The Great Gatsby Webquest

The 1920's and the Jazz Age

Introduction

    The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays the life of the wealthy during the 1920s.  This era evokes images of flappers, raccoon coats, the Charleston, and Prohibition.  These images, however, reflect only a small part of life in this decade.

Task

    What events, people, and activities did Fitzgerald draw upon while writing The Great Gatsby?  Did Fitzgerald really depict what life was like during the 1920s? To get the most out of The Great Gatsby, you need to understand the culture of the time.  You job is to write a newspaper feature article on a topic assigned by your teacher from the list below. Click here for instructions for formatting a newspaper.  You will have one day in the library to do research and draft your article (draft must be turned in at the end of the period).  Your final draft must be completed outside of class and is due on December 1st for 2nd period and December 2nd for 3rd and 5th periods.   Note:  Your article will be critiqued by one of your classmates.

Process

    You must include:

• a title for your newspaper

• a headline for your story

• a date

• a by line

• an article that starts with a hook and discusses details that answer the five W's (who, what, when, where, why, and how).

• one picture or illustration with a caption

• your article should be 300-350 words long

Topics

Daily Life/Foods/Slang

• The Charleston

• Flagpole Sitting

• Mah Jongg

• Crossword Puzzles

• Music

• Radio

• Jazz

• Food & Beverages

• Beauty Pageants

• The Economy

Flappers/Fashions/Cars

• Describe the flappers. How did they behave?  Who were they?

• Describe fashionable female attire/accessories

• Describe fashionable men's attire.

• Describe the cars of the era.

Prohibition/Crime/Scandals

• Prohibition: When? When? Why?

• Speakeasies, Texas Guinan and ways people got around it.

• Izzy Einstein & Moe Smith

• Al Capone and organized crime

• St. Valentine's Day Massacre

• 1919 World Series

• Fatty Arbuckle

• KKK

Famous People/Famous Events/Noteworthy Inventions

• Harry Houdini

• Henry Ford

• Richard Byrd

• Rudolph Valentino

• "Shoeless" Joe Jackson

• Scopes Monkey Trial

• Leopold-Loeb case w/Clarence Darrow

• Lindbergh solo flight

• Women's suffrage

Resources

Please get the PGHS Library Web Links pink bookmark with the login and passwords you will need to search the following databases:

The following databases are linked on the PGHS library Research Resources page http://www.pghs.org/library/research.htm 

Click on Magazine Databases and the Pacific Grove Public Library and search in the History Research Center: US

Search The World Book Student Edition Online

Search in the Journey Back in Time database "Login to Archive" under National Archives/Records for actual Newspaper articles from the 20's.

Please go to Google or Bing after you have look at these databases.

Conclusion

   Through your research and your classmate's articles you should come to understand the world portrayed in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.  The world into which Fitzgerald takes you is an era filled with satire, burlesque, fantasy, and melodrama.  As you read, both the book and the articles written, you will begin to understand how the "American Dream" of the twenties was shaped.