Context Flashcards
(27 cards)
The Frontier
-The wilderness beyond the frontier/the ‘closing’ or end of the Frontier dated to the 1890s by Turner (but there is still the metaphorical frontier….’the city seen from the Queensboro bridge is always the city seen for the first time in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world’)
American War of Independence what was it?
(1775-83): throwing off British colonial rule
– America defining itself as different/separate to its European rulers
– rebellious, upstarts (‘American exceptionalism’ special and different)
Declaration of Independence
1776
‘Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’ Apparent rejection of the hierarchies and traditions of European society in favour or ‘classless society’ meritocracy
How does the 1776 Declaration of Independence connect to Gatsby and Passing?
Both texts interrogate the promise of ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’ — Gatsby’s dream becomes corrupt through materialism; Irene and Clare confront how race limits access to these ideals.
How does The Great Gatsby reflect James Truslow Adams’ 1931 idea of the American Dream?
Gatsby embodies the dream of self-made success, yet his downfall critiques the dream’s inaccessibility and material corruption.
How is the concept of American Exceptionalism and Manifest Destiny challenged in Passing?
Larsen critiques the idea that America offers equal opportunity, showing how racism and colourism restrict even well-educated, middle-class Black women.
How do Jim Crow laws and segregation influence Passing?
The text directly explores the psychological and social consequences of racial boundaries through Clare’s decision to pass as white.
What does the Great Migration tell us about the setting of Passing?
Harlem became a cultural and intellectual centre; the novel captures the complex dynamics of race, class and identity in this new urban space.
How does Gatsby reflect racial prejudice in 1920s America?
Tom’s reading of The Rising Tide of Color reveals eugenic fears and nativism, which critique white anxieties about racial purity and social change.
How does the Gilded Age context apply to Gatsby?
Gatsby’s wealth reflects the glittering surface of the era, yet the novel critiques the corruption beneath — wealth fails to buy real status or love.
How does Passing reflect class tensions within the Black community?
Irene prides herself on her respectability and status, which clashes with Clare’s more transgressive mobility and desire to cross racial/class lines.
What is the significance of WASP dominance in Gatsby and Passing?
Both texts explore how power remains concentrated among white elites. Gatsby can imitate their wealth but not gain their respect; Irene and Clare are excluded entirely.
How does Gatsby’s German heritage (the name Gatz) reflect American immigration narratives?
Gatsby is part of the second wave of immigrants seeking reinvention, but the elite still see him as an outsider.
How does Passing reflect anxieties about identity and purity?
Clare’s racial passing reflects societal obsession with categorization and the ‘one-drop rule’, echoing broader fears about social boundaries.
How does WWI and the Lost Generation context inform Gatsby?
Gatsby is a veteran and part of the postwar generation disillusioned by violence and the hollowness of modern life.
How is modernism reflected in the narrative style of Passing and Gatsby?
Both use internal focalisation to explore psychological fragmentation — Irene’s paranoia and Nick’s ambivalence reflect modernist uncertainty.
How does the 1920s New Woman appear in Passing and Gatsby?
Clare embodies the sexual and social freedom of the New Woman; Jordan Baker represents similar independence in Gatsby, but both are ultimately punished or constrained.
How are gender roles interrogated in both texts?
Passing critiques rigid domestic expectations through Irene’s growing dissatisfaction; Gatsby shows Daisy trapped in patriarchal privilege.
How do queer readings apply to Passing and Gatsby?
Irene’s obsession with Clare can be read as repressed desire. In Gatsby, Nick’s admiration for Gatsby has homoerotic undertones.
How does the Harlem Renaissance shape Passing?
The novel emerges from this period of Black cultural expression, reflecting tensions between assimilation and cultural pride.
What does the Valley of Ashes symbolize in Gatsby, and how does it reflect Modernist disillusionment?
It echoes T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, symbolizing moral and spiritual decay beneath America’s consumer culture.
How is the boom of the Roaring Twenties critiqued in Gatsby?
Lavish parties and wealth mask emotional emptiness and moral collapse; Gatsby’s dream is built on illusion and bootlegging.
How does Larsen’s Passing directly engage with colourism?
Clare’s ability to pass and her greater privilege contrast with darker-skinned Black characters, exposing racism within the Black community.
