The American Dream + Gatsby Quiz

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 5

Overview of the lesson

Gatsby chases The American Dream

Some random questions about the novel                (5 min.)

Background/contextual information                          (6 min.)

Video                                                                                          (4 min.)

In-class Assignment                                                           (10 min.)

Questions/info about test prepping                            (remaining time)

What is Gatsby's signature saying?

1. hot stuff
2. old guy
3. old sport
4. hot sport

Where do George and Myrtle Wilson live?

1. West Egg
2. East Egg
3. New York City
4. The Valley of Ashes

What occupation is Nick intending to master when he moves to New York?

1. Bootlegging
2. Bond business
3. Fur trade
4. Grocery store manager

How is Daisy related to Nick?

1. Sister
2. Cousin
3. Aunt
4. Mother

Why does Tom hit Myrtle at his apartment in New York City?

1. She taunts him about Daisy
2. She refuses to see him anymore
3. She says she loves Nick
4. She curses at him

Daisy falls in love with Nick at the end of the story...

1. True
2. False

Nick arranges a large funeral for Gatsby in which everyone who knew him attended...

1. True
2. False

Which of the following is not a reoccurring theme in The Great Gatsby?

1. Kindness
2. Wealth
3. Lies and deceit
4. The American Dream

Background/Context

The Great Gatsby is a lyrical portrait of American values in the 1920s, the personal and moral corruption of a culture based on the social and moral prerogatives of wealth. 

The novel depicts the Roaring Twenties as an era of greed, cynicism, and the mindless quest for pleasure. The characters symbolize these values.

F. Scott Fitzgerald juxtaposes Nick Carraway, the novel's narrator and moral compass, and Jay Gatsby, the charismatic racketeer and romantic idealist; to the married couple Daisy and Tom Buchanan, members of the established old money class who lack Nick's personal integrity and Gatsby's idealism. 

Shown as "careless" bullies who smash lives as well as objects in their restless search for diversion, Daisy and Tom are admirably well suited to succeed in a world in which idealism is impossible and integrity is passé.

Gatsby has made Daisy the incarnation of his dream of perfection. Her lovely voice is "full of money," showing the pretentious link between beauty and wealth to Gatsby as well as American culture. 

To that end, Gatsby has spent his adult life collecting the wealth and social standing he thinks will win Daisy and therefore make his dream of recapturing the past by winning the "golden girl" come true. 

Gatsby's dream is shattered by the reality of Daisy's rude selfishness, symbolizing the destruction of the American dream. 

Just as World War I shattered America's innocence, neither can Gatsby nor any other American return to the Edenic virtue of the pre-war era. 

Gatsby becomes a mythic figure whose career and fate stand for America itself, the idealism in the face of the gross materialism that has destroyed America's green freshness and left only a valley of ashes in its wake.

Gatsby chases The American Dream - video

In this video, learn about F. Scott Fitzgerald and his notorious fictional character Jay Gatsby. Both were in the pursuit of the American dream and love. 

https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/aml15.ela.lit.gatsamdream/gatsby-chases-the-american-dream/

Discussion Questions



1) According to the video, many people define the American dream as “money, or at least what it can buy.” If this is true, how would you define Gatsby’s American dream?

2) Gatsby’s pursuit of the American dream is equivalent to his pursuit of what?

3) Describe some similarities between F. Scott Fitzgerald and the character of Gatsby. What is the fundamental difference between the two, according to the video?

4) In reference to the scene in which Gatsby is throwing his excessive shirt collection on the bed in front of Daisy, what are the shirts symbolic of?

Instructions

> In pairs/groups of 3, answer the question that was assigned to you.

* You should give a full answer including analysis and sign(s) of critical thinking.

> One person per pair/group will share your findings with the rest of the class in no more than 1 minute.

Test prepping

You want to know:

- background of the 1920’s (!) 

- full storyline

- names and traits of all characters (and how they’re connected)

- themes/symbols/literary devices, etc.

Make sure you can explain your answer(s) on the test → if you were to mention a symbol, explain the symbol itself and analyze what it symbolizes! (an example from the novel helps you do this)

Study the background reader!