the great gatsby chpt 1

7/27/2019 The Great Gatsby Chpt 1

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The Great Gatsby

Chapter One



Learning Intentions

Demonstrate understanding andknowledge of the main characters fromchapter one

Be able to identify quotations which givethe reader a clear insight into thecharacters

Consider the importance of setting in thenovel and how this further establishesthe characters



The Great Gatsby

Set in a 3 month period

Main location is Long island, New York

State but does occasionally move to

Manhattan

Set during the Jazz Age in the 1920‟s



Chapter One - Summary

Nick establishes his reason for recording events.

He establishes setting – East Coast/Summer/1922.

He asserts the qualities he has for recording the storyyet contradicts himself.

His style of prose is both lyrical, dense but alsoefficient.

Establishes his own family background.

We meet some of the main protagonists.

He alludes to Gatsby but we do not meet him directly,

thereby maintaining a sense of an enigma. Importantly, he reveals that he has returned to the

West in order to process the events of this summer.



Fitzgerald invents this

character to write the novel -

written as an autobiographical

account of events taking placeover a 3 month period in the

summer of 1922.

“I am inclined to reserve all

judgements”

“Reserving judgement is a

matter of infinite hope”

“I wanted the word

to be in uniform”

Contradicts himself

throughout. Is a

stockbroker yet

admires romantic

sensibilities.



Nick‟s Function

Both observed and participant. Be aware

of not only what he discloses about

others, but also about himself.

What are his values and ideals?

We must keep this in mind as he is not

an impartial narrator!



Group Discussion Questions

1) Having read the first few paragraphs of the novel,what do you know about Nick‟s personality?

2) According to Nick, what was a particularly unusualaspect of Gatsby‟s character, given the pessimism

of the time? Include the quotation.3) At the start of the novel Nick‟s father reminds him

that not everyone has had his advantages. DescribeNick, list his advantages, and detail the facts youknow about him.

4) Do you consider Nick to be a “good” narrator?Justify your response.



Character Work

Each group has been given a character and

your task is to record quotations ideas,

impressions and opinions of this character

throughout the novel. Choose one person from the group who will be

your character and draw round them.

Write the character‟s name at the top of the

paper and begin finding details to add to your

character.



Character Information

Head = what you think about that character, first

impressions, justifications from the text, words

used to describe their personality.

Mouth = speech bubbles, important quotationsfrom that character.

Heart = important relationships the character

has, quotations which highlight this.

Around the body = additional information,

quotations you wish to add.



Characters

Be prepared to present your information

to the rest of the class.



Daisy and Tom Buchanan

As a group discuss the above relationship. Thinkabout the following:

What are your first impressions of Daisy?

Think about how Nick describes her andchoose 3 main quotations and expand onthem.

What type of man is Tom? Justify your

response. How do they support/contradict the “American

Dream”?



Daisy

“turbulent emotions possessed her”

“breathless thrilling words”

“face was sad, and lonely” “absurd, charming little laugh”

“low thrilling voice”

Dressed in white! Connotations…



Daisy – First Impressions

Insubstantial, unable to be held onto. Shecomes across simultaneously as somewhatfalse but also truthful (“I hope she‟ll be a fool”).Daisy‟s main flaw is that she is intelligent

enough to see how aimless and shallow her entire existence is yet won‟t do anything tochange. Her growth as a human has literallybeen halted and she is indeed p-paralysed.

Almost immediately we are made aware thatTom is having an affair, reinforcing a centraltheme that everything from the outside looksperfect but the real truth is far from perfection.



Daisy First Impressions

“Our beautiful white girlhood”

Daisy‟s only redeemable feature is her willingness to scoff andundermine her husband‟s racism. Her sarcastic remarks abouther „beautiful white girlhood ‟ deliberately mocks his fecklessnessand stupidity.

“I hope she’ll be a fool…a beautiful.”

Her relationship with her daughter seems empty of natural affectionand empathy but she has enough intelligence to accept that her life is meaningless and she doesn‟t want her daughter to realisethat her life will be the same.

“I’m p- paralysed with happiness”

Seems to be a contradiction. Shows how lifeless she is and has solittle energy to show any real feelings.



Easily influenced and is

driven by fear about losing

his wealth and title.

Intellectually challenged.

Doesn‟t have the mental

capacity to digest information

properly.

“Standing with his legs

apart” – alpha male,

masculine stance.

“rather hard

mouth”

“cruel body”

“The Rise of the ColouredEmpire” – Tom‟s favourite

book. Racist propaganda.



