By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
LIMESTONE — The nearly 100-year-old culture of the 1920s was alive and well on Saturday, Feb. 4 as Maine School of Science and Mathematics students attended the fifth annual Gatsby Ball.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
Doing the Charleston — a dance popularized in the 1920s — were, from left, Casey Jo Sander of Bangor, Ari Nitzel of Farmingdale, Madeline Blazedale of Lewiston, Nicole Dyer of Ellsworth and A.J. Langevin of Falmouth. Please see Limestone News for additional photos.
Created and organized by the magnet school’s humanities department (and the American literature teacher Jess Baker), the ball has not only become the cultural event of the season, it is helping students obtain a deeper understanding of the era and enables them to better grasp F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.”
The ball isn’t just about learning dances of the 1920s and dressing in period attire, participating students must establish a believable 1920s character for themselves to play during the ball and thoroughly strive to understand the times.
“Participating in the ball gives students the opportunity not only to conduct research about the 1920s but also live the event, and — often — experience the superficial relationships that were so common at social events during the time period,” Baker said. “By the time students begin reading the novel, they have a greater understanding of social class and the subtle ways that Fitzgerald criticizes his society after the first World War.”
Baker feels that understanding the 1920s is so important to understanding the novel that students spend two weeks discussing the era prior to The Gatsby Ball and four weeks after the gala reading the novel and writing a corresponding literary analysis of it.
Students and faculty don 1920s personas during The Gatsby Ball — whether it’s math teacher Pete Pederson playing the historic figure Charles Lindburgh (with the school’s executive director playing his manager) or student A.J. Langevin of Falmouth creating an original character to play; Langevin chose to be a working class lawyer from Boston named James Hamilton.
Every year, one student is given the honor and challenge of attending the ball as Jay Gatsby. This year, Gatsby was Patrick Blackstone of Augusta.
Flappers, lawyers, World War I veterans, famous authors — selecting attire for the ball is no small task, particularly as it must not only be true to the times, but to their character as well.
“[The Gatsby Ball] is kind of a hook that excites the kids about that time period and what was going on then,” explained Executive Director of MSSM Luke Shorty. “It helps polish their lens, so to speak, into looking at ‘The Great Gatsby’ in more detail.”
Like all other aspects of The Gatsby Ball, students have fully embraced the preparation that goes into a successful evening.
“The best part about Saturday was walking through the dorm in the morning and hearing the kids talk excitedly about the evening events, characters and costumes,” Baker said.
The ability of students to firmly commit to co-curricular events like The Gatsby Ball comprises just one facet of MSSM that allows the magnet school to maintain its unique (and highly successful) learning atmosphere.
“I like that [The Gatsby Ball] is an educational event that is outside of the classroom,” Shorty said. “It allows the students to express themselves creatively while still doing the historical research necessary to come to the ball prepared and it allows them to have a night of fun and excitement.”
When Baker coordinated the first Gatsby Ball five years ago, only the American literature students were invited to attend.
As Baker explained, the outpouring of student interest was so great that she opened it up to the entire school the following year, “and it has gotten bigger and more involved every year.”
“I think it’s truly a testament to our students and their inquisitiveness that we can do an event like this every year and watch it continue to grow and improve,” Baker added
