The Great Gatsby
Students read The Great Gatsby, evaluating Fitzgerald's critique of the American 1920s, as well as considering issues of social class and the impact of history and memory on individuals.
Unit Summary
As students read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Great Gatsby, they will conduct in-depth character analysis of Gatsby and evaluate how Fitzgerald uses the character of Gatsby, as well as other literary devices, to comment on the society and values of the American 1920s. Students will consider issues of social class and the impact of history and memory on the lives of the characters as well as on our own.
While we do not typically take a stand on whether reading is done in class or at home, this particular unit is most suited to students reading the majority of the novel at home, allowing class time for analyzing key excerpts as well as writing about and discussing the text. If the teacher would like to read in class, she or he should allow for the number of lessons to be roughly double the estimate below.
This unit has three Supplementary AP Projects related to the theme of consumerism. In the first two projects, students will read multiple short documents and write a synthesis essay (similar to FRQ 1). Then, students will compose responses to the FRQ 3 essay prompt from the 2005 AP English Language and Composition Exam. The emphasis of this third project will be developing and communicating an informed opinion on the topic of wealth inequality. To learn more about including these Supplemental AP Projects in this English 12 unit, please see our Guide to Supplemental AP Language and Composition Projects.
Texts and Materials
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Core Materials
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Book: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Scribner, 2004)
Supporting Materials
Article: “"The Great Gatsby": Thirty-Six Years After” by A.E. Dyson (JSTOR)
Article: “8 Ways 'The Great Gatsby' Captured the Roaring Twenties - And Its Dark Side” by Sarah Pruitt (History.com)
Article: “Gatsby's Green Light Beckons a New Set of Strivers” by Sara Rimer (New York Times)
Movie: The Great Gatsby by Baz Luhrmann, 2013
See Text Selection Rationale
Assessment
This assessment accompanies Unit 5 and should be given on the suggested assessment day or after completing the unit.
- Download Assessment
Unit Prep
Intellectual Prep
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Intellectual Prep for English Lessons
- Read and annotate the novel.
- Read and annotate this unit plan and all paired passages.
- Gather outside sources on World War I, the Jazz Age, and the Roaring Twenties if students have not previously studied these eras.
Intellectual Prep for AP Projects
- Read and annotate the Supplementary AP Projects, and the articles and texts included.
- Decide the pacing appropriate for your students. These projects can be integrated into the reading of The Great Gatsby or completed at the conclusion of the reading of the novel.
- Select a print or online style guide that students will use to develop their own writing skills and style. See the following articles for ideas:
- AP English Language and Composition: Grammar Web Guide by CollegeBoard
- AP English Language and Composition: The Concept of Style by CollegeBoard
- Review the basics of rhetorical analysis by reading What Do Students Need to Know About Rhetoric? by Hepzibah Roskelly.
- Read the AP English Language and Composition 2005 Sample Student Responses.
- Read the AP English Language and Composition 2005 Scoring Commentary.
- Depending upon your level of familiarity with the CollegeBoard AP English Language and Composition exam, you may wish to spend more time exploring other resources on the College Board AP English Language and Composition Course website. If you are unfamiliar with FRQ 1, it is recommended that you begin by reading through the 2018 AP English Language and Composition Sample Student Responses and Scoring Commentary.
Essential Questions
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- Wealth and Social Class: How far can one go to break boundaries that separate the classes? How far should one go to break boundaries that separate the classes?
- Memory and the Past: Is “the past” a boundary we cannot overcome (as Nick rationally argues, “you can’t repeat the past”) or is the future a boundary we cannot overcome (as Nick notes, we are “ceaselessly born back into the past” as the “future recedes before us”)?
Writing Focus Areas
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Students will produce short written responses to each target task question in this unit. The focus is for students to produce short pieces that show a commitment to the task, purpose, and audience. This requires that they succinctly articulate their claim and provide brief but compelling evidence from the text(s) to support their analysis.
