By Thomas McGuire
Start,
old sport!
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Gatsby loved Daisy
when they were
younger, but after
the war she married
Tom; Gatsby’s real
goal is getting back
Daisy
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Tom has an affair
with Myrtle but
doesn’t want to
allow his wife to
have an affair with
Gatsby
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Much of the love in The
Great Gatsby has to do
with selfishness –
Gatsby wants Daisy to
say that she never loved
Tom, Tom thinks only he
is allowed an affair, etc.
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The American Dream was built
around individualism and the
pursuit of happiness, the idea
that anyone could make a living;
however the 1920s decayed that
dream socially and morally
through cynicism and “new
money” in bootlegging
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In The Great Gatsby, the
American Dream is shown in
its complexity through
Gatsby’s bootlegging, the
differences between East Egg
and West Egg, and the
oppression of the poor by the
rich in the Valley of Ashes
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The novel focuses in and out of
Gatsby’s memories at certain
points, changing to Nick’s
recounting of Gatsby’s life
story, how he fell in love with
Daisy, and how he made a
name for himself
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Gatsby wants to reverse the past,
not just wanting Daisy to tell him
that she loves him, but for her to
tell him that she never loved Tom.
When Nick tells Gatsby that he
can’t repeat the past, Gatsby
replies, “Can’t repeat the past?
Why, of course you can!”
(Fitzgerald)
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Nick’s narrative mode is
another example of how time
is used, as the novel is
narrated in the past tense –
Nick is telling the story as he
remembers it.
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East Egg is the place
that symbolizes “old
money,” which is the
institution of the
aristocracy and
inherited wealth.
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Tom and Daisy
Buchanan live here,
and it is place of the
posh “high
society.”
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West Egg is the place
that symbolizes “new
money,” or the get-richquick schemes of the
1920s, such as
bootlegging or playing
the stock market.
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Nick and Gatsby live here
– Nick is a bond
businessman and Gatsby
is a bootlegger. In
contrast to East Egg, the
West Egg wealth is more
extravagant, vulgar, and
focused on partying.
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East Egg wealth is more graceful and tasteful,
however their society lacks morals, as they are
careless with their spending and who it affects;
West Egg wealth is more exuberant and lacks
grace, but that society does have a sort of moral
code, as evidenced by Gatsby’s loyalty
throughout the novel.
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The Valley of Ashes is a
dumping ground for industrial
ash between West Egg and
New York City; it represents not
only the aftermath of the
careless spending of the rich,
but also the struggle of the
lower classes against such
behavior and mentality.
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The eyes of T.J. Eckleburg are a gigantic
billboard in the Valley of Ashes that advertises
an oculist, Dr. T.J. Eckleburg. They are thought
of as God by George Wilson, who refers to
them while calling out his wife Myrtle on her
affair.
BUT….
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The point that the eyes are
an exact metaphor for God is
never explicitly said in the
novel; rather, what
Fitzgerald is trying to say is
that symbols and metaphors
are important, but only
because people make them
important.
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Everything seems to revolve
around money in this novel –
symbols, intentions, settings,
plot, etc. Money is the driving
force for Gatsby, but it’s
important to note that money
was the driving force for almost
everyone in the 20s. America
revolved around money.
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Gatsby throws some massively wild
parties in the novel, but they’re never
done out of charity. The whole reason
Gatsby throws these parties is to impress
Daisy, to try to win her back from Tom.
None of the partygoers know who he is or
have ever seen him; he doesn’t even
drink at his own parties or use his own
swimming pool.
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Green is used in the novel to
represent wealth, and also
the classic interpretation of
jealousy. Some examples of
green in the novel include
money (“greenbacks”) and
the green light at the end
of Daisy’s dock.
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The green light
at the end of
Daisy’s dock
represents
Gatsby’s
unreachable
dreams in getting
Daisy back.
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Much like green, yellow
also symbolizes wealth
(gold). Some examples
of this include Gatsby’s
car, which kills Myrtle,
and some of Gatsby’s
descriptions of Daisy.
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Yellow also represents the “old money” of
East Egg, in the way that gold is an older
currency than dollar bills; especially because
Daisy is driving the yellow car when it hits
Myrtle, this idea of money is used to show
the struggle of the poor underneath the
careless spending of the rich.
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Most of the novel takes place at
night, notably Gatsby’s parties and
Myrtle’s death. Also, most of the
more depressing moments in the
story happen during the day - the
scene in the hotel, the death of
Gatsby, etc.
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Start!
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Where are the Eyes of T.J. Eckleburg?
New Jersey
West Egg
The Valley of
Ashes
Gatsby’s
mansion
Which is NOT a prominent color in The
Great Gatsby?
Green
Red
Yellow
Night
Which society is Jay Gatsby part of?
“new money”
New York
“old money”
Poor
Who is Gatsby in love with?
Jordan
Nick
Himself
Daisy
True or False:
Gatsby drinks at his parties and swims in
his swimming pool all the time.
True
False
True or False:
George Wilson doesn’t think the Eyes
of T.J. Eckleburg stand for anything
and is just a decrepit billboard.
True
False
True or False:
The “old money” wealth of East Egg
is graceful and elegant, but lacks
social morals.
True
False
True or False:
Gatsby is okay with Daisy still
having loved Tom.
True
False
Try again?
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“Can’t repeat the past? Why, of course you can!”
On a piece of paper, write a short essay (200-300
words) discussing one of the following questions:
• Is Gatsby’s quest to get Daisy back wrong?
• Do the Eyes of T.J. Eckleburg really represent God?
• Would you rather be an upstanding citizen but have
no morals, or be a criminal with morals?
• Find another symbol or motif in the book and
explain it
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For further information on The Great Gatsby:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw9Au9OoN88
– Crash Course Literature: The Great Gatsby Part 1
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn0WZ8-0Z1Y
– Crash Course Literature: The Great Gatsby Part 2
 http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/ - The Great
Gatsby Sparknotes
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Images:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GMBiTqGy0SY/TAb3eJmVgFI/AAAAAAAAAI0/_M-J_m_KNzo/s1600/map.png East/West Egg Map (Slide 19)

