Inquiry Question:

What is Fitzgerald saying (in statement, in critique, or in protest) about our idea and pursuit of the American Dream?

Background

Written in 1925 - during the height of the Roaring Twenties - The Great Gatsby is set on Long Island during the Jazz Age. It is a character driven novel told from the view point of Nick Carraway. It details his interactions, friendship, and escapades with the mysterious millionaire, Jay Gatsby, and his obsession to reunite with his old lover, Daisy Buchanan. 

Gatsby is an American tragedy.  This book follows fictional characters living in a fictional East Hampton town on New York’s wealthy Long Island. It's is a novel that is talked about with continued relevance because of its treatment of the themes of social class (especially "old money" inherited wealth versus "new money" and self-made riches), racism, environmentalism, and the American Dream. Fitzgerald uses this story to critique society’s obsession with excess, idealism, resistance to change, and to protest the idea that the American Dream is something that can simply be “bought.”

2023 Reading Schedule

Each chapter should be read before coming to class on the date below. Please note that I HIGHLY encourage you to use Spark Notes or other study guides to help with your comprehension of the reading. The syntax of this book can take some getting used to and I find that reading a synopsis - or other study guide - before digging into the actual chapter can help with understanding. None of this is cheating. You will still have to engage with the actual book in order to complete the analysis work we will do in class.

Chapter 1 - April 11

Chapter 2 - April 13

Chapter 3 - April 14

Chapter 4 - April 18

Chapter 5 - April 20

Chapter 6 - April 24

Chapter 7 - April 26

Chapter 8 - April 28

Chapter 9 - May 2

Character Portfolios

Fitzgerald primarily uses his characters as the “key elements” to demonstrate his critiques and protest. In order to understand these, we need to carefully study each character, noting how they evolve – or fail to evolve – as the story progresses, how they think, what motivates them, how they interact with each other, etc.

To do this you will be assigned one character – Nick, Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, Jordan, and Myrtle/George Wilson. Your job will be to infer, based on your reading, each character's thinking (their intellect/rational mind), their emotional desires, their instincts (what is their primal default), their physical appearance, their weaknesses, and their strengths. As each chapter progresses, you will use a character map to track how these qualities are presented in each chapter and how they change or stay the same, and you will be asked to provide a piece of text evidence from the chapter to back up your inferences. Additionally, you will be asked to sometimes meet in groups with other characters in order to discuss how these characters interact and think about each other. You will also be asked to discuss and reflect, in your group, on discussion questions each day and then write down your thoughts.

Directions:

You will need to fill out one of these character maps for each chapter your character appears in. These, plus your analysis of the setting - discussed below, your chapter reflections, and your final book reflection will make up the entirely of your portfolio. You will work in your groups to complete all of this work IN CLASS (it is not homework, unless you miss or are unable to attend class).

As you read, look for text evidence to help you infer the following about your character:

1.  Their thinking (intellect/rational mind)

2. Their emotional desires

3. Their instincts (what behaviors and thoughts to they default to)

4. Their physical appearance

5. Their weaknesses

6. Their strengths

On the front of the map, describe with words your inference about each of these traits or draw a picture that represents your inference about each of these traits. On the back, use the corresponding number to cite a piece of text evidence from the book that supports your thinking. 

The 8th "invisible" major character:

Not every character will appear in every chapter. If your character is not included in the chapter we are discussing that day, your group will spend the time analyzing the 8th major character in this book: the setting.  The setting includes the physical space If you analyze the setting, instead of completing a character map, you should do the following (please use your own sheet of paper to complete this task):

• Notice how the setting is described in the chapter (pay attention to colors, descriptions, weather, and the way the characters are affected by and interact with the setting)

• Pick 3 compelling quotes from the chapter that help capture the essence of the setting in that part of the book

• Analyze each quote – describing how the setting affects the mood of the chapter, the reactions and feelings of the characters, and anything else you feel the setting reveals

All of this work – the character maps/setting analyses, pieces of text evidence, and notes taken during group discussions – will all be turned in together as a portfolio at the conclusion of the novel.

Chapter Reflections

In addition to completing your character maps or setting analysis for each chapter, you will be asked to respond to a reflection prompt for each chapter. These are as follows:

Chapter 1: Based on the initial descriptions of the characters of Nick, Tom, Daisy, and Jordan - and they ways they interact with each other - what social critiques do you think Fitzgerald is already setting up in his book? Why? What are your initial thoughts on these critiques?

Chapter 2: Pick two characters who you think have a relationship worth exploring. Your group may do the same or different characters, depending on your choice. Compare and contrast these characters as individuals - describing how their personal attributes affect how they interact with each other, and what Fitzgerald wants us to learn from their relationship. In order to do this most effectively, find a member of the group who is analyzing one the characters you are choosing to compare in order to gain insight.

