Name: ​__________________​ Date:​________________

Before We Begin: Test Your 

Mastery! 
 
 
● Problem → Who is the main charcter 
and what conflict(s) do they face? 
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
● Cause -> What event or person created the conflict(s)? 
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
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● Solution -> How does the main character deal with the conflict? What do they 
do to try and fix the problem? 
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Recap! 
● The Author 
○ What was the first novel F Scott Fitzgerald wrote? 
○ For years Fitzgerald struggled with ​______________​ and 
_____________ ​. These factors contributed to his heart attack that killed 
him. 
● Context 
○ When is ​The Great Gatsby ​set and what names does this era go by? 
○ The urban population outnumbered the rural population for the very 
first time. All of these movements combined to create an American 
society characterized by ​_________________​, ​________________​, 
_____________________​, than any pervious generation. 
● Symbols 
 ○ What does the Valley of Ashes represent? 
● Themes 
○ What are the four major themes described?  
1)​__________________________________________

2)​__________________________________________

3)​__________________________________________

4)​__________________________________________

 
First: Let’s Talk 
Themes 
● First,​ read and fill out the 
image to the right 
● Next,​ write your themes in 
the blank spaces below 
● How many themes can we 
add to this list? 
○ American Dream 
○ Old Money 
○ Middle Class 
○ New Money  
○ Upper Class 
○ Lower Class 
○ Death  
○ Hope  
○ Deceit  
○ Time 
○ The Roaring Twenties 

○ _______________________

○ _______________________

○ _______________________
 
 
Themes: Analyze how certain themes are portrayed 
● Money 
○ Gatsby represents new money 
■ _____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
○ Daisy and Tom represent old money 
■ They were born into ​__________​ and inhertied much of their 
___________
● The American Dream 
○ Gatsby is chasing the American Dream 
■ His goal is to create a wealthy life with Daisy 
○ Tom is living the American Dream 
■ _____________________________________________________
○ Mr. Wilson is a critic of the American Dream 
■ Hard work does not always pay off 
■ Myrtle is having an affair 
■ _____________________________________________________
● Time 
○ The past haunts Gatsby 
■ Gatsby is set on repeating history and recapturing a golden 
moment with Daisy  
○ _____________________
■ He thinks of the new decade before him as a "portentous menacing 
road," and sees the struggle between old and new money the end 
of an era and the destruction of both types of wealth. 
○ Constant reflection of relationships (past) and their consequence (future) 
■ Myrtle and Tom​ =
_______________________________________
■ Gatsby and Daisy​ = _____________________________________
■ Tom and Daisy​ = _______________________________________
■ Myrtle and Mr. Wilson​ =
__________________________________
● Class 
○ Mr. Wilson and Myrtle represent the lower class 
○ _______________ ​ represents the middle class 
 ○ Gatsby, Tom, Daisy, and Jordan represent the upper class 
 
 
 
What Do You Think? : Take a moment to understand 
● Why did Gatsby move into a big mansion on West Egg and throw so many 
parties? How does this relate to the entirety of the novel? (What theme does 
this support?) 
● Response: 
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

The Connection: How do these 

themes connect? 
● First,​ let's look at this next image to 
visualize the link between each character 
which ultimately reveals the link between 
each theme. 
● Next,​ choose two characters from the 
map and write how the themes they 
represent build and develop throughout 
the novel in relation to each other. 
● Response: 
_________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________

Literary Elements: What are they? 

● Characterization​: _
​ _________________________________________________
● Symbolism​: an object representing another, to give an entirely different 
meaning that is much deeper and more significant. 
● Setting​: the time and place in which the story and or scene takes place. 
○ ________________________________________

Why Do They Matter? 

● To better understand why Fitzgerald made the choices 
he did when ​___________​ the text and the 
___________​ of those choices.  
○ Examples:​  
■ Why does Gatsby die? 
■ Why does the audience have to know 
Gatsby's background? 
■ Why include The Valley of Ashes? 
■ Why put a light at the end of Daisy's dock? 
■ Come up with your own example: 
_____________________________________________________

Express Yourself: Examining the author’s choices 

● What do you think would have happened if Daisy came clean for the murder of 
Myrtle? What would have this changed for the novel? 
 ● Response: 
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
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Organize Your Ideas: Graphic organizer 

● Design a Venn diagram to compare and contrast two settings. Each section 
must have at least 3 creative ideas 

What Does This Mean? 

This Venn diagram shows... 
● How Manhattan fosters two different lifestyles and themes. 
 ● How each setting ​_________​to literary elements like theme and mood. 
● ________________________ ​can be used to compare and contrast and 
visualize the development of ideas. 
 

Setting & Symbolism: What does each 

main setting symbolize? 
● West Egg​ = somewhere between upper and middle 
class, longing, old money 
● East Egg​ = upper class, hope, ​_______________
● Valley of Ashes​ = lower class, ​_______________​, 
horrid, loss of faith 
● Manhattan​ = ​______________​, young, blend in, 
careless, misdeed 
● Long Island​ = Past. elder, stand out, care, 
______________

It’s Raining Symbols: Everything 

means something! 
Let's distinguish some major symbols 
● Green light​ at the end of Daisy's dock = hope, 
dreams, expectations, fantasy 
● T.J. Eckleburg​ = lost generation, despair, 
loneliness, ​__________________________
● Gatsby's mansion​ = grandness and emptiness of 
the 1920s, unbound love 
● Cars​ = vanity, materialism, competition 
 ● and many more… 

 
 
 
Now You Try! 
● First, ​read and fill out the image 
to the right 
● Next,​ write your 
examples below 

● __________________________
________________________________
________________________________
● __________________________
________________________________
________________________________
● __________________________
________________________________
________________________________

Wrap-Up 
● Common themes  
○ How they are portrayed in 
the text 
 ○ How they develop and link throughout the story 
● _________________________
○ How Fitzgerald uses literary elements to convey the message in a specific 
way 
● Symbolism, setting, and characterization 
○ _________________________________
● Our interpretations matter! 
○ The messages we individually derive from the text that are not explicitly 
said are the ​___________________​ to what we learned today. 
 

Activity! : Now it’s your turn 

● To exercise your knowledge of The Great Gatsby you will analyze, synthesize, 
and evaluate what this unit topic has taught you. 
● Refer back to the Venn diagram used when comparing and contrasting setting. 
○ Examine 3 themes and create a 3-set Venn diagram 
■ Each contrasting section needs 5 ideas 
■ Each comparing section needs 3 ideas 
○ Discuss symbols and author's choices in your ideas 
○ Support your ideas with one quote from the text to represent each 
theme.  
■ Write and cite your quote next to designated circles 
■ interpret the quotes in two sentences next to designated circles