Workbook The Great Gatsby PDF

**Workbook The Great Gatsby** A person and person dancing Description automatically generated **The author** F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896 -- 1940) - pre-eminent American author - married Zelda Sayre, an American socialite - his stories satirise the jazz age of the 20s - struggling alcoho...

**Workbook The Great Gatsby** A person and person dancing Description automatically generated **The author** F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896 -- 1940) - pre-eminent American author - married Zelda Sayre, an American socialite - his stories satirise the jazz age of the 20s - struggling alcoholic - *The Great Gatsby* was his greatest success - his cousin wrote the lyrics to the 'Star Spangled Banner' **Background to the novel:** *The Great Gatsby* is a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and is set in the glitz and glamour of 1920s America. Also called the 'Roaring Twenties' -- it was a time of great economic prosperity and growth in America and Europe. There was increased consumer spending and cultural and social change as people flocked to live in the cities where employment opportunities were plentiful. New forms of entertainment, like Hollywood movies, jazz cafes and dance halls were the order of the day and were frequented by women, called Flappers, who were socially freer than their mothers and grandmothers before them. There arose a new breed of 'rich' and as they became richer and received tax breaks, many in the poorer sectors of society accumulated debt. The novel captures and explores the dark side of the 1920s by exposing the corruption and loss of morality amongst particularly, the nation's wealthy elite. **Genre**: literary realism -- it depicts the world in the 1920s **Setting:** summer - New York, Long Island, 1922 **Setting the scene - What is the novel about?** **Answer the following questions:** 1. How does the story start? -- -- 2. Who is the narrator? -- -- 3. Is he/she a reliable narrator? How do you know this? -- -- 4. What is the West Egg, East Egg and the Valley of Ashes? -- -- 5. What is the relationship between Tom, Daisy, Nick, Jordan and Gatsby? -- -- 6. What is the symbolism of the following: - Dr. Eckleberg's eyes -- -- - the grey dust of the Valley of Ashes -- -- - Myrtle and George Wilson -- -- - Tom Buchanen -- -- - Jay Gatsby -- -- 7. What type of person is Tom Buchanan? Give two arguments to support your answer. -- -- **Discussion questions** **Chapter 1** 1. Do you consider Gatsby to be a "self-made man"? Is he a good portrayal of achieving the American Dream? 2. Address the role that setting plays in the novel and how it dictates its characters and themes. 3. Explore the character of Nick. How are readers supposed to feel about him? In what ways does he come off as reliable or unreliable? 4. After the birth of her daughter, Daisy says, "And I hope she'll be a fool -- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool." What does she mean by this? **Chapter 2** 1. What is your perception of Nick after he goes to New York with Tom? 2. How does Myrtle Wilson, Tom Buchanan's mistress, serve as an embodiment of people's desire to join the elite? 3. How does Tom Buchanan's behaviour towards Myrtle Wilson at their party echo the theme of class that Fitzgerald examines with this novel? 4. Discuss why the American Dream is just that, a dream, in the novel. **Chapter 3** 1. What do Gatsby's parties symbolize? 2. How does Fitzgerald portray the contrast between the illusion and reality of Gatsby's life through the party scenes? 3. What does Nick's role as an observer at Gatsby's party reveal about his character? 4. Why do you think Gatsby remains distant and mysterious at his own party? **Chapter 4** 1. What significance does Gatsby's background, as revealed through his conversation with Nick, hold for understanding his character? 2. Why is Gatsby's meeting with Meyer Wolfsheim important in the context of the novel? 3. What is the significance of Gatsby's obsession with Daisy? 4. How does Jordan Baker's recounting of Daisy and Gatsby's past affect your understanding of Gatsby's motivations? **Chapter 5** 1. What does the reunion between Gatsby and Daisy reveal about their characters? 2. How does Gatsby's idealization of Daisy clash with the reality of who she is? 3. How does Fitzgerald use setting (Gatsby's mansion, Nick's modest home) to enhance the emotions and themes in this chapter? 4. What role does time play in this chapter, especially in Gatsby's attempts to recreate the past with Daisy? **Chapter 6** 1. Discuss the man, Dan Cody. What is his relation to Gatsby? 2. When Tom Buchanan and his party arrive at Gatsby's mansion, it is clear that they do not accept him as part of their 'crowd'. What evidence can you find for this? 3. Gatsby's major flaw becomes clear in this chapter -- what is it? 4. Tom and Daisy dislike Gatsby's party for different reasons. Explain. 5. What past does Gatsby want to recreate? **Chapter 7** 1. Tom Buchanan and George Wilson are in the same position, yet differently. Explain. 2. Summarise the events that occur in the chapter. **Chapter 8** 1. In this chapter, Gatsby reveals his first impressions of Daisy. What does he tell Nick? 2. Does he really love daisy for who she is or does he love who she represents? Substantiate your answer with arguments from the chapter. **Chapter 9** 1. What do we learn about Gatsby based on the schedule at the back of the book, *Hopalong Cassidy?* 2. What does the fact that there were only Nick and Gatsby's father at the funeral say about all the many people that had attended Gatsby's parties? 3. Nick returns to the Midwest after Gatsby's funeral. Why does de decide to leave New York? 4. He later meets Tom Buchanan and during their discussion his suspicion about why Wilson had killed Gatsby is justified. Discuss what his suspicion was and how it resulted in Gatsby's death and the conclusions that Nick draws about both Daisy and Tom?