The Roaring Twenties of The Great Gatsby
by Emmy Dixon
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby just as the world was recovering from a terrible war, the first of its kind. People felt entitled to have some fun. Imagining it possible to leave the destruction behind and make a new life for themselves, society threw caution and codes of conduct to the wind. Jay Gatsby, the novel's protagonist, exemplifies this new American Dream which emphasized the potential for social reincarnation: just leave behind your poverty and hopelessness and move into the upper class. Gertrude Stein, a noted poetess of the time, referred to many survivors of the First World War, which lasted from 1914-1918, as “The Lost Generation.” Part of the description included a propensity for drinking, dancing, traveling, and altogether compulsive - yet empty and morally -suspect, activity.
The Eighteenth Amendment in 1919, known as Prohibition, which banned the sale and consumption of alcohol, influenced this activity. Prohibition created a new way to get rich quick in bootlegging. Organized crime followed quite naturally. With all of his parties, Gatsby effectively operated a speakeasy, a place for people to come together and consume alcohol undetected by the police.
Another new career path was that of bondsmen. Though the post-war financial boom would eventually bust in 1929 bringing on the Great Depression, this time period allowed anyone to experience upward social mobility, something that is seen with Myrtle Wilson and her compulsive materialism. The new fountains of money “dispensed starlight to casual moths,” turning Myrtle into the approximation of a butterfly. A newly emancipated woman free to smoke, drink, and dance, the flapper was born.
The Eighteenth Amendment in 1919, known as Prohibition, which banned the sale and consumption of alcohol, influenced this activity. Prohibition created a new way to get rich quick in bootlegging. Organized crime followed quite naturally. With all of his parties, Gatsby effectively operated a speakeasy, a place for people to come together and consume alcohol undetected by the police.
Another new career path was that of bondsmen. Though the post-war financial boom would eventually bust in 1929 bringing on the Great Depression, this time period allowed anyone to experience upward social mobility, something that is seen with Myrtle Wilson and her compulsive materialism. The new fountains of money “dispensed starlight to casual moths,” turning Myrtle into the approximation of a butterfly. A newly emancipated woman free to smoke, drink, and dance, the flapper was born.
Racism
A deep distrust of immigrants as well as nativism accounts for much of the racism in the book especially that shown by Tom Buchanan. In an opening scene, Tom is reading a book titled The Rise of the Colored Empire, attributed to a man named Goddard. He uses this book as a backdrop for his lecture to Nick about the dangers for the “white race” from the rise of non-Nordics. This is likely based on a real book from 1920 titled The Rising Tide of Color against White World-Supremacy written by eugenicist Lothard Stoddard.
Real Criminals, Real Crime
A major player in The Great Gatsby and a prime example of the type of unsavory characters this decade created, Meyer Wolfsheim is based on another real world criminal, Arnold Rothstein. At the point in history where Rothstein/Wolfsheim enters the world of Gatsby, Rothstein is, in real-time New York, considered a drug dealer, a bootlegger, and a labor racketeer. Prior to this, Rothstein was accused of fixing the 1919 World Series, something that Fitzgerald attributes to Wolfsheim, furthering the ties between the two men. A passage in The Great Gatsby, when Nick is at a restaurant with Gatsby and Wolfsheim, explains the connection:
[Nick asks] “Who is he, anyhow, an actor?”
[Gatsby replies] “No.”
“A dentist?”
“Meyer Wolfsheim? No, he’s a gambler.” . . . “He’s the man who fixed the World’s Series back in 1919.” . . .
“How did he happen to do that?”. . .
“He just saw the opportunity.”
“Why isn’t he in jail?”
“They can’t catch him, old sport. He’s a smart man.”
While never conclusively proven, it is widely believed that the 1919 World Series, between the Chicago White Sox and the Cincinnati Reds, was fixed. Players on the White Sox team have been accused of throwing the game after being offered private sums of money. Because players did not make much money at that time, gambling among players was rampant. Many attribute the fix to Arnold Rothstein, but it was never able to be proven in court.
[Nick asks] “Who is he, anyhow, an actor?”
[Gatsby replies] “No.”
“A dentist?”
“Meyer Wolfsheim? No, he’s a gambler.” . . . “He’s the man who fixed the World’s Series back in 1919.” . . .
“How did he happen to do that?”. . .
“He just saw the opportunity.”
“Why isn’t he in jail?”
“They can’t catch him, old sport. He’s a smart man.”
While never conclusively proven, it is widely believed that the 1919 World Series, between the Chicago White Sox and the Cincinnati Reds, was fixed. Players on the White Sox team have been accused of throwing the game after being offered private sums of money. Because players did not make much money at that time, gambling among players was rampant. Many attribute the fix to Arnold Rothstein, but it was never able to be proven in court.
The Jazz Age
Jazz music is used to create a natural soundtrack for The Great Gatsby. In the 1920s, jazz was such a powerful element that the period of time is known as the Jazz Age; therefore, it was quite natural for Fitzgerald to use music to its fullest potential. Songs such as “The Sheik of Araby” play in the background, ostensibly to deepen the setting, but if attention is played to the lyrics, tone, and mood of the songs chosen in each scene, it is clear they impart a subtext. In the case of this particular song, the lyrics recorded in the text sing, “I’m the Sheik of Araby. / Your love belongs to me. / At night when you’re asleep / Into your tent I’ll creep—" This comes right before the revelation that Gatsby has bought his mansion for the purpose of being across from Daisy. This is part of the scene when Jordan is explaining to Nick that Gatsby wants him to invite Daisy over for tea. Gatsby intends to creep into her tent and assert that her love belongs to him, just like the sheik in the song.
The Age of Automobiles
Automobiles figure prominently in The Great Gatsby, and indeed, in the 1920s, they became symbolic of Americanism. They represent the triumph of science, the easy representation of status, and above all, movement. They literally move the plot. In addition to their symbolic and practical applications, one character, Jordan Baker, is even named after two different automobile makers. The cars are never introduced with a model number to easily identify them but it is reasonable that Gatsby’s yellow Rolls Royce, the one that brought the novel to its climax, may have looked like this one.
Art Deco
The art of the day that sets the stage and enhances The Great Gatsby is known as Art Deco. The name was taken from the 1925 Paris World’s Fair–Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes. It is an angular style that incorporates many global influences including tribal and Egyptian, among others. Like modernist literature, of which The Great Gatsby is part, this art movement was a reaction against what had come before. It was used to decorate everything from perfume bottles to architecture. This chandelier from the New Yorker hotel is a typical, but grand, example that would be at home in Gatsby’s house, and reminiscent of the chandelier and lighting fixtures employed by GTA in its set design.
This set of doors on a far-away Arizona courthouse could also be Gatsby’s. Keep this in mind when viewing GTA's production; the doors should look very familiar.