Context (Leaving Cert English): Revision Notes

Context

Understanding the historical and social context of The Great Gatsby is essential for appreciating Fitzgerald's masterpiece. The novel emerges from a specific time period that shaped both the author's experiences and the world he created for his characters.

F. Scott Fitzgerald: the author's background

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896, and named after his ancestor who wrote the poem that became the lyrics of the US national anthem. Growing up in Minnesota, Fitzgerald attended Princeton University in 1913 but struggled academically and eventually dropped out to join the army during World War I in 1917.

During his military service, Fitzgerald was promoted to second lieutenant and met seventeen-year-old Zelda Sayre. Their relationship became central to understanding both Fitzgerald's life and his literary work. Zelda initially refused to marry him due to his lack of financial security, demanding that he achieve success before their wedding. This personal experience of love being conditional on wealth would profoundly influence Fitzgerald's writing.

The Fitzgeralds became known for their extravagant lifestyle, fuelled by his literary success and their shared love of parties and luxury. Fitzgerald struggled with alcoholism while desperately trying to please Zelda by earning more money through his writing. Their relationship deteriorated over time, with Zelda suffering multiple nervous breakdowns starting in 1930. Fitzgerald's romantic dreams were eventually crushed, though they remained together until his death from a heart attack in 1940, at just forty-four years old.

The real Gatsby: autobiographical connections

Like his protagonist Jay Gatsby, Fitzgerald came from Minnesota, attended an Ivy League university, and moved to New York after the war. Both men became obsessed with wealth and luxury, particularly as a means to win love.

The parallels between Fitzgerald and Gatsby extend to their romantic relationships. Just as Gatsby idolises Daisy, Fitzgerald worshipped Zelda. When their daughter was born, Zelda expressed hope that she would be "beautiful and a fool - a beautiful little fool," directly echoing Daisy's famous words in Chapter 7 about her own daughter. Fitzgerald understood the struggle to prove one's social standing and secure love through material success.

However, unlike Gatsby, Fitzgerald didn't completely indulge in parties and excessive behaviour. While Gatsby remained somewhat detached from his own celebrations, Fitzgerald and Zelda threw themselves into the hedonistic lifestyle of the decade. This personal experience with both the allure and the destructiveness of wealth gave Fitzgerald unique insight into the characters he created.

The novel's structure also reflects Fitzgerald's relationship with his own story. Through Nick Carraway's narration, Fitzgerald creates distance while telling his tale, much like how he lived both inside and outside the wealthy world he wrote about. As Nick observes, Fitzgerald too lived "within and without" the story of his own life.

First World War and the Jazz Age

The First World War fundamentally changed society and created the backdrop for the world of The Great Gatsby. As the first war of its kind, it shocked many people and ushered in the 1920s as a time of both tremendous growth and widespread cynicism and corruption. This period became known as the Jazz Age, celebrating the decade's cultural and social developments.

Both Gatsby and Nick served in the war, and their military experience reflects the broader impact of the conflict on their generation. Gatsby's parties mirror the lavish and golden nature of the decade, but beneath the surface lies a clear social hierarchy. The era maintained a strict status quo where "old money" ruled while "new money" attempted to climb the social ladder, and those with "no money" remained excluded from the prosperity.

The decade's prosperity eventually collapsed with the Wall Street Crash of 1929, leading to the Great Depression of the 1930s. This economic disaster validated many of the concerns Fitzgerald raised about the sustainability of the Jazz Age's excess and the American Dream's fundamental flaws.

The Lost Generation

Fitzgerald captured this generational mood in his observation that the new generation discovered "all Gods dead, all wars fought, all faiths in man shaken." This sentiment appears throughout The Great Gatsby, where Gatsby stands out from the faithless society of East and West Egg through his "extraordinary gift for hope."

The Lost Generation's characteristics - disillusionment, hedonism, and spiritual emptiness - permeate the novel's atmosphere and help explain the moral vacuum in which the characters operate.

Flappers and freedom: changing gender roles

The 1920s witnessed dramatic changes in women's roles and expectations, largely influenced by the younger generation known as "flappers." These liberated young women challenged traditional social and gender norms through their appearance, behaviour, and attitudes.

Flappers subverted conventional expectations by cutting their hair into short bobs, wearing shorter skirts, using makeup, and adopting more masculine behaviours. The 19th Amendment, enacted in 1920, granted women the right to vote, symbolically representing their broader push for independence and equality.

Jordan's behaviour consistently challenges gender expectations. Nick observes that she "instinctively avoided clever shrewd men... because she felt safer on a plane where any divergence from a code would be thought impossible." This suggests Jordan's awareness that her non-traditional lifestyle requires careful navigation of social expectations.

The contrast between Jordan and Myrtle Wilson illustrates different approaches to challenging traditional gender roles. While Jordan adopts a more masculine presentation, Myrtle uses her sexuality as a tool for social advancement. However, both women ultimately face limitations imposed by their social class and gender, with Myrtle's death serving as a brutal reminder of the dangers faced by women who attempt to transcend their prescribed roles.