Spiraling Literary Analysis Writing Focus Area
- Focus on Task: Comprehensive and consistently appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience
- Analysis: Demonstrates effective and comprehensive reasoning
- Evidence: Sophisticated and varied evidence that deepens insight on the topic
Vocabulary
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Literary Terms
first-person narration, characterization, metaphor, irony, symbol, allusion, foreshadowing, motif, theme
Roots and Affixes
ol- (olfactory), som- (somnambulatory)
Text-based
Chapters 1–3: feign (1), levity (1), privy (1), elation (2), supercilious (7), fractiousness (7), unobtrusively (12), irreverently (9), cynical (16), peremptorily (19), involuntarily (21), transcendent (23), impenetrable (23), sumptuous (25), countenance (29), inexhaustible (35), innuendo (40), contemptuous (42), staid (44), florid (48), jaunty (52), subterfuge (58)
Chapters 4–6: incredulous (66), olfactory (68), somnambulatory (69), inconceivable (92), vitality (95), contemptuous (98), conceit (99), antecedents (101), ingratiate (101), lethargic (106), euphemism (106), incalculable (108), incarnation (111)
Chapters 7–9: obscurely (113), cynically (116), inexhaustible (120), boisterously (121), contingency (121), incredulous (122 & 129), inviolate (125), precipitately (125), disquieting (125), invariably (136), incessantly (138), truculent (140), indiscernible (148), interminable (154), conceivably (158), amorphous (161), elocution (173), complacent (176), transitory (180)
Idioms and Cultural References
Chapters 1–4: Great War (3), John D. Rockefeller (27), Fifth Avenue (28), Town Tattle (29), Gilda Gray (41), Follies (41), Von Hindenburg (61), Oxford (65), 1919 World Series (73), debut (75), Armistice (75), Coney Island (83), Trimalchio (113), medium (122), Hopalong Cassidy (173)
Content Knowledge and Connections
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- World War I
- The Jazz Age
- The Roaring Twenties
Previous Fishtank ELA Connections
- The theme of memory and the past features heavily in both The Great Gatsby and The God of Small Things. Students should be able to compare how the two authors develop this theme and what each author’s message is.
Lesson Map
1
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“8 Ways 'The Great Gatsby' Captured the Roaring Twenties”
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The Great Gatsby — Chapter 1
Identify contradictions present in 1920s society and evaluate how these contradictions are revealed in the opening chapter of the novel.
2
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The Great Gatsby — Chapters 1 and 2
Analyze the key diction used to characterize the setting as well as the major characters: Nick, Daisy, Tom, Jordan, etc.
Compare how Nick, Daisy, Tom, Jordan, etc., are characterized versus how Gatsby is characterized.
3
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The Great Gatsby — Chapters 1-3
Identify details from chapter 3 that can support assertions about Gatsby’s character.
Analyze how Fitzgerald develops the symbolic meaning of cars in the novel.
4
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The Great Gatsby — Chapter 4
Identify details from chapter 4 that can support our assertions about Gatsby’s character.
5
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The Great Gatsby — Chapters 5 and 6
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“Gatsby's Green Light”
Analyze Fitzgerald’s characterization of Gatsby and his development of theme in chapters 5 and 6.
6
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The Great Gatsby — Chapter 7
Analyze Fitzgerald’s use of diction, characterization, and historical context to develop the themes of memory and social class.
7
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The Great Gatsby — Chapters 8 and 9
Evaluate Fitzgerald’s use of foreshadowing and symbolism in the final chapters of the novel.
8
Discussion & Writing
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The Great Gatsby — Entire novel
Evaluate the essential questions of the unit in the context of the novel.
9
Assessment
Select a topic and begin work on a unit paper.
10
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The Great Gatsby
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The Great Gatsby
Analyze how the filmmaker establishes tone in the film version.
AP Projects
1
3 days
(PROCESS)
Does the pursuit of self-interest benefit society? Explain your position by synthesizing information from both the cartoon "The Great GAPsby Society" and the novel The Great Gatsby. Your argument should be the focus of your paragraph. Use the cartoon and novel to develop your claim, but do not merely summarize them.
2
5 days
(PROCESS)
Consumerism is the preoccupation of a society with the acquisition of goods. A capitalist economy such as that of the United States of America relies on the purchasing of goods and services by consumers for the economy to grow, but some believe consumerism has gone too far. Throughout the history of this country, consumer demand has had an impact, both positive and negative, on the economic and social order of the country.
Carefully read the following six sources. Then synthesize the material from at least three of the sources and incorporate them into a coherent, well-developed essay that defends, challenges, or qualifies the notion that American consumerism is a crisis.
Your argument should be the focus of your essay. Use the sources to develop your argument and explain your reasoning. Avoid merely summarizing the sources. Indicate clearly which sources you are using, whether through direct quotation or summary.
3
3 days
(ON DEMAND)
For this project, we ask students to debate and write a response to a question from the released 2005 AP English Language and Composition Exam. We are unable to reproduce the content here; however, teachers can find the question at the link below.
AP English Language and Composition 2005 Free-Response Questions (page 4)
Common Core Standards
Language Standards
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L.11-12.1 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
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L.11-12.2 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
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L.11-12.3 — Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
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L.11-12.4 — Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 11—12 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
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L.11-12.5 — Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
Reading Standards for Informational Text
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RI.11-12.1 — Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
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RI.11-12.2 — Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.
Reading Standards for Literature
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RL.11-12.1 — Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
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RL.11-12.2 — Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
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RL.11-12.3 — Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
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RL.11-12.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)
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RL.11-12.5 — Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
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RL.11-12.6 — Analyze a case in which grasping point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).
Speaking and Listening Standards
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SL.11-12.1 — Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11—12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
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SL.11-12.2 — Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data.
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SL.11-12.3 — Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone used.
Writing Standards
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W.11-12.1 — Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
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W.11-12.2 — Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
