the great gatsby movie presentation

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The Great Gatsby

A writer and wall street trader, Nick Carraway, finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his mysterious millionaire neighbor, Jay Gatsby, amid the riotous parties of the Jazz Age. A writer and wall street trader, Nick Carraway, finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his mysterious millionaire neighbor, Jay Gatsby, amid the riotous parties of the Jazz Age. A writer and wall street trader, Nick Carraway, finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his mysterious millionaire neighbor, Jay Gatsby, amid the riotous parties of the Jazz Age.

• Baz Luhrmann
• Craig Pearce
• F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Leonardo DiCaprio
• Carey Mulligan
• Joel Edgerton
• 1.1K User reviews
• 374 Critic reviews
• 55 Metascore
• 51 wins & 86 nominations total

• Daisy Buchanan

• Tom Buchanan

• Nick Carraway

• Well Dressed Male Witness - Wilson's Garage

• Meyer Wolfshiem

• George Wilson

• The Boss-Probity Trust

• Jordan Baker
• Jazz Player
• (as Emmanuel Ekwenski)

• Myrtle Wilson
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia Actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire have been real-life friends since childhood. This marks the first time they have appeared in a film together since Don's Plum (2001) . Before this, they appeared together in This Boy's Life (1993) .
• Goofs When Daisy is about to marry Tom, she pulls off the $350,000 pearls he bought her and they scatter all over the floor. An expensive pearl necklace like that would have individually knotted pearls, to minimize lost pearls if the silk were to break.

Nick Carraway : You can't repeat the past.

Jay Gatsby : Can't repeat the past?

Nick Carraway : No...

Jay Gatsby : Why, of course you can... of course you can.

• Crazy credits Jay Gatsby's flower symbol is shown throughout the credits with different letters in place of the 'JG'. The third-to-last flower, preceding the music section, has 'JZ' in it (an homage to the film's soundtrack producer Jay-Z . The last flower has the movie's traditional 'JG' in it.
• Connections Featured in Bad Movie Beatdown: Review of 2012 (2013)
• Soundtracks Together Written by Romy Madley-Croft (as Romy Madley Croft), Oliver Sim and Jamie XX Licensed by Universal Music Publishing Group Pty Limited By arrangement with Beggars Group Media Limited

User reviews 1.1K

• kendavies-05110
• Aug 14, 2017
• Daisy tells Gatsby she can't tell James she never loved him because that wouldn't be true, as she speaks, smoke comes from her mouth the whole line. This does not happen during any other part of the movie. Is there some significance to this or just what happened?
• Is 'The Great Gatsby' based on a book?
• How many of the songs are omitted from the soundtrack?
• May 10, 2013 (United States)
• United States
• Official Blog
• Official Facebook
• Đại Gia Gatsby
• Centennial Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (Gatsby's Estate and Nick Carraway's house set)
• Warner Bros.
• Village Roadshow Pictures
• A+E Networks
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $105,000,000 (estimated)
• $144,857,996
• $50,085,185
• May 12, 2013
• $353,660,028

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 23 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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Themes, Motifs, and Symbols in The Great Gatsby

• The Albert Team
• Last Updated On: March 1, 2022

One of the most commonly taught novels, The Great Gatsby is rich with opportunities for thematic analysis and broader real-world discussion. Gatsby is a fantastic opportunity to challenge students to see past the money, fancy clothes, and fancy cars and into what brings them lasting joy and purpose. In this post, we’ll break down the biggest themes , motifs, and symbols in The Great Gatsby .

What We Review

Major Themes in The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby lends itself to many themes , but the primary purpose of the novel is to provide a sharp criticism of the American Dream as defined during the 1920s. Other themes — such as obsession with the past or dysfunctional relationships — all tie in with this singular idea of the vanity of pursuing wealth as the only means to true happiness and success.

Pursuit of the American Dream

One very evident theme in Fitzgerald’s novel is the Pursuit of the American Dream during the 1920s. Then, as now,  many Americans believed that “anyone, regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into, [could] attain their own version of success in a society where upward mobility is possible for everyone” (Barone). Born penniless, James Gatz, or Jay Gatsby, was determined to achieve his own American Dream the only way he knew how: by attaining massive wealth by whatever means necessary. However, even after seemingly fulfilling his dream by becoming filthy rich, those who inherited their wealth still treat Gatsby as an outsider —namely, the Buchanans. Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s devastating realization to criticize people’s perception of the American Dream as simply the “culmination of wealth” (Pumphrey).

To paint a picture for the reader, Nick personifies Gatsby’s pursuit of the American Dream in the green light at the end of the Buchanans’ dock, calling it the “orgastic future that year by year recedes before us” (Fitzgerald 180). Much like Gatsby, Americans still today work their entire lives to achieve their idea of the American dream, only for some to meet an untimely end before reaching this dream. One of the most poignant quotes of the entire novel is at the end where Nick states in reference to this unattainable dream that “We beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past,” showing the vanity and utter pointlessness, in his eyes, of this “American Dream” (Fitzgerald 180). 

Failure to Live in the Present; Obsession with the Past and Future

Gatsby is the clearest example of a character stuck in the past due to his obsession with Daisy. Nick observes him “stretch[ing] out his arms toward the dark water” (Fitzgerald 21). The reader soon learns that Gatsby is continuously reaching for a green light at the end of the Buchanans’ dock, signifying his continual pursuit of Daisy, who is always just out of his reach. Gatsby is so overcome with visions of his past that he is shackled by his own imagination and kept from forming a genuine connection with the real Daisy.

The past also consumes Tom Buchanan, his one claim to fame being his football career in New Haven. Nick recognizes this immediately, feeling that Tom would “drift on forever seeking, a little wistfully, for the dramatic turbulence of some irrecoverable football game” (Fitzgerald 6). Tom’s mistress, Myrtle, is always rhapsodizing what she and Tom will do once they are married to one another, something Tom clearly does not see in his future. Even in casual conversation, the Buchanans, particularly Daisy, reminisce about the past or plan for the future, always planning trips to the city or recollecting old acquaintances. Whenever Daisy is forced into the present, she is visibly uncomfortable and anxious.

The Destructive Nature of Dysfunctional Relationships

Fitzgerald’s novel is littered with questionable characters and suspicious situations. Characters constantly act and speak behind each other’s back, making it difficult to trust or predict anyone’s motives in the novel. Tom and Daisy’s relationship is the most obvious example of secrecy leading to conflict regarding Tom’s “woman in New York” and Daisy’s long-lasting infatuation with Gatsby. Tom isn’t even truthful with Myrtle, his mistress, and tells her he cannot marry her because Daisy is Catholic and will not file for divorce. 

Miss Baker’s friendship with Daisy is just as secretive and manipulative. When she speaks to Nick behind Daisy’s back, she makes Daisy out to be a fool. She manipulates situations between Daisy and Gatsby behind Nick’s back, even when she knows nothing good can come from their secret romance. Daisy does not even have a functioning relationship with her own daughter; when Nick asks about her, all Daisy has to say is, “I suppose she talks, and eats, and everything” (Fitzgerald 16). We do not witness her daughter’s growth into adulthood, but we can only imagine the damage this separation from her parents has caused her. 

The parties that Gatsby hosts in his mansions are not filled with his closest friends; rather, complete strangers flood his halls to spill rumors about their host and leave without a word the next day. 

Gatsby, the only person who seems remotely interested in forming functional relationships, still lies to Nick about his upbringing immediately after asking Nick his opinion of him, as if to save himself preemptively. Throughout the novel, Gatsby attempts to form a real relationship with Daisy, which proves impossible because she can never live up to the Daisy of his imagination. 

Motifs and Symbols in The Great Gatsby

Fitzgerald’s novel is rich with symbolism, whether it be through color, setting, or objects. Each detail, no matter how small, enforces the tone of the scene. Many colors and settings are used in stark contrast with one another; for example, the white and gold Buchanan mansion and Daisy are vastly different from the bleak and gray Valley of Ashes. Gatsby’s car is both gold and green, signifying both his achievement of wealth and his continual pursuit of rich things, including Daisy Buchanan.

Color 

There are four distinct colors repeated throughout the novel that each carry meaning beyond the surface. These colors are white, gray, green, and gold.

Daisy and Jordan are both dressed in white at the start of the novel, and the open windows cause the white curtains to float in the air. Both the curtains and the women in white represent both innocence and superficiality of these characters who float through life lacking depth of personality. Nick Carraway describes Daisy as being “high in a white palace”, calling her both “king’s daughter” and “the golden girl” (Fitzgerald 120). In this instance, Nick characterizes her as this lofty, worshiped being, which mirrors Gatsby’s perspective and reinforces the fact that Gatsby will never be good enough for her. 

By name, The Valley of Ashes is represented by the color gray, which symbolizes the harsh conditions of the working class and overall lack of joy or hope in this place. George Wilson’s garage naturally resides in this desolate place, described as “unprosperous and bare” (Fitzgerald 25). Words such as “foul”, “solemn”, and “wasteland” are used to describe the place constantly under the watch of T.J. Eckleburg’s gold-rimmed eyes (Fitzgerald 24).

Green symbolizes two primary things: money and lust. The leather seats in Gatsby’s car are a lush green color, implying that perhaps the bright yellow paint did not declare his wealth loudly enough. Tom forces himself into the driver’s seat of Gatsby’s car, emphasizing that he believes Gatsby to be undeserving of such luxury. The most prominent green object (other than money) is the green lantern at the end of the Buchanans’ dock. While this green light represents Gatsby’s dream to be with Daisy, it also more characteristically represents envy as Gatsby desires to have another man’s wife.

