What We Review
Why Teach The Great Gatsby?
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is on one hand, a tantalizing glimpse into the coveted lives of one percenters. On the other hand, it is a remorseful exposure to the lonely emptiness of this lifestyle. Students will simultaneously love and hate the characters they meet on this wild ride, “wanting to look squarely at every one, and yet avoid all eyes,” while also questioning whether any character in this novel is the hero, or whether money can, in fact, buy happiness (Fitzgerald 15).
Universal Themes in The Great Gatsby
Pursuit of the American Dream
The primary theme of Fitzgerald’s novel is the Pursuit of the American Dream, particularly during the lavish 1920s. The American Dream is defined as “anyone, regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into, [could] attain their own version of success in a society where upward mobility is possible for everyone” (Barone). For Jay Gatsby, the most natural way to attain this success was to achieve massive wealth. However, even this massive wealth was not enough to make up the gap in social status between “new money” carpetbaggers and the “old money” of the Buchanans. Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s devastating rejection to criticize our perception of the American Dream as simply the “culmination of wealth” (Pumphrey). For further detail on this theme, see our other post on Themes and Motifs in the Great Gatsby.
🔎 Text-to-Self Connection: This theme was and still is highly relevant for our students considering their future lives and careers. Surely we all want to see some level of success, but how we define that success is crucial. This novel is a fantastic opportunity to challenge students to see past the money, fancy clothes, and fancy cars and into what brings them lasting joy and purpose.
Failure to Live in the Present; Obsession with the Past and Future
Due to his obsession with Daisy, Gatsby is the clearest example of a character stuck in the past. This obsession restrains him from ever having a genuine relationship with the physical Daisy. He has concocted a much different version of her in his imagination. The past also consumes Tom Buchanan, his one claim to fame being his football career in New Haven. Tom’s mistress, Myrtle, is always rhapsodizing what she and Tom will do once they are married to one another. Little does she know, this is something Tom clearly does not see in his future. Even in casual conversation, the Buchanans, particularly Daisy, reminisce about the past or plan for the future. They are always planning trips to the city or recollecting old acquaintances. Whenever Daisy is forced into the present, she is visibly uncomfortable and anxious.
🔎 Text-to-Self Connection: Students have very different opinions about their high school experience. Some students thrive during this time, almost falling into the idea that they “peaked in high school”, much like Tom Buchanan. These students can recognize the value of their high school experiences without becoming tethered to them, recognizing the value of looking to the future. Other students despise their high school experience and place very high expectations on life after high school, much like Myrtle Wilson. These students need to be encouraged in a much different way; yes, life after high school can be exciting and very fulfilling, but these students may miss out on certain high school experiences because they are so focused on the future. This refusal to live in the present leads into the other theme of the destructive nature of dysfunctional relationships.
The Destructive Nature of Dysfunctional Relationships
Every relationship in this novel is toxic, primarily as a result of rampant secrecy and disingenuity. Tom isn’t genuine with any woman in his life, neither his wife nor his mistress at the time. Jordan Baker gives the impression that she and Daisy are close, but she easily conspires behind Daisy’s back and shares Daisy’s most intimate secrets.
🔎 Text-to-Self Connection: High school students are highly invested in their peer relationships, even though some might be damaging. HS friendships can grow into rich relationships that last a lifetime…. Or they can cause severe damage during and after HS. This novel allows teachers to show students how to recognize toxic friends or friend groups and provides students with solid reasoning for ending those relationships before greater harm is done.
Cross-Curricular Planning
Social Studies
Social Studies has a clear connection to The Great Gatsby. The novel takes place during the Roaring Twenties, a prosperous but tumultuous decade in America’s history.