http://www1.artflakes.com/artwork/products/1190480/poster/no206-my-the-great-gatsby-minimal-movieposter.jpg?1368785641 – Gatsby movie cover (Slide 25)

http://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/prohibition-cartoon-1920s-granger.jpg - Prohibition cartoon (Slides 4,
16, 17)

http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01461/The_Great_Gatsby_1461142g.jpg - Gatsby and Daisy
(Slides 5, 6, 7)

http://silentink.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/files/2010/11/The_Great_Gatsby_by_asianpride7625.png - Gatsby
green light cover (Slide 30)

http://holditnow.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/the-great-gatsby-party.jpg - Gatsby party (Slide 27)

http://25.media.tumblr.com/72a515ed6e638652cf892a7defea042e/tumblr_mfb6t0RWVr1qhwth9o1_1280.jp
g - Green light (Slide 31)

http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/280/6/e/valley_of_ashes_by_dullaprutten-d6pkl9l.jpg - Valley of Ashes
1 (Slide 21)

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/uCrmBGGR560/TeMx3tLHO1I/AAAAAAAAACw/AsNgCAsjx4c/s1600/valley+of+ashes.jpg – Valley of Ashes 2
(Slide 22)
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Images:

http://www.goofts.com/pics/062013/1370289991-melting-clock-0.jpg - Melting clocks (Slide 4)

http://www.clker.com/cliparts/7/3/a/8/13334899031665514399Cityline%20with%20Skyscrapers.svg.hi.png –
Skyline w/ skyscrapers (Slide 13)

http://spinsucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/anne-shulock-31_the-great-gatsby.jpg - Gatsby Coney
Island (Slide 29)

http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2013/10/22/ap2001010269-f758bed1e131d9578a7ea29256b0b2ce5c71a2a8s6-c30.jpg - Street (Slide 13)

http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/essays/eyes/cugat_10.jpeg - Gatsby cover (Slide 1)

http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/309/2/f/dr_tj_eckleburg_by_hasunkhan-d5hwgkj.jpg - Eyes of T.J.
Eckleburg (Slide 23)

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/nh_uBE5kVwg/UbF1pEgkLmI/AAAAAAAAEZA/wsUAMlVDfSM/s1600/Gatsby_times_square.png - Gatsby
Times Square

http://thegreatgatsby.warnerbros.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/GG-TP-0000-1386x693.jpg - East Egg
(Slides 14, 15)

http://img0.etsystatic.com/013/0/8036197/il_570xN.448399928_qedv.jpg - Gatsby’s car (Slide 22)
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All text in this PowerPoint presentation is in my own
wording, but was taught to me by Mrs. Nanci Slagle
at Covenant Christian High School
 Fitzgerald, F. (2008). The great Gatsby. Detroit:
Wheeler Pub.
 All images not cited in this PowerPoint are Clipart

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Objectives – After the students have read The Great Gatsby, they will
view this Powerpoint on their own, answer the quiz questions, and
complete the short writing assignment to be turned in to the next class.
After students have read the book and viewed the Powerpoint, they will
be able to identify and recall key images and motifs, as well as think
critically about imagery and metaphors in literature
Learning environment – This Powerpoint will be viewed personally by
the students either in class (during time set aside for viewing/working on
the Powerpoint) or at home; the classroom is a computer lab with access
to 30 computers that have Internet access; there are also 3 whiteboards
in the classroom
Target audience – Group of approx. 20-30 high school freshmen, ages
15-16, average learning capability/performance, some high-achieving
students, all students fairly expressive in their ideas, evenly split between
male and female students, primarily Caucasian students with a few Asian
international students and a few African-American students