Gatsby’s Rolls Royce, later known as “The Death Car,” symbolizes money and the pompous lifestyle of the rich. Nick describes Daisy as a  “golden girl”, Gatsby dons a gold tie for one of his many parties, and even the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleberg are rimmed in gold frames. In every instance, gold is both synonymous with wealth and “otherness”. Whether it is Daisy, Gatsby’s car, or even Dr. T.J. Eckleberg, each golden person or object is completely detached from the rest of society and feeling any sort of social responsibility. For example, Dr. T.J. Eckelberg’s looming presence over the Valley of Ashes 

Valley of Ashes

George Wilson’s garage naturally resides in the Valley of Ashes, described as “unprosperous and bare” (Fitzgerald 25). Words such as “foul”, “solemn”, and “wasteland” are used to describe the place constantly under the watch of T.J. Eckleburg’s gold-rimmed eyes (Fitzgerald 24). Myrtle Wilson’s brightly-dressed, sensual persona stands out in stark contrast to her colorless background. Even though her character doesn’t “fit” the setting she lives in, she is permanently bound to live and eventually die in this hopeless place. George even attempts to leave, but the thoughtless actions of the rich quickly tear apart his dream of a better life.

West Egg and Gatsby’s Mansion

While similar in appearance, East Egg and West Egg are drastically different from one another in status. West Egg, where Gatsby’s mansion resides, is “less fashionable” than East Egg and represents “new money” (Fitzgerald 5). Nick describes Gatsby’s mansion ironically as an “imitation”, further supporting the idea that Gatsby is an imposter in the realm of the rich and famous. West Egg residents are more inclined to hold extravagant and wild parties than their East Egg neighbors, even though East Eggers have no problem attending these parties held by their “less fashionable” neighbors. 

East Egg and the Buchanan’s Mansion

The mansions across the bay in East Egg are described as “white palaces”, further supporting that the color white implies something untouchable (Fitzgerald 4). The French windows reflected gold; vast gardens framed the property; “frosted wedding cake ceilings” hovered above every room, and “wine-colored” rugs sprawled across the floors (Fitzgerald 8). The author spares no detail to ensure the reader understands the exquisite luxury of the Buchanans’ home. East Egg residents also live at a slower and calmer pace than their neighbors, likely because they don’t feel the need to indulge in the luxuries offered at parties that are already at their fingertips.

Objects 

Doctor T. J. Eckleberg’s eyes 

Dr. T.J. Eckelberg’s eyes are painted onto a fading billboard that overlooks the Valley of Ashes. The eyes float independently of a face or even a nose and are framed in a pair of gold eyeglasses. Not much is known about Dr. Eckelberg; the narrator assumes that he either “sank down himself into eternal blindness” or simply forgot about his billboard and moved to a different city (Fitzgerald 24). Either way, the enormous eyes have a looming presence over the Valley of Ashes; constantly “brood[ing]” over this desolate place. You can define Fitzgerald’s choice of the word “brood” in two very different ways. These eyes could be “brooding” and watching over the city like a worried mother hen wishing to care for her chicks. Or, these eyes could be “brooding” because they are thinking deeply about everything they see that makes them continually unhappy.

Green Light

The green light at the end of the Buchanans’ dock represents Daisy in Gatsby’s eyes. Every time he sees it, he thinks of her and desires to have her. He finds hope in this light; as long as he can see it, Daisy is still just within his grasp. However, Nick sees this green light through much more critical eyes by the end of the novel. He refers to it instead as the “orgastic future that year by year recedes before us” (Fitzgerald 180).

Two important words are used to critique Gatsby’s dream, or more broadly, the American Dream. The first word, orgastic, has sexual connotations and pairs with this lustful desire Gatsby has for Daisy; she is his dream: she fascinates, entices, and overwhelms every part of his being. Likewise, the American Dream can become so consuming of an obsession that it takes on this euphoric or intoxicating appeal. The other crucial word is “recede”: as we pursue our version of the American Dream year after year, it doesn’t get any closer; it only “recedes” or moves farther and farther out of reach. Gatsby’s dream, personified in the green light, is the primary symbol of the novel and ties into Fitzgerald’s overwhelming critique of the American Dream throughout the novel.

Gatsby’s Car

Gatsby’s car has many roles throughout the novel, so much so, it could even be considered a secondary character. First, his car is used as a shuttle to bring people to his lavish parties; then, the car is used to impress Nick and convince him to do Gatsby a favor. Later in the novel, however, things take a dark turn. Tom forces himself into Gatsby’s car for their trip to the city. It is unclear why he does this other than to simply assert his own power over Gatsby. Finally, the car, driven by Daisy, murders Myrtle Wilson and is renamed the “Death Car”. A vivid picture of luxurious living with green leather interior and a bright yellowish gold paint job, Gatsby’s car is yet another failed attempt at reaching his American Dream through the accumulation of flashy and expensive things.

Wrapping Up 

Although a relatively brief read, Fitzgerald’s novel is jam-packed with rich opportunities for thematic analysis and tracking motifs and symbols. Drawing on the text For quick assignment ideas, check out our  200+ Great Gatsby review questions , and check out our pre-made chapter quizzes , designed to track your students’ reading progress and comprehension before moving on to a new section of the text.

Works Cited

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby . Scribner, 2018.

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The Great Gatsby Movie Guide

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Flexibility! This movie guide offers the teacher a variety of options: If you have two screens, you may make this paperless and simply pause the film during the appropriate time stamps; if you have a substitute, you may print up to 9 slides per page; if you would like the students to have space to write directly on the page, you may print 3 slides per page. Google Slides link provided.

The presentation includes some background on the film to engage students, and follows with questions students answer as they are watching the film. The questions are time stamped and may be used in chunks (i.e. pausing the film at certain junctures), or may simply be printed out (by printing 6 to 9 slides at a time). Either way, this is an excellent tool for watching the film and connecting its content to the novel.

This is product is also included in the very well-reviewed, year-long bundle: 11th Grade Complete Junior Year Bundle

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The Great Gatsby

Where to watch.

Watch The Great Gatsby with a subscription on Netflix, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

What to Know

While certainly ambitious -- and every bit as visually dazzling as one might expect -- Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby emphasizes visual splendor at the expense of its source material's vibrant heart.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Baz Luhrmann

Leonardo DiCaprio

Tobey Maguire

Nick Carraway

Carey Mulligan

Daisy Buchanan

Joel Edgerton

Tom Buchanan

Isla Fisher

Myrtle Wilson

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Film Review: ‘The Great Gatsby’

By Scott Foundas

Scott Foundas

• Film Review: ‘Black Mass’ 9 years ago
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It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that bling in Baz Luhrmann ’s “ The Great Gatsby ,” which arrives six months after its originally scheduled December release date but maintains something of a gussied-up holiday feel, like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as staged by Liberace . Indeed, it comes as little surprise that the Aussie auteur behind the gaudy, more-is-more spectacles “ Moulin Rouge ” and “Australia” has delivered a “Gatsby” less in the spirit of F. Scott Fitzgerald ’s novel than in that of its eponymous antihero — a man who believes bejeweled excess will help him win the heart of the one thing his money can’t buy. Cinema audiences can prove as fickle and elusive as Daisy Buchanan, too, but it’s a fair bet that a starry cast (and soundtrack) and sheer curiosity value will power this Warner/Roadshow co-production to career-best box office numbers for Luhrmann (a record currently held by “Australia,” at $211 million), if not quite enough to justify its supposed $127 million budget.

Like the blinking green beacon at the end of Daisy’s dock — so close and yet so far — Fitzgerald’s masterpiece of American letters has been a siren call for filmmakers ever since it was published in 1925. The first, silent screen adaptation arrived just one year later (and is now, like so many films of that era, believed lost), with subsequent versions following in 1949 (reconfigured into a film noir), 1974 (the best-known, with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow) and for cable TV in 2000. Rarely included in official “Gatsby” inventories, 2002’s quite curious “G” found an analog for Fitzgerald’s Jazz Age in the world of contemporary music’s hip-hop elite, long before Luhrmann saw fit to enlist Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter as a collaborator on his film’s cheerfully anachronistic soundtrack. But no one has yet cracked “Gatsby” on film as ingeniously as the theater company Elevator Repair Service did in its 2010 stage adaptation, “ Gatz ,” built around one actor’s unabridged, cover-to-cover recitation of the novel.

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It is often said that great books make for inferior films and vice versa, but there is something particular about “Gatsby” that seems to defy the screen. Transformed into voiceover, the running first-person narration of Nick Carraway (here played by Tobey Maguire ) turns stilted and dry (presumably a problem the silent version avoided). Scrutinized by the camera’s gaze, Fitzgerald’s beautifully deployed symbols and signifiers become leaden with portent: the green light, the yellow roadster, the mountain of custom-tailored shirts, the unused swimming pool and the ever-watchful eyes staring out from the billboard of an enterprising Queens oculist. With Luhrmann at the helm, those devices loom larger and more literal than ever, until they come to resemble the towering monoliths of “2001.”

