The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald Chapter 1 and 2

Literary Movements

Renaissance 1453-1660

Colonialism 1600s-1700s

Romantics Early 1800s

Transcendentalism Early 1800s

Dark Romantics Mid 1800s

Realism Late 1800s

Naturalism Late 1800s

Modernism Early 1900s

Post-Modernism Mid 1900s

The 1920s

Disillusionment with American Dream

World War I

9 million military deaths

6.5 million civilian deaths

Rejection of tradition

The Expatriates

Experimentation with forms

Modernism, Art Deco, Jazz

Modernism

Flawed, disillusioned hero

Multiple themes

Fragmented structure

Psychological time

Stream-of-consciousness perspective

Stylized experimentation

Aesthetic experience

Symbolic landscape

Ambiguous endings

--Art Deco-- Bold colors Geometric forms Rounded corners Angled lines Sense of flow Cubists and ancients

Tamara de Lempicka “Tamara in the Green Bugatti”

Kansas City Power and Light Building

Why read Gatsby?

Revolutionary Form/Modernist Example

Social Document

Midwest versus East Coast

Middle Class versus Upper Class

Masterful language

Mysterious plot elements

Relevant themes

Young person entering the world

Role of wealth, celebrity, and excess

Thoughts on the American Dream

Exposition and Perspective

Nick Carraway

Thoughts on himself

Thoughts on Gatsby (foreshadow)

History of his family

Impetus for moving

West Egg vs. East Egg

Setting and character/plot development

Tom and Daisy Buchanan (11/13)

Diction to develop character (16)

Reference of child (“added irrelevantly”)

Book on race (jingoism)

Phone call and masked tension

Jordan Baker (15)

Forgotten story as anticipation device

Gatsby (26)

Snapshot—trembling, unquiet

Green light as anticipation device

Valley of Ashes (27)

Doctor TJ Eckleburg

Introduction of Yellow

Bright, Warm, Welcoming— Cowardice, Deceit, Hazard

George Wilson’s Garage

Myrtle Wilson (29)

New York Trip

Shopping Spree

Apartment Party

Apartment Party Scene

Catherine (Myrtle’s Sister) (34)

Hen and Coop Imagery (33/35)

Mr. and Mrs. Mckee (Chester and Lucille)

What scene say about marriage and class?

Forgotten dog and broken nose (41)

Scene Ending

Time manipulation