THEGREATGATSBYANDTHESENSEOFSIGHT:THEEYESOFT.J.ECKLEBURG
CONSIDERAUNIQUEPERSPECTIVE
Innearlyanypieceofliterature,therearecharacterswhopossessa“side”thatothercharactersmaynot
see;usually,this“side”revealsquitealotaboutthecharacter,whichonlythereadermaycometoknow
throughcarefulobservation.InTheGreatGatsby,theeyesofDr.T.J.Eckleburgserveasanall-seeing
observer,perhapsnoticingaboutsomeofthecharacterswhatothersdonot.Putyourselfintheeyesof
Dr.T.J.Eckleburg,andchooseonecharacteronwhichtofocus.Whatsidedoyouseeaboutyour
charactersthatothersmaynot?Whatdoesthisrevealaboutyourcharacter?Therewillnotnecessarily
beone“right”answertothis,becauseyourunderstandingofyourcharacterisunique-therefore,youmay
nothavethesameproductassomeoneelsewhoisfocusingonthesamecharacterasyou.Askyourself,
“Whatisn’tseenbyeveryone?”
PROCEDURE:
Onaseparatesheetofpaper,youwillcreatethe“eyes”ofDr.T.J.Eckleburgasasymboloftheirvisionof
the“side”ofyourcharacteryouhavechosentoportray.Becreativewiththis!Thefinalproductmustbe
atleastthesizeofthispaper(8½x11)anduseneatandcarefulillustrationtoconveywhatyouwantto
show.Youarewelcomeandencouragedtousearangeofmaterials.
I.BRAINSTORM
THEEYESOFDR.T.J.ECKLEBURG
ChapterII
ChapterXIII
Otherexamples:
THEGREATGATSBYANDTHESENSEOFSIGHT
CHARACTERFOCUS:
Mycharacteroffocus:
Mycharacter’ssideoffocus(describeinyourownwords):
Supportingtextevidencewithpagenumber:
Ways(pictures/symbols)toshowthisimage:
IMAGEPLANNING/”WHATISN’TSEENBYEVERYONE?”:
THEGREATGATSBYANDTHESENSEOFSIGHT
II.REFLECTION/WRITE-UP
Answerthefollowingquestionstobeturnedinwiththerubricwithyour“eyes”.
1. Providearelevantpieceofevidence(citedwithauthor’slastnameandpagenumber)
fromthetextthatclearlydescribes1)theeyesofDr.T.J.Eckleburgand2).thesideof
yourcharacterthattheeyesmightreveal.
2. Describeinatleast5-6sentencesthe“hidden”sideofyourcharacter.Includethe
followinginformationinyourdescription:context(setting,situationofcharacter(s),
pointinplot),significancetocharacterandplot,andthoroughdescriptionofwhythis
sideisrevealedonlythroughcarefulobservation.
3. Describeinatleast5-6sentenceswhatisshownonDr.T.J.Eckleburg’seyes.Include
thefollowinginformation,listing1)materials,images/symbols,placement/formationof
imageson/withintheeyeand2)justificationforwhyyouchosethem.
THEGREATGATSBYANDTHESENSEOFSIGHT
III.RUBRIC:
Details
BelowTarget
TargetedGoal
AboveTarget
Characterizationof
text/character
-Showscareful
considerationofthe
aspectsofcharacter,
includingaclear
literalorfigurative
representationofa
“hidden”side
-Hasattractiveand
creativedetailsthat
conveythe
character’s“hidden”
aspectsonaliteral
and/orsymboliclevel
-Acarefullychosen, relevantquote,
includingauthor’s
lastname,page
numberand
quotationmarks,are
includedtoshowthe
placeinthetext
wherethe“hidden”
sidecanbeseen
-Allquestionsare
thoroughly
addressedand
attachedtothefinal
product
_______/25
Careandcontent
_______/25
Relevantevidence
_______/25
Reflection
_______/25
TOTAL:_______/100
THEGREATGATSBYANDTHESENSEOFSIGHT