The Great Gatsby - the Ku Klux Klan
The Great Gatsby - The Ku Klux Klan
The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, provides a reflection on the societal issues and attitudes of a modernist, post-war era. The “Roaring Twenties” was an age of prosperity, consumerism and liberalism that led to unprecedented economic growth and significant changes in culture and lifestyle. The right to vote redefined women’s roles and gave rise to a “new breed” known as the flapper, that drank, wore excessive makeup, and flaunted her disdain for conventionalism. The introduction of prohibition led to an increased demand for black market alcohol and bootlegging, thereby providing a financial basis for organized crime. Despite the progression, the 1920s was an era of social tensions between the “new age” individual and those who held traditionalist beliefs. The fear of mass migrations and resulting job security, in conjunction with isolationist and anti-immigration policies in the wake of WWI, gave rise to xenophobic attitudes and the revival of extremist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan.
The Ku Klux Klan was founded in 1866 by former confederate soldiers in response to reconstruction policies following the civil war. The Klan sought to abolish equality and restore white supremacy by intimidating African Americans into subservience, through the use of extrajudicial methods. Members worked in the dead of night, raiding homes and kidnapping civilians. They adopted the semblance of a ghost, donning white robes and conical masks in order elicit fear and avoid recognition. The Klan staged political riots and mass murders aimed at curbing education and voting rights, in order to reestablish control. Two years after it’s creation, Klan activity ceased, as Southern states began to pass anti-Klan legislations and the federal grand jury deemed the Ku Klux Klan to be a “terrorist organisation”.
The revival of Klan activity in 1915 was fueled by two separate, yet equally key events. The release of a white-supremacy
The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, provides a reflection on the societal issues and attitudes of a modernist, post-war era. The “Roaring Twenties” was an age of prosperity, consumerism and liberalism that led to unprecedented economic growth and significant changes in culture and lifestyle. The right to vote redefined women’s roles and gave rise to a “new breed” known as the flapper, that drank, wore excessive makeup, and flaunted her disdain for conventionalism. The introduction of prohibition led to an increased demand for black market alcohol and bootlegging, thereby providing a financial basis for organized crime. Despite the progression, the 1920s was an era of social tensions between the “new age” individual and those who held traditionalist beliefs. The fear of mass migrations and resulting job security, in conjunction with isolationist and anti-immigration policies in the wake of WWI, gave rise to xenophobic attitudes and the revival of extremist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan.
The Ku Klux Klan was founded in 1866 by former confederate soldiers in response to reconstruction policies following the civil war. The Klan sought to abolish equality and restore white supremacy by intimidating African Americans into subservience, through the use of extrajudicial methods. Members worked in the dead of night, raiding homes and kidnapping civilians. They adopted the semblance of a ghost, donning white robes and conical masks in order elicit fear and avoid recognition. The Klan staged political riots and mass murders aimed at curbing education and voting rights, in order to reestablish control. Two years after it’s creation, Klan activity ceased, as Southern states began to pass anti-Klan legislations and the federal grand jury deemed the Ku Klux Klan to be a “terrorist organisation”.
The revival of Klan activity in 1915 was fueled by two separate, yet equally key events. The release of a white-supremacy