Chapter 3: Fitzgerald spends a significant amount of time discussing and depicting the West Egg and the East Egg. As we know, the setting of this book is just as important as any character in helping Fitzgerald formulate the social critiques that make up the main message of this book. Spend some time in your group composing either a Venn Diagram or a T-chart that allows you to compare and contrast the similarities and differences between the West and East Egg. After completing this chart please discuss these questions in your group and write summaries of your discussions/answers to include in your portfolio.

1. What are the differences and similarities and differences of the values held by those who live in the East and West Egg?

2. How do these values cause tensions between the East and West Egg? Why do you think Fitzgerald is highlighting these tensions?

3. What do you think it is about Gatsby and his parties that bring the East and West Egg together?

Chapter 4: A literary theme can be defined in two ways: One, what the readers "think the work is about" - in other words, what is an underlying message in the story. Two, "what the work says about a particular subject" - what is the author trying to say ABOUT various topics.

We are now just about midway through the book. As a group, identify one theme that you think has been present in the first four chapters. Discuss how Fitzgerald developed that theme by identifying at least 4 difference places in the text where that theme is evident and how it is revealed to the readers. Finally, make a prediction for how that theme will carry forward during the remainder of the book and the statements Fitzgerald is trying to make.

Chapter 5: In this chapter we learn that the previous owner of Gatsby's house was a brewer (who lost is fortune because of prohibition). At one time he offered his neighbors money to have their roofs replaced with thatch. His hope was to make his home look like a feudal castle surrounded by serf homes. They refuse because, as Nick explains, Americans refuse to play the role of peasants. This, Nick implies, is part of the American Dream and identity. Yet, when this American (the brewer) made his money, he immediately sought to create an environment that imitated feudal Europe. What is the significance of this contradiction? What does it reveal about the reality of who Americans really are? Why do you think this discussion is sandwiched into a chapter primarily about romance?

Chapter 6: In Chapter 6 we learn about Gatsby's early life, we see multiple places where Gatsby fails to "pick up on" the social cues of Tom and the Sloane's, we see a "darker" side of Gatsby's parties, and we learn that Gatsby's greatest fear is that "it will never be like it was" between he and Daisy. Based on what you learned, please discuss and answer the following questions:

1. What things in Gatsby's life motivated him to "make something of himself"? And has he "arrived"?

2. What role does Daisy play in Gatsby's motivation (because he has already begun to transform himself before meeting her)?

3. In this chapter, what are the ways that Gatsby shifts from romantic hero to tragic character?

Chapter 7: In Chapter 7 everything falls apart as the tensions of love, jealousy, and class lead to outright confrontation - a confrontation that Gatsby was never had a chance of winning. Why didn't he "win"? What are the reasons why he never was going to "win"? What are, and what role, does Gatsby's character flaws play in the outcome? What criticisms do you see Fitzgerald making about class-ism and the dangers the American Dream might present to hopeful individuals?

Chapter 8: Fitzgerald wrote this book, in part, as a response to the events in his own life. As a group conduct some flash research to learn about Fitzgerald's life - particularly as it relates to the courtship and relationship with his wife. In Chapter 8, Gatsby spends time reflecting on his life and talks about his love for Daisy. As he talks, Nick makes some very important realizations about Gatsby. After reading about Fitzgerald, in what ways do you think his own life influenced this book and how does he use Chapter 8 - particularly - to explore them?

Chapter 9: Instead of reflecting on this chapter only, we are going to reflect on the book as a whole. Please answer the reflection questions below to wrap up your thinking on the book.

Final Book Reflection Questions:

In your groups discuss the following sets of questions. After each discussion, please write down a through account of your final thoughts for each. I am looking for paragraphs here and appropriate text evidence.

Discussion 1:

Look back at your reflections, what types of people in society do you think the characters in The Great Gatsby represent? Do they seem like real people who could really exist – why or why not? Which characters seem the most “real” to you - why? Who, if any, do you find most sympathetic - why? Most important, in what way do the events of the novel affect Nick Carraway? How, or to what degree, does he change over the course of the story?

Discussion 2:

Fitzgerald wrote, "You don't write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say." What did Fitzgerald have to say in Gatsby about the American dream? What statement or protest or critique might Fitzgerald be making about American culture? To what extent do your find this message relevant today?

Discussion 3:

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." To what extent do you agree with Bruccoli that the book is a classic/masterpiece? Why?

Portfolio Assembly

Please assemble your portfolio the following way: Character map for Ch. 1, the Ch. 1 discussion question, Character map for Ch. 2, the Ch. 2 discussion question, and so on until you get to Ch. 9. End with your Final Book Reflection Questions. Please make sure your name is on it. This is a big chunk of points and I want to be able to award them to you.