Getting ready for
Section A
1. Locate where the chapter is in the novel.
Link it to previous or successive chapters if
relevant. (The novel’s structure)
2. Briefly outline the main events in the
chapter and why it is an important chapter.
3. Discuss 2 -3 three of these in detail looking
at structure, form and language. Use the
terminology from your aspects of narrative
genie.
Question a
Remember the 3 keys
Remember the examiners said “there were startling
claims made about alliteration and commas”.
You want to avoid sentences like this:
“Fitzgerald uses two commas in this sentence so suggest
a break in Nick’s narrative. This shows that he is obviously
upset and unable to deal with his emotions after Gatsby’s
death and that he has to pause in his sentence. The comma
makes you slow down and grieve like Nick. Also the use of
alliteration in the words “careless and confused” shows that
Nick is angry with Tom and Daisy.”
Avoid making mountains out of
molehills
Here’s a reminder of notes on chapter 6
from your instant chapter
summaries:
The memory of the ugly rumours which surrounded Gatsby
prompts Nick to narrate what Gatsby eventually told him
about Gatsby’s past and how he “invented” himself (like a
God? Fitzgerald describes how he “sprang from a Platonic
conception of himself”). Nick explains how Gatsby confided
in him at a point when Nick was unsure about how to judge
Gatsby and the reader is equally left unsure how to judge
Gatsby.
Let’s try writing on chapter 6.
Daisy and Tom both attend one of Gatsby’s
parties in which the obvious animosity and
class differences between them is made clear.
Nick recalls a barely perceptible sense of
disenchantment at this party as if the
gorgeousness of Gatsby’s lifestyle (like his
vision of Daisy) is about to wither and rot.
He sees the party through Daisy’s eyes and it
seems tawdry.(“what had amused me then
turned septic on the air now”)
Let’s try writing on chapter 6
Gatsby insists that you can repeat the
past and his account of his young love for
Daisy is deeply nostalgic and flamboyantly
in tone (note Nick’s irony in the use of
free indirect narrative style here).
Let’s try writing on chapter 6
Start with a brief overview of why this
chapter is significant.
For example:
Make your mark on the examiner.
Why does Fitzgerald put this
section of the novel here?
[STRUCTURE]
Chapter six is a crucial chapter for the reader’s
understanding of Gatsby’s past. Despite the
retrospective nature of Nick’s narrative, it is
interesting that he doesn’t reveal Gatsby’s past
until this mid way point in the novel. This has the
effect of allowing the reader to experience getting
to know Gatsby in the same way as Nick – we hear
the rumours and have small encounters with him
before being confided in, just as Nick was.
Expanding your point to look at
LANGUAGE AND FORM
It is clear to the reader that Nick’s account of Gatsby’s past
is not told in an objective way. An ironic tone is implied in
the authorial voice which resonates throughout :“So he
invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen yearold boy would be likely to invent”. This reminds us that
Nick, despite his obvious reverence for Gatsby as a
character (“there was something gorgeous about him”) is
disdainful about Gatsby’s decision to model himself on Dan
Cody.
Expanding your point to look at
LANGUAGE AND FORM
Nick’s ironic, even mocking tone is again evident in
the description of Gatsby’s state of mind as he
fashions himself in a new light as a glamorous young
man: “A universe of ineffable gaudiness spun itself
out in his brain”. Fitzgerald is showing us how Nick is
returning to moments in Gatsby’s past and trying to
imagine how Gatsby recreated himself as the ill-fated
dreamer he was by the time Nick met him in West
Egg. The use of free indirect style makes it clear that
it is Nick who is imagining Gatsby’s thoughts, with the
words “ineffable gaudiness” hinting that Nick, with
hindsight, views Gatsby’s vision as gaudy or even
slightly vulgar.
We can see this later in the chapter, as the parties which Nick
remembered with such vivid wonder in chapter 2, now
seem tawdry and less enchanting.
A LINK TO YOUR NEXT EXTRACT.
Expanding your point to look at
LANGUAGE AND FORM
Here’s a reminder of the 4 keys for
the even questions
1.
Look carefully at the key words in the question and write
a rock solid introduction which addressing the questions
and says something (don’t parrot the question).
2.
Write about a range of points(3-5) in your answer –
arguing both sides of the question before concluding.
Follow a basic PEE structure here to stay safe.
3.
Make sure you USE THE TEXT by referring to specific
episodes or chapters in detail. Cross-reference ideas (link
ideas about characters, themes or events together)
4.
Integrate context into your discussion – don’t bolt it on!
How important is time in ...
How satisfying do you find
the conclusion of ...
It has been said that a fault
of ... is ...
These are GENUINE past paper questions ...
... The
... The
... The
... The
voice
ending
over-emphasised moral
dark and disturbing themes
use of a single narrative
What do you think is significant about the
use of journeys in this text?
Betrayal is at the heart of the
relationships between characters in ...
... To what
extent do
you agree?
What is the significance of letters to the
narrative of Curious Incident?
How far do you agree that there is only ....
<corruption / confusion / passion / jealousy /
pain> ... in ...?
Although <character> portrays himself as a
<hero / victim / villain>, some readers find it
hard to believe this.
...what are
your views
on ...
... To what
extent do
you agree?
Remember:
 AO1
 AO3
 AO4
30. How far do you agree with Nick’s
view that Gatsby is “worth the whole
damn bunch put together”?
30. What do think about the view that
there are no women in The Great Gatsby
with whom the reader can sympathise?
Remember: AO1, AO3, AO4