Good Morning!
Today:
 Discuss The Great Gatsby
 Setting
 Rumors/Truths
"That was always my experience—a poor boy in a rich
town; a poor boy in a rich boy's school; a poor boy in a rich
man's club at Princeton.... However, I have never been able
to forgive the rich for being rich, and it has colored my entire
life and works."
—F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Life in Letters, ed. Matthew J. Bruccoli. New York: Scribners, 1994.
pg. 352.
Setting
Chapter II, III, IV
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New Setting
Valley of Ashes
Myrtle’s Relationship with Wilson/ With Tom
The Party
Rumors
Corruption
The Plan
Gatsby himself
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Why do we not meet Gatsby until Chapter III?
In what ways is he different from the people at
his parties?
Gossip vs. Fact: What do people say about him,
and what do we know to be true?
Why does Fitzgerald do this?
Characterization
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Gatsby as tragic hero?
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A tragic hero has “potential for greatness but is
doomed to fail. He is trapped in a situation where he
cannot win. He makes some sort of tragic flaw, and
this causes his fall from greatness. Even though he is
a fallen hero, he still wins a moral victory, and his
spirit lives on.”
Gossip
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What role does gossip play in the novel?
Is gossip a motif?
What theme might be emerging, around gossip?
Homework
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Read The Great Gatsby Chapters V
Expect summary check!
Add on to major/minor characters.
Next Class: Color
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What have you noticed about color, so far?
What colors are used to describe the Buchanans’
home, Daisy, etc.
What colors are used during descriptions of
Gatsby’s party?
Other motifs
Spend a few minutes with the handout listing
motifs & themes. Then we will discuss what you
have been noticing. Of particular relevance:
 Irresponsibility
 Honesty/dishonesty
 Colors
 Automobiles/driving
Literary Criticism
Literary Criticism is NOT a summary, a plot overview, a
synopsis, etc.
What it IS:
 A written evaluation of a work of literature
 The informed analysis and evaluation of literature
 May focus on a particular literary trait (such as symbolism,
character, plot structure, etc.)
 May focus on the context (historical, social, cultural)
 May view the story through a particular lens (feminism,
race, naturalism, transcendentalism, Christianity, etc.)
 May find connections to patterns that occur across literary
works (archetypes, heroes, the “fall from grace,” etc.)
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Finding an article
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South Eugene’s library also has a good database for finding
literary criticism. http://schools.4j.lane.edu/south/Library/
 If you need to log in, the name is: Southeugene
password:
axemen
See handout for detailed instructions.
An evaluation, analysis, description, or interpretation of a literary
work
May look through a particular “lens,” as feminism, race, religion,
symbolism, figurative language, etc.