Of course, to accuse Luhrmann (who also co-wrote the screenplay with frequent collaborator Craig Pearce ) of overkill is a bit like faulting a leopard for his spots. Love it or hate it, take it or leave it, this is unmistakably his “Gatsby” through and through, and as with all such carte-blanche extravaganzas (increasingly rare in this cautious Hollywood age), it exudes an undeniable fascination — at least for a while. In the notes for his unfinished final novel, “The Last Tycoon,” Fitzgerald famously wrote, “action is character,” but for Luhrmann action is production design, hairstyling, Prada gowns and sweeping, swirling, CGI-enhanced camera movements that offer more bird’s-eye views of Long Island (actually the Fox Studios in Sydney) than “The Hobbit” did of Middle-earth. Arguably, the movie reaches its orgiastic peak 30 minutes in, with the first full reveal of Gatsby himself (Leonardo DiCaprio ), accompanied by an explosion of fireworks and the eruption of Gershwin on the soundtrack. Where, really, can one go from there?

PHOTOS: ‘ The Great Gatsby’ Premiere: Film Opens in New York

But oh, how Luhrmann tries. Together with cinematographer Simon Duggan, he unleashes every manipulation he can think of — sepia flashbacks, smash zooms, split screens, superimpositions, period newsreel footage, new footage degraded to resemble period newsreel footage — all of it coming at you in three steroscopic dimensions. Only occasionally does the style seem like an actual response to the text rather than a visual circus operating independently of it. In one of the pic’s more striking passages, Carraway’s famous observation that he feels at once “within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled” becomes a lyrical mosaic of shared New York experience. Less effectively, Luhrmann has complete sentences from the novel appear typed out on the screen — a gimmick explained by a framing device that situates Carraway in a sanitarium, recounting the tale of Gatsby to a captivated shrink (Jack Thompson) who encourages him to write the story down.

What Luhrmann grasps even less than previous adapters of the tale is that Fitzgerald was, via his surrogate Carraway, offering an eyewitness account of the decline of the American empire, not an invitation to the ball. But Luhrmann identifies far more strongly with Gatsby than he does with Nick, and instead of a tragic figure undone by his false optimism and unrequited yearning, the character becomes an object of envy  —someone whose swank mansion and runway couture would be awfully nice to call one’s own. So the champagne flows like monsoon rain and the wild parties roar. Who cares if you’re doomed to meet an untimely end, so long as you go out looking fabulous?

Everyone does look the part in this “Gatsby,” not least DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan (as Daisy), though in the years since his innovative, modern-dress “Romeo + Juliet,” where style still sat in something like equal balance with substance, Luhrmann has become less interested in performances than in artful poses. Periodically, as if by accident, something like real emotion pokes up through the film’s well-manicured surface, as when Gatsby recounts his first meeting with Daisy, his face lighting up with the childlike hope that so entrances Nick about him. More often, “Gatsby” feels like a well-rehearsed classic in which the actors say their lines ably, but with no discernible feeling behind them. By far the liveliest work in the film comes from two actors with only a few minutes of screen time between them: the lithe, long-limbed newcomer Elizabeth Debicki as gabby golf pro Jordan Baker, and, in a single scene that marks his belated Hollywood debut, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan as the flamboyant Jewish “gambler,” Meyer Wolfsheim.

Among the uniformly accomplished technical contributions, Luhrmann’s producer wife, Catherine Martin (already a double Oscar winner for “Moulin Rouge”) once again stands out for her production and costume design.

Movie Stills:

Reviewed at Warner Bros. screening room, New York, April 30, 2013. (In Cannes Film Festival — opener, noncompeting.) MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 141 MIN.

• Production: A Warner Bros. release presented in association with Village Roadshow Pictures and A&E Television of a Bazmark/Red Wagon Entertainment production. Produced by Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher, Catherine Knapman. Executive producers, Barrie M. Osborne, Bruce Berman, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter. Co-producer, Anton Monsted.
• Crew: Directed by Baz Luhrmann. Screenplay, Luhrmann, Craig Pearce, based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Camera (color, widescreen, Red Digital Cinema, 3D), Simon Duggan; editors, Matt Villa, Jason Ballantine, Jonathan Redmond; music, Craig Armstrong; executive music supervisor, Anton Monsted; production designer, Catherine Martin; supervising art director, Ian Gracie; art directors, Damien Drew, Michael Turner; set decorator, Beverly Dunn; costume designer, Martin; sound (Dolby Digital/Datasat/SDDS), Guntis Sics; sound designer/supervising sound editor, Wayne Pashley; re-recording mixers, Steve Maslow, Phil Heywood, Pashley; visual effects supervisor, Chris Godfrey; visual effects producer, Joyce Cox; visual effects, Animal Logic, Prime Focus, Rising Sun Pictures, Iloura, Industrial Light & Magic, Method Studios; stunt coordinator, Glenn Ruehland; assistant director, Jennifer Leacey; casting, Ronna Kress, Nikki Barrett.
• With: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, Elizabeth Debicki, Jack Thompson, Amitabh Bachchan.

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The Great Gatsby: 9 Big Differences Between The Book And Movie

Here's a rundown of the changes.

Putting together a film based on a highly acclaimed literary work full of phrasings and lines of dialogue that have forever been burned into readers' minds is largely a thankless task. Creating a film that maintains the heart and soul of such a literary work and even many of its most graceful lines is nearly impossible to accomplish, and in that aspect, director Baz Luhrmann has plenty of troubles with The Great Gatsby . F. Scott Fitzgerald's descriptive sentences are almost as important as his dialogue and tossing some of the finest lines from the book into ashy script on the screen isn't the best way to make the most of those moments. Nor is taking creative license in certain big moments in order to speed up the storytelling process.

In other ways, Luhrmann owns his portrayal of The Great Gatsby , keeping the energy and the often frenetic pace of the twenties by speeding forward into nights of partying and langouring through days of idle play. Like the director's other works---especially Moulin Rouge -- The Great Gatsby is noticeably, unmistakably Luhrmann's and whether or not you believe in his vision is largely dependent on your tolerance of the man's idea of spectacle. It would be nearly impossible to outdo Mr. Fitzgerald, and so Luhrmann tries to visually gives us as different a world as possible while still maintaining the quality of the venerable writer's pages. It's not the movie Fitzgerald would have written, but he was never all that good at creating screenplays, anyway.

Following are the nine biggest changes I noticed in my screening of The Great Gatsby . Feel free to remark on any changes you feel may have been more noticeable. There are many spoilers in The Great Gatsby book to movie comparison. Do not delve in if you want the film to be a surprise .

To give a frame to Nick Carraway's narration, Luhrmann introduces us to a broken Nick, who is working with a doctor to recover his health after troubles with alcohol. This seems a little distasteful, since Carraway comes across as a mostly careful and considerate individual. Asking us to see him out of sorts after Gatsby's death is more than a bit of a stretch, especially as Luhrmann also tasks the character with writing The Great Gatsby .

We learn Jordan Baker is an athlete nearly immediately. Though this in itself doesn't mean much, her entire storyline is sped up and her unlikely romance with Nick is cut out for the sake of time. In the book, the two only ever seem to have a casual affection for each another, especially as Jordan is shown to be dishonest, but in the film, she's a blank canvass we never get to know all that much about. This actually makes her character quite a bit more mysterious and likable, though.

Not only is Jordan a tepid version of her novel character, Daisy also lacks a certain spark and an underlying pettiness that propels her character forward in the book. Instead of offering a voice ringing like money, she offers a weak will and a damsel-in-distress persona that doesn't suit the character, or actress Carey Mulligan , either. In the book, she's careless. Here, she's more often thoughtless.

We get an early hint that Gatsby is wistful and waiting for someone before Carraway even goes to New York and gets roaring drunk. He sees his neighbor out on the dock late in the evening, staring across the harbor. It's easy for audience members who have read the book to decipher what he is thinking, but the small moment certainly gives fans an extra foreshadowing of the big reveal in the book.

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While Fitzgerald's book always feels very much a product of a particular period in time, Luhrmann's work always seems like one grand costume party, irrevocably modern and full of rap music. He pairs this with quiet moments between our main characters that give us a breather and result in a stylistic film that manages to feel like Fitzgerald's book and nothing like it at all.

When Nick luncheons with Gatsby and Mr. Wolfsheim, Luhrmann takes us through a secret door in a barbershop and into a speakeasy full of dancing women and at least slightly corrupt men. To prove a point about corruption, Luhrmann even places the police commissioner on the premise. It's a little heavy-handed, but who doesn't want to see a speakeasy in a movie set during prohibition?

When Gatsby is verbally attacked by Tom in New York, much of the dialogue is the same. However, when Gatsby begins to lose control, begins to realize that Daisy is present in the room but may be out of his grasp, his "face that could kill a man" morphs into a childish freak out where Gatsby even screams, "Shut up." The childish antic is a nice callback to the time Carraway chides him for behaving childishly before he meets Daisy for tea.

Tom Buchanan becomes a super villain by the end of the film, painting a murderous image into Wilson's head and convincing him to do the bad deed. Making Tom into an overt bad guy is convenient to the plot, but changing Tom from an unlikable guy into a ruthless villain seems lazy and too cheap of a behavior for the character.

In the end, when Gatsby goes swimming, waiting for Daisy to call, he is shot and taken away from his dream---of success, of getting the girl---while the phone rings in the background. Though we later perceive it is Carraway, for a moment, we get to see Gatsby's great hope swell once more, even as his life dims, and we get to wonder whether or not Daisy is on the line, and what she would say if she was.

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways. 

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The Great Gatsby Unit Plan | Entire Novel Study

This resource includes an  ANTICIPATION GUIDE (pre-reading activity) for the novel  The Great Gatsby  by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

An anticipation guide is a comprehension strategy that is used  BEFORE   reading  to activate students’ prior knowledge and build curiosity about a new topic.

