F. Scott Fitzgerald
After whom was F. Scott Fitzgerald named?
Who is Francis Scott Key (the composer of "The Star Spangled Banner" and Fitzgerald's distant cousin?
What was the Lost Generation’s claim to fame? What did they produce?
What is coming of age during WWI and influential works?
The Lost Generation was used to describe the young people who came of age during World War I, but more specifically, we use it today to refer to the group of writers—of whom Fitzgerald was one—who lived in Paris in the 1920s. Writers like Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, and T.S. Eliot are some of the more famous members of the group of writers who produced influential works like The Sun Also Rises and The Wasteland.
Who was John Scopes and why was he involved in a monkey trial?
What is a teacher introducing evolution in schools?
John Scopes was a teacher in Tennessee. In 1925, he was charged with a crime for teaching evolution in the schools; the trial became known as The Monkey Trial.
In 1925 there were more than 100,000 speakeasies in New York alone. What is a speakeasy?
What is a hidden nightclub where alcohol was served?
Charles Lindbergh is one of the most famous figures of the 20th Century. What is his claim to fame?
What is his first solo, nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean (New York to Paris)?
May 20-21, 1927
How did the failures of his father affect Fitzgerald's life and attitudes?
What is living off the mother's inheritance causing Fitzgerald to strive for more and leading him to his wife, Zelda Sayre?
What influence did Duke Ellington have on music?
What is creating a new jazz that was the foundation for American music?
Ellington is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz composers of all time. He wrote over 2,000 songs. His career took off in the 1920s when his band began playing regularly at The Cotton Club in New York City. Ellington is known for his traditional jazz music and also for his ability to transcend the traditional and create something new; his music is the foundation of much American music.
Who was Jack Dempsey? What was “The Long Count”?
Who is a boxer? What is a miscount that cost Dempsey the match?
Jack Dempsey was a boxer—a former heavyweight title holder. During a rematch with Gene Tunney, the current heavyweight champion, in 1927, Dempsey knocked Tunney down, but lingered over him and so the referee did not start counting Tunney down. The rules stated that if a boxer stayed down 10 seconds, he was out; according to clocks after the fact, Tunney was actually down 13 seconds, but got up at the count of nine by the referee. Dempsey later lost the fight.
Organized crime skyrocketed in the 1920s. How did Prohibition encourage and contribute to the rise of organized crime’s power?
What is bootlegging?
Explain the social and economic effects of the automobile on American life in the 1920s.
What is giving Americans the freedom to travel when and where they want? More examples: Mass production of cars made them more affordable to the average American, expanding cities, easier shipping of products from farms to cities, and tourism.
Summarize Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald's romantic life together (dating-engagement-marriage-parting in death).
What is Fitzgerald was stationed in Montgomery, Alabama during WWI, and while there, he met Zelda Sayre. After his first novel was published, they were married and had one daughter. Their lives were filled with highs—literary success—and lows—mental illness/alcoholism. They lived in both the US and France, never really achieving the fortune they both sought.
Identify some of the key figures of the Harlem Renaissance. Why was this an important era in American History?
Who are: Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Countee Cullen, James Weldon Johnson, Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington?
During The Harlem Renaissance, black American writers, musicians, and artists were finally recognized for their talents and contributions to American society. Key figures included Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Countee Cullen, James Weldon Johnson, Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington.
Identify the three parts of the world Marcus Garvey hoped to link with his Black Star Line. What was his purpose?
What is creating passage and trade between America, Africa, and the Caribbean for black Americans?
Marcus Garvey started the Black Star Line with the hope of facilitating passage and trade between America, Africa, and the Caribbean for black Americans. He envisioned this shipping line as a symbol of the power and hope for black Americans. Despite its financial failure, the Line was a considerable motivational success and showed that black enterprises had the potential for success.
What is a flapper?
What is a woman known for her energetic freedom wearing short skirts with bobbed hair?
Identify a characteristic that Henry Ford possessed which contributed to his success in life.
