Historical Highbrow

Historical Highbrow

~Desire Ford~

As the Historical Highbrow, it is my job to identify pieces of the text that depict the lifestyle of the "Roaring Twenties" and compare them to real-life examples from the time period that support the quotes as elements of this historical time period.

Wall Street

"Everybody I knew was in the bond business, so I supposed it could support one more single man" (Fitzgerald 3).

Stock Market Invincible

The stock market was booming during most of the 1920s, mostly due the fact that many people believed that buying and selling stock subsequently was a quick way to get rich. Nick Carraway, like many others, believed that there's "no biz like 'bond' biz." "New technologies...led to a vibrant consumer culture, stimulating economic growth," which made the 1920s a very prosperous decade up until the stock market crashed ("American Economy").

Prohibition

"He and Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That's one of his little stunts. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him" (Fitzgerald 133). 

U.S. is Voted Dry

In January 1919, the 18th Amendment, which banned the manufacturing and selling of alcohol, was ratified and put into effect the following January. "The illegal production and sale of liquor" was known as "bootlegging" ("Prohibition"). Tom is saying that Gatsby and Wolfsheim are selling alcohol illegally, which was a commonly done during the Prohibition Era.

Automobiles

"The cars from New York are parked five deep in the drive, and already the halls and salons and verandas are gaudy with primary" (Fitzgerald 40).

Chevy 1920's

When Nick says that cars are parked "five deep in the drive," he alludes to the popularity of automobiles during the "Roaring Twenties." In the early 1920s cars were considered to be "affordable luxuries" due to the option of using credit, but by the end of the decade "they were
practically necessities" ("The Roaring Twenties").

Women and Fashion

"The sister, Catherine, was a slender, worldly girl of about thirty, with a solid, sticky bob of red hair, and a complexion powdered milky white" (Fitzgerald 30).

Flappers

The fashion of the 1920s is perhaps one of the most popular aspects of the "Roaring Twenties." Like Catherine, many women back then  were sporting "shorter hair, make-up" and "different styles of dress" ("1920's Womens Fashion). These women, usually referred to as "flappers," would also partake in smoking, drinking, and dancing.

Dancing

 "Daisy and Gatsby danced. I remember being surprised by his graceful, conservative fox-trot -- I had never seen him dance before" (Fitzgerald 105).

The "Roaring Twenties" became notorious for its many dancing crazes, such as the Foxtrot, the Tango, and the Charleston. Young people loved the closer contact they had with their dance partners and the ragtime feel to the dances. The new dances were often seen as "an opportunity to release pent up emotions created by the restricted lifestyles forced on the public by the war effort" and "optimistic like the 1920s themselves" ("1920's Dances"). 

Works Cited

"1920's Dances." 1920's Dancing. 1 Jan. 2012. Web. 7 Nov. 2014.

"1920's Fox Trot." YouTube. YouTube. Web. 7 Nov. 2014.

"1920s Womens Fashions." 1920's Womens Fashions. 2012. Web. 7 Nov. 2014.

"American Economy in the 1920s: Consumerism, Stock Market & Economic Shift." Education-

             Portal. Web. 8 Nov. 2014.

Chevy 1920's. 1923. Chicago, IL. Web. 6 Nov. 2014

Flappers. N.d. The Christinedom.com. Web. 8 Nov. 2014

"Prohibition." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 1 Jan. 2009. Web. 5 Nov. 2014.

Stock Market Invincible. 1929. Chicago. Web. 7 Nov. 2014

"The Roaring Twenties." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 1 Jan. 2010. Web. 5 Nov. 2014.

U.S. Is Voted Dry. 1919. Westerville, Ohio. The American Issue. Vol. 26. Westerville: n.p., 1919. 4.                Print.