Week 4: Connector

During the last two chapters of the Great Gatsby, it seemed more difficult to find connections between the book and history. I decided to research Gatsby’s characteristics and his relation to other prosperous people within this time period of the 1920s. I found a man named Al Capone.

Source

Al Capone was involved in gambling and bootlegging within a gang in Chicago. Jay Gatsby was accused in being involved in scandalous crimes such as those listed for Al Capone. For instance, Gatsby states, “Meyer Wolfsheim? … He’s the guy who fixed the World Series back in 1919.” When Nick question why Wolfsheim wasn’t caught, Gatsby just implies that the police “can’t get him” because he is a “smart man” (112-118). Throughout the book, Gatsby is secretive and it is obvious that he knows situations that must not be told.

Through his young years, Al Capone was not very wealthy. As the prohibition movement began in the 1920s, Al Capone gained prosperity through his bootlegging businesses. Gatsby was also poor growing up and gained wealth his own way. Many American were amazed by Al Capone’s image as many are of Gatsby’s. These two hold similar traits that connect as the book continues. At the final chapter of life, Al Capone and Gatsby both face a rather tragic end.

Source

I also discovered another small connection between Gatsby and religion. People have assumed that Fitzgerald has intended Gatsby to be illustrated as Christ. For instance, there are rumors questioning his gain in wealth and prosperity as there has been for Christ. Also, his “mass” or gathering of people to celebrate the idea of life would be his parties. They are very symbolic in his character and what he preaches. As for his death, Gatsby is in his bathing suit as Christ had been stripped during his passion. Finally, Gatsby embraces his death just like Christ. This was just a small connection I found interesting and hoped you would as well!

Thank you, Maxine Kelley

Al Capone

Religion

April 30, 2016 1

Week 2: Connector

“Rosy” Rosenthal Murder

(LEFT ROSENTHHAL, RIGHT BECKER)

When Gatsby and Nick meet Wolfshiem for lunch, he says ,”I can’t forget so long as I live the night they shot Rosy Rosenthal there..”. Upon further investigation, I discovered that this was a real historical event in 1912.

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Historical Context:

During the era of prohibition, New York’s Tammany Hall was a center of corruption run by Irish politicians. At Tammany Hall bootlegging, gambling and prostitution thrived. This was enabled by police officers who tool bribes in exchange for them overlooking the illegalities. A key leader in Tammany Hall at the time was Arnold Rothstein whom Fitzgerald renames Meyer Wolfsheim in the novel.

Events of the Murder:

Mr.Herman Rosenthal opened a casino on March 20, 1912. About a month after the opening Lieutenant Becker raided the casino to investigate the illegal activity as ordered by his boss Rhineland Waldo. This angers Rosenthal who had an illegal agreement with Becker to overlook the illegal activities, so Rosenthal makes public Lieutenant Becker’s corruption. As a result, Rosenthal was set to testify at Becker’s trial. However, at 2 am on July 16, 1912 Rosenthal was gunned down outside of a hotel by Lieutenant Becker. As a result, Becker was executed and this affair became a widely know police coruption case.

Significance Historically:

As a result of this case, the entire Tammany Hall corruption scandal was exposed. It also brought out the truth about the corruption in the New York Police Department.4

Significance to the Novel:

Fitzgerald is referencing this historical event in order to show what kind of people Gatsby is associated with. He is meeting for lunch with a notorious mobster who is committing crimes during the prohibition era. Gatsby has not been completely truthful with Nick. Wolfsheim even accidentally implicates himself when he confuses Nick with someone whim might be interested in doing illegal business with him. This puts the reader into the historical perspective and allows them to further understand Wolfsheim and Gatsby’s involvement.

New York Times Article: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/100-years-after-a-murder-questions-about-a-police-officers-guilt/?_r=0

Tamany Hall Info :http://www.history.com/topics/tammany-hall

April 14, 2016 0

Week 1: Connector

The 1920’s are known for being a turning point in American society, filled with large social and economic changes spreading throughout the country. And in The Great Gatsby, we begin to see Fitzgerald make reference to these historical changes and locations to make the setting of the novel historically accurate. Here are just examples I was able to find.

First off, I noticed was the location of the novel begins in Long Island, specifically the West and East “eggs”. I thought it was weird to describe something as an “egg”, so I took it to Google Maps to see if these bodies of land were real or just something to add to the story. And sure enough, they’re there.

As the story goes on, Nick eventually meets a girl names Jordan Becker. Upon first seeing Jordan, Nick describes things about her like the short length of her hair, the slenderness of her body, etc. Right after that, one of the first things Jordan says to Nick is that she “hates careless people”, making herself look far less feminine compared to Daisy’s giggly and lighthearted nature. I’ve researched women in the 1920’s and found that Jordan actually fits the mold of the majority of women in the time frame of the novel. Most women were a lot more vocal about their opinions and beliefs because of the rise of gender equality in the 20’s, giving more women a voice in society. Along with that, more women began to take on more of a boyish figure thanks to their thin bodies and short cut hair. Jordan is described with all of these attributes, making the novel more correct to it’s time.

Finally, one of the last big moments that stuck out to me was Tom’s apparent racism. This came to mind when he said “It’s up to us, who are the dominant race, to watch out or these other races will have control of things.” Now clearly this isn’t even questionable racism, but it took me by surprise because in my mind the reign of white supremacy seemed far before the 1920’s. So, I looked up the history of the Ku Klux Klan and found that the KKK had hit it’s peak in the 1920’s, with nearly 15% of the U.S. population affiliating themselves with the Klan. A disturbing fact nonetheless, Tom’s opinions reflect the time period that Fitzgerald was portraying accurately.

Since our group only read the first two chapters for our reading this week, there wasn’t too much for me to choose from in drawing connections to real life from the novel. Although, with the information given, so far Fitzgerald has created a setting that’s both historically accurate and interesting to read. I’m interested to see where this story goes and if Fitzgerald stays true to his accuracy of the 1920’s.

Sincerely,

Steven