CONTEXT
INTRODUCTION
An influential novel:
The Great Gatsby is a novel about a working-class man who goes to great lengths to become rich and win back the
woman he loves. She eventually rejects him in favour for someone of her own class, and he dies alone.
Gatsby’s failure suggests that people can’t reinvent themselves or break away from their social class. This challenged
the American dream at a time when people were already starting to question it. The novel reflected society’s
concerns, so it became very influential.
The novel captures the ‘Jazz Age’ of the 1920s so clearly that the novel and the era are inseparable for most people.
Fitzgerald published The Great Gatsby 5 years after he published his first novel, he had become a much more skilful
and controlled writer.
References to his own experiences:
Fitzgerald was born into an upper-middle-class family, but his father’s failure in business made their social position
precarious. Fitzgerald compared his father to the wealthy men around him, which made him both admire and resent
the rich. Nick’s upper-middle-class but like Fitzgerald, has to make his own living. He’s attracted by the lifestyle of his
rich neighbours but appalled too.
Fitzgerald fell in love with Zelda, but she refused to marry him until he could comfortably support her. Gatsby falls in
love with Daisy, a materialistic girl who marries a rich man instead.
Fitzgerald lived in Great Neck, the inspiration for West Egg, from 1922 to 1924. He compromised his artistic integrity
by writing short stories to fund the luxurious life Zelda wanted. Gatsby compromises his integrity by bootlegging, in
order to get enough money to please Daisy. His wild parties echo the Fitzgerald’s’ hedonistic lifestyle.
Fitzgerald met his wife, Zelda, to whom The Great Gatsby is dedicated, while he was stationed at an army training
camp. Their meeting is reflected in the circumstances of Gatsby’s encounter with Daisy.
Written during the Jazz Age:
The Great Gatsby was published in 1925 and was set in the ‘Roaring Twenties’. This was a glamorous decade marked
by cultural, artistic and social developments, but it was brought to an end by the Wall Street Crash of 1929, which
triggered the Great Depression of the 1930s.
In the 1920s, America became very prosperous as the country recovered from World War 1.
There was a policy of prohibition. This meant that alcohol was illegal, but the continued demand meant there was a
lot of money to be made from bootlegging.
It was a time of great social change – the younger generation started to rebel against tradition. For many people,
particularly women, the war provided new experiences and freedom. After the war, there was a strong desire to try
new and exciting things and to break from tradition. Jazz music became popular because it was more energetic than
earlier music styles. Fitzgerald coined the term the ‘Jazz Age’. Flappers began to challenge more traditional gender
roles. Flappers were women who behaved in a way that was thought to be inappropriate by the older generation –
they drank, smoked and wore revealing clothes.
Gender equality is a notable issue in this novel. Women were not granted the vote in all American states until 1920.
Despite increased independence for women in some areas of life, America remained a patriarchal, male-dominated
society.
The American Dream:
The American Dream is the idea that America is a ‘land of opportunity’, where a determined and able individual can
achieve anything, regardless of their social background. After the war many people, including Fitzgerald, began to
challenge this idea and wonder if it was really possible.
