The Great
Gatsby
Objectives, Skills, Etc.
Chapter I
Narrator and Point of View
OBJECTIVE:
Analyze Narrator and Point of View
• The narrator is the person who relates the events of
a story to a reader or audience.
• Point of view is the perspective from which a story
is told. The point of view from which a story is told
determines how the reader interprets the story and
understands the characters.
OBJECTIVE:
Analyze Narrator and Point of View
Three major types of Point of View
First Person: narrator is a character in the story; uses
the first person “I”
Third Person Limited: narrator does not participate in
the action of the story; relates the thoughts and
feelings of only one character
Third Person Omniscient: narrator does not
participate in the action of the story; relates the
thoughts and feelings of all the characters
OBJECTIVE:
Analyze Narrator and Point of View
• The Great Gatsby is told from the first person point
of view.
• The story is told by narrator Nick Carraway, and he
uses the first person pronouns “I,” “me,” and “my” to
help convey events.
• What are the pros and cons of first person
narrative?
OBJECTIVE:
Analyze Narrator and Point of View
• The Great Gatsby is told from the first person point
of view.
• The story is told by narrator Nick Carraway, and he
uses the first person pronouns “I,” “me,” and “my” to
help convey events.
• What are the pros and cons of first person
narrative?
Chapter II
Setting
OBJECTIVE:
Analyze Fitzgerald’s use of setting
The setting is made up of the following key aspects:
• Time
• Location
• The people living there
• The culture
• The history
Based on our studies of Fitzgerald and his other works,
what should we consider in this text?
Chapter III
Characterization
OBJECTIVE:
Analyze characterization in Gatsby
• Characterization is the technique by which authors
develop characters.
• Direct characterization is when the author or
narrator tells the reader what the character is
like.
• “Jennifer is a good student.”
• Indirect characterization is when the author gives
information about a character and allows the
reader to draw his or her own conclusions about
that character.
OBJECTIVE:
Analyze characterization in Gatsby
There are two ways we can learn about a character
through Indirect Characterization
• A character’s own thoughts, feelings and actions.
• “On her way to class after lunch, Susan saw some trash on
the ground that wasn’t hers. She decided to pick it up
anyway, and threw it in the trash can.”
• Interactions with other characters— the reader
witnesses how characters interact and what they
say about each other.
• “Lacy said, ‘Julie seems to not care about her school work
anymore. It’s as if she is distracted or concerned about
something. What do you think?’ ‘I don’t know, but it is
certainly unlike her to get bad grades,’ Jazmine replied.
OBJECTIVE:
Analyze characterization in Gatsby
Stories that are narrated in the first person can be
confusing when you are finding direct quotes.
Because The Great Gatsby is narrated in the first
person by Nick, all direct characterization will also be
Nick’s interpretation and opinion.
As discussed with Day One, there are pros and cons to
his
Chapter IV
Foreshadowing and Predictions
OBJECTIVE:
Identify foreshadowing; make predictions
• Foreshadowing: hints and clues of events to occur
later in the plot.
• Used in order to build suspense and make a
story more interesting
• Prediction: or an educated guess, as to what will
happen next based on these hints or clues
OBJECTIVE:
Identify foreshadowing; make predictions
“No—Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed
on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams
that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows
and short-winded elations of men.” (Nick, as narrator)
Summary:
Prediction:
OBJECTIVE:
Identify foreshadowing; make predictions
“No—Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed
on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams
that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows
and short-winded elations of men.” (Nick, as narrator)
Summary: Gatsby turned out to be a decent person in Nick’s eyes. What
ended up bothering Nick were the cruel people and sad events that took
place surrounding Gatsby, making him sick and tired of the people around
him.
Prediction: Something is going to happen to Gatsby, but he will turn out
okay. It seems like Nick will struggle with how to view him, though. Nick
will end up sick of people and hearing about their problems.
Chapter V
Symbolism
OBJECTIVE:
Identify symbolism
• Symbolism is the creative use of objects, or symbols, to
indicate a deeper meaning or to represent something
important.
• Just as a heart is a symbol of love or a turkey is a symbol
of Thanksgiving, colors, animals, weather, numbers, and
even people can act as symbols in a piece of literature.
• It is important that we recognize the author’s use of symbols to
indicate a deeper message in his or her work. Fitzgerald
skillfully uses symbolism throughout The Great Gatsby to
create a novel full of depth and significance.
Chapter VI
Figurative
Language
OBJECTIVE:
Identify figurative language
There are several types of figurative language that
Fitzgerald utilizes, called figures of speech:
• metaphor - a comparison made between two seemingly
unlike objects: “the pillow was a cloud”
• simile - a comparison between two unlike objects using
the words “like” or “as” in the comparison: “the pillow was
like a marshmallow”
• personification - giving human qualities or
characteristics to non-human objects: “the wind sang its
sad song”
Chapter VII
Style
OBJECTIVE:
Identify traits of the author’s style
• Style is a literary technique used by an author to
create a piece of literature that reveals the author’s
uniqueness.
• Word choice, figurative language, imagery, rhythm,
sentence structure, foreshadowing, symbolism, use
of dialect, for example, all work together to make an
author’s writing distinctive.
• Very often, the time period in which an author writes
strongly influences his style.
OBJECTIVE:
Identify traits of the author’s style
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s uses symbolism, imagery, and
repetition of ideas and situations extensively.
He also uses some difficult vocabulary, limited
dialogue between characters, and the powerful effect
of first-person narration as Nick struggles to make
sense of the characters and their complicated lives.
Chapter VIII
Lit
analyses
OBJECTIVE:
Understand organization of a welldeveloped paragraph for a lit analysis
TIQA-TIQA is an acronym for a technique that you can
use in writing a literary analysis.
A literary analysis is a type of essay that analyzes or
looks at a specific aspect of a piece of literature in
detail
Possible ways to do this include analyzing characters,
theme(s), setting, symbolism, etc.
OBJECTIVE:
Understand organization of a welldeveloped paragraph for a lit analysis
For a well-developed body paragraph, you should have the following:
Topic sentence
Introduce quote: put quote into context (what’s going on in the story).
Quote: provide your direct/indirect quote - Yellow
Analyze: explain to the reader the importance of the quote and how it
supports your topic sentence –Pink Pink (at least two sentences to analyze
quote)
Transition (notice, this is a different ‘T’)
Introduce quote: put the next quote into context.
Quote: provide a second direct/indirect quote - Yellow
Analyze: explain to the reader the importance of the quote and how it
supports your topic sentence –Pink Pink (at least two sentences to analyze
quote)
Chapter IX
analysis of
Final
themes and
symbols
OBJECTIVE:
Identify key themes and symbols
Last class, we worked on writing well-developed
paragraphs for a literary analysis.
As you think about an essay topic, writing on theme(s)
or symbol(s) would be a great option.
OBJECTIVE:
Identify key themes and symbols
Reminder:
• Theme is the central idea or message in a work of
literature.
• The theme of a piece of literature should not be
confused with the subject of the work: theme is a
general statement about life or human nature.
• A reader must take a good look at the entire novel:
the title, plot, characters, setting, and mood, which
all work together to reveal the themes in a piece of
literature.
OBJECTIVE:
Identify key themes and symbols
• As mentioned in the symbolism activity from
Chapter Five, symbols are found throughout the
novel The Great Gatsby.
• One type of symbol that is particularly prevalent is
color.
• Colors have connotations, or additional meaning
associated with them.
• These connotations can be crucial in deciphering
the meaning and importance behind characters,
images, or objects.