The American Dream: promise and corruption

When European settlers first arrived in America, the American Dream promised that anyone willing to work hard could achieve success and wealth, regardless of their social background. This ideology gained particular prominence after the Great Depression, when historian James Truslow Adams popularised the concept in his book The Epic of America.

Fitzgerald ironically critiques widespread materialism while simultaneously being deeply involved in the same pursuit of wealth. Jay Gatsby becomes the personification of the American Dream, representing the belief that anyone can achieve their desires through determination and hard work. However, Gatsby's failure to truly win Daisy reveals the dream's limitations.

Myrtle Wilson represents another version of the failed American Dream. She seeks to escape her lower-class circumstances through her relationship with Tom Buchanan, clinging to the dream despite her limited options. Her death by Gatsby's car - a symbol associated with restlessness and power - demonstrates how the American Dream can become destructive, particularly for those without inherited wealth or social connections.

Media and the mass market: the rise of advertising

The Great Gatsby was written during a period of exponential growth in available consumer goods and advertising opportunities. The 1920s saw the introduction of advertising billboards, commercial radio jingles after 1923, and creative marketing slogans by 1925.

Fitzgerald characterises this advertisement as a "voyeur of the valley" with "retinas... one yard high" that "brood on over the solemn dumping ground." This description emphasises how advertising looks down upon the valley of ashes, perhaps judging its residents as God might judge humanity. The advertisement serves as a substitute for divine oversight, exposing America's diminished faith in traditional religion and spirituality.

Products began carrying brand names that conveyed reliability and desirability, creating new forms of consumer desire. Advertising techniques generated demand for commodities, reflecting the changing tastes and lifestyles of the 1920s. Finance companies began lending money for attractive products, leading many people into debt while maintaining high consumption levels that kept the economy healthy.

This consumer culture created different reactions among social classes. When George Wilson wishes to move "west" to escape debt and start fresh with his wife, he cannot afford to do so. Unlike George, Myrtle doesn't see debt as a concerning factor in her social climbing efforts, purchasing expensive items without considering the financial consequences.

Conspicuous consumption: displaying wealth and status

The prosperity following World War I, combined with technological advances, led to the widespread availability of cars, refrigerators, and radios. As people acquired more possessions, America developed into a nation of early consumerism. Social scientist Thorstein Veblen coined the term "conspicuous consumption" to critique the behaviour of wealthy businessmen who displayed their wealth through pretentious mansions and extravagant behaviour.

Veblen argued that this ostentatious display was wasteful because it implied increasing poverty among the lower classes. The billboard featuring Doctor T.J. Eckleburg represents the significance of advertising and consumption in 1920s American society, including the working classes of the valley of ashes.

Fitzgerald creates a world where conspicuous consumption serves as a litmus test for wealth and social status. Tom Buchanan's polo ponies demonstrate his social position to others, while Jay Gatsby's extravagant parties and flamboyant lifestyle showcase his newly acquired wealth. The novel critiques this system by showing how Gatsby's car - the ultimate status symbol - becomes the weapon that links him to murder.

Prohibition and organised crime

Not everyone earned their wealth through legitimate industries during this period. Fitzgerald's novel is set during the time of the Prohibition Act of 1919, which made the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcohol illegal in America. However, some people, including gangsters, sold alcohol to secret establishments called "speakeasies" for substantial profits.

This illegal trade was known as bootlegging, originally named because smugglers hid bottles in their boots. By 1925, New York alone reportedly contained one hundred thousand speakeasies. The Prohibition Act was eventually repealed in 1933, but during its enforcement, it created a thriving illegal economy.

The underground economy was controlled by notorious and powerful criminal gangs who also engaged in gambling. Famous American gangsters like Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, and Meyer Lansky became legendary figures known for their ruthless and dangerous activities.

These connections to organised crime suggest that Gatsby's wealth may have been acquired through illegitimate means, adding another layer to the novel's exploration of the corrupted American Dream.

Race and prejudice: immigration and ethnic tensions

Thousands of immigrants arrived in 19th-century America seeking to pursue the American Dream. Many of these immigrants settled in New York after arriving at Ellis Island. This high concentration of diverse populations led to tension and prejudice between different ethnic groups.

Widespread prejudice existed against various ethnic minorities, and racism remained prevalent despite the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833. African Americans continued to face treatment as second-class citizens throughout this period.

The prejudice against newer immigrants appears in Nick's antisemitic representation of Meyer Wolfsheim. Fitzgerald emphasises Wolfsheim's Jewish character through multiple references to his nose, relying on old racial stereotypes: "Mr Wolfsheim's nose flashed at me indignantly... his tragic nose was trembling."

Nick's racism becomes evident when he refers to an African-American couple in a limousine as "bucks," expressing surprise that they acquired their wealth legitimately. This reveals his assumption that their success must be based on race rather than merit.