#flathal #flatstanley #gatsby #fscottfitzgerald
The party is named after a character named Jay Gatsby from a famous book. In the story, Mr. Gatsby was a man who wanted to get the attention of a friend he hadn’t seen in a long time.
To try and get her to visit, he threw the biggest, shiniest, and loudest parties the world had ever seen. He had fireworks, live jazz bands, and thousands of guests dancing in sparkly outfits until the sun came up.
The story takes place in 1922, and truly captures the feel of the 1920s — perhaps because F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote it in 1924. Imagine, almost exactly 100 years ago The Great Gatsby was a brand new book in stores.
Now, 100 years later, when people have a ‘Gatsby Night’, they are pretending to be at one of Jay Gatsby’s giant, fancy parties with 1920s music and costumes.
Do you think the author imagined 100 years later a version his character’s parties would still be taking place?
The Flat Friends did their best to fit in with the formal wear and theme. Men in tuxedos with black bow ties were looking very dapper! They escorted women with sparkly headbands with feathers in them, just like the “flappers” from the 1920s used to wear, and really long strings of fake pearls doubled up around their necks. The onboard band played dancing music for hours! Would you have joined in? Tried dancing the Charleston?
Sometimes, when we are told to read a book, it is tempting to groan and ask “why?”
The Great Gatsby is read by a LOT of High School and College students, for many reasons. But it might be hard to imagine that the adults traveling with the Flat Friends picked up The Great Gatsby from the library after the party. They curled up to read, like they were sitting down to visit with an old friend. Having just felt the time come alive, it was fun to re-read a book they had not read in years.
Is there a book or story you used to enjoy? Why not read it again now, and see if you still connect to it. Maybe, now that you are older, you will find additional wisdom in those pages… or simply appreciate the writing.
Is there a picture book you loved when you were little? Try reading it again now that you are a ‘big kid’ reader. Do you notice anything new in the pictures or the words?
Gatsby Night Got The Flat Friends Curious
Flat Hal picked up “What Were The Roaring Twenties?” from his local library for an impromptu book club. He and Flat Halena took turns reading on a tablet and sharing their discoveries with one another.
The Jazz Age featured music fueled by improvisation and “in the moment” creativity.
Flappers set aside heavy, cumbersome clothes in favor of lighter dresses that swirled when they danced!
As a decade, the twenties seemed to capture every aspect of life. American Women gained the right to Vote! Men who returned from World War I, and survived the Spanish Flu epidemic, found new careers. Farms struggled as the country’s needs changed. Industry moved from supporting a war effort back to peacetime production.
More and more households had a radio (TVs were still in the future but sound was being added to motion pictures— talkies were a hit!). And thanks to Ford and his assembly line, cars became affordable for the average person… with the help of credit and installments.
But some of these steps forward were coming too fast for people to fully understand. Every choice has consequences, and unfortunately some of these choices made in the 1920s led to The Great Depression.
Flat Hal and Flat Halena learned a lot of new words along with the history they discovered in this fun little book.
