Lit FQ 11-12

Who drew the iconic blue cover to The Great Gatsby?

• Baz Luhrmann

• John Dillinger

• F. Scott Fitzgerald

• Francis Cugat

• Russell Patterson

Answer explanation

The iconic cover of The Great Gatsby, illustrated by Francis Cugat, features a dark blue-black sky, bright neon lights, and the floating lips and eyes of a mysterious woman. Alongside film adaptations and themed parties, this cover has helped make The Great Gatsby and the 1920s remain culturally relevant. [10]

Greil Marcus celebrated The Great Gatsby for being a(n)

• critique of American capitalism

• exploration into prohibition

• discussion of post-war trauma

• beautiful romantic tragedy

• universal cultural symbol

Answer explanation

Cultural critic Greil Marcus said that The Great Gatsby permeated America’s “iconographic lingua franca.” In other words, it is famous not just as a novel, but also as a symbol of the 1920s, that’s widely recognizable. [10]

Which of the following terms did F. Scott Fitzgerald coin?

• “Flapper Era”

• “Harlem Renaissance”

• “Jazz Age”

• “Roaring Twenties”

• “Lost Generation”

Answer explanation

C The Great Gatsby is set in the 1920s, more commonly known as the “Roaring Twenties” or the “Jazz Age”. F. Scott Fitzgerald coined the term “Jazz Age”. [10]

Which of the following terms is NOT a widely recognizable symbol of its time?

• “flower children”

• “Beatnik”

• “hippie”

• “Flapper”

• “Sheik”

Answer explanation

The terms “Sheik” and “Flapper” described stylish young men and women of the 1920s. These figures, like the “hippies” and “flower children” of the 1960s, became lasting symbols of a cultural moment. [10]

Where there’s smoke there’s fire depicts a(n)

• gangster

• speakeasy

• wildfire

• young woman

• brewer

Answer explanation

Russell Patterson’s illustration Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire portrays a fashionable flapper smoking a cigarette. Such images captured the shifting aesthetics and social behaviors of young people in the 1920s. [11]

Which of the following topics did popular 1920s literature NOT typically explore?

• changing social environments

• the violence of World War 1

• diversifying populations

• unconventional sexual relationships

• rapidly evolving technologies

Answer explanation

Literature of the 1920s often addressed major themes in American life, including the trauma of World War I, the rise of new technologies, changing social norms, and increasing cultural diversity. [11

To interpret The Great Gatsby fully, it is important to understand

• how World War 1 shaped the Lost Generation

• how the economic policies of the 1920s led to the Great Depression

• what made the 1920s “roar”

• how Fitzgerald’s rise to fame affected his politics

• who rose to power under Prohibition in New York

Answer explanation

F. Scott Fitzgerald was both a chronicler of and a participant in the 1920s. Understanding the historical context helps explain what he chose to include in The Great Gatsby, how he wrote it, and how readers responded at the time. [11]

Which of the following social norms changed rapidly in the 1920s?

• how people behaved at parties

• how people consumed the news

• what slang was used by young

• dining etiquette used by the upper-class

• the ways people engaged with popular media

Answer explanation

The 1920s are famous for their distinctive aesthetics and symbolism. This cultural recognizability stems from rapid changes in fashion, social behavior, and national values. [11]

Why was the U.S. economy at the end of the 1920 so bad?

• The instability of the stock market scared many from investing in small businesses

• Mass military spending fueled large scale inflation

• Pollution and poor air quality deterred many from doing business in American cities

• Rising crop disease made food scarce for many Americans

• International affairs caused the United States to stop large-scale trade with Europe

Answer explanation

The United States entered World War I on April 6, 1917, triggering a massive increase in government spending. After the war, this contributed to inflation—prices rose by 80% between 1916 and 1920.. [11]

In the 1920s car ownership grew by a factor of

• 4

• 5

• 1.5

• 2

• 3

Answer explanation

Prices began to fall after the inflation experienced right before the 1920s, and consumers gained more spending power. This economic success led to a rise in the automobile industry as car ownership tripled in the 1920s. [11]