The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Pre-Reading Discussion Questions
O What were the effects of Prohibition during the 1920s?
O Would it work today? WHY or WHY NOT?
O What is “the American Dream”?
O How do you think the concept of “the American Dream” has
changed over time?
O What does it mean to be successful in America?
O Is there a dark side to achieving success in America?
O What role does social status (or class) play in our culture?
O In high school?
O Is “the American Dream” accessible to everyone, regardless of
social status (or class)?
Pre-Reading Discussion Questions
O Is obsession ever a good thing?
O How important are money and prestige in achieving true
happiness?
O When can dreams become destructive?
O What effect do you think materialism has on relationships?
O How do you think the institution of marriage is different
today than it was during the 1920s?
O Is marriage dead?
O What are some issues facing married couples today?
O How true is it that we spend too much of our lives trying to
convince others that we are something we’re not?
About the Author (Fitzgerald)
O 1896—1940
O Considered “the chronicler of the Jazz Age”
O Best-selling author of the 1920s
O So to whom might we compare him today?
O Distant relative of Francis Scott Key
O Who wrote . . . ??
O “The Star-Spangled Banner”
O Spent his final years in Hollywood writing screenplays
O Though just over forty years old, he looked decades
older—the years of drinking and abusing his body had
caught up with him.
Historical Context (Setting)
O WHEN: 1922
O the flapper era; the Jazz Age; the Roaring Twenties
O WHERE: Long Island, New York
O Scandalous stories of that time period:
O Mob gangsters made millions gambling and bootlegging
O 1919—the World Series was “fixed”
O World War I
O Psychological effects on veterans . . . WHY?
O The Volstead Act of 1919 (Prohibition)
O How do you suppose this law made criminals (technically) out
of almost everyone?
O How do you suppose it contributed to the decline of morals
and values?
Themes
O Corruption of the “American Dream”
O wealth, greed, materialism, compromised morals and values
O Class (social status)
O old money, new money, no money
O Romance
O Adultery
O Past and Future
O Crash Course Part I:
O http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw9Au9OoN88
Characters
in The Great Gatsby
2013 Movie Trailer
The Great Gatsby
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7AFnJbETLw
Point of View
O First-person
O Nick Carraway’s point of view
O A mostly reliable narrator whom the reader comes to trust
O Nick’s perception of Gatsby
O Admiration and intrigue
O Reminds the reader that despite Gatsby’s later foolish or
corrupt acts, at the core, Gatsby is “great.”
O Nick’s perception of the Buchanans
O Harsh and disapproving
O Keeps the reader from liking them too much
O Shows the reader how corrupt and consumed they are with
wealth and materialism
Setting Map
Symbolism
O the green light and the color green
O At the end of Daisy’s dock; Gatsby stares at it throughout
the novel; it symbolizes his dream as well as hope.
O automobiles
O power, status symbols, success
O the Valley of Ashes
O a wasteland; an area of ruin; lower class society
O East Egg
O upper class society, glamour, and wealth
O West Egg
O upper-middle class society
More Symbolism
O the “eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg” billboard sign
O God’s eyes brooding over America
O Nick’s 30th birthday
O the passing of Nick’s youth and Gatsby’s dreams
O alcohol
O means of escape; moral decline of society
O action of the novel
O moral chaos
O the color yellow
O wealth, opportunity, and even death
Text-Dependent Questions for
Chapters 1 & 2
O Where in the first two chapters do questions of class,
wealth, and privilege arise?
O Who’s rich and who’s poor here, and HOW DO YOU
KNOW? Cite evidence from the text to support your
answer.
O Nick isn’t exactly “poor,” but how is his money or status
different from those of the other characters? Cite
evidence from the text that suggests a difference in
class between Nick and the other characters.
RL.11-12.1. Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as
inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
RL.11-12.3. Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate
elements of a story—setting, plot development, character development, etc.
Text-Dependent Questions for
Chapters 3 & 4
O Gatsby talks to Jordan privately in Chapter 3. What
do you suppose their conversation was about?
O Read the epigraph on the title page of the novel.
(HINT: It’s the quote on the title page.) What does it
reveal about Gatsby and his love for Daisy?
RL.11-12.2. Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their
development over the course of a text, including how they interact and build on one another to
produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
RL.11-12.3. Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate
elements of a story—setting, plot development, character development, etc.
Text-Dependent Questions for
Chapters 5 & 6
O DISCUSS: Imagine you are Gatsby at the beginning of
Chapter 5. It’s the day that Daisy comes to tea.
You’ve been waiting for this day for five years. How
are you feeling? What are you going to say to her?
O PREDICT: What do you think will happen at Gatsby’s
next party? There have been some scenes of
Gatsby’s previous parties. How might this party be
different?
RL.11-12.3. Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate
elements of a story—setting, plot development, character development, etc.
RL.11-12.5. Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text
contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
Text-Dependent Questions for
Chapter 7
O PREDICT: What do you think will happen to the relationships
between Gatsby and Daisy, Tom and Daisy, Tom and Myrtle,
Nick and Jordan?
O EXAMINE: Myrtle watches Tom, Nick, and Jordan arrive at
Wilson’s garage. Describe this incident from her point of
view.
O EVALUATE: Tom asks Gatsby about his expression “old
sport,” but Gatsby gives no answer. Why do you think Gatsby
calls everyone “old sport,” and why does it annoy Tom?
RL.11-12.3. Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate
elements of a story—setting, plot development, character development, etc.
RL.11-12.5. Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text
contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
Text-Dependent Questions for
Chapter 8
O What do you suppose prompted Gatsby to talk freely
to Nick now when he was unwilling to so in the
past?
O What does Nick mean when he talks about Gatsby’s
supposed “corruption” and his “incorruptible
dream”?
RL.11-12.3. Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate
elements of a story—setting, plot development, character development, etc.
RL.11-12.5. Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text
contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
Text-Dependent Questions for
Chapter 9/Whole Novel
O At the end of the novel, Nick imagines what the
continent must have been like when it was first
seen by Dutch sailors. How does this idea of the
continent then contrast with the environment of the
20th century Jazz Age environment discussed in the
novel?
O Consider the title of the novel. In what way is Gatsby
“great”?
RL.11-12.3. Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate
elements of a story—setting, plot development, character development, etc.
RL.11-12.5. Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text
contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
“West Egg, especially, still figures in my more fantastic dreams. I
see it as a night scene by El Greco: a hundred houses, at once
conventional and grotesque, crouching under a sullen,
overhanging sky and a lustreless moon. In the foreground four
solemn men in dress suits are walking along the sidewalk with a
stretcher on which lies a drunken woman in a white evening dress.
Her hand, which dangles over the side, sparkles cold with jewels.
Gravely the men turn in at a house—the wrong house. But no one
knows the woman’s name, and no one cares” (177).
1. Close-read/annotate the passage. What symbolism do you notice in
the passage? What is the tone? In 3-5 sentences, discuss the tone
and symbolism in the passage. What details does Fitzgerald use to
create this tone? What details may be interpreted as symbols? Cite
evidence from the passage to support your answer.
1. Explain what Nick sees in the El Greco painting that reminds him of
New York and especially of West Egg. Cite evidence from the text that
might be connected to the painting itself.
Crash Course Part II
O http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn0WZ8-0Z1Y
O http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehjTS6AhMJ8