Name________________________
Name________________________
Name________________________
Analyzing the Impact of Word-choice
on Tone and Meaning
Worksheet
Tone: The author’s attitude toward the subject or reader.
Examples: Pessimistic, Anxious, Formal, Depressing, Objective
Examine the selection from Chapter Six and, focusing on the underlined words, discuss with your teammates and write down what
you think the “tone” for the selection is. Be prepared to defend and explain it. (Tone is expressed as an adjective)
“Tone” for the selection:___________________________________
Each of the underlined words in the selection is collected below. With your partners, devise a definition and a synonym for the
word—make sure that you give the definition for the word as it is being used in the selected paragraphs from Gatsby (words can
have many definitions, as you know!). DO NOT USE ANY EXTRA RESOURCE! NO DICTIONARY OR THESAURUS. DO THE BEST THAT
YOU CAN COMING UP WITH DEFINITIONS ON YOUR OWN.
1. Humming:___________________________________________________________________________________
Synonym:_____________________________
2. Wonder:____________________________________________________________________________________
Synonym:_____________________________
3. Unutterable:_________________________________________________________________________________
Synonym:______________________________
4. Visions: _____________________________________________________________________________________
Synonym:_______________________________
5. Perishable: __________________________________________________________________________________
Synonym:______________________________
6. Romp:______________________________________________________________________________________
Synonym:________________________________
7. Blossomed: _________________________________________________________________________________
Synonym:_________________________________
8. Incarnation:__________________________________________________________________________________
Synonym:__________________________________
Directions: Add your synonyms into the correct spaces.
One autumn night, five years before, they had been walking down the street when the leaves were falling, and they came to a place
where there were no trees and the side- walk was white with moonlight. They stopped here and turned toward each other. Now it
was a cool night with that mysterious excitement in it which comes at the two changes of the year. The quiet lights in the houses
were (1)_________________________ out into the darkness and there was a stir and bustle among the stars. Out of the corner of
his eye Gatsby saw that the blocks of the sidewalk really formed a ladder and mounted to a secret place above the trees—he could
climb to it, if he climbed alone, and once there he could suck on the pap of life, gulp down the incomparable milk of
(2)__________________________.
His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy’s white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his
(3).___________________(4.)_______________________to her (5.)____________________ breath, his mind would never
(6.)______________________ again like the mind of God. So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning fork that had
been struck upon a star. Then he kissed her. At his lips’ touch she (7.)_________________________ for him like a flower and the
(8.)__________________________ was complete.
1. The quiet lights in the houses were (1)_________________________ out into the darkness and there was a stir
and bustle among the stars.
Compare the new sentence that you just created with Fitzgerald’s same, original sentence and answer the
following question: How did changing that one specific word change the tone or meaning of the sentence?
Write at least two full sentences.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Out of the corner of his eye Gatsby saw that the blocks of the sidewalk really formed a ladder and mounted to a
secret place above the trees—he could climb to it, if he climbed alone, and once there he could suck on the pap
of life, gulp down the incomparable milk of (2)__________________________.
Compare the new sentence that you just created with Fitzgerald’s same, original sentence and answer the
following question: How did changing that one specific word change the tone or meaning of the sentence?
Write at least two sentences.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
3. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his (3.)____________________visions to her perishable
breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God.
Compare the new sentence that you just created with Fitzgerald’s same, original sentence and answer the
following question: How did changing that one specific word change the tone or meaning of the sentence?
Write at least two sentences.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
4. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable (4.)__________________ to her
perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God.
Compare the new sentence that you just created with Fitzgerald’s same, original sentence and answer the
following question: How did changing that one specific word change the tone or meaning of the sentence?
Write at least two sentences.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
5. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her
(5.)______________________ breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God.
Compare the new sentence that you just created with Fitzgerald’s same, original sentence and answer the
following question: How did changing that one specific word change the tone or meaning of the sentence?
Write at least two sentences.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
6. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind
would never (6.)__________________ again like the mind of God.
Compare the new sentence that you just created with Fitzgerald’s same, original sentence and answer the
following question: How did changing that one specific word change the tone or meaning of the sentence?
Write at least two sentences.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
7. At his lips’ touch she (7.)_________________________ for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete.
Compare the new sentence that you just created with Fitzgerald’s same, original sentence and answer the
following question: How did changing that one specific word change the tone or meaning of the sentence?
Write at least two sentences.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
8. At his lips’ touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the (8.)_________________________ was complete.
Compare the new sentence that you just created with Fitzgerald’s same, original sentence and answer the
following question: How did changing that one specific word change the tone or meaning of the sentence?
Write at least two sentences.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
9. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his (3.)____________________visions to her perishable
breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God.
Compare the new sentence that you just created with Fitzgerald’s same, original sentence and answer the
following question: How did changing that one specific word change the tone or meaning of the sentence?
Write at least two sentences.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
10. The quiet lights in the houses were (1)_________________________ out into the darkness and there was a stir
and bustle among the stars.
Compare the new sentence that you just created with Fitzgerald’s same, original sentence and answer the
following question: How did changing that one specific word change the tone or meaning of the sentence?
Write at least two full sentences.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________