Unit 11: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Unit 11: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Essential Questions and Skills:
How is Nick “the perfect narrator?” How is this novel a critical commentary of American society? How does Fitzgerald use symbolism and irony in the novel? What are the effects of the symbolism and irony? How does the novel’s structure affect the unwinding of the plot? Using Oedipus and Hamlet as the archetypes of the tragic hero, is Gatsby a tragic hero?
Materials:
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Voice Lessons: Classroom Activities to Teach Diction, Detail, Imagery, Syntax, and Tone.
Assessments:
A. Timed AP Essay: The British novelist Fay Weldon offers this observation about happy endings: “the writers, I do believe, who get the best and most lasting response from readers are the writers who offer a happy ending through moral development. By a happy ending I do not mean mere fortunate events - a marriage or a last minute rescue from death – but some kind of spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation, even with the self, even at death.” In a well-written essay, identify the “spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation” evident in the ending of The Great Gatsby and explain its significance in the work as a whole.
B. Weekly vocabulary assessments
C. Weekly exercises from Voice Lessons: Classroom Activities to Teach Diction, Detail, Imagery, Syntax, and Tone.
D. Student generated AP style multiple choice questions
E. Envelope Activities
Essential Questions and Skills:
How is Nick “the perfect narrator?” How is this novel a critical commentary of American society? How does Fitzgerald use symbolism and irony in the novel? What are the effects of the symbolism and irony? How does the novel’s structure affect the unwinding of the plot? Using Oedipus and Hamlet as the archetypes of the tragic hero, is Gatsby a tragic hero?
Materials:
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Voice Lessons: Classroom Activities to Teach Diction, Detail, Imagery, Syntax, and Tone.
Assessments:
A. Timed AP Essay: The British novelist Fay Weldon offers this observation about happy endings: “the writers, I do believe, who get the best and most lasting response from readers are the writers who offer a happy ending through moral development. By a happy ending I do not mean mere fortunate events - a marriage or a last minute rescue from death – but some kind of spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation, even with the self, even at death.” In a well-written essay, identify the “spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation” evident in the ending of The Great Gatsby and explain its significance in the work as a whole.
B. Weekly vocabulary assessments
C. Weekly exercises from Voice Lessons: Classroom Activities to Teach Diction, Detail, Imagery, Syntax, and Tone.
D. Student generated AP style multiple choice questions
E. Envelope Activities
More Information and Assignments
Contextualizing The Great Gatsby
Assignment: View the information. Consider each critical concept we studied in class as you read the novel.
- Fitzgerald Information
- Videos about the Roaring 20's (Watch at least 4 Videos)
- Map of the West/East Egg
- Symbolism in The Great Gatsby
- Looking for Gatsby on Long Island
Assignment: View the information. Consider each critical concept we studied in class as you read the novel.
Keeping it "Classy" with Gatsby ...Articles for Contemplation
- "Rethinking the American Dream" by David Kamp
- "Gatsby's 'Green Light' Beckons a New Set of Strivers" by Sara Rimer
- "In Fiction, A Long History of Fixation on the Social Gap" by Charles McGarth
- "Encounters with Class" -- New York Times Website
- "Girls will Be Girls" by Peggy Oerenstein
- "When the Joneses Wear Jeans" by Jennifer Steinhauer
Assignment: Read at least four articles. Be ready to discuss them in context with the novel on Monday.