“Old Money” families such as the Buchanans were disgusted by the sudden rise in new wealth, which contributed to this “consumer culture” (“The Roaring Twenties History”). When Tom and Daisy finally attend one of Gatsby’s parties, Tom continually expresses that he recognizes no one, showing his disapproval of the situation. It’s clear he feels as if these people are not worth knowing. Tom assumes Gatsby has gained his newfound wealth through bootlegging, and his guess is not far off. The 1920s saw a strict prohibition of alcohol, making illegal alcohol sales, also known as bootlegging, a highly profitable and perilous undertaking.
Several times throughout the novel, Tom reveals a racist mindset, saying things like, “if we don’t look out the white race will be utterly submerged” (Fitzgerald 13). This mindset has a harrowing connection to the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 and other racially motivated crimes during this time period, such as the reemergence of the KKK and forced relocation of black people to northern states during and after WWI. Additionally, Meyer Wolfsheim’s character is described in an exaggerated, highly stereotyped manner, having a “flat nose,” “tiny eyes” and a hairy nose. Many Eastern European Jews immigrated to the states during this period seeking better opportunities, resulting in the passing of strict laws to stop this level of immigration.
Music, Art, and Theater
Gatsby’s wild parties illustrate the thriving and hedonistic party scene of the 1920s. Many people lived in cities rather than in the country, so opportunity arose for shared culture, whether it be fashion, music, dancing, or partying. The sale of alcohol was prohibited, but not the consumption of it, so many stockpiled their booze before the ban went into effect, creating situations where party-goers were exposed to alcohol, and lots of it.
New technology also made it easier to party as more people owned automobiles and could easily access places not otherwise accessible by public transportation (such as Gatsby’s mansion). However, many Americans, including Tom Buchanan, are not impressed by the party scene, or “racy culture” (“The Roaring Twenties”). When Tom finally attends one of Gatsby’s parties, he is disturbed by the people around him because he doesn’t recognize any of them, but Daisy is enthralled by all of the celebrities she sees.
Showing students clips of popular Broadway plays or listening to artists from this period can only enrich the experience of reading this novel. Students can even get out of their desks and learn the Charleston! For the ultimate experience, throw a Gatsby party, complete with sparkling grape juice, cucumber sandwiches, students dressed in 1920s apparel and dancing to music, or a live band if you can find one! For bonus points, appoint a student as the “mysterious host” and have students figure out which one of them is the secret Gatsby.
Planning Your Gatsby Unit
Fitzgerald’s novel isn’t a long or complicated read, so it can be tempting for students to rush through it to be done with it. Therefore, it is valuable to challenge student readers with goals for their reading before starting the novel. Introduce students to the novel’s key characters, potentially by having them create a notebook of primary character postmortems to track Fitzgerald’s masterful characterization throughout the story. During this activity created by the National Math and Science Initiative, students make inferences about different characters using evidence from the text to support their claims. Before or after introducing the characters, provide historical background on this novel’s setting and challenge students to find connections between this real-world setting and its portrayal in the text. Both of these goals tie directly to Common Core and state standards regarding characterization.
As students begin reading the novel, create discussion around these characters and their motivations, guiding students into forming their own thematic ideas, which can then be turned into thematic statements toward the end of the novel. Encourage students to notice how Daisy never speaks for herself; a man always speaks for her. Explore how Nick goes from admiring, to hating, and finally, to feeling sorry for Gatsby by the end of the novel. Students should feel an emotional response to the way these characters treat one another. This emotional response should naturally encourage students to want to share their personal feelings about the interactions they are witnessing. Since this novel’s major themes interact and build on one another, Common Core and state standards focused on thematic analysis lend themselves easily to this work.
What standards should I teach?
The Great Gatsby is typically taught in high school — most commonly 11th grade — the following standards “buckets” should be addressed. While this section focuses on the language contained within the Common Core Literacy Standards, the majority of states’ standards also address these topics.
Character Development and Setting:
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).
Relationships Between Themes:
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.
Analyzing Imagery and Symbolism:
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.)
Recording Evidence to Support Claims about the Text:
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.
