st

Spending in the 20s

An era of reckless spending-flashy new automobiles, advertisements

how much did americans spend on entertainment

$4.5 billion

Babe Ruth

Yankees- hit 60 homers

First sound movie

Jazz singer (1927)

First animated with sound

Steamboat willie

most popular communication device

radio

Louis Armstrong

most important and influential jazz musician

Duke Ellington

a jazz pianist renown as one of Americas greatest composers

Bessie smith

Most outstanding vocalist and highest paid black artist in the world