The Great Gatsby Project
Objective
Today I will review themes and
symbols in The Great Gatsby and
begin planning my project by
choosing a theme and two symbols
from the novel and explaining them
in my own words on a half sheet of
paper
Themes
Themes are the fundamental
and often universal ideas
explored in a literary work.
They are not the plot of the
story; they are what the story is
“really” about.
Themes in the Great Gatsby
 The Decline of the American Dream
 As Fitzgerald saw it (and as Nick explains in
Chapter 9), the American dream was
originally about discovery, individualism, and
the pursuit of happiness. In the 1920s
depicted in the novel, however, easy money
and relaxed social values have corrupted this
dream, especially on the East Coast
Themes in the Great Gatsby
 The Hollowness of the Upper Class (Old Money)
 One of the major topics explored in The Great
Gatsby is the sociology of wealth, specifically, how
the new millionaires of the 1920s differ from and
relate to the country’s older, richest families. In the
novel, West Egg and its occupants represent the
newly rich, while East Egg and its occupants,
especially Daisy and Tom, represent the old
aristocracy.
Themes
 In your own words, define “theme.”
 Which one of the two themes
mentioned in the previous slides do you
see most in The Great Gatsby
Symbols
Symbols are objects, characters,
figures, and colors used to
represent abstract ideas or
concepts.
Symbols in The Great Gatsby
 The Green Light on Daisy’s Dock
Situated at the end of Daisy’s East Egg
dock and barely visible from Gatsby’s
West Egg lawn, the green light
represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams
for the future.
Symbols in The Great Gatsby
 The Valley of Ashes
 It represents the moral and social decay that
results from the uninhibited pursuit of
wealth, as the rich indulge themselves with
regard for nothing but their own pleasure.
The valley of ashes also symbolizes the
struggle of the poor, like George Wilson,
who live among the dirty ashes and lose
their strength as a result.
Symbols in The Great Gatsby
 The Eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg
 The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are a pair
of fading, bespectacled eyes painted on an old
advertising billboard over the valley of ashes.
They may represent God staring down upon
and judging American society as a moral
wasteland, though the novel never makes this
point explicitly.
Symbols
In your own words, define
“symbol.”
Which one of the three symbols in
the previous slides do you see most
in The Great Gatsby?
Project
 For your Great Gatsby project, you will need to choose one
theme from the novel and two symbols that illustrate that
theme from the novel.
 You will need to make a presentation that has pictures
and/or video/audio clips and words that help the view
understand how they relate to your topic.
 You will need at least four quotes from the text that connect
your presentation to your theme and symbols
 You will need to turn in a one page summery of the project
as well
Project
 Your project must be able to stand alone, and the veiwer must
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be able to understand what it is about without an explanation
Your project must give a sense of the novel (it must be clear
that it is connected to the story in the Great Gatsby)
You will be working individually, not in groups or pairs
Your project may be a poster with writing/drawings and/or
with photographs and text glued on
Your project may be a powerpoint with writing, photos,
video/audio clips included in the slides
Choose one of the following
themes from the Great Gatsby:
The Decline of the American
Dream in the 1920’s
The Hollowness of the Upper Class
(“Old Money”)
Please take out a
half sheet of paper
(you will turn this
in)
Explain your theme in your own words
Choose a theme from The
Great Gatsby
Explain this theme in
your own words
Choose Two of the following Symbols
that relate to your theme from The
Great Gatsby
The green light on Daisy’s dock
The Valley of Ashes
The Eyes of Doctor T. J.
Eckleburg
Symbol
 Explain this symbol, and what it
symbolizes, in your own words.
 When does this symbol occur in the
novel?
Project
 How do you think you will present
your information
Poster?
Powerpoint?
Essay
Quote
From the novel, find two
quotes (with page numbers)
that relate to your theme and
write them down.