Chapter Notes
 Point
of View – The way the authors allows the
reader to “see” and “hear” what is going on
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First person – The story is told from the perspective
of a single narrator
 Narrator
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– The person telling the story
Is the narrator reliable or unreliable?
How can one tell?
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Interactions with other characters
Judgments that fit our own
What does the character see as important?
What does the character reveal about himself?
 Voice
– The specific diction and tone that the
author chooses for the piece of writing
 Example:
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"Dearest reader, I humbly entreat you to eschew
the latest celebrity tittle-tattle and instead
devote your attention to diction and tone."
"Listen up! Drop the gossip magazine and get
with the diction/tone program!”
What’s the difference here?
 The
way that an author uses descriptive
language including dialogue to give a
character personality traits in a text.
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Indirect characterization – When an author uses
dialogue and actions to teach the reader
something about the character. (Example: You
learn through the characters speaking to one
another that one of them is lying. Therefore, you
judge that character is dishonest.)
Direct characterization – When an author tells
you about the character. (Example: The author
tells you what the character looks like.)
 Historical
Context – Time period in history
when a work take place
 Setting – The time and place where the
action occurs
 The historical context and setting plays an
important role in the plot, setting and
character development through out The
Great Gatsby – It already has!
Nick says…
 “The Carraways are something of a clan, and we
have a tradition that we are descendents from
the Duke of Buccleuch…”
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What does this say about Nick’s heritage? How does
this relate the setting?
“I lived at West Egg, the – well, less fashionable
of the two, though this is a most superficial tag
to express the bizarre and not a little sinister
contrast between them.”
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How does he feel about West Egg being the “less
fashionable”? Does he agree?
Why does he use “bizarre” and “sinister” to describe the
contrast between the two communities?
Flashback is when a story starts at a certain
place in time and then reverts to the past.
Example: The narrator (Nick) starts the novel
telling the reader that he is going to recount
the events that lead up to his
disillusionment. Then, he starts the story
from a past event (when he first moved to
West Egg).
An allusion is a reference to something that
the reader should already have in their frame
of reference.
Example: Nick refers to “New Haven” – This is
where Yale is located. I know this so I know
he went to college at Yale.
The author is alluding to something that he
assumes the reader already knows. It’s an
allusion!
A paradox is something that appears
contradictory in nature.
Example: Daisy – She throws the dinner party
with Nick and *seems* happy – Laughing,
teasing, relaxing…But really, she is unhappy
because she knows Tom is cheating on her.
Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts,
or literary devices that can help to
develop and inform the text’s major
themes.
**This always makes me think of interior
decorating!
Motifs in Gatsby to look for:
 Colors
 Cars/Driving
Theme = topic + author’s opinion on the topic
A Theme is the fundamental and often
universal idea explored in a literary work.
Topics for themes in Gatsby:
 Self
Discovery
 Hope
 Reality vs Illusion
 Realization of The American Dream