Happy Monday! Please grab a book
before sitting down. Then, make sure
you gather all materials for the Socratic
Seminar and put them on your desk.
• What does Gatsby represent to Americans?
• Jonathan Yardley from The Washington Post states, “It
is the American masterwork, the finest work of fiction
by any of this country’s writers.” Why is this work
considered an American masterwork?
• A statement has been made that the 1920s was a time
of great prosperity for all. Is this statement true or
false?
• Does the character Jay Gatsby conflict or support
modernists’ ideas of an American man?
• How do the characters in The Great Gatsby represent
different facets of The Roaring Twenties?
• What social issues of the time period does the text /
film ignore?
• The Great Gatsby was published in 1925. Why do you
believe it has left the legacy it has, and is still read
today in high school English classes?
• The Great Migration of the 1920s gave birth to the
Harlem Renaissance, which changed American views of
African Americans. The “old negro” no longer existed.
Instead, the “new negro” emerged. If Jay Gatsby is
black, would he be a symbol of the “old negro,” “new
negro,” or both?
• According to Caryle V. Thompson, “Jay Gatsby, F. Scott
Fitzgerald’s opulent playboy hero, was a black man” in
the article titled “Why I ….. believe Jay Gatsby was
black.” Identify statements that make his argument
weak.
• What kind of prejudice did you identify in the text /
film? What do you believe this says about Fitzgerald or
Baz Lurhmann?
• How are African Americans portrayed in the text as
compared to the film?
• How does The Great Gatsby relate to current society?
Reflection
• Split a sheet of paper with someone in the
class. On your half sheet, answer the following
questions:
– Strengths?
– Opportunities for growth?
– Did you achieve your goal for this Socratic
seminar? Why or why not?
– Specific praise for peers