In this lesson, students will respond to several claims by indicating if they agree or disagree with that said statement. Next, students will work collaboratively in groups to answer related discussion questions to further build anticipation about the novel before reading.

Are you looking for  pre-reading activities for The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald ? Why not pay homage to the beautiful artwork of Spanish artist Francis Cugat who painted the original cover of the novel  The Great Gatsby !?

Have students analyze the text and graphics of the famous artwork; they will literally  judge a book by its cover  by answering questions about the emotions and associations they think of while looking at the image. Then, students should make predictions about what the story will be about.

This activity is fun and engaging for students! It’s a great reading strategy to build anticipation prior to a novel study on the American novel  The Great Gatsby.

This resource includes guided notes for  Background Information for the novel  The Great Gatsby  by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  The Great Gatsby background info is essential for students to learn and be familiar with before reading the novel!

The focus of this lesson entails a brief history of the 1920s to include the following topics: author background, setting of  The Great Gatsby,  1920s culture, the Jazz Age, the Roaring Twenties, the economic boom, gender roles, racism, prohibition, modernism, art deco, new money vs old money, social class, the Harlem Renaissance, post-war era, the Lost Generation, organized crime, and the American Dream.

Before reading the novel  The Great Gatsby , teach your students about the author, the setting, society, and culture of the 1920s to ensure they truly understand the prominent themes in the novel.

In this lesson, your students with be engaged as they take notes from a Powerpoint presentation and answer questions using the accommodating worksheet provided.

Students will answer questions along the way that create personal connections to the time period of the 1920s.

Have your students create a collaborative poster and learn about  F. Scott Fitzgerald  in a fun, engaging way!

Your students will create an author biography by researching F. Scott Fitzgerald and establishing his profile on a poster.

Students will learn about Fitzgerald and his body of work as a legendary author.

This goes perfectly for any novel study on  The Great Gatsby!

Additionally, they will learn the importance of collaboration and effective communication.

Project Steps:

1) To construct the author study poster, your students will work in groups to conduct research on Fitzgerald.

2) Students will then transfer their findings to boxes on the poster.

3) Next, they will work together to color or paint the pieces of the poster.

4) Lastly, students will tape together the final product.

The poster is made up of six pieces of paper, which can be printed on regular copy paper or card stock.

Once taped together, the final product will be  28″ x 15″  and can last a lifetime if you laminate it!

This resource includes the following:

• Step by Step Student Directions (PDF & editable word document)
• Author Study Project Rubric (PDF & editable word document)
• Author Study Graphic Organizer for Students (PDF & editable word document)
• 6 Blank Coloring Pages that come together as one beautiful poster (PDFs)
• F. Scott Fitzgerald Author Study Answer Key
• Example of Final Project: Completed Text & Fully Colored Body

This resource includes a fun, engaging activity that will get your students talking about  The Great Gatsby  before reading the novel! This  pre-reading activity for The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald  consists of over 20 classic “Would You Rather” questions.

The questions are all closely related to themes, motifs, and events directly from the novel—but without any spoilers! For example… Would you rather: marry someone rich OR make your own fortune??

Your students will be able to personally connect with the text, make predictions, and build anticipation before completing a novel study on the famous American novel  The Great Gatsby!

This resource entails 90 academic words defined:  Vocab Lists & Quizzes for All 9 Chapters!  All   The Great Gatsby   by F. Scott Fitzgerald vocabulary resources you need in one place!

Included in this resource  The Great Gatsby Vocabulary:

1. Powerpoint presentation with 90 words—and their definitions—from  The Great Gatsby.

2. Graphic organizers for students to record all definitions as well as write their own.

3. Teacher answer key for all 90 words.

4. Three quizzes: 30 words each, separated by every 3 chapters.

5. Answer keys for quizzes.

Make sure your students are completing their independent reading for the novel  The Great Gatsby  by F. Scott Fitzgerald  with these quick  Reading Checks or Chapter Quizzes ! This product works well if your students are reading independently or if you are reading as a class and you want to ensure students are paying attention! 🙂

These questions require brief responses; they are recall questions that are meant to be easy to remember for anyone who has completed the reading. This is a tool used simply to check that students are completing the independent reading, comprehending the basic information, and/or are engaged during class.

The reading checks are divided by every individual chapter (9 chapters altogether). There are two different versions of every set of questions (a & b). This is so you can use different quizzes for different classes and avoid cheating (students talk and share answers).

This product includes a Powerpoint presentation as well as printable worksheets that are meant to be cut in half and distributed to students (optional).

To administer quizzes:

• project the questions on your board for students to see
• have students use scrap paper or lined paper to write their answers down (or print the worksheets included)
• when everyone is done, have students grade each other’s answers by switching papers in class
• review the correct answers out loud and project them on the board
• collect graded quizzes

Teacher answer keys included!

The Great Gatsby Chapter Activities — Chapter by Chapter Literary Analysis & Text-Dependent Reading Questions!

This resource includes literary analysis, reading comprehension, and discussion-type questions for all nine chapters of the novel  The Great Gatsby  by F. Scott Fitzgerald, as well as 10 after reading discussion questions.

As your students read the novel  The Great Gatsby,  chapter by chapter, have them digest, analyze, and discuss the important scenes and literary elements Fitzgerald demonstrates.

There are 10 questions per chapter, plus 10 after reading questions, totaling in 100 awesome questions in this product! Thorough answer keys are included.

You can print this resource as one all-encompassing packet or you can provide students worksheets one chapter at a time.

Students will analyze point of view, theme, imagery, symbolism, irony, and more with this lesson.

This Imagery Project is an after reading activity based on the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

For this project, students will carefully select a scene from the novel  The Great Gatsby  that is filled with imagery. Students will illustrate and analyze the scene. To analyze the scene, students will pick out textual evidence that appeals to the five senses: sight, taste, touch, smell, and sound. Students will describe the effect the descriptive language has on the reader and the overall mood of the scene. Student’s must also explain Fitzgerald’s purpose for the use of imagery in the scene.

For this after reading activity based on the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, students will write an obituary for Jay Gatsby using characterization skills.

If you are looking for engaging after reading activities for  The Great Gatsby,  this writing task provides students an opportunity to analyze Jay Gatsby’s character in an interesting way! Students will discuss Jay Gatsby’s history, his accomplishments, his personality, and more, all in a well-written tribute to his memory.

Have your students analyze characters from  F. Scott Fitzgerald’s  novel  The Great Gatsby  in a fun and engaging way:  Character Collabs !

Your students will use several  characterization  methods to depict each character’s profile, demonstrate their understanding of the literature, and present their final work on a poster.

Posters will showcase your students’ body of work after completing each character’s biography.

Additionally, students will learn the importance of collaboration and effective communication.

There are seven characters included in this resource:

• Nick Carraway
• Daisy Buchanan
• Tom Buchanan
• Jordan Baker
• Myrtle Wilson
• George Wilson

1) To construct each poster, your students will work in groups to analyze their specific character.

2) Students will then transfer their findings to boxes on each poster.

3) Next, they will work together to color the pieces of the posters.

4) Lastly, students will tape together the final products.

Each poster is made up of six pieces of paper, which can be printed on regular copy paper or card stock.

Once taped together, each final product will be  28″ x 15″ .

• Teacher Guide
• Student Directions
• Brainstorm Character Analysis Worksheet
• Blank Coloring Pages for each character
• Answer Keys
• Example of Final Project for Jay Gatsby
• Digitally Colored Examples for every character
• Editable documents: directions, rubric, brainstorm worksheet

After reading the beloved American novel  The Great Gatsby  by F. Scott Fitzgerald,  have your students reexamine the  most important quotes  and dialogue throughout the book.

In this lesson, students will first identify 10 popular quotes by their speaker. Next, students will take a closer look at 25 quotes from all nine chapters of  The Great Gatsby.  Students will analyze these quotes for their meaning and significance by answering open-ended questions pertaining to each quote.

This activity is a great addition to any  novel study  of  The Great Gatsby  and a nice review for after reading! Detailed answer key included.

In this resource, students will conduct a literary analysis of  The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald  and write a  TDA Essay  using textual evidence to support their responses.

There are TWO writing options students can choose from for this Response to Literature/TDA essay.

Included in this product you will get one copy of the following each as PDFs  (ready to print)  as well as one copy of the following each as WORD Documents (as to be  editable   for teachers ).

• Essay Prompts for two different topics on the novel  The Great Gatsby
• Two Prewriting Graphic Organizers for students to brainstorm ideas, thesis, examples, and textual evidence
• TDA Essay Rubric broken down into categories: content, focus, organization, style, conventions, and format

Teach your students about the  Symbols/Symbolism and Colors in the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

In this resource, you will get a Powerpoint lesson that is 58 slides, filled with information, quotes, examples, and photos to help your students analyze the important symbols and colors in the novel.

Below is a list of symbols your students will analyze:

• Dan Cody’s Yacht
• Gatsby’s Shirts
• New York City
• Valley of Ashes
• Wolfsheim’s Cufflinks
• Gatsby’s Uncut Books
• The Eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg
• West Egg and East Egg
• Gatsby’s Car
• Gatsby’s Mansion
• Gatsby’s Bedroom
• Gatsby’s Swimming Pool
• The Green Blinking Light on Daisy’s Dock

This lesson is great for cooperative learning and group work. Instructions for a jigsaw activity are included (optional).

