Great Gatsby 3

• English
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

The Great American Gatsby 

Week I

• Fitz' bio 
• historio-literary context: modernism + post WWI 
• Motto
• Perspective (1st person) + (un)reliable narration
• Old money vs. nouveau riche 
• East vs. West 

Week II

• Daisy (and the portrayal of women) 
• Old money, new money, NO MONEY 
• Symbols: The Valley of Ashes + The Eyes of Dr. Eckleburg
• Quote analysis 
• Finding ways to analyze literature: locate the binary, identify novel's position, identify your position, and go!  

Week III

What is "American" about The Great Gatsby?

Week III

• The American Dream 
• Gatsby's idealization of history + objectification of Daisy
•  My Teacher Survey 
• diversify that input: Great Gatsby the movie 

Lesson Goals

1. You can, with the appropriate vocab, describe both "sides" of the American dream in the context of the Great Gatsby .

2. You can search for evidence in  a literary source.  

3. You can argue whether Gatsby is a quintessential American character.

4. You can effectively compare and contrast different the same text in two formats (book and movie).  

The American Dream

Consumerism

Upward mobility

The American Dream

The American Nightmare

Meritocracy

Classless society

Endless

Winners and losers 

Objectification 

The American Dream

"Everybody wanted enough money to buy fancy cars, and enough whiskey to crash them." 

The American Dream

“Americans, while willing, even eager, to be serfs, have always been obstinate about being peasantry” (95). 

What does this mean? 

How can you use this quote to make a case for TGG as a deeply American novel? 

Daisy = Gatsby's American Dream?

“If it wasn’t for the mist we could see your home across the bay," said Gatsby. "You always have a green light that burns at the end of your dock."

Daisy put her arm through his abruptly, but he seemed absorbed in what he had just said. Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever. Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to him, almost touching her. It had seemed as close as a star to the moon. Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted things had diminished by one” (100). 

Daisy = Gatsby's American Dream?

“There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams-not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion (...) No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man can store up in his ghostly heart” (101-102). 

Gatsby, America, and "the past"

Part of "The American Dream" is the notion that, in America, you can start fresh. No "head start" = equal opportunity 

It is a new country, without "legacies," royalty or titles.

Gatsby, however, lives in the past; romanticizes it. Does that fit in the "American dreamer" narrative? 

Gatsby, America, and "the past"

“‘I wouldn’t ask too much of her,’ I ventured. ‘You can’t repeat the past.’ 

‘Can’t repeat the past?’ he cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can!’ (...) He talked a lot about the past, and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy” (117).

The American Dream & Gatsby

Now it's your turn! Read the excerpt and answer the questions

Book vs. Movie 

1. Pay attention to the music played in the movie. What kind of music is it? Why do you think this genre was chosen? 

2. Look at the visual style of this movie? Is it introverted, or extravagant? Why does this match the setting? 

3. As always, the movie is different than the book. Locate two narrative differences and write them down.    

My Teacher Survey

Next time

• Movie/book talk 
• (White) privilege
• The Color of Money (and other colors in The Great Gatsby) 
•  Is Gatsby "great"?