Olivia McCrary Assignment 1

One of the many allusions made in Susan Ludvigson's "Inventing My Parents" is an allusion to F. Scott Fitzgerald.
F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic, The Great Gatsby, features a hopeful protagonist, Jay Gatsby, who creates his dream and fantasy out of a doomed situation. He doesn't let the fact that Daisy is living a separate life, married to someone else, stop him from wanting to repeat the past that he longs for. Over the course of the novel, he is aware things aren't going well, but he doesn't let go of his naive optimism. This theme of holding on to hope and joy despite all else is reflected throughout "Inventing My Parents."
The entire poem offers a strange feeling of hopefulness to a bleak situation. The context of the poem is not so hopeful. The very beginning makes this clear- "They sit...discussing...how this war will change them." The poem is set in 1942, during World War II. Yet, it only seems to provide a positive outlook on the setting. The poem is so oddly optimistic and lighthearted. The underlying trouble of the war is hinted at in the line, "Their coffee's getting cold." While this may be the case, "they hardly notice." The poem also mentions that they "disagree about the American Dream," but this is in no way a negative thing. The father's gestures are "declaring an open mind."
By alluding to F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ludvigson is able to further hint at this theme and meaning by adding a reference that many people will identify and understand.