In addition to the Powerpoint presentation, you will receive two graphic organizer options and an answer key.

Your students are going to love  The Great Gatsby Digital Escape Room!  Students will decipher and solve puzzles in this dramatic, backyard pool scene from the novel. In this 360° digital escape room, students will try to evade the police and enter Gatsby’s mansion to pack a get away bag!

This activity is designed to work for a laptop, tablet, or smart phone. Students will solve a series of clues based on the novel  The Great Gatsby  by F. Scott Fitzgerald in order to crack the master lock and escape the premises.

This game entails reading comprehension skills, finding textual evidence, and making inferences. Watch the preview video to get a closer look of what this resource entails.

Included in this download are teacher instructions, student instructions (digital), the master lock graphic organizer, answer keys, and a reflection sheet (optional).

PLEASE READ: While using this resource, you must have a wi-fi connection and the ability to access the following sites: Google Forms and Kuula.co. Please check that these websites are not blocked by your district’s filter before purchasing. Your students do not need to have a Google account.

This resource includes  The Great Gatsby Final Unit Test with a Study Guide for Review and Answer Keys!

This test, based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s  The Great Gatsby , requires students to demonstrate what they learned from the novel and their overall comprehension of the book. (Answer key included)

This exam consists of 68 questions and offers students an opportunity to demonstrate knowledge, skills, and abilities in a variety of ways, to include:

• multiple choice questions
• true or false
• short answer (1-2 sentences)
• character identification (with word bank)
• extended response (5 sentences or more)

Also included in this product is an accommodating  study guide  that closely mirrors the expectations of the test. (Answer key included)

Additionally, I provide an “answer sheet” for any teachers that prefer students to not write on the actual tests because it is quicker to grade multiple choice questions with answer sheets. Answer sheets are  completely optional!

The Great Gatsby Movie Guide  worksheet is an in-depth Film Analysis and Book Comparison based on the 2013 movie  The Great Gatsby,  directed by Baz Luhrmann.

This exercise is meant for students to analyze the film as well as specific decisions made by the director. Students will also be required to input personal opinions regarding the movie, such as cast and music choice.

Answer guide included!

Have your students share their unique understanding of the novel  The Great Gatsby   by F. Scott Fitzgerald  by imaginatively blending their written ideas with colorful images based on information from the text.

With this  one-pager reading comprehension project,  students will analyze the literature by determining theme, symbolism, characterization, point of view, setting, important quotes and more. Students’ artwork make for unique and creative analyses of the literature and also make great  bulletin boards!  This is the perfect project for students to work on at the end of a novel study and to summarize their thoughts/ideas about the book.

Included in this purchase is:

• Student directions for the one pager summary project
• Rubric for the one pager project
• Example one-pager based on the novel  The Great Gatsby
• 10 BLANK TEMPLATES (printable—optional)

This resource includes  FIVE FULL WEEKS of content for The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald!

Additionally, in this  UNIT PLAN BUNDLE , you will receive a teacher guide that encompasses an example Unit Schedule/Pacing Guide!

Lessons Included in this Bundle:

• Anticipation Guide and Questions
• Judge The Book by its Cover Before Reading
• Background Info on 1920s, the American Dream, the Roaring Twenties culture, and F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Would You Rather Pre-Reading Game
• Vocabulary For Every Chapter with Quizzes
• Reading Checks/Quizzes for All 9 Chapters
• Imagery and Descriptive Language Project
• Obituary for Jay Gatsby Project
• Character Analysis and Characterization Activity
• Important Quotes Explanation and Analysis
• Reading Questions for Every Chapter
• TDA Essay Prompt and Rubric
• Symbols and Colors Powerpoint Lesson
• Digital Escape Room Reading Comprehension Game
• Study Guide and Final Test
• Movie Guide and Comparison Worksheet (Baz Luhrmann Film, 2013)
• One Pager Creative Project

1 thought on “The Great Gatsby Unit Plan | Entire Novel Study”

This unit is awesome! It is well designed and includes everything that I wanted to include in my personal unit plus the ancillary materials that I will not have to make myself. Thank you!!

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The Great Gatsby

Aug 01, 2014

400 likes | 1.58k Views

The Great Gatsby . Chapter 1 By: Rebecca, Shayne & Kesley. Summary. The narrator of The Great Gatsby is Nick Carraway whom he is also casted as the book’s author.

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• physical specimen
• competitive golf player
• irresistibly seductive
• criminal activity
• stark contrast

Presentation Transcript

The Great Gatsby • Chapter 1 • By: Rebecca, Shayne & Kesley

Summary • The narrator of The Great Gatsby is Nick Carraway whom he is also casted as the book’s author. • The chapter begins with Nick commenting on himself, saying that he had learned to reserve judgement about other people from his father because if he holds them to his own moral standards, he would misunderstand them. • In the summer of 1922, Nick had just arrived in New York to join in the bond business and he had also rented a house on West Egg. • He also introduces West Egg as home to the “new rich” and the East Egg as home to the “old rich”. • Nick graduated from Yale and has many connections on East Egg.

Summary • One night, he drives out to East Egg to have dinner with his cousin, Daisy Buchanan, and her husband, Tom Buchanan. • Upon arriving, Tom greets Nick on the porch. Inside, Daisy lies on a couch with her friend, Jordan who is a competitive golf player. • Tom tries to interest the others in a book called The Rise Of The Colored Empires which expresses racism. • Tom was interrupted with an incoming phone call from his lover from New York. Daisy hurriedly follows him. • After an awkward dinner, Jordan goes to sleep and Tom and Daisy hint that they would like for Nick to take a romantic interest in Jordan. • When Nick arrives at his home in West Egg, he sees Gatsby, whom he did not know who he was yet, stretching his arms towards the green light at the end of a dock.

Characters in Chapter 1 • Nick • Gatsby • Tom • Jordan • Daisy

Nick Carraway • He is the narrator of the book. Nick is a young man from Minnesota who, after being educated at Yale and fighting in World War I, goes to New York City to learn the bond business. • Honest, tolerant, and inclined to reserve judgment, Nick often serves as a confidant for those with troubling secrets. • After moving to West Egg, a fictional area of Long Island that is home to the newly rich, Nick quickly befriends his next-door neighbor, the mysterious Jay Gatsby. The Great Gatsby is told entirely through Nick’s eyes; his thoughts and perceptions shape and color the story.

Jay Gatsby • The title character and protagonist of the novel, Gatsby is a fabulously wealthy young man living in a Gothic mansion in West Egg. • He is famous for the lavish parties he throws every Saturday night, but no one knows where he comes from, what he does, or how he made his fortune. • As the novel progresses, Nick learns that Gatsby was born James Gatz on a farm in North Dakota; working for a millionaire made him dedicate his life to the achievement of wealth. When he met Daisy while training to be an officer in Louisville, he fell in love with her. • Nick also learns that Gatsby made his fortune through criminal activity, as he was willing to do anything to gain the social position he thought necessary to win Daisy.

Tom Buchanan • Daisy’s immensely wealthy husband, once a member of Nick’s social club at Yale. • Powerfully built and hailing from a socially solid old family, Tom is an arrogant, hypocritical bully. His social attitudes are laced with racism and sexism, and he never even considers trying to live up to the moral standard he demands from those around him. • He also has no moral second thoughts about his own extramarital affair with Myrtle, but when he begins to suspect Daisy and Gatsby of having an affair, he becomes outraged and forces a confrontation.

Jordan Baker • Daisy’s friend, a woman with whom Nick becomes romantically involved during the course of the novel. • A competitive golfer, Jordan represents one of the “new women” of the 1920s—cynical, boyish, and self-centered. • Jordan is beautiful, but also dishonest: she cheated in order to win her first golf tournament and continually bends the truth.

Daisy Faye • Daisy stands in stark contrast to her husband, Tom. She is a very frail and diminutive person that labors at being shallow and laughs at every opportunity. • Though she breezily remarks that everything is in decline, she does so only in order to seem to agree with her husband. • As a young woman in Louisville before the war, Daisy was courted by a number of officers, including Gatsby. She fell in love with Gatsby and promised to wait for him. • However, Daisy harbors a deep need to be loved, and when a wealthy, powerful young man named Tom Buchanan asked her to marry him, Daisy decided not to wait for Gatsby after all. Now a beautiful socialite, Daisy lives with Tom across from Gatsby in the fashionable East Egg district of Long Island.

Themes • Violence • Violence is a key theme in The Great Gatsby and is mostly embodied by the character of Tom. As an ex-football player, he uses his immense physical strength to intimidate those around him. Tom Buchanan vulgarly exploits his status: he is grotesque, completely lacking redeeming features. Daisy describes him as a “big, hulking physical specimen,” and it is seen that he mainly uses his size to intimidate and dominate others.

Themes • Class • The societies of East and West Egg are deeply divided by the difference between the people who have “new money” and the people who have “old money”. Gatsby is “new money” which means he only recently began to earn his large sums of money. He tries desperately to fake status, even buying British shirts and claiming to have attended Oxford in an attempt to seem as if he is part of “old money”. Ultimately, it is class that separates Gatsby and Daisy, which cements Daisy’s relationship with her husband, Tom who is from the same class as she is.