How is Fitzgerald’s own life similar to the lives of his characters? Compare his life to at least two of his literary works.
Answers listed are for The Great Gatsby and This Side of Paradise
What is Fitzgerald’s life parallels both Nick and Gatsby’s lives in Gatsby. He was a Midwesterner from a somewhat well-to-do family, who attended an Ivy League college, but never felt he was on equal ground as far as money was concerned with his peers (like Nick). Like Gatsby, he met and fell in love with a beautiful rich girl while he was in the Army and had to find success before she would love him. This Side of Paradise is also about a Midwestern boy who falls in love with beautiful rich girls and tries to win their love.
The Motion Picture Industry grew throughout the 1920s. How is the movie industry of today similar to and different from the industry in the 1920s? Consider the movies (genres, costs standards), the stars, and the theaters. What has changed and what has stayed the same?
What is the invention of the talkie?
Prior to the 1920s, silent films were still the norm—the first “talkie” was made in 1923. In the 1920s, most towns had movie theaters and people loved to go to the theater to see Charlie Chaplin and other famous stars. In 1927, the Jazz Singer impressed many with Al Jolson’s singing and talking, so movie makers began to make more full-length films with sound.
Al Capone was one of the most notorious crime figures of the 1920s. Still he made an extensive effort to endear himself to the public. Write two examples about Capone—one about his criminal activities and another highlighting his positive contributions to society.
What are: Prostitution, bootlegging, and gambling? What is a Robin-hood-type figure, extravagant tipper, supported clothing/coal/food distribution centers (soup kitchens), and quick to lend money to those in need?
Compare and contrast the attempts to control alcohol consumption in the U.S. during Prohibition to attempts made today to control illegal drug use.
What is in the 1920s, alcohol was seen as the root of much crime and strife within families and today we have "Just Say No" for drugs believing them to be of the same caliber?
Trains and planes were both used for commercial passenger travel in the 1920s. Compare and contrast the typical passengers of planes and trains in the 1920s.
What are trains becoming more inviting to vacationers due to spending the night and dining in luxury and faster transport (more comfortable than planes in the 1920s), planes could not fly at night, had to fly around mountain ranges, and stop to refuel regularly, it was loud and unpressurized. Businessmen were frequent flyers.
Defend Fitzgerald’s right to the title of spokesperson for his generation.
What is coining "The Jazz Age"?
Fitzgerald coined the term “The Jazz Age” and certainly lived the lifestyle we all associate with the 1920s. He had lived through many of the experiences—war, success, desperation—that influenced his generation. He was a keen observer of others and did not hesitate to document what he saw and felt in his writing; however, his objectivity is certainly compromised by his proximity to his subjects.
Explain how jazz played a role in the struggle for social and legal equality in United States history during the twentieth century.
What is a representation of cultural struggle?
In the 1920s, jazz represented a cultural struggle between traditionalists and modernists. Jazz is universal—it is performed by people from all over the country and all walks of life; it brought music to the masses rather than the past conceptions of music belonging the upper class traditionalists.
Explain what happened in the trials of Sacco and Vanzetti? Include information about the crime they were accused of, their defense, the evidence against them, the verdict, and the effect of the trial on the American public.
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were accused of murder in a controversial case during the 1920s. Both were Italian immigrants and known anarchists and many people felt they had been unfairly convicted, based on politics, rather than evidence. They openly admitted their politics, in an effort by their defense lawyer to draw attention to the case, and perhaps show that their arrest was not based on the crime, but on their beliefs. Despite Sacco’s alibi and corroborating evidence, and that another man admitted to taking part in the murders, the state refused to reopen the case. Both men were executed in 1927, still claiming their innocence.
Prohibition was about more than getting Americans to stop drinking. What other social issues were linked to this movement? Who had the most interest in seeing the movement succeed?
What are moral corruption, prostitution, and gambling?
Who were Temperance Societies and religious organizations?
How did Henry Ford change the face of industry and manufacturing in the United States?
What is the assembly line?