2.1.2
1920s America
Test your knowledge with free interactive questions on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.
Roaring Twenties
The Great Gatsby is clearly set in the 1920s: an era sometimes labelled the ‘roaring Twenties’ and also the ‘Jazz Age’.
Reaction against World War One
- Some people regard the decade as a reaction against the gloom of World War One, when people became more secularised (i.e. they eschewed traditional Christianity and its moral codes), when they became more materialistic and when issues such as modern media, music and fashion started to influence society.
- Love and the way it was dealt with and explored by society also changed.
Age of Excess
- The result was that the 1920s was often regarded as something of an Age of Excess. This resulted in various clamp-downs in the next decade.
- In the United States of America, the 1930s witnessed the Great Depression and Prohibition.
Settings in The Great Gatsby
The novel is set in 1922 in the United States of America. The action takes places on the East Coast of America, close to New York City.
Macro (wider) settings
- Wider settings include:
- Long Island.
- East Egg.
- West Egg.
- The ‘Valley of the Ashes’.
- New York City.
Micro (smaller) settings
- Smaller settings include:
- Gatsby’s mansion.
- Wilson’s garage.
- Tom’s apartment.
- The Plaza Hotel.
- Central Park.
1Specification Overview
1.1Specification Overview
2Context
3Plot Summary
3.1Chapter One
3.2Chapter Two
3.3Chapter Three
3.4Chapter Four
3.6Chapter Six
3.7Chapter Seven
3.8Chapter Eight
4Character Profiles
4.3Daisy Buchanan
4.5Minor Characters
5Key Ideas
6Writing Techniques
6.1Structure, Genre & Narrative Voice
7Love Through the Ages - Thematic Analysis
7.1Love Through the Ages
Jump to other topics
1Specification Overview
1.1Specification Overview
2Context
3Plot Summary
3.1Chapter One
3.2Chapter Two
3.3Chapter Three
3.4Chapter Four
3.6Chapter Six
3.7Chapter Seven
3.8Chapter Eight
4Character Profiles
4.3Daisy Buchanan
4.5Minor Characters
5Key Ideas
6Writing Techniques
6.1Structure, Genre & Narrative Voice
7Love Through the Ages - Thematic Analysis
7.1Love Through the Ages
Practice questions on 1920s America
Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.
- 1What did Americans experience in the 1930s?Fill in the list
- 2Which were the 1920s NOT labelled as?Multiple choice
- 3In which decade is _The Great Gatsby_ set?Multiple choice
- 4Macro settings in _The Great Gatsby_:Fill in the list
- 5Micro settings in _The Great Gatsby_:Fill in the list
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