3 Significant Quotes • “I hope she’ll be a fool - that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” • Daisy spoke these words as she describes to Nick and Jordan her hopes for her daughter. This quote reveals a glimpse into Daisy’s character. Daisy is not a fool herself but is the product of a social environment that does not value intelligence in women. She describes her own boredom with life and seems to imply that a girl can have more fun if she is beautiful and simplistic. She herself thinks that being a “beautiful fool” is what men expects of women and this is her mindset on how to get past tough situations. This is also an excuse for her to live a luxurious life as she expects Tom to provide for her.

3 Significant Quotes • “It was the kind of voice that the ear follows up and down, as if each speech is an arrangement of notes that will never be played again.” • This shows that Daisy’s voice can be described as being full, not just of money, but of promises. There’s something about the description of the voice that tells the listener/reader that wonderful things are on the horizon. Daisy’s voice is irresistibly seductive and all the other characters are drawn to her because of it.

3 Significant Quotes • “A single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock.” • The green light is a complex piece of symbolism in the book. The obvious reason is that the green light represents where Daisy is at and his longing for her. However, the green light means so much more, Daisy is just part of it. The green light represents all his wants in life which include: wealth, success, acceptance and Daisy. And no matter how much the wealth or materialistic possessions he has, he still never feels complete. Even with a large house full of people partying and seeking his attention, he still longs for Daisy. So to possess the green light, that is the ultimate combination he longs for.

Thoughts About The Chapter • The first chapter of The Great Gatsby gives an introduction to the narrator which is Nick and his personality in his point of view. • It also introduces the East and West Egg. • It makes the reader want to know more about Gatsby because of Fitzgerald’s mysterious portrayal of him towards the end of the chapter.

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3003.8.1 –I can identify characteristics of the Modern and Contemporary Period . 3003.8.3 —I can determine how the conflict in Gatsby impacts the characters . 3003.8.5 —I can analyze characters to determine their roles/functions in Gatsby .

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The great gatsby. Practice Quiz # 1 Click anywhere to continue. Where is nick’s home located?. Brooklyn West Egg Park Avenue East Egg. Drats !. That is incorrect! Click here to return. Atta’boy !. Good job! Click here to continue.

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The Great Gatsby:

The Great Gatsby:. The 1920s and the American Dream. A Quick Introduction…. The 20’s: an age of transition. World War I and After

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The Great Gatsby. Novel Analysis By Emily White Kathy Saunders AP English Literature April 9, 2014. Author. F Scott Fitzgerald Born in St. paul , Minnesota in 1896 The Great Gatsby is his 3 rd book Not a great student Attended Princeton University (1913)

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The Great Gatsby. Symbols. The Green Light. Everyone has something that they long and search for that is just off in the distance. That is the green light. Literally, green means “go” (traffic light). It give Gatsby the “go ahead” to pursue his dream of Daisy. The eyes of T.J. Eckleburg.

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The Great Gatsby . F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald (1896-1940). F. Scott Fitzgerald is named for Francis Scott Key (wrote Star Spangled Banner), a distant relative. He married Zelda Sayre.

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The Great Gatsby. Character Study of Tom. Quote One. “I had no sight into Daisy’s heart, but I felt that Tom would drift on forever seeking, a little wistfully, for the dramatic turbulence of some irrecoverable football game”. Quote Two.

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THE GREAT GATSBY

THE GREAT GATSBY. ANALYSIS OF MAJOR CHARACTERS. JAY GATSBY. Ambitious Determined Corrupt Material/interested in wealth & possessions Illusive (not real, although seeming to be) Single-minded Loyal. NICK CARRAWAY. Thoughtful/reflective Tolerant Biased Conflicted:. DAISY BUCHANAN.

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The Great Gatsby. March 2011. Take Introduction and Chapter 1 quiz over The Great Gatsby. Do Now. Understanding Chapter 1 Introduction to major themes and symbols . Objectives. The Great Gatsby, Chapter 2, pages 22 - 38. Homework.

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The Great Gatsby . By F. Scott Fitzgerald. Key Vocab. Setting : New York, 1922 Mood : Innocent, Euphoric, Foreboding, Dark Protagonist : Nick Carraway Main Characters : Jay Gatsby, Daisy and Tom Buchannan, Jordan Baker, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson. Summary.

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The Great Gatsby. FAKEBOOK. Your Task…. As you will read in The Great Gatsby , there were many extravagant parties thrown on Long Island in the 1920s.  Imagine if you were one of the guests of Mr. Gatsby. What would your life be like?

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The Great Gatsby Ending, Explained

“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy. They smashed up things and people, and then retreated back into their money and their vast carelessness.” – Nick Carraway

The movie ended on a sombre note like all great love stories do, just with a little contrast to the clichéd love tragedies – the hero dies alone. ‘Alone’ – the single most controversial term when it’s placed next to love. If you are alone – people in all probability presume you are not in love. If you are alone, you probably are trying to shield yourself from love or desperate to find love. Also if you are alone, you are probably waiting for love to come which is either long lost or the kind you wish to encounter.

Who’s Jay Gatsby?

Jay Gatsby is a myth wrapped in mystery served in extravagance. He lives in a chateau, throws crazy parties and that’s a given that makes huge money. While everyone knows him, but no one really cares to know who he is. People come to his party uninvited, scavenges on his riches and leaves the dirty place and fashions false stories about him. People love the myths and legends and never makes an attempt to shatter the enigma associated with the name ‘Jay Gatsby’.

Great Gatsby depicts the constant clash between fantasy and reality. The fantasy of who Gatsby is and the ignorance of his reality. The fantasy Gatsby lived in and lived for and the reality that Daisy wanted to escape. The fantasy of love and reality of choice. Gatsby lived to believe that he was the son of God, destined for future glory. He lived under an illusion of inheriting huge property, but instead, he inherited the lifestyle of the elites which helped him to fool people and carve his way up to the ladder of affluence.

He achieved what he believed in and wanted more. He wanted Daisy Buchanan and would do everything to have her. He loved her to the extent of obsession that he could only see the green light at the end of the tunnel emitted from her home but could not see the darkness surrounding it or even looked back to see people who really cared for him. The ending of the movie illustrates how we are deluded by a fantasy that we fail to see past it and not accept the truth. We want a better future, or we cling to our past and not accept our present. We wait for the green light at the end of the tunnel not realising that we are building a palace of dreams where everything is unreal. When the rose-tinted veil of fantasy is removed from our eyes, we are scorched by the reality, and yet we stay in denial and disbelief.

People came to the party and enjoyed the fanfare and what mattered to them were the merriment and wealth. They did not bother themselves to know who their host was as long as they had free meals, fun and a platform to socialise. Anyone did not stay back to clean the mess or even try to invite him back or at the least show some gratitude.  The entire city bustled at his parties, but when he died, he died alone. There was just Nick Carraway who looked beyond his money and vanity and Gatsby in his lifetime did not get a chance to value that friendship because he was hoodwinked by his obsession for Daisy.

Gatsby and Daisy

Daisy, on the other hand, was looking for a respite from his cheating husband, boring life and life lacking in romance. She wanted everything that Gatsby had to offer – The love, the wealth, the romance, the life like a vacation and attention (a lot of it). Gatsby looked at her in a way that every girl wanted to be looked at, and she blossomed under his touch. But this love was just confined between two people with surreal comforts of the mortal world and beyond. The book says, “There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams — not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion” and the movie too depicts the same. Daisy desired the passion that Jay Gatsby offered. She enjoyed the jealousy that her husband was evidently experiencing. She felt validated and wanted. She wanted to feel like an object of desire after a long period of negligence. She enjoyed her husband’s envy towards Gatsby. But that was a brief spell. She did not want to live this life banked on illusions. She convinced herself that she was doing the right thing but still filled with self-doubts and fears. She was feeling the pressure of the world outside; on the other hand, Jay Gatsby shut himself out completely from the world to be with her.

Jay Gatsby was the single most positive person who just saw the green light. He knew Daisy belonged to him despite being married to Tom Buchanan. He believed that Daisy loved him and he lived for that. The truth was that Daisy did love him once and with time he left her mind and someone else resided in her heart no matter what her current love life seemed – that was the undeniable truth. That’s how the society worked. That’s how life worked, but that’s not how Jay Gatsby’s mind worked. He already believed what he had to, and there was nothing that could undo his belief. Even after Daisy’s confrontation about her love for Tom or her unwillingness to give up on her marriage or accepting her love for Jay, Jay stays positive and still believes that Daisy would call to reunite with him. Nick tries to speak sense into him, but he shuns out the reality and chooses the denial. He dies thinking that Daisy called, but he looks past the fact the only person who cared was his best friend (“old sport”), Nick. This reiterates the conflict between imagination and reality.

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

Gatsby dies blissfully with infinite hope which also leads us to believe that no matter who is on our side or what happens to us, we live clinging on to hope. It gives us immense pleasure and happiness to seek something that we desire and all our love we chase it relentlessly thinking it as our destination. We do miss on the little joys, but the joy of reaching the destination could never equate the same. Daisy was a destination to Gatsby rest everything was either vanity fair or Apollo ( the giant) to him. He did not believe in being distracted and knew exactly what to achieve. Daisy leads him on until the very end and leaves him to die. He did not believe in this failure and was content sticking to his make-believe world. He believed what he had to, oblivious of the reality, which made him die a  happy man.  Nick remains and comes in term with the reality that Daisy never called or send a flower at the news of his death. He saw that there was no one by his side when he died. Not one single person that came to his parties. Daisy moves on with her life and family leaving the ‘vacation’ behind, but Nick remains shocked at her insensitivity. He was taken aback by the reality that the person who lived and died for Daisy, did not deserve her reverence even in the last moments. The man who loved, validated and gave her everything she always wanted was dying alone, and she refused to take any calls. It was distressing, and it was the truth that Nick could not face.