“I‟ve been lying on that sofa for as long as

I can remember”

Reinforces the lack of motivation and

paralysis present in the East Eggers.Almost overwhelmed by their apathy.



Group Discussion Questions

1) What imagery is used to introduce the

characters of Daisy and Jordan?

2) What colour is used in conjunction with

these women and what might this

suggest about their characters?

3) Explain the contrast between Tom and

Daisy.



Setting – Learning Intentions

Understand the importance of setting in

„The Great Gatsby‟

Show how these settings relate to the

theme of “The American Dream”

Identify other themes which arise from

chapter one and the different settings



Entrance Ticket

In your own words, explain what you

think a class system is.

Provide examples of different classes.

Give your opinion about class and

whether you think it still exists today.



Setting

Chapter one introduces the reader to the two

main settings: West Egg and East Egg.

These settings are very important as they help

to establish the characters and also link in withthe main themes of the novel.

They are also symbolic of different class

systems in America (the supposedly classless

society).



TASK ONE

Find two quotes which describe each

Egg and explain what they tell you about

the setting.

Explain what these two settings

symbolise in terms of class and The

American Dream.



West Egg and East Egg

Chapter one introduces the reader to both

West Egg and East Egg and establishes the

symbolic significance of both.

West Egg represents „new money‟,ostentatious and mock, whereas East Egg

represents „old money‟, established and

genuine.

One represents the aspiring class, the other

the established, upper middle-class.



The Eggs and the American Dream

The eggs are fundamentally different – Nick refers to the „sinister contrast‟ between them.

East Egg (where Tom and Daisy live) is the fashionable suburbwhich houses families with long-established generations of wealth

– the „royalty‟ of New York.

West Egg, by comparison is no less splendid: white palatialmansions are dotted along tree-lined avenues and Wealth iseverywhere.

The reason that West Egg is „less fashionable‟ than its neighbour is because the inhabitants have not been born into well-established „money‟ families.

Gatsby – among others on West Egg – is part of the „nouveauriche‟ that is, he has made his fortune from scratch, emergingfrom a natural state of poverty to become a „self -made man‟.



Aligns itself with

American ideals.

Embodies the notion

of the dream

New money lines inWE

Contains original spirit

of The Land of

Opportunity

Embodies old world

ideals of patronage, class

and heredity values.

They are the antithesis of

„The Dream‟

Full of emotionally

stunted, aimless, shallow

ideals.



Task Two

In groups, discuss why such snobbery

towards the nouveau riche exists in East

Egg.

Explain how this snobbery shows that the

very idea of The American Dream is

flawed.



Setting and The American Dream

Snobbery exists because it is a class system within a classsystem – a reminder that, no matter how well you do in life, therewill always be someone „above‟ sneering at your efforts.

This type of class division is particularly interesting in light of TheAmerican Dream.

This dream relates to the idea of America as the Land of Opportunity, and states that any man (note man), if he is willing towork hard and improve himself, will find the means to do so there.

One of the founding principles of the country is a firm belief inreward for hard work, and the idea of the Self Made Man is onewhich American values is fundamentally based.

So the ideas that such „winners‟ would be seen as second classcitizens in East Egg is a reminder – if any were needed - that the

American Dream is fundamentally flawed.



Gatsby and the Green Light

At the edge of his dock, Gatsby is seen to be

holding out his arms and trembling. He is

gesturing towards a:

Single green light, minute and far away coming from the edge of Daisy‟s dock on East

Egg.

This light and Gatsby‟s gesture has greatsymbolic resonance throughout the rest of the

novel.



Symbolism Task

In groups discuss what the light could

symbolise. Think about:

The connotations of the colour green

The location of the light

What you now know about the Eggs

The enigma that is Gatsby



Symbolism

It could represent money – green is the colour of money in America and this could be a symbol of “the dream” and achievingwealth.

Alternatively, green can represent jealously and envy and thiscould indeed by applied to Gatsby‟s desire to be part of East Eggsociety and to be just like them, while knowing that he will never

be good enough. The light could also represent Daisy, like a beacon calling him

forward and putting him under her spell.

By placing this episode at the end of the chapter, Fitzgeraldeffectively foreshadows and delays Gatsby's introduction to thenovel, and his obsession with Daisy Buchanan – indeed, by

painting a comprehensively damning portrait of her character inthis chapter, he questions the very wisdom of this love.



Main Themes

East vs. West

Old world vs. New world ideals

The fallacy of the American Dream vs.the inherent hopefulness of it

Illusion vs. reality

the great gatsby chpt 1

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