F. Scott Fitzgerald s The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald s The Great Gatsby

About the Author n Born-September 24, 1896 n Died-December 21, 1940 n Married Zelda Sayre n Famous works include The Great Gatsby The Beautiful and the Damned Tender is the Night

Important Facts to Know n The Great Gatsby is set in the mid 1920s. n Prohibition at home led to a growing world of organized crime as the sale of alcohol went underground. n The 1919 World Series was affected by it. Members of the White Sox (the team favored to win that year) were convinced to throw the series, creating larger profits for those gambling against the Sox.

Character Types: n Protagonist: usually overcomes a weakness or difficulties to achieve a new understanding by the work s end. n Hero: A protagonist who acts with great courage and strength n Antihero: a protagonist who has questionable virtue or is underhanded at times. n Foil: Provokes or challenges the protagonist so as to more clearly highlight certain features of the main character. n Antagonist: This more important foil, opposes the protagonist by barring or complicating his or her success.

Important Facts to Know n Also around this time was the artistic and cultural influence of The Harlem Renaissance n This novel is written in first person narration, which wraps the reader into the perspective of the main character as this person tells us first hand about his or her experiences

Characters of The Great Gatsby n Jay Gatsby- Handsome, mysterious, lives next door to Nick s cottage. He trusts Nick and gradually tells him about his past and love for Daisy.

Characters of The Great Gatsby n Nick Carraway- the novel s narrator. When he moves to the West Egg he joins a new social world full of rich people.

Characters in The Great Gatsby n Daisy Buchanan- Beautiful, charming, and spoiled, the object of Gatsby s affection. She s materialistic which led her to marry Tom Buchanan.

Characters in The Great Gatsby n Tom Buchanan: Former Yale football star who is completely full of himself. He is conceited, violent, racist, and unfaithful. n Jordan Baker: Daisy s friend is an example of the modern woman of the 20s. A liberated, competitive, golfer, she is firmly established in high society. She both attracts and repels Nick as a romantic interest.

Characters in The Great Gatsby n George Wilson: The owner of an auto garage at the edge of the valley of ashes, George finds his only happiness through his faithless wife, Myrtle. n Myrtle Wilson: She dreams of belonging to a higher social class than George can offer. She is a sensual woman who hopes her adulterous affair will lead to a life of glamour.

Settings in The Great Gatsby n West Egg- where Nick and Gatsby live, represents new money n East Egg- where Daisy lives, the more fashionable area, represents old money

Symbols in The Great Gatsby n Green Light- at the end of Daisy s dock and visible from Gatsby s mansion. Represents Gatsby's hopes and dreams about Daisy.

Symbols in The Great Gatsby n The Valley of Ashes- the area between West Egg and New York City. It is a desolate area filled with industrial waste. It represents the social and moral decay of society during the 1920 s. It also shows the negative effects of greed.

The American Dream n Gatsby is the ideal image of one who has achieved the American Dream. n What is the American Dream and who has achieved it in our time?

Old Money Vs. New Money New Money: n Someone who has achieved the American Dream n Not as respected in the 1920 s Old Money n Money from family wealth n Born rich n Not earned through work done by yourself n Respected above all in the 1920 s

Stop Writing now Just Listen: n The Great Gatsby is a tragic love story, a mystery, and a social commentary on American life. It is about the wasteful lives of four wealthy characters as observed by their acquaintance, narrator Nick Carraway n The Great Gatsby is told in the first person by Nick Carraway. n The novel begins from the point of view of an older Nick, talking about the events of a summer in his past. n Nick moves to West Egg, Long Island with the other newly rich people and has a mysterious neighbor named Jay Gatsby.

Again no notes needed n Gatsby is 30, throws lavish all-night parties, is rumored to be a hero of the Great War (WWI) yet others says he served as a German spy. He claims to have attended Oxford University, but the evidence is suspect. As Nick learns more about Gatsby, every detail about him seems questionable, except of course for his love of the charming Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby throws his parties with one goal in mind, to attract Daisy, who lives across the bay in the more fashionable East Egg. From the lawn of his mansion, Gatsby can see the green light glowing on her dock, which becomes a symbol in the novel for an unreachable treasure. n Daisy is however, a married socialite and mother, yet Gatsby still worships her as his, golden girl. They first met when she was young and he was a military officer. Daisy promised to wait for him to come back from war but instead married Tom Buchanan, a wealthy classmate of Nick s (our narrator). Having obtained a great deal of money, Gatsby s only goal is to win Daisy back again.