Compare/Contrast the Novel to Baz Luhrmann’s Film Interpretation:
Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text.
Essay Writing
Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Essential Questions
Essential Question 1: How do the novel’s characters define “advantage,” and how might that mirror or differ from students’ own perception of advantage?
After introducing students to the novel’s key characters and historical setting, begin reading the novel together, either as a whole group or in small groups of students. Encourage students to stop frequently to take down notes about each character and discuss the four main characters they meet: Nick, Tom, Daisy, and Jordan Baker. Prompt students to consider Nick’s father’s advice at the very beginning of the novel: “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you had” (Fitzgerald 1).
Essential Question 2: As the events of the novel very quickly spin out of Tom’s and Gatsby’s control, students should question whether the characters ever had any control over their surroundings.
As students continue reading the novel, reinforce standard RL.11-12.3 by keeping students accountable for tracking character words and actions, especially when interacting with both primary and secondary characters. Help students visualize the stark differences in setting between the bright, glittering West Egg and East Egg to the dark, dusty Valley of Ashes. Ask students both how and why Fitzgerald uses symbolic imagery such as this to address standard RL.11-12.4. At the close of the novel, students should be able to form thematic statements, expressing how these different themes feed into and build off of one another. After gathering evidence throughout the novel, especially on character development, students can hold rich conversations on these characters, expressing emotions ranging from pity to disgust.
As a final assessment, students will provide individual responses to the text and engage with the text on a deeper level by writing literary analyses. Done correctly, this assessment measures how well students merge their personal ideas about the story with claims from scholarly articles, citing both evidence from the novel as well as these outside sources to form a critical analysis of the text. This activity alone covers a multitude of standards, including W.11-12.9, W.11-12.1, RL.11-12.1 at least, and potential others depending on which prompt students choose for their response.
Achieving Student Buy-In
Many television series showcasing the lives of the rich and powerful have found immense popularity, whether Bling Empire, Gossip Girl, or Riverdale, to name a few. Telling students that they are about to read a novel about the 1920s may not excite every high schooler in your classroom. But, by pitching the novel instead as a dramatic look into the lives of the rich, with expensive parties, scandal, and fancy cars, students won’t be able to wait to dive right in. Describe the experience by having students imagine themselves flying down the streets of New York in a flashy, bright yellow Rolls Royce, driven by a crazed man in and out of alleyways, all under the inescapable gaze of a pair of looming eyes belonging to a Dr. T.J. Eckleberg.
Students will want to take in the sights and sounds of the exciting, vivid, carefree 1920s New York, but their attention will constantly be diverted back to these characters who have both everything and nothing. Plus, promising to watch Baz Luhrman’s version of the Great Gatsby after reading for comparison is enjoyable for students and addresses Common Core standard RL.11-12.7 simultaneously.
What background knowledge do my students need?
Students should be familiar with the Roaring Twenties:
- What was happening during this period?
- What motivated American citizens?
- Why did the stock market crash and what part did it play in the start of the Great Depression?
Time spent defining and discussing the American Dream by listening to and analyzing song lyrics across time is a fabulous resource for different interpretations of this dream.
Assessment Ideas
- Informal Assessment: Socratic Seminar
The Great Gatsby lends itself easily to discussion before reading, during reading, and after novel completion. Regular discussion in various forms, including Socratic Seminars, can help students form and voice their own opinions about the novel’s events while also informing educators of students’ overall comprehension of the novel. Socratic Seminars add unique value over informal discussions as they force students to do two things: first, students move beyond simple comprehension questions and start asking higher-level questions of one another, and second, students must have textual evidence to back up their claims.
- Formal Assessment: Literary Analysis Essay
Students will pick from a series of prompts and write an essay in response to show their understanding of the novel, addressing writing-based standards such as W.11-12.9, W.11-12.1, and RL.11-12.1 at a minimum; several other standards may apply given the chosen prompt. Students are required to incorporate the original novel and evidence from two scholarly articles to form their analysis. Sample prompts could be as follows:
- How does F. Scott Fitzgerald reveal his ideas about the American Dream through his main character, Jay Gatsby, in his novel, The Great Gatsby?
