The 1920

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The 1920sThe setting of F. Scott Fitzgeralds,
The Great Gatsby
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The 1920s

• The 1920s, also known as the Roaring Twenties
  (for its economic boom), was the post-war era.
• With the ending of the war, the time had come
  for people to let go of their repressed ways and
  begin living again.
• It was a time of great social change and
  everything was changing Pleasure dominated and
  people prospered.
• It was a time of excess alcohol, social
  activity, frivolous sex, and jazz music were in
  abundance.
• The following pages will give you a glimpse into
  the lifestyle of the 1920s.

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Excess Alcohol

• Alcohol was in abundance, but this was a rather
  ironic situation.
• Between 1920-1933 the United States Government
  implemented PROHIBITION.
• Prohibition meant that it was illegal to
  manufacture, sell or consume alcohol.
• The basis for prohibition were religious beliefs
  the association of alcohol with sin. An
  ultra-religious congressman from Minnesota,
  Andrew J. Volstead, was rigorously behind the
  18th amendment and on January 29, 1920
  Prohibition became the law of the land.

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• Volsteads intent was to rid the land of
  drunkenness.
• What he created was a 13 year span where alcohol
  consumption raised each year and was never to
  return to the lows it had been prior to the
  1920s.
• With prohibition in effect, this obviously raises
  one questions if alcohol consumption was on the
  rise, but it wasnt being manufactured or sold
  anywhere in the U.S., where was it coming from?

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Gangsters and G-Men!

• With prohibition came organized crime.
• Saloons went underground and became
  speakeasies. Speakeasies, unlike saloons
  welcomed women, and droves of people came.
• Gangsters such as Al Capone made their fortunes
  from organizing the import of alcohol illegally
  into the U.S.
• From liquor sales alone, Capone made 60 million
  dollars in one year.

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Famous Gang Getaways

• Since organized crime was rampant in the streets
  of New York, Violence was up.
• Gangsters needed a quick escape from their crime
  scenes and the twenties, with its money and
  demand, marked the appropriate time to mass
  produce automobiles.
• Still considered luxury items, automobiles were
  the symbol of wealth and the in crowd.
• Automobiles would prove to make a major impact on
  the way people traveled from then on.

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20s Fashion

• With the end of the war and the surge in
  prosperity, fashion was no longer limited to the
  wealthy.
• Major changes were seen in womens fashions,
  where a boyish figure and short hair was all the
  rage.

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Mens Fashions

• Men wore very distinguished suits for business,
  and an outfit wasnt fully complete without the
  right hat!
• For a relaxed look, men took on a very preppy
  attire.
• The following pages will give you a brief look at
  20s attire for men, women, and children

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And we couldnt forget, Wedding Attire
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Sports

• And an intense love for baseball
• Babe Ruth became Americas favorite player.

• With the surge in social activity came an
  interest in sports and sports activities

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And an intense sadness associated with it

• The Black Sox scandal rocked the nation in 1919,
  when several white Sox players were banned from
  playing baseball for throwing the World Series.
• Pressured into the scandal by other players,
  Shoeless Joe Jackson was never allowed to play
  baseball again.

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Besides sports, entertainment in the 1920s
included silent films

• Famous stars of the silent screen included funny
  man Charlie Chaplin, Heart throb Rudolph
  Valentino, and beauty icon Greta Garbo

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The It Girl

• The 1920s was a very sexual era as well and the
  silent screen actress Clara Bow defined what it
  was to be a liberated woman in the 20s.
• The flapper icon of the 1920s, she was to
  become the inspiration for the cartoon Betty Boop
  in the 1930s.

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So Whats a flapper girl?

• The term is always associated with the 1920s so
  it should be explained
• According to F. Scott Fitzgerald, "Clara Bow is
  the quintessence of what the term 'flapper'
  signifies" a young woman who was "pretty,
  impudent, superbly assured, as worldly-wise,
  briefly-clad and 'hard-burled' as possible.

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The Jazz Age

• The term was coined by F.Scott Fitzgerald because
  Jazz music was to have such a profound impact and
  influence over society.
• Jazz was all the rage and popular hotspots like
  the famous Cotton Club provided some of the best
  Jazz entertainment in the 1920s

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The Harlem Renaissance

• Between 1920 and 1930 there was an amazing
  outpouring of talent among the African-American
  community. Literary and musical talent abounded.
• And famous Jazz musician Loius Satchmo
  Armstrong Was Making a name for himself.

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The Charleston

• With Jazz came a new form of dance, the
  Charleston, and swing dancing was soon to follow!

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Prosperity

• The 1920s was a very prosperous time. It was a
  time of new money and new found wealth for many.
• There was a distinct difference between new money
  and old money however.
• The wealthy, stemming from old money, had a
  well-established and respected background. The
  old money clans often did not mingle with the
  new money clans, who were just beginning to build
  their fortunes from industry, investing, and
  other business.

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Summary

• So, hopefully, now you have a feel for the 1920s
  and the things consuming society at the time
  Money, fashion, alcohol, sex, jazz, and just a
  pure living life to the fullest mentality.
• As we read the Great Gatsby, by Scott
  Fitzgerald, try to keep some of these things in
  mind. They should help you picture the people
  and understand the events in the story.

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The Great Gatsby

• Characters
• Main Character Jay Gatsby
• Narrator Nick Carraway
• Daisy Tom Buchanan
• Myrtle George Wilson
• Jordan Baker

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Setting

• Time 1920s/Roaring 20s, Jazz Age
• Place New York, Long Island, East Egg, West Egg

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Themes

• Money
• Hypocrisy
• Friendship

• Carelessness
• Dishonesty
• The American Dream