The Great Gatsby
What's so great about him, anyway?
Babes, booze, and beautiful cars. Not quite how you'd imagine the description of a classic American novel, is it? Well, F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby has all three in spades—not to mention, some of the most famous bits of writing and dialogue ever put to paper. This course will cover the book for what it is: a dramatic look at dreams, love, and society during the Roaring '20s that is endlessly praised as the Great American Novel.
Alcohol may be prohibited in Gatsby's world, but you know what's not? Dozens of engaging readings and Common Core-aligned activities that will help you understand:
- Themes of love, desire, and identity as they appear in narrative storytelling.
- Depictions of class and consumerism in the novel.
- The portrayal of women, the wealthy, and the middle class in Fitzgerald's work.
- The historical and literary context surrounding The Great Gatsby.
Unit 1. The Great Gatsby
In this 15-lesson unit, we'll figure out what makes Gatsby so great and why on earth Fitzgerald uses phrases like "somnambulatory abstraction."
Sample Lesson - Introduction
Lesson 1: Glittering Eggs
We hope you like him, because he'll be your guide through the entirety of The Great Gatsby. In Chapter One, he'll introduce us to the world of the 1920s.
First stop: Long Island. We'll tour West Egg and East Egg, where we'll see our share of mansions and big beach homes, reminding us that wealth, class, and success will be major players in the novel.
But as green (read: rich) as everything seems, there are some major differences between the two Eggs, so keep your eye out. By describing where our characters live, Fitzgerald is also telling us about their backgrounds and lifestyles.
Put on your flapper dress, and let's get to it.
Sample Lesson - Reading
Reading 1.1a: Great Scott!
Here's the thing, Shmoopers: we really can't talk about the Jazz Age without talking about F. Scott Fitzgerald, and we can't talk about F. Scott Fitzgerald without also talking about his wife, Zelda. So what we're going to do is study both of their biographies. There'll be some overlap, obviously, but not so much that we can't still learn something by looking at their lives side by side.
Let's start with Fitzgerald himself. Scott was something of a tragic figure. Born of middle-class, Midwestern stock, he went on to study at Princeton, enlist in the military, and narrowly avoid combat in World War I. As a soldier, he began writing his first novel, This Side of Paradise, the working title of which was "The Romantic Egoist." Yeah. That should give you a sense of what Scott was like. He was all talk and ambition when he met Zelda at a dance in 1918. They were engaged almost immediately.
As the youngest daughter of a well-to-do family in Montgomery, Alabama, Zelda was wild, spoiled, and aching to break free of the constraints of "society." When she met Scott, he seemed to have things going for him, so they agreed that he'd go ahead to New York and she would stay behind until he'd made his fortune. It took him a while, but he did it. Thanks to the success of his first novel, they were able to enjoy a carefree, literary lifestyle where they went to parties and traveled around Europe. By the time The Great Gatsby was published, they were living mostly in France.
That's around the time things started to go downhill. Scott, always a heavy drinker, began to feel the effects of his constant boozing, while Zelda, always a delicate figure, suffered a mental breakdown and spent the rest of her adult life in and out of institutions. Time has managed to vindicate Zelda—a talented artist who seems to have been given the wrong diagnosis—and to raise Scott up from the debt-riddled alcoholic to the literary genius we know today.
Way to go, Time. We knew we could count on you.
Needless to say, the Roaring Twenties took their toll on the Fitzgeralds. They both died young: 44 for Scott and 47 for Zelda. We prefer to think of them as the young, energetic couple who took New York by storm and inspired half a dozen novels and biographies with their style, their romance, and their witty banter. Just look at these two. Wouldn't you want to hang out with them?
Don't answer that just yet—it'll spoil our next activity.
Sample Lesson - Reading
Reading 1.1b: The Great Gatsby: Chapter One
You are cordially invited to dinner, Gatsby style.
Jump on intoThe Great Gatsby, reading Chapter One.
Feeling lost in all the drama? Pop over to Shmoop's chapter summaries for a quick review.
Sample Lesson - Activity
Activity 1.1a: Drop Me a Line
We're the first ones to admit that the Fitzgeralds had an incredibly tumultuous life, but we don't want that to dampen their literary achievements (Zelda was a writer, too, you know, and might've really made something of herself if not for her illness). If anything, we think it's more impressive that F. Scott Fitzgerald was able to write as well as he did, with everything he was going through. The poor guy. He had a lot on his plate.
