History of 1920's America

Myrtle's character can be shown through a series of different images. These images aren't just of the character herself, but of the location in which she lives, her styling, the era, the type of woman, comparison between her and other women of the novel, emotions and expressions and much more. Here are a body of images that I have collected which help piece together the background for the character.

1920's America

The novel is set in t 1922. the time of the roaring 20's which was a huge era in the United States. America began to be at its weathiest during the 1920's. It was a time for rich business men who seemed earn healthy amounts of money and always had some spare cash to spend. There were a few differnet types of women in the 1920's. There were the upper class, who were lucky enough to have married into the wealth. There were then the poorer women who tried to be like the rich women, but had their obvious differences such as tanned skin, poor clothing and makeup and of course behavior. These two women represent both Daisy and Myrtle.

FLAPPER GIRLS:

It was also the time of flapper girls. Flappers were a "new breed" of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior. Flappers were seen as brash for wearing excessive makeup, drinking, treating sex in a casual manner, smoking, driving automobiles and otherwise flouting social and sexual norms.



Flapper Girls
'The Great Gatsby' 2013 Film Version. 



THE AMERICAN DREAM:

Though all of its action takes place over a mere few months during the summer of 1922 and is set in a circumscribed geographical area in the vicinity of Long Island, New York, The Great Gatsby is a highly symbolic meditation on 1920s America as a whole, in particular the disintegration of the American dream in an era of unprecedented prosperity and material excess. Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values, evidenced in its overarching cynicism, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure. You can see this through each of the characters by looking at their behaviour. This is something that has interested me when looking into Myrtle because she is looking for the American Dream, and hoping to receive it through Tom. However, the end of her life is too soon coming and the American Dream never truley happens for any of the characters, showing a lot of emotion and pain that the novel actually portrays.

SOCIAL HIERARCHY:

The period between the end of the First World War and the beginning of the Great Depression is sometimes called the "Jazz Age" or the "Roaring Twenties." It was a time of great prosperity and material wealth, but this hedonistic fervor masked underlying social upheaval with class changes being marked among minorities, immigrants, unionized labor and the middle class.

There has always been three obvious levels of class in the world: Upper Class, Middle Class and Lower Class. The Great Gatsby portrays the jump between the Upper Class and the Working Class. Most of the characters are from the Upper Class, living with wealth, money and everything they dream for. However, Myrtle and George are of the Working Class, which is a huge contrast.

George owns a run down garage, struggles to make ends meet and doesnt look lavish or wear expensive clothing. Myrtle is of the same background, but tries to be of the Upper Class, trying to dress expensively and turning her nose up at her poor husband. She has Tom for the money, so she doesnt see the need for George. She just wants to escape and become Daisy, which is her dream.



Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan.
The Great Gatbsy 2013 Film Version.
Status: Upper Class Woman



Isla Fisher as Myrtle Wilson.
The Great Gatsby 2013 Film Version
Status: Working Class



These two shots from the 2013 film version of The Great Gatsby are great to show the difference between class of the two characters. You can tell the status by posture, expressions, styling, colours, hair and makeup.

ROLES OF WOMEN IN SOCIETY:

There were different roles for women in society as I have already explain in the paragraphs above. However, something interesting to know is the difference between women's health which would show their class. Upper Class women were very pale because they never went out in the sunlight. When they did, they were always well covered and shaded. However, working women would have tanned skin because they were always outside. A woman with tanned skinned was a poor woman and this was instantly noticed. Fitzgerald shows a contrast in this though when he introduced Jordan's character. She is tanned because she is a golfer and therefore is always outside. This is interesting though because it then suggests that Jordan is in the middle of Daisy and Myrtle. She also represents the new woman which is a bit of a rebel woman who starts to do everything women never did before. These women are boyish, play sport, work for themselves and earn money, becoming more involved with the role of a man. This shows how the roles of women were beginning to change in the 1920's, as therefore so would the social status.

1920's MUSIC:
The 1920's was the era of the Jazz Age. Jazz music and dance was popular, but then resulted to and end when the Great Depression - when devestating rich and poor economic events disrupted the world. Jazz music is reflected upon with in the Great Gatsby quite regularly, linking with the music of Gatsby's parties and the large brass bands he had playing. It was the music for all social people, but the rich took it to another level when combining it with lavish parties. It was a time to get dressed up, look beautiful and be rich. However, the poor could also live by the life of the jazz age, taking into consideration the roles of Flapper Girls that danced at the parties, but also the idea of the radio and being able to listen to the music even if you couldnt socialise along side it. Listening to the theme of the music does associate you with happiness and wealth, as we can see in this short video of one of Gatsby's parties:

Gatsby's Party Scene - 1974 Film Version

1920's FASHION:

The 1920s is the decade in which fashion entered the modern era. It was the decade in which women first abandoned the more restricting fashions of past years and began to wear more comfortable clothes, such as skirts or trousers. Men also abandoned highly formal daily attire and even began to wear athletic clothing for the first time. The suits men wear today are still based, for the most part, on those worn in the late 1920s. The 1920s are characterized by two distinct periods of fashion. In the early part of the decade, change was slow, as many were reluctant to adopt new styles. From 1925, the public passionately embraced the styles associated with the Roaring Twenties. These styles continue to characterize fashion until early in 1932. This is reflected within the characters of The Great Gatsby - Daisy wore the lavish gowns, Myrtle wore the two piece items, and Jordan wore the more boyish 'new women' style of trouser suits and sports wear.

