The Great Gatsby

Summary for Lesson 1

In today’s lesson we began studying The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help plan and write the paragraphs assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains loads of information on the context of The Great Gatsby, considering the crucial contextual ideas of the Roaring 20s in America and the American Dream. It also contains our thoughts on the key themes and motifs within the novel, and our discussion on how the novel deals with the concepts of wealth inequality and social class. Everyone worked really hard today, we had a great discussion about our favourite and least favourite things about the book, in which students successful picked out the most interesting and enlightening features of the novel. The class offered some really brilliant insights into whether or not they considered the book to be an example of social satire and gave some excellent reasons backing up their opinion, and we also had a very interesting debate about what Fitzgerald may have been trying to say in writing a book like The Great Gatsby. I was particularly impressed with the students’ contributions on the concept of the American Dream and its relation to the novel’s presentation of social class and societal structures. Really well done for your work today everyone, today was a super complex and information packed lesson. Keep up the fantastic work, have fun writing your homework and I will see you all soon 😊

Homework

P.S. I’ve attached a video on the Roaring 20s below to help bulk out your historical understanding of the novel, if you get enough time give it a watch because it’s a super helpful insight into the history of this period. I’ve also attached a really interesting article about the American Dream in Gatsby which should really help with your homework. Both of these are optional but hopefully you find them helpful:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/may/25/american-dream-great-gatsby

https://goodmenproject.com/learning/the-roaring-20s-crash-course-us-history-32/

Summary for Lesson 2

In today’s lesson we continued studying The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help plan and write the paragraphs assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains all our thoughts on the style and narrative of the novel, focusing particularly on the role of symbolism and the genre of tragedy and how this relates to the book. It contains thoughts on character analysis, the theory of Nick as the unreliable narrator and the students’ analysis of tragic elements within the book which they completed fantastically. We had a really great discussion on the concept of time within the book, analysing the symbolic importance of the scene where Gatsby and Daisy see each other again for the first time, and the class offered some really well-thought out theories on the importance of Gatsby breaking a clock and how this related to the themes of social class and his obsession with the past. The students also shared some interesting ideas on whether the characters in the novel are well-rounded or more two-dimensional and why Fitzgerald may have made the choice to make them so. I really enjoyed hearing everyone’s opinion on Gatsby’s status as a tragic hero and his hamartia, or ‘tragic flaw’, and thought that the way they conceived of Nick’s narration and its trustworthiness was really fascinating. Excellent work today everyone, really well done for all your thoughtful and interesting contributions. Keep up the great work and I will see you all soon 😊

Homework

Dear Beth,

Here is my homework, have a great day!

Summary for Lesson 3

In today’s lesson we concluded our study of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help plan and write the paragraphs assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains our work on the close textual analysis of The Great Gatsby, focusing in particular on elements such as the importance of symbolism in the novel, the symbolic importance of the deaths of both Gatsby and Wilson, the ideas of class and consequence prevalent in the novel, and Fitzgerald’s final reflection on the validity of the American Dream. The students all worked fantastically hard today, we had some really insightful, interesting and imaginative contributions from everyone on the three symbols we studied closely this lesson: the green light, the eyes of Dr Eckleburg and Myrtle’s death. I was super impressed by the sophistication and thoughtfulness the class demonstrated in discussing these themes, and at how adeptly they dealt with the ideas of working class people suffering for the sins of the upper class in this novel. I was amazed by the depth of analysis the students displayed, particularly when analysing the role of the symbolic realm of the novel, and also really enjoyed hearing their 1920s newspaper reports that reflected the prejudices of the time. Really well done everyone, I am so impressed with your work on this book and you should all be proud of yourselves. It has been a joy working with you all and I will hopefully see you all again soon. Keep up the brilliant work, keep questioning the world around you, and keep reading between the lines. See you! 😊

Homework

To Beth,

I’m not sure if this is working because i cannot see what i have handed in, i have tried again to attach both pieces and link one of the homework, sorry if it does not work again.https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oiMciN-YRk-1fQmgH7uHqDH0gOhsztcvlc2rM-lXYGk/edit?skip_itp2_check=true&pli=1

Amy