What must that have been like? In this activity, we want you to put yourself in Fitzgerald's shoes just for a moment.
As Fitzgerald, write a letter to your editor, explaining how your life has been affected by your work, and vice versa. Imagine it's the early 1930s and the best years are behind you, though you're still enjoying some success. Also imagine that your editor doesn't already know everything about your life. (A tall order, we know.)
In your letter, cover the following topics:
- Fitzgerald's childhood and education. What effect did his upbringing and social status have on his view of the world, and how did these things change as he grew up and went to Princeton?
- His marriage to Zelda. Zeld was wild, crazy, and, more often than not, his muse. Do you think she helped his writing, or was there a point when her influence began to hurt his literary career?
- His alcoholism. Okay. Let's talk about the elephant in the room: the drinking. It's no secret that Fitzgerald's fondness for drink led to his heart attack, but being the great writer that he was, he must've had some complicated feelings about it.
Here's an example of what we're looking for:
Received your letter marked May the 3rd today. Wanted to write you with an update on the manuscript at hand. To wit: there isn't one. Of late, I've had to manage some personal affairs, and I must confess that things with Zelda have taken a turn for the worse. You'll remember the scene she made at the party last fortnight? Anyway, it's taken all my time away from writing.
Feel free to take a less formal tone in your letters. We're asking for 200 to 250 words. If you're looking for some inspiration, check out this article on the writing of The Great Gatsby. It includes excerpts from letters Fitzgerald wrote to various people, including his editor. (His name is Max Perkins, by the way. Hence us addressing it to Max.)
Sample Lesson - Activity
Activity 1.1b: Cracking the Eggs
The Great Gatsby is known for its swanky setting: two areas of Long Island known as West Egg and East Egg. (Fun fact: these places exist in the real world, too, but we usually call 'em Great Neck and Port Washington.) Fitzgerald himself lived in West Egg, in a small house kind of like the one Nick lives in ("an eyesore" that's "squeezed between two huge places that rented for twelve or fifteen thousand a season").
But for the most part, Long Island's beach communities were (and still are) home to the rich and fabulous folks around New York City. In the novel, these people spend their time conforming to certain standards and not really thinking much about the things we usually consider productive.
In this activity, we'll examine the lifestyles of these rich and famous citizens of East and West Egg by making a real-estate advertisement for each Egg's distinctive charms.
Sell it, baby.
Skim back over Chapter One, and mark down every instance you find that describes the setting. Make sure to specifically note the differences between the two Eggs.
Now that your research is done, we want you to create two advertisements for prospective homebuyers looking to settle in East or West Egg—one for each Egg. Each of your ads should try to sway the buyer's opinion and should include the following items:
- a three-to-four-sentence description of the Egg, including the geography, the culture, and the size of the estates you tend to find there. East Egg advertisements will likely emphasize how aristocratic and genteel the neighbors are.
- a slogan for the Egg that includes its best selling point, sort of like, "West Egg—where you don't have to play polo to wear a polo shirt."
- a list of at least three reasons why someone would want to live there. At least one of those reasons should be why people wouldn't want to live at the other Egg. For example: "You don't want to live in East Egg. Those Buchanans are a mess."
- at least two photos of the Egg to accompany the ad. You can find those at Discover Long Island. Just make sure to cite your sources.
Don't forget: you need to consider the differences between the two Eggs, and what type of potential resident or visitor might like each area. And, of course, you're using the text as your guide—you can even pull quotes from The Great Gatsby as part of your advertisement.
You're not done yet, Shmoopers.
Once you've created your ads, write 100 – 150 words reflecting on the process. Your reflection can be first person, and should discuss how the decisions you made informed your ad. For example, you might want to address the following points:
- In your ads, how did you characterize East and West Egg based on the people who live there?
- What quotes helped to inform the characterizations?
- How do your photos enhance how you've depicted the setting?
Hint hint: there's that line where Nick says West Egg was "the less fashionable of the two"—look for quotes like that to include as ones that informed your ads.
When you're done, upload your ads and your responses below.
Sample Lesson - Activity
Quiz 1.1c: The Eggs
- Course Length: 3 weeks
- Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12
- Course Type: Short Course
- High School
Just what the heck is a Shmoop Online Course?
Common Core Standards
The following Common Core Standards are covered in this course:CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.1