………
1925
(available in paperback from Scribner, 1995)
ONE OF THE MOST intensively analyzed and widely read works of American literature, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, set during Prohibition, remains a staple for students, adult readers, and book clubs alike.
Fitzgerald’s piercing social critique of the decadent life of the American upper class of the 1920s, and those with class aspirations, is told through the tangled lives of Tom and Daisy Buchanan; Daisy’s cousin, Nick Carraway, who moves next door to the Buchanans; and the mysterious Gatsby, whose life is consumed with the attainment of wealth and position.
Gatsby’s social ambitions are driven by fantasy, including his wish to be reunited with Daisy, with whom he was infatuated in their distant past, before World War I separated them. While Gatsby served overseas, Daisy married wealthy, arrogant Tom Buchanan. When Gatsby purchases an estate across the Long Island Sound from the Buchanans, the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby is renewed, leading to tragic consequences.
The Great Gatsby is about lives carelessly led, lives where the ease and decadence of wealth breed a disregard for the consequences of one’s actions.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s protagonist, Jay Gatsby, is a bootlegger, his fortune built on the illegal sale of alcohol. Alcohol consumption is widespread in The Great Gatsby, from Gatsby’s lavish parties to more informal gatherings. Wine, champagne, ales, and mixed drinks flow liberally in the novel.
When he was stationed at Kentucky’s Camp Zachary Taylor during World War I, Fitzgerald frequented the bar at the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, famous for its mint juleps. The Seelbach Hotel—renamed the Muhlbach in earlier editions of the novel—was immortalized in The Great Gatsby as the setting for Daisy and Tom Buchanan’s Louisville wedding.
Fitzgerald’s references to mint juleps in The Great Gatsby popularized the bourbon-and-fresh- mint cocktail. In the novel’s climactic scene, Tom, Daisy, Gatsby, Nick, and Daisy’s friend Jordan drive to New York City on a hot day and take a suite at the Plaza Hotel to cool off and drink a mint julep. Tom has recently recognized Daisy and Gatsby’s romantic involvement, and while waiting for drinks to arrive he confronts Gatsby about his past and his illegal activities. During the confrontation, Daisy begs Tom to open the whiskey so she can make him a mint julep.
An American invention, the mint julep’s origin is unknown. Legend has it that a Kentuckian boating on the Mississippi stopped along the banks of the river and picked fresh mint to add to his bourbon-and-water mixture. The drink has become an integral part of Kentucky culture. It is the official drink of the Kentucky Derby and is traditionally served in silver or pewter julep cups.
6 fresh mint leaves 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) bourbon 2 tablespoons Simple Syrup (see below) 3 whole ice cubes |
Crushed ice Soda water Mint sprig for garnish |
Bruise mint leaves gently between your fingers and mix with bourbon and Simple Syrup in a glass. Add whole ice cubes and stir. Let stand for several minutes.
Strain the mixture into a julep cup or other tall glass filled with crushed ice. Top with soda water and a mint sprig.
Yield: 1 drink
1 cup sugar 1 cup water |
Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat and gently simmer 5 minutes until syrupy, stirring frequently. Cool. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Yield: About 1¼ cups
For more on mint juleps, see p. 315.
To keep connected with friends from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Nina Palmer formed an online Classics Book Club after graduating. “It’s proved to be a great way to stay in touch and continue the learning process together,” says Palmer, who adds that friends and colleagues of members were invited to join as well.
The Great Gatsby was the group’s first reading selection. Although the novel was set in the 1920s, the story was relevant to their lives. Palmer says members, all in their early to midtwenties and relatively new to the working world, were fascinated by the social order portrayed in The Great Gatsby. “Fitzgerald provided an excellent portrait of upper-class society and class structure,” says Palmer. “Unfortunately, we still live in a society where our job defines who we are, whether you are white collar or blue collar. Nick, the narrator, has an outsider’s view of the high-society people he meets, and he sees how materialistic and superficial they are. It’s very different from the traditional values he grew up with in the Midwest.
“Many of us feel like observers, too, and we related to Nick,” adds Palmer. “We didn’t grow up in the cities where we currently live. Nick returns to his native Midwest at the end of the novel, and those of us from Michigan think we will eventually go back, too.”
In Scranton, Pennsylvania, the Albright Memorial Library selected The Great Gatsby for its Scranton Reads program. The program, designed to engage the entire community in reading and discussing a novel, offers lectures, book discussions, and special events around a selected work.
The library’s Great Gatsby Kickoff Party attracted five hundred readers from the Scranton community. “We tried to be as authentic as possible,” says Fran Garvey, who coordinated the program for the library. Period costumes, a display of antique cars, live flappers, and a jazz group contributed to the Roaring Twenties ambience. At a vintage bar, guests enjoyed martinis, whiskey sours, and Rob Roys, all popular in the 1920s.
Many community groups joined in the festivities by preparing thematic foods. Among the groups participating was BEST, an after-school program for middle-schoolers in Scranton. The students researched foods mentioned in The Great Gatsby, as well as foods popular in the 1920s, including Junior’s New York–style cheesecake, tea sandwiches, crudités with Caesar-salad-dressing dip, and sugar cookies.
The Boston-Area Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Book Group prepared an elegant buffet for their discussion of The Great Gatsby, with oysters on the half shell, chocolate mousse, an assortment of cheeses and crackers, wine, and, of course, champagne. “I passed a seafood store on the way home and thought we had to have oysters,” says meeting host Marshall Sikowitz.
