A Jazzy Look At Gatsby

Foeller, E et al. Innovative Fiction Between the Two World Wars. American Literature. Zbigniew Lewicki (ed). Cultural Section, US Embassy, Warsaw, pp. 60.

Dancing skyrocketed during the 1920s. Many styles of dance that were created before the era did not become popular until the

“Nothing great will ever be achieved without great men, and men are great only if they are determined to be so,” once said Charles de Gaulle. This valiant quote by a former president of France accentuates my opinion of the Great Jay Gatsby. From humble beginnings rises our main focus of F. Scott Fitzgeralds’ The Great Gatsby. Young Jimmy Gatz is brought to West Egg from his heavily impoverished North Dakota family. His desire to be something greater than a farmer drove him to fortune and love through any means necessary; his life long obsession, Daisy Fay, infatuates Jay in his own insatiable thirst for her affection. James follows Daisy in the years after he is deployed to World War 1, and when he sees she has married Tom Buchanan he becomes hell-bent on replicating the success Tom has inherited in order to win over Daisy. Through moderately deceitful ways, Jay Gatsby builds his wealth and reputation to rival and even supersede many already lavish family names. Astonishingly, the great Mr. Gatsby, overrun with newfound affluence, stays true to his friends, lover, and his own ideals to his blissfully ignorant end.

Gatsby. Penguin, 2014. Print. This novel is an investigation of a double murder that happened quickly after F. Scott Fitzgerald’s return to New York. With evidence from newspapers, letters, and newly found archives, the author describes the new opinions of the readers of The Great Gatsby. The author then interweaved both stories with the hope to solve the mysteries of a murder and the success behind Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. As the author does this, she compares and contrasts the events of the book and the murder to one another.This is a credible source because the author found many direct sources from the time era,

“Writers consistently use novels as a lens through which they scrutinise society.” To what extent do you agree with this view?

In The Great Gatsby, the author, F Scott Fitzgerald depicts the post - war roaring 20’s, a time of overwhelming prosperity and a new found sense of hope for the future. While this novel is often perceived as a romance, it is also a criticism on the devastating nature of the elusive american dream. The story of Jay Gatsby is a representation of what had become the values of the individual at the time. With the progression of the early 1920’s the vision of the perfect life, or the american dream, had been skewed. It was replaced with greed, and an abundance of reckless spending in which the wealthier individuals placed their misguided ideas of happiness. In the Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald chooses to expose the hidden truth behind the illustrious concept of the American dream. Through his use of literary devices such as, symbolism, metaphor, and, irony the central idea of the truly unattainable American dream is supported throughout the novel.

Mangum, Bryant. "THE GREAT GATSBY, by F." THE GREAT GATSBY, by F. London and Chicago: Fitzroy-Dearborn, 1998. Web. 1 July 2015. .

During the 1920s, dancing was one of the main forms of entertainment. There were lots of new dances introduced during this time. It became the newest craze of the 1920s. People would dance anywhere they could, but mainly in their homes, clubs, parties, and during competitions. These new dances captivated the nation, because they were easy to learn, promoted new types of clothing, and assisted in the advancement of entertainment.

One strong theme of modernism in literature is the attack and or decline of The American Dream. The American Dream is the idea that everyone, men, and women, have an equal opportunity to achieve wealth, success and or happiness through determination, and hard work, in other words, the pursuit of happiness. Two writers that illustrate this theme of modernism are F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, and Ernest Hemingway, author of The Sun Also Rises.

Buet, P. (n.d.). How France's Nationalist Party Is Winning Gay Support. Retrieved February 13, 2017, from https://www.buzzfeed.com/lesterfeder/frances-nationalist-party-is-winning-gay-support? utm_term=.lgzdZO6Ne#.okPogP2DB

Dance was beingg performed all over in different types of venues and the Modern Museum of Art included dance in its historical archives. Ballet was getting more financial support during the war and it was becoming very difficult for modern dancers to raise funds during this time to put on productions . men were being recruited into the armed forces ,so there now was a lack of the male presence in the dance community. Dance was suffering at the hands of war. For instance the all male group led by Ted Shawn had to disband after seven years, because of men were needed to serve in the forces.

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, the reader sees a common theme of corruption of the American Dream. In the 1920’s, the times are changing in America and morals are becoming looser and the lifestyle of the wealthy is more careless. New fashion, attitude, and music is what nicknamed this era the “Jazz Age,” greatly influencing Fitzgerald’s writing. He created similarities between many things in pop culture and the journey his characters Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, and Myrtle are taking to achieve the American dream. Through the use of the lively, yet scandalous, jazz music from the 1920’s, Fitzgerald reflects the attitudes of the characters in The Great Gatsby at the end of innocence and prevalence of

Just when social dancing was at its height, World War 2 put a stop to its popularity. Lack of attendance, plus the intricate rhythmic patterns of modern jazz music, which were too complex for social dancing, led to the closing of dance halls and ballrooms. With the demise of social dance, the growth of jazz dance as a professional dance form began. During the 1940’s, jazz dance was influenced by ballet and modern dance. By blending the classical technique of ballet with the natural bodily expression of modern dance, jazz developed a sophisticated artistic quality. Unlike early jazz dance, which was performed by talented entertainers without formal training, modern jazz dance was performed by professionals trained in ballet and modern dance.

In the beginning of The Great Gatsby, the narrator Nick is critical of the upper class, but hopeful. Toward the end he is disappointed because he realizes how the lifestyle they live is unrealistic. During the novel, the upper class is disrespectful and full of themselves. When he gets to know the characters he notices how the upper class is so unfriendly and snotty. This easy and luxurious lifestyle that they are living is unattainable to everyone because nobody can get there. The American dream is described as making a ton of money and being snotty about it. In the novel, the hopeful and disgusted tones reflect Nick’s points of view on the unrealistic society and his points of view changes when he sees how greedy they all are

One of my favorite classic rock songs has always been “Glory Days” by Bruce Springsteen. I grew up listening to my dad’s music and this is one song that has always stuck with me. When I first found out that it was inspired by the Novel “The Great Gatsby” by F Scott. Fitzgerald I was shocked, I had never really listened to the lyrics before. After Reading the book and listening to the song a few more times, I realized that every verse is loosely based on different main characters. This gave the song new meaning for me, it now makes me picture the characters from the book and also has reminiscent sadness attached to it while still connecting to the idea of the American dream, a theme which is also very prevalent in the great Gatsby. The inspiration of characters for verses in this song makes it connects with the book on a whole new level.