Getting ready for Section A

Question a Remember the 3 keys 1. Locate where the chapter is in the novel. Link it to previous or successive chapters if relevant. (The novel’s structure) 2. Briefly outline the main events in the chapter and why it is an important chapter. 3. Discuss 2 -3 three of these in detail looking at structure, form and language. Use the terminology from your aspects of narrative genie.

Avoid making mountains out of molehills Remember the examiners said “there were startling claims made about alliteration and commas”. You want to avoid sentences like this: “Fitzgerald uses two commas in this sentence so suggest a break in Nick’s narrative. This shows that he is obviously upset and unable to deal with his emotions after Gatsby’s death and that he has to pause in his sentence. The comma makes you slow down and grieve like Nick. Also the use of alliteration in the words “careless and confused” shows that Nick is angry with Tom and Daisy.”

Let’s try writing on chapter 6. Here’s a reminder of notes on chapter 6 from your instant chapter summaries: The memory of the ugly rumours which surrounded Gatsby prompts Nick to narrate what Gatsby eventually told him about Gatsby’s past and how he “invented” himself (like a God? Fitzgerald describes how he “sprang from a Platonic conception of himself”). Nick explains how Gatsby confided in him at a point when Nick was unsure about how to judge Gatsby and the reader is equally left unsure how to judge Gatsby.

Let’s try writing on chapter 6 Daisy and Tom both attend one of Gatsby’s parties in which the obvious animosity and class differences between them is made clear. Nick recalls a barely perceptible sense of disenchantment at this party as if the gorgeousness of Gatsby’s lifestyle (like his vision of Daisy) is about to wither and rot. He sees the party through Daisy’s eyes and it seems tawdry.(“what had amused me then turned septic on the air now”)

Let’s try writing on chapter 6 Gatsby insists that you can repeat the past and his account of his young love for Daisy is deeply nostalgic and flamboyantly in tone (note Nick’s irony in the use of free indirect narrative style here).

Make your mark on the examiner. Start with a brief overview of why this chapter is significant. For example:

Why does Fitzgerald put this section of the novel here? [STRUCTURE] Chapter six is a crucial chapter for the reader’s understanding of Gatsby’s past. Despite the retrospective nature of Nick’s narrative, it is interesting that he doesn’t reveal Gatsby’s past until this mid way point in the novel. This has the effect of allowing the reader to experience getting to know Gatsby in the same way as Nick – we hear the rumours and have small encounters with him before being confided in, just as Nick was.

Expanding your point to look at LANGUAGE AND FORM It is clear to the reader that Nick’s account of Gatsby’s past is not told in an objective way. An ironic tone is implied in the authorial voice which resonates throughout :“So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year- old boy would be likely to invent”. This reminds us that Nick, despite his obvious reverence for Gatsby as a character (“there was something gorgeous about him”) is disdainful about Gatsby’s decision to model himself on Dan Cody.

Expanding your point to look at LANGUAGE AND FORM Nick’s ironic, even mocking tone is again evident in the description of Gatsby’s state of mind as he fashions himself in a new light as a glamorous young man: “A universe of ineffable gaudiness spun itself out in his brain”. Fitzgerald is showing us how Nick is returning to moments in Gatsby’s past and trying to imagine how Gatsby recreated himself as the ill-fated dreamer he was by the time Nick met him in West Egg. The use of free indirect style makes it clear that it is Nick who is imagining Gatsby’s thoughts, with the words “ineffable gaudiness” hinting that Nick, with hindsight, views Gatsby’s vision as gaudy or even slightly vulgar.

Expanding your point to look at LANGUAGE AND FORM We can see this later in the chapter, as the parties which Nick remembered with such vivid wonder in chapter 2, now seem tawdry and less enchanting. A LINK TO YOUR NEXT EXTRACT.

Here’s a reminder of the 4 keys for the even questions 1. Look carefully at the key words in the question and write a rock solid introduction which addressing the questions and says something (don’t parrot the question). 2. Write about a range of points(3-5) in your answer – arguing both sides of the question before concluding. Follow a basic PEE structure here to stay safe. 3. Make sure you USE THE TEXT by referring to specific episodes or chapters in detail. Cross-reference ideas (link ideas about characters, themes or events together) 4. Integrate context into your discussion – don’t bolt it on!

How satisfying do you find the conclusion of... How important is time in... It has been said that a fault of... is... What do you think is significant about the use of journeys in this text? Betrayal is at the heart of the relationships between characters in... What is the significance of letters to the narrative of Curious Incident?... The ending... The over-emphasised moral... The dark and disturbing themes... The use of a single narrative voice... The ending... The over-emphasised moral... The dark and disturbing themes... The use of a single narrative voice... To what extent do you agree? How far do you agree that there is only in...?... To what extent do you agree? Although portrays himself as a, some readers find it hard to believe this....what are your views on... These are GENUINE past paper questions...

30. How far do you agree with Nick’s view that Gatsby is “worth the whole damn bunch put together”? Remember: AO1 AO3 AO4

Remember: AO1, AO3, AO4 30. What do think about the view that there are no women in The Great Gatsby with whom the reader can sympathise?