This document provides context for F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby by listing various names given to the period from 1918 to 1939 when the novel is set. These names describe the mood and themes of the era, including the Jazz Age, Roaring 20s, Lost Generation, and Prohibition Era. The document also directs the reader to watch a discussion video that analyzes three key intellectual and cultural developments of the early 20th century period and how they illuminate aspects of the novel such as themes, characters, and setting.

1. The Great Gatesby: Context
Naming the Period
Listed below are some of the names given to the period between
approximately 1918 and 1939 and the generation who became
adults during it.
Annotate the names with your ideas about what this period might
have been like. You could start by thinking about: mood/tone,
themes, impressions of the people, impressions of the period.
Jazz Age
Roaring 20s
Bright Young Things
World War 1 Generation
Inter-war
Golden Twenties
Pre-Depression Era
Lost Generation
Prohibition Era
Golden Age of Hollywood
La Generation du Feu (Generation of Fire)
The Flapper Era

2. The Great Gatesby: Context
Watch the discussion of the three key intellectual and
cultural developments in the early twentieth century.
• What is the central point Tredell is making?
• Compare the points you identified with a partner, and
decide which of the following aspects of the novel
Tredell’s discussion is most helpful in illuminating:
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Plot events
Setting
Characterisation
Themes
Narrative voice and point of view
Structure
Language