Grade 10 – F.S. Module
• Nick is the narrator, but he is not omniscient (he can't see everything), and
he's also very human and flawed.
• In other words, he's an unreliable narrator, sometimes because he's not
present for a certain event, other times because he presents the story out of
order, and finally because he sometimes obscures the truth.
• We must analyse Nick as a character, not just the narrator.
• We must also remember that we can only analyse OTHER characters
through Nick’s perspective
• Nick is both observant and judgemental – he believes he is a fair,
honest person, but also judges other characters without noting is own
faults.
• Nick is “within” and “without” NY society
• We can analyse Gatsby’s character
• We get a chronological order of events –
from man of mystery to lonely corpse …
• Jay Gatsby is the protagonist of the novel - he serves as the novel’s focal
point.
• Gatsby’s quest to win back Daisy incites all the action of the book, as well
as the tragic conclusion.
• Unlike Nick, who seems to be little more than an observer, Gatsby is clear
and determined about his goal. From the moment he first kissed Daisy,
Gatsby has aspired to attain her.
• This aspiration drives all his subsequent choices, and those choices in turn
affect the other characters in the novel.
• Despite his power to change his life and the lives of others, Gatsby fails to
attain his goal.
• Nick remains loyal to Daisy from the moment they first kissed, but that
loyalty is not returned.
• When Daisy chooses Tom over Gatsby, she chooses comfort, familiarity and
stability – things that the secretive, “new money” Gatsby cannot give her.
• Daisy is the physical embodiment of Gatsby’s unattainable America Dream –
beautiful, ideal, seemingly perfect, but also fragile, dangerous, and ultimately
out of reach.
• Tom represents “old money” – those born into wealth and privilege
without making ay personal effort to attain it
• He sees himself and his “class” as naturally superior to all others – he does not
believe the American Dream is really possible for all
• He uses physical power to control people (abusive)
• He uses his money as a tool for power – he uses it to expose Gatsby and keep
“possession” of Daisy, who herself wants material wealth and security above
all else
• Myrtle Wilson represents a desire for material wealth and the fight to
climb up in the social ranks.
• She represents the struggle of low- to middle-class women, who are
bombarded with messages to buy and to socialize, but who are limited in
their capacity due to the men in their lives and the patriarchy.
• Like Gatsby, she serves as a representation of optimistic people during the
Roaring Twenties who fell victim to the prospect of advancement and
ultimately fell short of their goals.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z0d7SeGIK7HXTlmlfEhaFZ
g0GCtle4ye/view?usp=sharing