Upper Class Male Fashion - 'Gangster'.

Working Class Male Fashion

The changing styles within women's fashion.

The makeup and hair of this time period was very memorable.

The 1920s was a time of fabulous fashion and beauty – the iconic looks of the ’20s have been repeated over and over in the years since then. These classic beauty looks are fun to recreate, adding a touch of dramatic Old Hollywood to your modern day routine.

Finger Waving

In the ’20s, the makeup industry was relatively new, and women were just beginning to purchase cosmetics on a regular basis. Dark red lipstick was the hot ticket because it was the only color available. Mascara was far from today’s tube and wand combo — it came in a cake of wax that you added water to in order to create a paste you’d brush onto lashes with a small brush. The red lipstick was applied to line cupids bow of the upper lip - a seductive way of wearing the colour.

1920's Makeup

Cupids Bow Lips

POLITICAL EVENTS IN 1920's:
The 1920's was the end of the WW1. It was a few years after the end, which was actually in 1918. World War I changed America, or at least hastened the pace of change, and what we would say now was certainly for the better. It lead to a changed status for women. The 19th Amendment (adopted in 1920) guaranteed women the right to vote. Men had opposed women’s suffrage in part because they were afraid women would make prohibition their number one priority.  In 1920, men were no longer afraid giving the women the right to vote would lead to prohibition. Status also began to change with what you can wear and who you can talk to, because the country was showing a celebration and seeing a chance to move forward from war. The idea of Tom and Myrtles affair can represent this, because Tom is speaking to a lower class woman and associating with her. The fact that it was changing slowly though is also shown because it was still embarrassing to socialise completely with different class.

Prohibition was around, where alcohol was prohibiting the making, selling, possession, and consumption of alcoholic beverages. Prohibition, the most flouted law in history was repealed in 1933. This is where a lot of people got their money from, bootlegging alcohol, and considering Gatbsy got his money from bootlegging I think its a good link.

A good reference for prohibition and the bootlegging of alcohol is the 2012 film Lawless.
Here is a trailer of the movie:

 Lawless, 2012.
 
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL EVENTS IN 1920's:
 February 5, 1922 - Reader's Digest is founded and the first issue published by Dewitt and Lila Wallace. This is interesting because Myrtle was well known for reading her magazines, and links well considering this is to do with health, wealth etc.

May 20, 1927 - Charles Lindbergh leaves Roosevelt Field, New York on the first non-stop transatlantic flight in history.  He would reach Paris thirty-three and one-half hours later in the Spirit of St. Louis, his aircraft.  A ticker tape parade would be held in New York City after his return on June 13.

October 6, 1927 - The advent of talking pictures emerges. Al Jolson in the Jazz Singer debuts in New York City. Jolson was an American singer, comedian, and actor of Jewish descent.  He was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer, into jazz music which is referenced a lot through The Great Gatsby.

http://americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1920.html
I found this website helpful, its a timeline referencing all the events through from 1920-29, a prime time for the novel, which is set in 1922.

LIVING, SOCIAL AND EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS:

Social Problems:

People who were wealthy in America were extremely rich, but few people shared in this prosperity. Only 5 per cent of the American population owned a third of the wealth, while 42 per cent of the population were living below the poverty line.

Agriculture:

For many American farmers, life in the 1920s was a constant struggle against poverty. During the First World War, farmers had been encouraged to grow as much food as they could. They continued to do this in the 1920s until they had produced more cotton and wheat than they could sell.
As prices dropped, many farmers lived in unhygienic conditions in tin shacks, without electricity or running water. In 1929, when the average monthly income of a skilled manufacturing worker might be $140, farm labourers were earning only $49 a month.

 Industry:

 It was not all boom for American industries. Traditional industries such as coal and textiles did not prosper. In 1929, when the average monthly income of New York bricklayers might be $320, coalminers were earning only $103 a month. Also, during the 1920s, in response to American import tariffs on their products, many other countries put customs duties on American goods, which reduced American exports.

Living Conditions:

Living Conditions in 1920's American went from one extreme to the other. It was a great time to be rich, and when you were, you were able to live in the most extravagant houses with swimming pools, marble floors, plenty of rooms and of course, a whole neighbour hood of the same thing. The city of New York was made for the rich and the up and coming, becoming well lit and exciting.

1920's American Mansion

1920's American Mansion

Mansion Staircase

Interior of the Rich

Upper Class Transport

Upper Class Transport, New York City

Upper Class Lavish Street Parties, New York City

Upper Class Parties

However, you could also be a part of the other extreme. For these people, it wasnt the lavish life at all. It was the life of wooden huts and houses, dusty roads and smokey skies. Pollution from the city itself invaded these small valleys and towns surrounding the rich, making the poor the main sufferers. Things were damp, smelly and cold. Broken homes, run down businesses, vandalisd billboards and the aftermath of American gangsters in the prohibition.