Nick is the only character who witnesses the ebb and flow of the entire story and thereafter went on to write it out as a part of his therapy. He is depicted as the only unselfish and non-judgmental person in the movie. He witnesses the spree Tom Buchanan entertains. He also sees the love the Daisy craves and observes Gatsby’s passion for his sister. She tries to unite the lovers without asking anything in return, with the belief that they deserved each other. He is the only person who could see through the human Gatsby when others accepted the illusory version of him. He sticks to him until the very end. Though he is a very practical man yet his bond with Gatsby reiterates the core idea – Fantasy versus Reality. Also, despite being so well acquainted with how the ordinary world works he could not come in terms with the fact that people like Daisy and Tom could retreat back to normal lives despite destroying other people. Nick realises that chasing a dream ends up disrupting our lives because we fail to look through people who value us and who does n’t. By chasing a mirage, Gatsby ends up destroying himself, and Nick remains sole witness to it.  Nick realises that he is the only one Jay Gatsby had and only one who cared and that broke him. His one beloved “ Golden Shimmering” New York now made him repulsive. He hated it and hated the “huge incoherent” house of Gatsby even more. It was no longer the make-believe world of illusion. It was a palace of broken dreams and a hardcore reality. The ugly one. The one he did not prepare himself for.

In the book Nick says (Which was even depicted in the film):

“And as I sat there brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night.

Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And one fine morning—— “

He provides a deep insight into this universal truth. We believe in our desires so much that sometimes we forget to keep pace with the world around us. Banking on the fantasy seems more convenient living in reality. Nick was deeply affected by the in-sensitiveness and the inhumanity. He is traumatised to realise that it was that easy to flee the truth for some while it was everything for others. He ponders on the days that the palace would be filled with an unknown frenzy and made it look like an amusement park. The place was filled with party freaks, but not a single mourner turned up to pay reverence. The frugal mindset of people made him sick and thus the city that promised him dreams was no longer a favourite. He no longer wished to dream but lived to tell the story of a dreamer who was perished.

Jay Gatsby was great because he was imperfect, unreal and full of passion. That is the kind of person we hope for, and our imaginations are woven of. We want to be loved and desired the way Gatsby does it for Daisy. Daisy could not value it -would be a wrong way to put things. Jay Gatsby was the first victim of circumstances and later of Daisy’s broken marriage. He hopelessly desired to live with Daisy, and she frantically searched for love, acceptance and exclusivity. Jay Gatsby lives in his imagination and Daisy falls in love with the idea of him. Once reality strikes her Daisy flees from her illusionary love, but Jay Gatsby loved too much to look back. She goes on a ‘holiday’ and returns back home, severing all ties with the elements of her vacation. She does not pay heed to other people’s emotion, affection and passion – be it for her brother Nick or for her momentary lover Jay. She moves on crushing the past. Tom moves on too though he was momentarily moved by the death of his mistress, Myrtle. Gatsby dies with Daisy’s name on his lips and believing that Daisy calls him, unaware of the fact that he only mattered to Nick. Myrtle dies waiting for her lover Tom, and George commits suicide after killing Jay Gatsby considering him to be the murderer of his wife.  Nick cannot come in terms with the reality and downfall of humanity. Tom and Daisy destroyed three lives and still could get back to normalcy erasing everything of the past, and that made Nick despise everything.

Gatsby was a genuine soul that lived for love. Not knowing, the world out there would never understand his love enough to live by him. He was a humongous name that no one wanted to explore. There were herds of people flocking to his parties, yet he was standing there alone. The intimacy of the large parties somewhere drowned all humanity and warmth in the glitters and alcohols. Despite everything Gatsby loved- loved hard and waited for his long lost love even in his death. “He smiled understandingly — much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it that you might come across four or five times in life. “In the end, we would describe Gatsby as Nick says, “the single most hopeful person “- Sensitive and Hysteric.

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'The Great Gatsby' Themes

Wealth, class, and society, love and romance, the loss of idealism, the failure of the american dream.

• M.F.A, Dramatic Writing, Arizona State University
• B.A., English Literature, Arizona State University
• B.A., Political Science, Arizona State University

The Great Gatsby , by F. Scott Fitzgerald, presents a critical portrait of the American dream through its portrayal of the 1920s New York elite. By exploring themes of wealth, class, love and idealism, The Great Gatsby raises powerful questions about American ideas and society.

The Great Gatsby 's characters represent the wealthiest members of 1920s New York society . Despite their money, however, they are not portrayed as particularly aspirational. Instead, the rich characters' negative qualities are put on display: wastefulness, hedonism, and carelessness.

The novel also suggests that wealth is not equivalent to social class. Tom Buchanan comes from the old money elite, while Jay Gatsby is a self-made millionaire. Gatsby, self-conscious about his "new money" social status, throws unbelievably lavish parties in hopes of catching Daisy Buchanan's attention. However, at the novel's conclusion, Daisy chooses to stay with Tom despite the fact that she genuinely loves Gatsby; her reasoning is that she could not bear to lose the social status that her marriage to Tom affords her. With this conclusion, Fitzgerald suggests that wealth alone does not guarantee entrance into the upper echelons of elite society.

In The Great Gatsby , love is intrinsically tied to class. As a young military officer, Gatsby fell quickly for debutante Daisy, who promised to wait for him after the war. However, any chance at a real relationship was precluded by Gatsby's lower social status. Instead of waiting for Gatsby, Daisy married Tom Buchanan, an old-money East Coast elite. It is an unhappy marriage of convenience: Tom has affairs and seems just as romantically uninterested in Daisy as she is in him.

The idea of unhappy marriages of convenience isn’t limited to the upper class. Tom’s mistress, Myrtle Wilson, is a spirited woman in a seriously mismatched marriage to a suspicious, dull man. The novel suggests that she married him in hopes of being upwardly mobile, but instead the marriage is simply miserable, and Myrtle herself ends up dead. Indeed, the only unhappy couple to survive "unscathed" is Daisy and Tom, who eventually decide to retreat into the cocoon of wealth despite their marital problems.

In general, the novel takes a fairly cynical view of love. Even the central romance between Daisy and Gatsby is less a true love story and more a depiction of Gatsby's obsessive desire to relive—or even redo —his own past. He loves the image of Daisy more than the woman in front of him . Romantic love is not a powerful force in the world of The Great Gatsby .

Jay Gatsby is perhaps one of the most idealistic characters in literature. Nothing can deter him from his belief in the possibility of dreams and romance. In fact, his entire pursuit of wealth and influence is carried out in hopes of making his dreams come true. However, Gatsby's single-minded pursuit of those dreams—particularly his pursuit of the idealized Daisy—is the quality that ultimately destroys him. After Gatsby's death, his funeral is attended by just three guests; the cynical "real world" moves on as though he'd never lived at all.

Nick Carraway also represents the failures of idealism through his journey from naïve Everyman observer to burgeoning cynic. At first, Nick buys into the plan reunite Daisy and Gatsby, as he believes in the power of love to conquer class differences. The more involved he becomes in the social world of Gatsby and the Buchanans, however, the more his idealism falters. He begins to see the elite social circle as careless and hurtful. By the end of the novel, when he finds out the role Tom cheerfully played in Gatsby’s death, he loses any remaining trace of idealization of elite society.

The American dream posits that anyone, no matter their origins, can work hard and achieve upward mobility in the United States. The Great Gatsby questions this idea through the rise and fall of Jay Gatsby. From the outside, Gatsby appears to be proof of the American dream: he is a man of humble origins who accumulated vast wealth. However, Gatsby is miserable. His life is devoid of meaningful connection. And because of his humble background, he remains an outsider in the eyes of elite society. Monetary gain is possible, Fitzgerald suggests, but class mobility is not so simple, and wealth accumulation does not guarantee a good life.

Fitzgerald specifically critiques the American dream within the context of the Roaring Twenties , a time when growing affluence and changing morals led to a culture of materialism. Consequently, the characters of The Great Gatsby equate the American dream with material goods, despite the fact that the original idea did not have such an explicitly materialistic intent. The novel suggests that rampant consumerism and the desire to consume has corroded the American social landscape and corrupted one of the country's foundational ideas.

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Need to write about a theme for a Great Gatsby assignment or just curious about what exactly a theme is? Not sure where to start? Learn here what a theme is, what the main themes in The Great Gatsby are, and what the best tips for writing about themes for your English/Language Arts class essays are.

We will also link to our specific articles on each theme so you can learn even more in-depth about themes central to Gatsby .

What Is a Theme? Why Should You Care?

First things first: what exactly is a theme? In literature, a theme is a central topic a book deals with. This central topic is revealed through plot events, the actions and dialogue of the characters, and even the narrator's tone. Themes can be very broad, like love, money, or death, or more specific, like people versus technology, racial discrimination, or the American Dream.

In short, a book's theme can usually answer the question, "what's the point of this book?". They're the "so what?" of literary analysis. Also, note that books can definitely have more than one major theme —in Gatsby we identify seven!

Knowing a book's major theme(s) is crucial to writing essays, since many assignments want you to connect your argument to a book's theme. For example, you might be asked to write an essay about a prompt like this: "How does the life of Jay Gatsby exemplify (or deconstruct) the idea of the American Dream?" This prompt has you connect specific details in Jay Gatsby's life to the larger theme of the American Dream. This is why many teachers love theme essays: because they encourage you to connect small details to big ideas!

