Hello, my name is Andrew Rodriguez, and today, I will be presenting on the Great Gatsby and the period of Modernism.

While studying the period of modernism, I began to notice that the 1920s was a period of rebellion. I then began to ask myself “out of all of the rebelling, what possible consequences could they be facing, and how does it impact our world today?” This question fueled my curiosity, and after some research I finally formed my essential question: what are the disadvantages of rebelling against social norms? Through my research, I found four examples of rebellion during the 1920s: smoking in public, teenagers and their parents, the generation gap, and the Ku Klux Klan.

In the 1920s, smoking was considered to be as declaring independence and freedom.
Taking advantage of this, cigarette companies began to target women.
Smoking was now accepted, and even encouraged, in society.
Many people began to smoke.

In the Great Gatsby, smoking is often offered as an ammenity.

Today, cigarette smoking poses as a real danger to our society.
Each year, about 140,000 women die of smoking-related illness in the United States. (Illinois 3)
This makes smoking the leading cause of preventable death and disease in women.
Nowadays who do not smoke are about 10 times less likely to develop lung cancer than women who smoke.
However, for both genders, the consequences of smoking involve nicotine addiction, respiratory problems, coronary artery disease, dental problems, nervousness, depression, and a tendency toward health damaging behavior.

The young generation of the 1920s were really the “first generation of teenagers to rebel against their parents and their parents’ traditional culture” (Jazz Age 1). Modernism brought about so many new inventions, including new styles of music. With new music came new fashions and fads that were new, exciting, and different. Girls started to wear long dresses with fringes called flapper dresses, and guys started to wear deeply cuffed pants. Along with new music and fads, there was also new styles of dancing. Beforehand, there was no real contact in dancing; girls always wore gloves, and never touched a guys’ skin. Now, there were new dances that required physical contact, such as the fox-trot and jitterbug.

In the Great Gatsby, Jay Gatz rebelled against his parents by running away from home in order to become someone of higher stature.

These feelings of individualism and self-expression carry on in our world today. Today, teenagers are even expected to rebel against their parents, just because of the reputation they have built for themselves. Teenagers rebel because they want to prove that they can do things that people say they cannot (Larson 7). They also are in need of independence, and just want to do things their way and want to do things for themselves. Because of the first generation to rebel against their parents, teenagers in modern day constantly do as well.

Along with the rebellion of teenagers in the 1920s, there was also a gap that was wedged between the older and younger generations. The younger generation thought that the older generation was older and outdated. On the other hand, the older generation thought that the younger generation was inexperienced and would drive America into the ground. With these opposing views, the generation gap just continued to grow wider and wider.

We never see old people at Gatsby’s party

Even though the generation gap between the older and younger generations is based on different things, it is still existent today. Studies show that both generations listen to similar music, dress a similar way, and like similar stuff. So what is this gap based on? While in the past, the generation gap was about dancing, music, and style, the modern gap is based on inclusivity, diversity, and power. Both generations now take different stands on political issues, and have different worldviews. Although both generation gaps are different, they are both evident.

Because the 1920s was a period of intolerance, religious, racial, and ethnic prejudices bubbled to the surface (Wallace 2). This intolerance led to the revival of the Ku Klux Klan, who came to be one of the most important social movements during the Modernist period. Out of all of the physical and emotional suffering the KKK brought, the KKK was most remembered for its bizarre costumes, strange rituals, and its symbol: a cross on fire. Although this group was seen as a rebellion, many eventually sympathized with it and shared its goals and ideals.

Tom is racist

The effects of the Ku Klux Klan is most strongly felt in the American political system. In a study by Cunningham, the counties that the Ku Klux Klan were active in are different than the counties they were not active in two ways. First, the counties with the Klan exhibit higher rates of violent crime than those without the Klan. Second, the areas with the Klan tend to vote more Republican than the other areas, mostly because the Klan was not democratic.
Although the Klan is still alive today, its existence in the 1920s impacted the political system today.

Modernism represents a period were people were constantly defining themselves by rebelling. Four examples of this include smoking, teenagers against their parents, the generation gap, and the Ku Klux Klan. While many would say rebellion is a good thing, the disadvantages of this should not be overlooked.