Grapes of Wrath/Great Gatsby Context

Literary and Historical context COLOUR CODING Gow-red Gatsby-yellow General-blue

When was *The Great Gatsby* written?

1923-4 written

__1925__ published

Fitzgerald’s life

During the 1920s in New York Fitzgerald and Zelda a lavish and hedonistic lifestyle that reflected the morally permissive ideals of the Jazz Age

In 1924 he moved to Europe to finish his novel *The Great Gatsby-* **similar to Nick who moves back West to reflect on his life in New York**

Fitzgerald’s influences

Many of his own life events influences his works

* Zelda = Daisy- pursued her romantically and she married him only after his success with *This Side of Paradise*
* move to Long Island 1922- saw first-hand the lavish parties and division in wealth **(West & East egg set in Long Island)**

Jazz Age culture represented heavily in his works

Why were the 1920s called the roaring 20s? (economic and cultural factors)

Decade of __economic growth and widespread prosperity__ is driven by:

* recovery from war
* boom in construction
* rapid growth of consumer goods

Spirit of Roaring 20s marked by a general feeling of __modernity__ and a __break away from tradition__, through __technological advancements__

* Also known as the __Jazz Age__ as it prospered during this time became mainstream style of music in cities and for youth
* increased artistic and cultural freedoms and expression
* dance clubs, partying and drinking was very popular during this time

What is a ‘New Woman’/ Flapper?

__New Woman__- a feminist ideal that had a profound influence and the ‘Flapper’ is closely associated with this ideal

* __Flapper__- cultural symbol that usually elicited an image of a young woman with short bob hairstyle, short dress, painted lips, usually smoking and going to jazz clubs to dance
* also not just a physical change they were characterised as being more reckless, sexually liberated and unfazed by previous social taboos
* changes in fashion interpreted as deeper social change
* liberated from restriction clothes but also restricting traditional views

What was the position of women in the 1920s?

__Time of change for women__- the struggle between traditional gender roles that kept them confined to the domestic sphere and developing times that gave women more freedom

* 19th amendment- gave women *right to vote*
* increased women in *workforce*
* actively participating in *consumer culture*

What is conspicuous consumption/ consumerism?

Due to economic prosperity and technological advancements consumerist culture thrived during the 1920s

* __conspicuous consumption__ became popular
* purchase of goods or services for the *specific purpose of displaying one’s wealth*/ social status
* __consumerism__ encouraged those to buy goods in increasing quantities as this would enhance your social status
* *expansion of credit allowed* for sale of more consumer goods especially *automobiles*

What was the Prohibition Act?

Prohibition was the ban on the manufacture and sale of alcohol that lasted from 1920-33

* primarily introduced due to religious reasons
* negatively it increased criminal activity
* bootlegging and illegal manufacture and sale of alcohol were widespread
* notorious prohitibtion-era gangsters such as Al Capone
* creation of speakeasy were illegal establishments for American to access alcohol and the nightlife that comes with it

**Gatsby accumulates his wealth through boot-legging**

Old Money vs New Money

__Old Money__- inherited wealth; money that has been passed down through generations (old industrialists, former plantation owners)

__New Money__- ‘noveau riche’ recent earning of wealth usually through new emerging industries of that time (entrepreneurs/ celebrities)

* one is inherited other is earned
* perceived difference- spending habits and social perceptions
* __old money wealth__ is *usually saved* to be able to be passed down
* __new money wealth__- *spent liberally* to lead a lavish lifestyle

Old World vs New World

__Old World__ (Europe)- place of tradition and rich historically and culturally (place of decaying morals)

__New World__ (America)- land of opportunity, person’s wealth is defined by hard work rather than social status

==When was *The Grapes of Wrath* written?==

1930s written

__1939__- published

==Steinbeck’s life==

California, rural environment

* Grew up in __California__ in small __rural valley, hence putting much importance on land and nature__
* __laboured with migrant workers__ on a farm incognito as he was writing an article for the San Francisco News on the mass of migrant workers which swarmed California yearly. he __stayed with these migrants in "Hoovervilles,"__ joining them in their search for work and observing firsthand their living conditions and this experience moved his sense of compassion and stirred up his concern for social justice.
* witnessed first-hand the influx of migrant workers to California during the Great Depression