Furthermore, the AP English Literature test always has an essay question that has you analyze some aspect of a book and then "compare it to the theme of the work as a whole." (If you want specific examples you can access the last 15 years of AP English Literature free response questions here , using your College Board account.) So this skill won't just help you in your English classes, it will also help you pass the AP English Literature test if you're taking it!

So keep reading to learn about the major themes in Gatsby and how they are revealed in the book, and also to get links to our in-depth articles about each theme.

Overview of Key Themes in The Great Gatsby

Before we introduce our seven main themes, we'll briefly describe how the story and characters suggest the major Great Gatsby themes. Remember that the story is set in the 1920s, a period when America's economy was booming, and takes place in New York: specifically the wealthy Long Island towns of West Egg and East Egg, as well as Manhattan and Queens.

As you should know from the book ( check out our summary if you're still hazy on the details!), The Great Gatsby tells the story of James Gatz , a poor farm boy who manages to reinvent himself as the fabulously rich Jay Gatsby, only to be killed after an attempt to win over his old love Daisy Buchanan . Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan , and they're both from old money, causing them to look down Gatsby's newly rich crowd (and for Tom to look down at Gatsby himself).

Meanwhile, Tom is having an affair with Myrtle Wilson , the wife of mechanic George Wilson . Through the Wilsons, we see the struggles of the working class in dismal Queens , NY. As if they didn't already have it hard enough, Myrtle is killed in a hit-and-run accident (caused by Daisy Buchanan), and George, who's manipulated by Tom to believe that Jay Gatsby was both his wife's lover and her murderer, ends up shooting Gatsby and then himself.

The whole story is told by Nick Carraway , a second cousin of Daisy's and classmate of Tom's who moves in next to Gatsby's mansion and eventually befriends Jay -- and then comes to deeply admire him, despite or perhaps because of Jay's fervent desire to repeat his past with Daisy. The tragic chain of events at the novel's climax, along with the fact that both the Buchanans can easily retreat from the damage they caused, causes Nick to become disillusioned with life in New York and retreat back to his hometown in the Midwest.

Aside from having a very unhappy ending, the novel might just ruin swimming pools for you as well.

The fact that the major characters come from three distinct class backgrounds (working class, newly rich, and old money) suggests that class is a major theme. But the rampant materialism and the sheer amount of money spent by Gatsby himself is a huge issue and its own theme. Related to money and class, the fact that both Gatsby and the Wilsons strive to improve their positions in American society, only to end up dead, also suggests that the American Dream -- and specifically its hollowness -- is a key theme in the book as well.

But there are other themes at play here, too. Every major character is involved in at least one romantic relationship , revealing that they are all driven by love, sex, and desire -- a major theme. Also, the rampant bad behavior (crime, cheating, and finally murder) and lack of real justice makes ethics and morality a key theme. Death also looms large over the novel's plot, alongside the threat of failure.

And finally, a strong undercurrent to all of these themes is identity itself: can James Gatz really become Jay Gatsby, or was he doomed from the start? Can someone who is not from old money ever blend in with that crowd? Could Gatsby really aspire to repeat his past with Daisy, or is that past self gone forever?

In short, just by looking at the novel's plot, characters, and ending, we can already get a strong sense of Gatsby's major themes. Let's now look at each of those themes one by one (and be sure to check out the links to our full theme breakdowns!).

The 7 Major Great Gatsby Themes

Money and Materialism : Everyone in the novel is money-obsessed, whether they were born with money (Tom, Daisy, Jordan, and Nick to a lesser extent), whether they made a fortune (Gatsby), or whether they're eager for more (Myrtle and George). So why are the characters so materialistic? How does their materialism affect their choices? Get a guide to each of the characters' material motivations and how they shape the novel.

Society and Class: Building on the money and materialism theme, the novel draws clear distinctions between the kind of money you have: old money (inherited) or new money (earned). And there is also a clear difference between the lifestyles of the wealthy, who live on Long Island and commute freely to Manhattan, and the working class people stuck in between, mired in Queens. By the end of the novel, our main characters who are not old money (Gatsby, Myrtle, and George) are all dead, while the inherited-money club is still alive. What does this say about class in Gatsby? Why is their society so rigidly classist? Learn more about the various social classes in Gatsby and how they affect the novel's outcome.

The American Dream : The American Dream is the idea anyone can make it in America (e.g. gain fame, fortune, and success) through enough hard work and determination. So is Jay Gatsby an example of the dream? Or does his involvement in crime suggest the Dream isn't actually real? And where does this leave the Wilsons, who are also eager to improve their lot in life but don't make it out of the novel alive? Finally, do the closing pages of the novel endorse the American Dream or write it off as a fantasy? Learn what the American Dream is and how the novel sometimes believes in it, and sometimes sees it as a reckless fantasy.

Love, Desire, and Relationships : All of the major characters are driven by love, desire, or both, but only Tom and Daisy's marriage lasts out of the novel's five major relationships and affairs. So is love an inherently unstable force? Or do the characters just experience it in the wrong way? Get an in-depth guide to each of Gatsby's major relationships.

Death and Failure: Nick narrates Gatsby two years after the events in question, and since he's obviously aware of the tragedy awaiting not only Gatsby but Myrtle and George as well, the novel has a sad, reflective, even mournful tone. Is the novel saying that ambition is inherently dangerous (especially in a classist society like 1920s America), or is it more concerned with the danger of Gatsby's intense desire to reclaim the past? Explore those questions here.

Morality and Ethics: The novel is full of bad behavior: lying, cheating, physical abuse, crime, and finally murder. Yet none of the characters ever answer to the law, and God is only mentioned as an exclamation, or briefly projected onto an advertisement . Does the novel push for the need to fix this lack of morality, or does it accept it as the normal state of affairs in the "wild, wild East"?

The Mutability of Identity: Mutability just means "subject to change," so this theme is about how changeable (or not!) personal identity is. Do people really change? Or are our past selves always with us? And how would this shape our desire to reclaim parts of our past? Gatsby wants to have it both ways: to change himself from James Gatz into the sophisticated, wealthy Jay Gatsby, but also to preserve his past with Daisy. Does he fail because it's impossible to change? Because it's impossible to repeat the past? Or both?

How to Write About The Great Gatsby Themes

So now that you know about the major themes of The Great Gatsby , how can you go about writing about them? First up: look closely at your prompt.

Sometimes an essay prompt will come right out and ask you to write about a theme , for example "is The American Dream in Gatsby alive or dead?" or "Write about the relationships in Gatsby. What is the novel saying about the nature of love and desire?" For those essays, you will obviously be writing about one of the novel's major themes. But even though those prompts have big-picture questions, make sure to find small supporting details to help make your argument.

For example, if you're discussing the American Dream and arguing it's dead in the novel, don't just make that claim and be done with it. Instead, you can explore Gatsby's past as James Gatz, George Wilson's exhausted complacency, and Myrtle's treatment at the hands of Tom as examples of how the American Dream is treated in the novel. Obviously those examples are far from exhaustive, but hopefully you get the idea: find smaller details to support the larger argument.

On the other hand, many essay prompts about Gatsby will look like a question about something specific, like a character or symbol:

• Explore Tom and Daisy as people who 'retreat into their money.'
• What does the green light at the end of Daisy's dock represent? How does its meaning change throughout the novel?
• Show how Fitzgerald uses clothing (and the changing of costumes) to tell the reader more about the characters and/or express theme(s).

These prompts are actually a chance for you to take that detailed analysis and connect it to one of the larger themes—in other words, even though the prompt doesn't state it explicitly, you should still be connecting those more focused topics to one of the big-picture themes.

For example, if you talk about Tom and Daisy Buchanan, you will definitely end up talking about society and class. If you talk about the green light, you will end up talking about dreams and goals, specifically the American Dream. And if you discuss clothing to talk about the characters, you will definitely touch on money and materialism, as well as society and class (like how Gatsby's pink suit makes him stand out as new money to Tom Buchanan, or how Myrtle adopts a different dress to play at being wealthy and sophisticated).

In short, for these more specific prompts, you start from the ground (small details and observations) and build up to discussing the larger themes, even if the prompt doesn't say to do so explicitly!

What's Next?

Now you're an expert on themes, but what about symbols? If you need to write about the important symbols in The Great Gatsby, check out our symbols overview for a complete guide.

Want a full analysis of Jay Gatsby and his backstory? Not sure how his story connects with the American Dream? Get the details here .

Want to go back to square one? Get started with Chapter 1 of our Great Gatsby plot summary.

Halle Edwards graduated from Stanford University with honors. In high school, she earned 99th percentile ACT scores as well as 99th percentile scores on SAT subject tests. She also took nine AP classes, earning a perfect score of 5 on seven AP tests. As a graduate of a large public high school who tackled the college admission process largely on her own, she is passionate about helping high school students from different backgrounds get the knowledge they need to be successful in the college admissions process.

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Series: How to Get 36 on Each ACT Section:

36 on ACT English

36 on ACT Math

36 on ACT Reading

36 on ACT Science

Series: How to Get to 24 on Each ACT Section:

24 on ACT English

24 on ACT Math

24 on ACT Reading

24 on ACT Science

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ACT Vocabulary You Must Know

ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score

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How to Get a Perfect 4.0 GPA

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What Exactly Are Colleges Looking For?

Is the ACT easier than the SAT? A Comprehensive Guide

Should you retake your SAT or ACT?

When should you take the SAT or ACT?

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