Expanded sentence (start with when):............................................. ....................................................................................................................
Slide 3 - Slide
Characterisation Nick
“They’re a rotten crowd…You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.’ I’ve always been glad I said that … because I disapproved of him from beginning to end.” pg 146 – 147
Is Gatsby ‘worth the whole damn bunch put together’? What quality is it that makes him different?
Slide 4 - Slide
Is Gatsby ‘worth the whole damn bunch put together’? What quality is it that makes him different?
Slide 5 - Open question
The loss of The American Dream
Gatsby is a symbol for America in the 1920s. The American Dream has, in the pursuit of happiness, degenerated into a quest for mere wealth.
Gatsby’s powerful dream of happiness with Daisy has become the motivation for lavish excess and criminal activities.
Slide 6 - Slide
Consider the following characters in the novel. For each one note down how they symbolise different elements of the American Dream.
Slide 7 - Slide
Gatsby
Slide 8 - Mind map
Daisy
Slide 9 - Mind map
Tom
Slide 10 - Mind map
Jordan
Slide 11 - Mind map
SYMBOLISM – Weather
pathetic fallacy
“The night had made a sharp difference in the weather and there was an autumn flavour in the air.” pg 146
The ‘fire’ has gone out of Gatsby’s life with Daisy’s decision to remain with Tom. This is symbolised by the cooling weather and autumn slowly creeping in.
Slide 12 - Slide
SYMBOLISM – The swimming pool
‘I’ve never used that pool all summer?’ pg 146
In some ways Gatsby is clinging on to the hope that Daisy will love him the way she used to symbolised by his insistence on swimming in the pool as though it were still summer.
Important – both his downfall in Chapter 7 and his death in this chapter result from his stark refusal to accept what he cannot control – the passage of time
Slide 13 - Slide
SYMBOLISM – Eyes of Dr T J Eckleburg
“But you can’t fool God!... Doctor T.J.Eckleburg …God sees everything,’ repeated Wilson.” pg 152
George takes this to be the all-seeing eyes of God.
He mistakenly believes that Myrtle’s lover must have been her killer and must be punished by “God”.
Slide 14 - Slide
SYMBOLISM – Eyes of Dr T J Eckleburg
BUT remember that these eyes are blind – they are the advert for an opticians/oculist
The connection between these eyes and ‘God’ exists only in Wilson’s grief-stricken mind.
Slide 15 - Slide
How important has been the idea of eyes/seeing within the novel? Give examples
Slide 16 - Open question
Symbolism - the rose
“He must have looked up at an unfamiliar sky through frightening leaves and shivered as he found what a grotesque thing a rose is …” pg 153
The rose has been a symbol of beauty and love for centuries, but Nick says the symbol of a rose has become grotesque, so has become repulsive, ugly or distorted.
Slide 17 - Slide
Symbolism - the Rose
Daisy is grotesque in the same way. Gatsby has made her beautiful and the object of his dream but in reality, she is an idle, bored and rich young woman with no moral strength or loyalties.
How do you now feel about Daisy? Consider that she has abandoned Gatsby in his hour of need.
Slide 18 - Slide
SYMBOLISM - Holocaust
“…gardener saw Wilson’s body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete” pg 154
Indicates the wholesale destruction of Gatsby’s life, of his dream and his love for Daisy.
Also indicates the destruction of Wilson’s life, his dream and of his world.
Holocaust = destruction or slaughter on a mass scale
Slide 19 - Slide
Death of Gatsby
Look again at the oblique (indirect) description of Gatsby’s death. pg 154
1. How far do you think that it is a ‘fitting’ end for the character?
2. Why do you think that Fitzgerald illustrated Gatsby’s death with the butler hearing a ‘few shots’?
3. Why do you think that Fitzgerald chose to portray Gatsby’s death the way he did?
Slide 20 - Slide
Classwork/homework
Complete the assignment in Teams => Term 2 +> The Great Gatsby => chapter 8