==Steinbeck’s influences (3)==

Ed Ricketts

Socialism & Communism

Proletarian novel

__Ed Ricketts__- marine biologist developed ideas about interrelationships of life

* \[**Shillinglaw five layers WR**\] Steinbeck’s friendship with marine biologist Ed Ricketts encouraged ‘an intellectual and emotional bond’ between them that ‘fiercely linked to a holistic understanding of humans and the environment’. ‘ecological holism was the base of all his thought’ ‘Grapes of wrath considered the ecology of human relationships, layer by layer, with an ever more complex appreciation of the intricate ties that bind humans to one another and to their habitats and histories

__Socialism & Communism__

* denounced as a ‘red’ GoW met with controversy due to its messaging as it advocated for social change and exposes the working conditions/ exploitations of the working class (__*embodiment*__ *of Marxist Soviet* __*propaganda-*__ Preist Spearman)
* “If you who own the things people must have could understand this, you might preserve yourself...For the quality of owning freezes you into 'I,' and cuts you off forever from the 'we.”


* likely held socialist and communist beliefs as many of his books advocate these ideals that center around workers
* GoW seen as a __Proletarian novel__- genre of writing written by left-wing mainly by workers for workers

==When and what was the Great Depression?==

Period of economic depression (1929-39) following the Wall Street Crash in 1929

* mass unemployment
* sharp increase in poverty and homelessness
* steep decline in industrial production
* deflation (steep drop in prices)

lack of work and poverty for Joads due to this

==What was the Dust Bowl?==

* period of severe dust storms
* → severely damaged ecology and agriculture of American prairies during the 1930s
* → agricultural depression (contributed to Great Depression, closure of banks/ loans)
* severe droughts and dust storms → forced to abandon farms → homeless/ unemployed

==Transcendentalism/ Emersonian Oversoul==

Ralph Waldo Emerson central figure in this philosophical movement

* Promotes intuitive __spiritual thinking__ (unitarianism) and __embraced idealism__, focusing on and respecting __nature and opposing materialism.__
* __Emersonian Oversoul__- idea of unity between mankind and also with nature; the spiritual unity of all being.

**Jim Casy- represents these ideas**

==Jeffersonian Agrarianism==

philosophy advocated by Thomas Jefferson

* believed in a __society based on agriculture__
* __rural society took precedence__ over urban society
* most of the land should be used for farming

^^Literary Modernism^^

* 1900s-40s
* self-conscious break with traditional ways of writing
* experimented with literary form and expression
* driven by a conscious desire to overturn traditional modes of representation (due to rapid industrialisation and advancements and social change)
* sense of disillusionment and loss pervade American Modernist Fiction

^^Lost Generation Writers^^

* group of American writers- felt ‘lost’ as their inherited values seemed no longer relevant in the postwar world
* __sense of disillusionment felt__ by this group of writers following the war
* link to __modernism__
* __nihilistic image of America__ exposing the realities and sometimes expressing hope of change

**Grapes of Wrath highlights the realities of agricultural America during the Great Depression**

**Great Gatsby- Fitzgerald skewered the American Dream**

^^Explain the ‘self-made man’ and ‘rags to riches’ tales^^

__Self-made man__- Henry Clay coined this term and it indicated the *success of an individual lies within themselves* and not with outside conditions

__Rags to riches__- Horatio Alger wrote these tales that depicted those *achieving wealth and greatness with hard work and perseverance*

**Gatsby embodies this self-made man as he came from relative poverty (but his wealth was achieved through illegal means)**

^^How did Benjamin Franklins ideas contribute to the ‘American Dream’?^^

\
Franklin’s autobiography became an important document in shaping American character and expectations

* talked about what would later be known as the ‘American Dream’ saying one could fashion their own economic and social status through possible merits
* limitless possibilities to those who were honest and virtuous

^^What is the link between the American Constitution?^^

*‘all men are created equal’* with the right to *‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’*

perpetuated the myth that everyone would have equal opportunity in America and this ‘dream’ could be achieved through hard work