The Great Gatsby Viewing Guide

Transcription

1 The Great Gatsby Viewing Guide Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men. From, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald As you watch the movie adaption of Fitzgerald s classic American novel you will complete each of the following activities. 1. Follow the three main characters: Nick, Gatsby, and Daisy 2. Complete a theme analysis 3. Answer 2 of 3 essay questions regarding the movie

2 Follow Nick, Gatsby and Daisy throughout the film. Be SPECIFIC!!!! Question Nick Gatsby Daisy What are your initial impressions of this character? What role do you think this character will play in the story? Describe this character s physical appearance. What does this tell you about them? What is the first major action taken by the character? What is another significant action taken by this character? Why is this a significant action? What is the last action we see this character take? What is the importance of this action? How has this character changed throughout the story? Be SPECIFIC!

3 The Great Gatsby Film Study Directions: You will select three themes below to and complete the tasks under each theme. Your paper needs to be labeled and well organized so that I can tell which theme you are responding to in your paper. This assignment is due on Friday April 24, the start of class. Society and Class 1. In The Great Gatsby, does wealth alone decide which class a character belongs to? 2. What are the various markings of the upper class in the novel? What distinguishes it from the other classes? 3. Is Gatsby in the same class as Wilson? If not, is he closer to Wilson's class, or to Tom's? Where does Meyer Wolfsheim stand in all of this? 4. Does Gatsby love Daisy, or does he love the lifestyle she represents? Is she only his ticket to the upper classes? If so, does Gatsby realize this? A. In The Great Gatsby, the only element not restricted to one class is unhappiness. All members of all classes are equally unhappy. B. In The Great Gatsby, social norms are insurmountable barriers between people. Inter-class relationships are impossible. Love 1. Is there a difference between love and romance in The Great Gatsby? 2. Is love an expected part of marriage in The Great Gatsby? Why or why not? 3. Are love and sex separated in The Great Gatsby? 4. Is Gatsby's love for Daisy genuine? Does he love her, or his conception of her? What about Tom does he really love Daisy? And whom does Daisy really love, after all? Is it possible, as she said, that she loved both Tom and Gatsby at once? Wilson's feelings for Myrtle are the only example of genuine love in The Great Gatsby. Love in The Great Gatsby is only the result of self-deception and denial. Wealth 1. In The Great Gatsby, what role does wealth play in people's life expectations? Could Gatsby have achieved his childhood goals without wealth? That is, did he really care about the money, or just about the things? 2. Does money bring happiness in The Great Gatsby, destroy happiness, or have no effect?

4 3. What does Gatsby mean when he says that Daisy's voice is "full of money?" Does he mean this negatively? Why does Nick agree with him? Does this comment say more about Daisy or Gatsby? A. Although Fitzgerald shows rich people as careless and selfish, ultimately all of the characters in the book show themselves to be disloyal. Bad character spans all classes. B. The Great Gatsby demonstrates the emptiness and moral vacuum created by the decadence and wealth of capitalism. Isolation 1. Who is lonely in this book and why? Are there any characters not alienated from others? 2. Jordan remarks that she prefers large parties because they are more intimate than small parties, where there isn't any privacy. What does this say about the nature of isolation and intimacy in The Great Gatsby? 3. Does Nick see himself as part of the rich crowd? What about his comment that they're all westerners who don't belong in the East is this his way of finding commonalities to share? Does he want to be a part of them? A. Someone can experience loneliness in a crowded room. B. Being isolated is a choice -- society does not isolate people. Lies and Deceit 1. At one point, Jordan claims that Nick deceived her. Is this true? Or was Jordan deceiving Nick? What kind of dishonesty is she talking about, anyway? 2. Nick assures us he is "one of the few honest people" he knows. How does this affect the way we read his story? Do we trust his narration? 3. Are Nick and Gatsby more similar than Nick would like to admit? Is it possible to see Nick and Gatsby as possessing the same fundamental characteristic of deception? 4. In the showdown scene at the Plaza, Daisy Buchanan is ultimately honest with her husband and Gatsby despite what she might lose. Why does she choose honesty? A. In The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway presents himself as the voice of reason and reliability, yet ultimately he proves to be an unreliable narrator. B. Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby are two sides of the same coin: each has built a successful façade to fool others, yet they can now no longer distinguish their true selves from the one they have created for the world.

5 The Great Gatsby and the American Dream For 1 of the 2 questions listed below, compose an sentence response. Remember you only have to answer 1 QUESTION!!!! 1. What is the American Dream? How does Gatsby represent this dream? Does the story praise or condemn Gatsby's dream? Has the American dream changed since Gatsby's time? 2. What is the meaning of the title? In what way is Gatsby great?