Homework Due March 25 (FOR BLOCK CLASSES)
DUE MARCH 19 FOR GLOBAL STUDIES CLASS:
1. Finish Reading Novel
2. Complete all activities below
CHAPTERS 6-9: THE PLOT UNFOLDS
The author crafts a plot structure to create expectations, increase suspense, and develop characters. The pacing of events can make a novel either predictable or riveting. Foreshadowing and flashbacks allow the author to defy the constraints of time. Sometimes an author can confound a simple plot by telling stories within stories. In a conventional work of fiction, the peak of the story’s conflict—the climax—is followed by the resolution, or denouement, in which the effects of that climactic action are presented.
The Great Gatsby has a remarkable structure. Chapter 5 provides the emotional center of the drama: when Gatsby reunites with Daisy, when Nick experiences a grand foreboding, and when Daisy’s voice becomes a “deathless song.” Some chapters exhibit parallels. Chapters 2 and 8are physically violent turning points, with grotesque landscapes, dust,
and ashes. The novel begins with Nick’s arrival to Long Island and his memories of his father’s words. Nick wants “the world to be ... at a sort
of moral attention forever” (p. 2). The novel ends with an encounter with Gatsby’s father and Nick’s realization: “I see now that this has been a story of the West after all ... [P]erhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life” (p. 176).
The Great Gatsby has a remarkable structure. Chapter 5 provides the emotional center of the drama: when Gatsby reunites with Daisy, when Nick experiences a grand foreboding, and when Daisy’s voice becomes a “deathless song.” Some chapters exhibit parallels. Chapters 2 and 8are physically violent turning points, with grotesque landscapes, dust,
and ashes. The novel begins with Nick’s arrival to Long Island and his memories of his father’s words. Nick wants “the world to be ... at a sort
of moral attention forever” (p. 2). The novel ends with an encounter with Gatsby’s father and Nick’s realization: “I see now that this has been a story of the West after all ... [P]erhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life” (p. 176).
Identify the most important turning points in the novel. Ask them to identify the passages from the novel, explaining why these events are the most significant.
Why does Nick think that Gatsby “paid a high price for living too long with a single dream” (p. 161)?
THEMES IN THE NOVEL:
Themes are the central, recurring subjects of a novel. As characters grapple with circumstances such as racism, class, or unrequited love, profound questions will arise in the reader’s mind about human life, social pressures, and societal expectations. Classic themes include intellectual freedom versus censorship, the relationship between one’s personal moral code and larger political justice, and spiritual faith versus rational considerations. A novel often reconsiders these age-old debates by presenting them in new contexts or from new points of view.
In an era of new technology, new opportunity, and artistic expansion, does Fitzgerald’s novel comment on American morality and idealism? Is The Great Gatsby a satire or critique of American life? If not, why not?
Alienation
At one party, Nick observes, “People disappeared, reappeared, made plans to go somewhere, and then lost each other, searched for each other, found each other a few feet away” (p. 37). Soon afterward, Tom breaks his lover’s nose. Does Fitzgerald use parties to highlight his characters’ failures to relate to one another? Do Gatsby’s parties reflect genuine celebration or a kind of mourning?
Friendship
Nick is the only person, aside from Gatsby’s father, who attends the funeral. What kind of friendship do Nick and Gatsby have? What does Nick derive from this friendship? Is it true friendship, or does Nick simply pity Gatsby his “romantic readiness”?
Identity
In Chapter 7, we learn of Gatsby’s origins as James Gatz of North Dakota. In the novel, Gatsby has become his alter ego, leaving James Gatz behind as he travels the world as Dan Cody’s steward. Was Gatsby doomed to tragedy as long as
he disguised his Midwestern origins in favor of a more extravagant, fictional biography? Is Nick judging Gatsby for these imaginative exploits or admiring
this skill?
The American Dream
At one party, Nick observes, “People disappeared, reappeared, made plans to go somewhere, and then lost each other, searched for each other, found each other a few feet away” (p. 37). Soon afterward, Tom breaks his lover’s nose. Does Fitzgerald use parties to highlight his characters’ failures to relate to one another? Do Gatsby’s parties reflect genuine celebration or a kind of mourning?
Friendship
Nick is the only person, aside from Gatsby’s father, who attends the funeral. What kind of friendship do Nick and Gatsby have? What does Nick derive from this friendship? Is it true friendship, or does Nick simply pity Gatsby his “romantic readiness”?
Identity
In Chapter 7, we learn of Gatsby’s origins as James Gatz of North Dakota. In the novel, Gatsby has become his alter ego, leaving James Gatz behind as he travels the world as Dan Cody’s steward. Was Gatsby doomed to tragedy as long as
he disguised his Midwestern origins in favor of a more extravagant, fictional biography? Is Nick judging Gatsby for these imaginative exploits or admiring
this skill?
The American Dream
READING GUIDE QUESTIONS
- The novel's action occurs in 1922 between June and September. How does Nick's nonchronological narration shape your response to the events surrounding the mystery of Jay Gatsby?
- Nick believes he is an honest, nonjudgemental narrator. Do you agree?
- Gatsby believes that the past can be repeated. Is he right?
- Why does Daisy sob into the "thick folds" of Gatsby's beautiful shirts?
- What do the faded eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg symbolize? Is there a connection between this billboard and the green light at the end of Daisy's dock?
- Perhaps the novel's climax occurs when Gatsby confronts Tom in New York. Did Daisy's ultimate choice surprise you? Is it consistent with her character?
- Do you agree with Nick's final assertion that Gatsby is "worth the whole damn bunch put together"? Why or why not?
- How does Fitzgerald foreshadow the tragedies at the end?
- Does the novel critique or uphold the values of the Jazz Age and the fears of the Lost Generation?
- Fitzgerald wrote, "You don't write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say." What did he have to say in Gatsby?
- Fitzgerald scholar Matthew J. Bruccoli claims: "The Great Gatsby does not proclaim the nobility of the human spirit; it is not politically correct; it does not reveal how to solve the problems of life; it delivers no fashionable or comforting messages. It is just a masterpiece." Do you agree?
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