ENGLISH 213—JUNIOR ENGLISH
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby
Name:
FINAL ESSAY
Choose one of the topics below as a guiding idea to address in an essay of 1200-1500 words (4-6 pages) that is
meaningful and interesting to you, which explores an area of the novel that gives rise to new thinking or even new
questions. Include at least one reference to a published critical essay on the novel.
•
Free Choice. It always starts with this. Choose a question or topic about the novel that you want to explore further: a
character or a scene that puzzles or fascinates you; a scene or section of the novel that seems out of place and invites deeper
thinking (the shirts or clock from Chapter 5, for instance); a conventional reading of the novel that you want to oppose or
challenge. Any topic or idea about the novel is fair play, as long as you are using textual evidence to support your claim.
•
Expanded In-class Essay. Expand on the topic you explored in your in-class essay written at the end of Chapter 5.
•
A Line, a Scene. Take any line or any scene and build from here toward a satisfying understanding of the novel.
Some Ideas for Getting Started
• Characters

Main Characters
o Gatsby
o Daisy
o Nick
o Tom

Lesser Characters: Jordan Baker, Myrtle Wilson, Meyer Wolfsheim, Owl Eyes, George Wilson

Even Lesser. The McKees, Klipspringer, party-goers at either of Gatsby’s parties
• Themes

The American Dream. Use the events at end of the novel, along with the language on the final page, as starting
points to discuss Fitzgerald’s (and Nick’s) assessment of the promise and significance of the American Dream in the
novel.

Social Status—Explore the significance of social status in the novel, particularly the yearnings of both Myrtle Wilson
and Jay Gatsby to arrive at the highest level. What does Fitzgerald appear to be saying by the novel’s end?

Reinvention of the Self. Explore as much as you can about Gatsby’s hunger to change (improve?) himself. (Be
sure to include a discussion of his self-help notes from the book that his father reveals in the novel’s final chapter.)

Moral Corruption. Examine this as a novel of moral decisions and consequences. Include Nick’s understanding of
the Midwest and the East Coast as symbols of moral and immoral decision-making and lifestyles.

Materialism. Explore Fitzgerald’s presentation of the hunger for material wealth and in the novel.
• Motifs and Symbols

Weather in Gatsby. Explore the significance of weather—particularly rain and sunshine—in the novel. (Include the
line in the novel’s final chapter, “Blessed are the dead the rain falls on.”

The Shirts—Go ahead, you know you want to write about this one.

Place—East Egg, West Egg, The Valley of Ashes, NYC. What is the significance of the four settings for the
novel? How are we to make sense of them taken together?

The Valley of Ashes, with Dr. T.J. Eckleburg’s Eyes. How does Fitzgerald use this setting alongside the wealth
and opulence of the three other settings?

Daisy’s Voice. Trace the descriptions of Daisy’s voice to develop a thesis of Fitzgerald’s characterization of her.
• Questions

What makes Gatsby “great”? Explore the implications of the novel’s title. How does Fitzgerald appear to want the
reader to see Gatsby, for instance? Or is this really Nick’s title, more in effect a statement about Nick himself than
about Gatsby?
• Language

Imagery and Sound. Explore one or several passages for their poetic or lyrical content and reach for their value to
the story as a whole.

Colors. Search for some meaning in the yellows and greens and other colors that show up in the novel. (Use the
hyper-concordance on the website to find places in the novel where colors show up.)

The El Greco Painting. Explore Nick’s depiction of West Egg, as “a night scene by El Greco” for its importance to
the novel’s major idea(s).

Final Lines. Explore the last sentences of each of the nine chapters to come up with a pattern toward a statement
about the novel.
• The Role of Women. What are we to make of Fitzgerald’s presentation of women in the novel, in addition to, by extension,
gender stereotypes?
TOPIC DEVELOPMENT
(CLOUT—Say something meaningful; give it clout, significance.)
Content
1.
2.
3.
4.
sophistication, consequence—reveals a fresh, unique look; subtle organization and expression
fullness—fully and thoughtfully explained, not rushed or skimpy
details—clearly support the thesis
quotations—appropriately and effectively used for support
ORGANIZATION
(CLARITY—Say it clearly.)
Title
title--interesting and/or descriptive; provocative; includes the work’s title in addition to an indication of the thesis
Introductory and Concluding Paragraphs
1. hook/lead—interesting, provocative, stylish phrasing
2. thesis—a clear thesis is presented
3. [roadmap—contains clear references (a roadmap) to the points covered in order to defend the thesis]
Body Paragraphs
1. topic sentence—the topic sentence clearly identifies the important point or points to be made
2. supportive details—clear and relevant support is presented
3. transition words--the writer guides the reader with transition words (first, next, then, also, etc...); the paragraph progresses
logically
4. concluding sentence ("clincher")--wraps up the paragraph in a satisfying way; may serve as a transition to the following
paragraph
5. UNITY--maintains a singular focus throughout. Every supporting sentence serves (advances) the topic sentence.
STYLE
1.
2.
3.
(CLASS—Say it with flair.)
word choice / vocabulary—clear, exact, rich language; powerful verbs, strong adjectives
sentence variety--a rich, sophisticated balance of sentence types (simple, compound, complex) and sentence lengths; unique
phrasing; appositive phrases, participial phrases

ONE PARTICIPIAL PHRASE, underlined and labeled in the margin

ONE APPOSITIVE PHRASE, underlined and labeled in the margin

ONE ABSOLUTE PHRASE, underlined and labeled in the margin
voice—a unique tone of the writer; enthusiastic, expressive, sincere
WRITING CONVENTIONS
(CLEANLINESS—Be clean; follow the rules.)
Mechanics
1. quotations—correctly cited
2. spelling--words are properly spelled
3. capitalization--words in need of capitalization are capitalized
4. punctuation--sentences are properly punctuated
5. usage--words are used properly, e.g., subject/verb agreement, pronoun reference
6. sentence completeness--sentences are complete--no run-ons or fragments
Format
course guidelines are followed--double spacing; readable, 12-pt. conventional font; 1-1.25 in. margins; proper heading;
contains writing process components (pre-writing, first draft, final draft)