1. Introducing the characters, setting, themes, and motifs
The Great Gatsby
Introducing the characters, setting, themes, and motifs

2. “What is the American Dream”
Read essay—
How does James Truslow Adams define the American Dream?
How did the founding fathers help to shape the definition of the American Dream?
Looking at paragraph 3, how has the American dream evolved over time?
How do you define the American Dream in 2017?

3. Nick Carraway Narrator Midwesterner Ivy League grad WWI vet
Living in NY—trying to make it big in stock market

4. Jay Gatsby Protagonist (main character)
Mysterious—his origin is unknown
Nouveau Riche—did not inherit his wealth; earned it instead
Throws lavish parties for rich people and celebs

5. Daisy Buchanan Married to Tom Gatsby’s love interest
Socialite—raised in wealth and has never had to work EVER
Nick’s distant cousin

6. Tom Buchanan College acquaintance of Nick’s Married to Daisy
Old Money—inherited all his wealth; has never had to work a day

7. Jordan Baker
Daisy’s closest friend; grew up with her in Louisville; a couple years younger than Daisy
Socialite—OLD MONEY
Professional golfer
Nick’s love interest

8. Myrtle Wilson Married to George
Member of lowest class—the working poor
Lives above a gas station in Valley of Ashes

9. George Wilson Married to Myrtle
Valley of Ashes—Dump between NYC and Long Island (West and East Egg)

10. F. Scott Fitzgerald Born into East Coast family, raised in the Midwest
Left Princeton in 1917 to join the army
First published in 1920 This Side of Paradise
Novel defined the Jazz Age
Short hair  illegal alcohol
Short Skirts  parties jazz music
Published The Great Gatsby in 1925
Considered by literary community to be a flawless masterpiece

11. The Great Gatsby
Published first in 1922 as a short story called “Winter Dreams”
Commercial failure during Fitzgerald’s life—was also the beginning of the end of his marriage to Zelda; decline of his health as alcoholism took over

12. Themes in The Great Gatsby
Money
Novel exposed wealth as a dehumanizing force that destroys the heart
The American Dream
Trying to fulfill the American Dream can and will cost some people everything
Carelessness
People who are driven by wealth lack a moral or spiritual compass

13. Motifs
Motifs
Social status—New Money (earned wealth) vs. Old Money (inherited wealth); Ultra Rich
Values—Upper Class (Buchanans and Jordan) vs. Middle Class Values (Nick) vs. Lower Class Values (Wilson and to some extent, Gatsby)

14. Settings What year does the story take place during?
Summer of 1922:“…after various delays I came East, permanently, I thought, in the spring of twenty-two.”
NYC: The city is a huge metropolis, full of opportunity and promise; also full of extreme poverty
Nick has moved East to work in the bond business Wall Street
Tom keeps an apartment for his mistress in the city

15. Setting West and East Egg: on the North Shore of Long Island
Known for extreme wealth and lavish estates
Nicknamed “The Gold Coast”
East Egg: more fashionable of the two—all who live in East Egg are inherited wealth Old Money
West Egg: Inhabited by those who have recently earned their fortunes New Money
Also still has smaller homes from the time before the wealthy moved in
New Money people are known to “show off” their wealth and are seen as desperate to fit in with Old Money.

16. Setting Valley of the Ashes
Where the road and the railroad intersect, between the Eggs and NYC
Giant garbage dump where excess from the Eggs and NYC is burned
Symbolically represents the moral and social decay of the richgarbage created by the rich in NYC and the Eggs is dumped in the laps of the poor
This is where the Wilsons live
Represents absolute poverty and hopelessness of the lower class
All want to find a way out, but never will
Shows how the American Dream is NOT achievable for the lower class