🗊Презентация The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Plan of the project: Author’s Life Themes of the book Character Analysis The main idea of a book Parallels for our society Conclusion

Author Background Francis Scott Fitzgerald born September 24, 1896 Member of the Princeton Class of 1917 Joined the Army-stationed in Montgomery Alabama where he met Zelda Sayre Refused to marry him until he could publish This Side of Paradise Published 3/26/1920, week later the couple married Part of the literary party scene with Ernest Hemmingway playwright Gertrude Stein

Author Background Cont. Known as an alcoholic , led to slow writing speed Critics called him an “irresponsible writer.” Main themes focused on aspirations and the American Dream and domesticity Great Gatsby put him on the literary map Died 12-21-1940-believing himself a failure Zelda died 1948 in an asylum fire Revival of his works in 1950-1960’s

Famous Works Novels

Key points Of the Story Setting: 1920 in Long Island Gatsby is a millionaire Daisy kills Myrtle Wilson Tom tells George: Gatsby kills Myrtle

The Roaring Twenties While the sense of loss was readily apparent among expatriate American artists who remained in Europe after the war, back home the disillusionment took a less obvious form. America seemed to throw itself headlong into a decade of madcap behavior and materialism, a decade that has come to be called the Roaring Twenties.

The Jazz Age The era is also known as the Jazz Age, when the music called jazz, promoted by such recent inventions as the phonograph and the radio, swept up from New Orleans to capture the national imagination. Improvised and wild, jazz broke the rules of music, just as the Jazz Age thumbed its nose at the rules of the past.

Prohibition Another rule often broken was the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, or Prohibition, which banned the public sale of alcoholic beverages from 1919 until its appeal in 1933. Speak-easies, nightclubs, and taverns that sold liquor were often raided, and gangsters made illegal fortunes as bootleggers, smuggling alcohol into America from abroad.

Gambling Another gangland activity was illegal gambling. Perhaps the worst scandal involving gambling was the so-called Black Sox Scandal of 1919, in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox were indicted for accepting bribes to throw baseball’s World Series.

The Automobile The Jazz Age was also an era of reckless spending and consumption, and the most conspicuous status symbol of the time was a flashy new automobile. Advertising was becoming the major industry that it is today, and soon advertisers took advantage of new roadways by setting up huge billboards at their sides. Both the automobile and a bizarre billboard play important roles in The Great Gatsby.

Character Analysis: Nick Carraway 29-30 Yale Grad Cousins with Daisy and Tom Narrator of the story Comes of age (loss of innocence) Moral compass of the novel Conflicted both about Daisy and Gatsby and Tom and Myrtle Unable to decide whether or not Gatsby is to be trusted Gatsby creates him as a father figure to replace his own. Relationship with Jordan Baker harmed by her supremely feminist ways.

Character Analysis: Jay Gatsby Originally known as James Gatz From North Dakota Taken in by Dan Cody, a wealthy tycoon from whom Gatsby inherited his wealth Fell in love with Daisy Buchannan shortly before leaving to fight in WWI Moved to West Egg in order to see her across the bay Relentlessly lives in the past and ultimately gives up his life for Daisy hoping that she will love him again. Don Draper esque

Character Analysis: Daisy Buchannan Femme fatal Yearns to be an independent woman, suitable for her intelligence but is stuck in her domestic life. “I’m glad it’s a girl, and I hope she’ll be a fool– that’s the best that a a girl can be in this world– a beautiful fool.” (17). Ironically, she decides to stay with Tom after the vehicular homicide of Myrtle Wilson. Reader asks whether or not she truly loves Gatsby or if she is playing him to get what she ultimately wants (The death of Myrtle Wilson).

Character Analysis: Tom Buchanan Devoted husband of Daisy Buchannan Has an open affair with Myrtle Wilson Breaks Myrtle’s nose when she mention’s Daisy’s name Conniving, quick to anger Quick to leave Nick and Gatsby when the going gets tough Isolates himself from Daisy when he finds out about her affair Symbolizes the double standard between male and female adultery.

Character Analysis: Jordan Baker Golf pro Independent, stands up to men Career tanked after she was caught in a cheating scandal (possibly result of living in male dominated society). Nick’s love interest throughout the novel Finally breaks up with Nick after he is unable to rise above his morality to help Daisy and Tom in their predicament. Partially the reason Nick “hates” Gatsby

Character Analysis: Myrtle Wilson Pleasantly plump mistress of Tom Buchannan Symbol for the blunt of domesticity’s rage Beaten by both her husband and lover Death at the hands of Daisy Buchanan symbolizes the inescapability of domesticity.

According to cliffnotes.com, in The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald offers up commentary on a variety of themes -- justice, power, greed, betrayal, the American dream, and so on. Of all the themes, perhaps none is more well developed than that of social stratification. According to cliffnotes.com, in The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald offers up commentary on a variety of themes -- justice, power, greed, betrayal, the American dream, and so on. Of all the themes, perhaps none is more well developed than that of social stratification. Fitzgerald carefully sets up his novel into distinct social groups but, in the end, each group has its own problems to contend with, leaving a powerful reminder of what a precarious place the world really is. By creating distinct social classes -- old money, new money, and no money -- Fitzgerald sends strong messages about the elitism running throughout every strata of society. America in the 1920s marked a time of great post-war economic growth, and Fitzgerald captures the frenzy of the society well. Although, of course, Fitzgerald could have no way of foreseeing the stock market crash of 1929, the world he presents in The Great Gatsby seems clearly to be headed for disaster. They have assumed skewed worldviews, mistakenly believing their survival lies in stratification and reinforcing social boundaries. They place their faith in superficial external means (such as money and materialism), while neglecting to cultivate the compassion and sensitivity that, in fact, separate humans from the animals.

How Does "The Great Gatsby" Relate to Current Society?

Social Networking Social Networking Narrator Nick Carraway becomes acquainted with numerous people throughout the book, including Gatsby, Daisy and Tom's friends. Although Nick is exposed to their darkest secrets, he never develops more than a superficial connection with anyone except Gatsby, and Nick is ultimately disgusted by the others' selfishness. Today, social media creates similar superficial connections, redefining the word "friend" as a process of adding someone to a network rather than an intimate relationship. Just as Nick observes the personal lives of Tom and Daisy's companions, a social media user might observe an acquaintance's status updates and activity but never know him on a deeper level.

Conclusion In my opinion, Fitzgerald’s own life inspired him to write a novel “The Great Gatsby”. All events that happened in his life, flights and falls, are closely connected with him. And may be because the book is based on real events, even if there are some changes, it became popular all over the world, his life, history made him popular. And his book has become mandatory for reading at schools and universities. Thanks to him, we clearly see that the life in 1920’s was very interesting, beginning of a developing country.

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