The 1920s
Nick and Gatsby both participated in this major world event which preceded the "roaring 20s."
What is World War I?
This word for a person who lives outside their native country could be used to describe Fitzgerald and his wife.
What is expatriate?
The decay and dehumanization of the poor could be represented by this location in the novel.
What is the Valley of Ashes?
This newcomer to New York shares a hometown with Pope Leo XIV!
Who is Nick Carraway?
This character speaks the line, "The idea is if we don't look out the white race will be—will be utterly submerged. It's all scientific stuff; it's been proved."
Who is Tom Buchanan?
This alternate title for the "roaring 20s" was inspired by the music of the Harlem Renaissance, which gained widespread appeal with mainstream audiences in spite of growing racial tensions in the country.
What is the Jazz Age?
F. Scott Fitzgerald had a rocky friendship with this fellow writer, who is known for A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea.
Who is Ernest Hemingway?
This blue-eyed observer is described as an "oculist."
Who is Dr. T.J. Eckleburg?
This character is the first to reveal the Daisy and Gatsby's history to Nick.
Who is Jordan Baker?
This character speaks the line, "I told her she might fool me but she couldn't fool God. You may fool me, but you can't fool God."
Who is George Wilson?
This word for a modern, partygoing woman of the 1920s could be used to describe Jordan Baker.
What is a flapper?
Fitzgerald experienced a situation similar to Gatsby's when he was told "rich girls don't marry poor boys" by the family of this woman, who would eventually become his wife nonetheless.
Who is Zelda Fitzgerald?
When he finally wins over Daisy, Gatsby loses the significance of this "enchanted object."
What is the green light?
This character is a poor boy from South Dakota (real name).
Who is James Gatz?
This character speaks the line, "I married him because I thought he was a gentleman... I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn't fit to lick my shoe."
Who is Myrtle Wilson?
The 18th amendment ushered in this era of American history, during which dishonest businessmen like Gatsby could make their fortunes bootlegging.
What is Prohibition?
F. Scott Fitzgerald did not experience wide commercial success for The Great Gatsby during his lifetime, but it would later become incredibly popular after it was distributed to soldiers during this major world event.
What is World War II?
When Jordan Baker remarks that she finally met another "careless driver," she is not referring to her friend who literally committed vehicular manslaughter, but to this character whose reckless driving is merely metaphorical.
Who is Nick Carraway?
This acquaintance of Gatsby's fixed the 1919 World Series.
Who is Meyer Wolfsheim?
This character speaks the line, "He had a big future before him, you know. He was only a young man but he had a lot of brain power here."
Who is Gatsby's father/Mr. Gatz?
This group of expatriate authors including F. Scott Fitzgerald were known for works expressing disillusionment with traditional Western ideals.
What is the Lost Generation?
F. Scott Fitzgerald was named after this distant cousin of his, who was famous for writing "The Star-Spangled Banner."
Who is Francis Scott Key?
This color associated with Gatsby's car goes from representing wealth to representing death, tying together the idea of money with destruction.
What is yellow/gold?
This mentor of Gatsby's lost his life and fortune to Ella Kaye.
Who is Dan Cody?
This character speaks the line, “Let us learn to show our friendship for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead."
Who is Meyer Wolfsheim?