general book overview Flashcards
(38 cards)
describe the American dream
based on the assumption that each person no matter what his origins, could succeed in life on the sole basis of his or her own skill and effort.
when did the American dream rise?
arose in the colonial period and developed in the nineteenth century
what did the American dream embody
it embodied the ideal self made man
what is the great Gatsby about?
about what happened to the American dream in the 1920s.
give a generalization of the charecters
The characters are Midwesterners who have come east in pursuit of this new dream of money, success, fame, glamour and excitement.
what was the American dream in the 1920s like?
a period when the old values that gave substance to the dream had been corrupted by the vulgar pursuit of wealth.
what does Fitzgerald seem to be criticizing in the great Gatsby?
not the American dream itself, but the corruption of the the American dream.
what is Fitzgerald’s critique of the dream of success developed mainly throught?
the five central characters and through certain dominant images and symbols.
who is the author of the great gatsby?
F. Scott Fitzgerald
the gap between the poor and rich
describes this gap by comparing the differences between the western united states and the eastern united states, or could be described as the difference between the West egg and the east egg
what are the main themes in the book?
the decay of morals and values and the frustration of a ‘modern’ society, describes the decay of the American dream and the want for money and materialism.
what was the western united states seen as having
traditional western culture
what was the eastern united states seen as having
money obsessed values
west egg?
the ‘new’ money
east egg?
the ‘old’ money
at the time what was the 1920s like for the united states and many other countries?
a time of corruption and the degradation of moral values
After the world war one what was life like?
people were reveling in the materialism that came with the end of the war, new mass produced commodities such as motor cars and radios were filling peoples driveways and houses, money was more accessible (b4 the great depression)
what were cars becoming in the 1920s?
they were becoming a social symbol as we can see with Gatsby five cars, one of which he gives to nick and one of which kills myrtle Wilson later on.
what did Herbert hoover, the American president, say in 1925?
“we will root out poverty and put two cars in every garage”
what were the parties that Gatsby held every week a symbol of?
of the carelessness of the time
what would occur in these parties that Gatsby held?
Gatsby would hide in the house while the ‘guests’, most of which weren’t invited, would party, eat and drink until the early hours of the morning without even meeting Gatsby or knowing who he was.
how are Fitzgerald’s negative views of society portrayed
his negative views of society are portrayed through his deception of certain guests Gatsby’s parties.
what do the two women dressed identically in yellow at Gatsby party represent and how?
the values of the people of the 1920s, as the two women meet nick and Jordan at the party and are completely self involved and only concerned with what happens to them and the fun they have, not caring about the names of them two men they’re talking to so openly
what is another sign of the fall of the American dream in the great Gatsby?
the way Gatsby makes his money