- Pick 2-3 themes of Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, and explain how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account.
- Examine Nick Carraway as the narrator of Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, and defend whether he is a reliable and trustworthy narrator.
3. Use Albert’s Chapter Quizzes to Check for Understanding
Each of our literature courses contains reading quizzes that you can use to track your students’ reading progress and comprehension before moving on to a new section of the text. You can find these reading quizzes in the Assessments tab of our subject guide.
Each chapter of The Great Gatsby has its own 10 question reading quiz, and each quiz is made up of the following:
| Question Type | Description |
| 5 Multiple Choice Questions | These questions assess students’ reading comprehension. This way, you can make sure they both read and understand the text! |
| 5 Fill in the Blank Questions | These questions ask students to fill in the blank with the appropriate character or plot point, ensuring that they remember what they have read. |
Suggested Activities
- Postmortem of the Protagonist
It is up to you how many individual character postmortems you require of your students. With so many rich characters in Fitzgerald’s novel, doing one for each primary character and one or two secondary characters, such as Myrtle, throughout the reading of the novel will provide students with a wealth of evidence on each character that can be used later on in discussions. Postmortem activities prompt students to find evidence to support character motivations and fears and keep track of how these characters react to various people and events, citing evidence of their findings. Rather than using a reading log, teachers can assess student progress throughout the novel by reviewing the notes made on these character charts.
- Daisy’s Diary
Daisy is one character who is never very “real” with anyone in the novel. She never speaks for herself and seemingly floats through life. We only ever get to know Daisy through other (male) characters sharing stories about her. As a creative writing assessment, prompt students to write several journal entries from Daisy’s perspective for key days throughout Daisy’s life, such as the day she met Gatsby, the day she married Tom, her reunion with Gatsby, attending Gatsby’s party, or the night Myrtle was killed. Using the text as a guide and incorporating characterization-focused standards, ask students to imagine what is going on in Daisy’s head and what contributes to her development as a character.
- Shoebox Scenes
Fitzgerald provides lavish descriptions of many different settings in the novel: the two mansions belonging to the Buchanans and Gatsby, Nick’s modest home decked with flowers for Daisy’s arrival, the hot, stuffy apartment that Tom keeps in New York, George Wilson’s greasy garage, and the sprawling Valley of Ashes under the watchful eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, just to name a few. Using old shoeboxes, students recreate these iconic settings using precise details from the novel. Assess students on their creativity in bringing these scenes to life as well as through their direct connections to the text. Students will create a legend for their scenes, indicating specific pieces of text evidence revealed in different details to address standards that focus on characterization.
Wrapping Up
Although a relatively brief read, Fitzgerald’s novel is jam-packed with rich opportunities for student conversation and analysis. Since there are so many different ways to interact with this novel, instruction and assessment can be easily differentiated to individual students while still addressing key standards. For quick assignment ideas, check out our 200+ Great Gatsby review questions.
Works Cited
Barone, Adam. “What Is the American Dream?” Investopedia, Investopedia, 13 Feb. 2021, www.investopedia.com/terms/a/american-dream.asp.
Common Core State Standards Initiative. “English Language Arts Standards.” English Language Arts Standards | Common Core State Standards Initiative, www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Scribner, 2004.
History.com Editors. “Tulsa Race Massacre.” History.com, A&E5 Television Networks, 8 Mar. 2018, www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/tulsa-race-massacre.
Pumphrey, Kimberly. “God Bless America, Land of The Consumer: Fitzgerald’s Critique of the American Dream.” Virtual Commons – Bridgewater State University, vc.bridgew.edu/undergrad_rev/vol7/iss1/22/.
