Text
Connections
In The
Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald says of Tom and Daisy: “They had spent a year in
France for no particular reason, and then drifted here and there unrestfully
wherever people played polo and were rich together” (Fitzgerald 6). Some time
after World War I, the author had spent a few years in France, as he was
disillusioned by the war and was frightened because the war had not improved
the safety of the world, as President Wilson claimed it would – it only caused
unimaginable death and destruction. For this reason, several artists and
writers moved to other countries, mainly France, and were deemed the “lost
generation.” This text-to-world connection reveals that he may have been
mirroring his own life in the description of Tom and Daisy’s life, and by using
the words “drifted” and “unrestfully,” he could possibly have been conveying
his own feelings of despair about life at the time he wrote the novel.
Another text-to-world connection can be made
from Wolfsheim’s “fix[ing] of the World’s Series back in 1919” (73). In
reality, the World Series fix of 1919, sometimes known as the “Black Sox”
scandal, was financed by a gang leader and led by a gambler, who is supposed to
be Wolfsheim’s counterpart. Several members of the White Sox team agreed to
throw several games in order to lose the Series due to their hatred of the team
owner, who they claimed did not pay them enough. Regarding Wolfsheim’s
fictional role in the fix, Nick states, “It never occurred to me that one man
could start to play with the faith of fifty million people…” (73). By making
Wolfsheim the mastermind of the World Series fix and not of some other scandal,
Fitzgerald makes him even more notorious because the act had an impact on such
a vast amount of people. This event also would have been very well-known
because it happened around the period that the novel took place, so it makes
sense that Fitzgerald would have included it. He also may have wanted to emphasize
the regular deceit and gambling that surrounded city and social life.
Miss Elsanadi,
ReplyDeleteYour text connections have proven to be insightful, proving to the readers of your blog that you not only understand the novel, but also have a clear and explicit understanding of history. Your first text connection that you have a clear understanding for the author's purpose of writing this novel, and your second text connection demonstrates how you figured out some of the ways the novel relates to what has happened in American life. In my opinion, your quote of Nick saying, “It never occurred to me that one man could start to play with the faith of fifty million people…” (73), also proves to be significant within the way people thought of themselves during the time period. In the midst of the Great Depression, many American people considered themselves to be unimportant. Though Nick is referring to a scandal, he demonstrates that everyone has value and that one person can make a difference. Overall, your two text connections proved to be insightful and delightful.