Jana Hvzdov

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The impossibility of meaningful relationship of Lost Generation people in

F. S. Fitzgeralds Great Gatsby
The post-World War I generation is generally called lost generation. The term lost
refers to the disillusionment that came right after World War I. On the one hand soldiers
coming home from war disappointed by their war experience and by the post-war generation.
On the other hand upcoming social changes giving rise to a new generation, especially to a
new type of women.
The clash of these two different worlds results in the impossibility of meaningful
relationship. To prove this idea I will focus on the relationship of Jay Gatsby and Daisy
Buchanan. Because these two characters perfectly fit in the Lost Generation and their
partnership shows the difference between these two worlds. I will talk about Jays and Daisys
different perception of life and different priorities which are the reasons why their love couldn
t have had a happy ending.
Annotated Bibliography:
1. Mangum, Bryant. F. Scott Fitzgerald in Context. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2013. p.476
This collection of original essays from forty international scholars depicts the
historical, social and cultural background of the 1920s and 1930s which influenced Fitzgerald
s writings including The Great Gatsby. His work is thus given into the context of Jazz Age
literary and artistic movements, historical and social contexts, popular and material culture in
the Jazz Age and the Depression era.
In my presentation I will mainly focus on the chapters Gender in the Jazz Age,
Postwar Flappers and Youth Culture. These three chapters are based on the description of
the social changes during the postwar period, especially the changing role of women and men.
Thus this source will help me to characterize Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby and their
perception of life.
2. Berman, Ronald. The Great Gatsby and the twenties. In: Ruth Prigozy (ed.) The
Cambridge Companion to F. Scott Fitzgerald (2001). p. 79 94
In this chapter Berman focuses on the background of American social and cultural
changes in the twentieth century and its influence on The Great Gatsby. He describes the
world of The Great Gatsby which is according to him a new social world. It is a world of
broken relationship, a world in which money and success are more than social responsibility.
Berman also compares Daisys and Jays values, dreams and goals of life connected to the
postwar period. Thus it is a relevant source for me.
3. Beidler, Philip D. The Great Party-Crasher: Mrs. Dalloway, The Great Gatsby, and the
Cultures of World War I Remembrance. War, Literature & the Arts: An International
Journal of the Humanities 25 (2013). p. 1 23
Beidlers essay is based on the influence of World War I on the literary war writings.
He let us look into the relations of mid-1920s society culture, old and new, select and vulgar,
tradition bound and brawlingly disordered. He focuses mainly on two works. The first is

Jana Hvzdov
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Virginia Woolfs Mrs. Dalloway and the second one is F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby.
I will pay attention just to the analysis of Fitzgeralds work.
Beidler describes Jay Gatsby as a man who suffers from the war-related mental
disorder. He tries to explain how this shell-shock influences Gatsbys behaviour and his
ability to cope with the changes of society and the changes of his love - Daisy Buchanan.
This source is relevant for me because it describes the relations during the post war period and
it analysis Gatsbys behaviour, dreams and goals influenced by war experience.