For my project I chose to read the book, Bright Young Things, by
Anna Godbersen. The book takes place in the 1920’s where the 18 year old main
characters, Cordelia Grey and Letty Larkspur, have run away from their boring
hometown of Union, Ohio, to glamorous New York City to make something of
themselves, similar to the dreams of many young girls of the roaring
20’s.1920’s New York City was filled with speakeasies, and when the girls
arrive and venture into a bar masked as a church, they come across the many
different aspects that made the 20s what they are known for. They taste their
first sips of alcohol, admire the dancer’s fringe dresses, and dance to jazz
music all the while letting go of their uptight past and embracing their new
free future. The plot of the story starts with Letty finding out that Cordelia
hadn’t actually moved with her to New York to make her a star. Cordelia
believes her father, whom she was taken away from after her mother’s death, is
the famous bootlegger, Darius Grey, and aims to find out. Letty, however,
becomes upset at this because she feels she doesn’t even know her best friend,
which causes an argument between the girls, and they decide to go separate
ways. When Cordelia is reunited with her father, you get an inside look on how
successful gangsters lived in the 20’s. Her home is a giant mansion on many
acres outside of the city, and her father is often gone on business. There are
also tunnels that lead to over a mile off the grounds where the alcohol is
exported, and you learn about the enemies gangsters would make over time.When
the story is being told from Letty’s point of view, you get an inside look on
the popular culture of the 20s. Since their separation, Letty has become a
full-blown flapper. She is a waitress at a speakeasy, she sings Jazz music with
the band, and she has cut her long hair to the popular bobbed style and wears
shorter, sparklier, dresses. She represents the frivolous side of the 20s.
The 1920's were an era of wild parties, music,
dancing, and technology, all of which have impacted America even today. The
rise in jazz music greatly impacted America. The Jazz Age is another term used
to describe the cultural edge of the 1920’s. Jazz’s roots originated mainly
from New Orleans, created by the African American population, combining the
elements of European and African music. This rise in jazz music also caused
dancing to rise in popularity, proving that jazz played a significant part in
cultural changes during this period. Cities heavily populated with anti
prohibitionists, like Chicago and New York, became hubs for Jazz music as up
and coming black artists were beginning to be featured in their clubs. The
roaring 20’s simultaneously concurred with the peak of women’s suffrage, so not
only were black male musicians performing, black females were performing as
well. This time is also important because of
prohibition and the 18th amendment being the only one in the history of the US
Constitution to be repealed.
