The document discusses The American Dream and key elements related to it. It begins by defining The American Dream as the ideal that freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success through hard work and upward mobility regardless of social class or birth circumstances. It then discusses symbols of The American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, such as the green light representing Gatsby's hopes. The document questions whether The American Dream overpromises and discusses challenges to total self-reinvention. It provides context on the historical development of The American Dream as an ideal in the United States.

1. THE AMERICAN
DREAM

2. Unit Goals
•SWBAT identify faulty parallelism and
incorporate parallel structure into their
writing.
•SWBAT conduct close readings to analyze
author’s purpose, diction, and style.

3. What’s Promised: The American Dream
• The American Dream is a national philosophy of the United
States, a set of ideals in which freedom includes the
opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward
social mobility can be achieved through hard work.
• James Truslow Adams, the coiner of the phrase, wrote in
1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for
everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or
achievement regardless of social class or circumstances of
birth.”
BOTTOM LINE: YOU CAN MORPH INTO WHOMEVER YOU
WANT TO BE, IF YOU WORK HARD ENOUGH.

4. Symbol: The Green Light
• In The Great Gatsby, the
green light is one of the
major symbols.
• The green light
represents Gatsby’s
hopes and dreams for
the future.
• It represents every facet
of The American Dream:
money, love, happiness.

5. Yet, F. Scott Fitzgerald once said:
“There are no
second acts in
American lives.”

6. from The Wire

7. Does The American Dream Overpromise?
THINK-PAIR-SHARE:
•What’s D’Angelo saying? What’s he mean?
•Given the quote, what do you think
Fitzgerald’s take on The American Dream
is?
•In 2013, what stands in the way of a
person’s total reinvention of self?

8. “The History of The American Dream”
• We’ll read the introduction together as a class.
• You will be assigned a group and an excerpt from the article to read
together.
1. The History of a Dream
• Matt, Natalie, Zach, Harper, Alex D.
2. Dream and Reality
• Alex O., Ben, Nozima, Stephen, Jonathan
3. The Crack-Up
• Isaiah, Destini, Hailey, Wayne, Liam
4. Restoring the Dream
• Iskander, Greg, Katelyn, Jasmine, David
• For the remainder of class, you will work on the group’s analysis of your
assigned excerpt following the guidelines on the handout I give you.
• Friday, your group will lead a five-minute class discussion.

9. “The History of The American Dream”
• We’ll read the introduction together as a class.
• You will be assigned a group and an excerpt from the article to read
together.
1. Introduction
• Denzel, Corey, Sara, Bonnie, Chris, Montrell
2. The History of a Dream
• Katie B., Matt, Danny, Chay, Wes
3. Dream and Reality
• Juliana, Nicky, Justin, Steven, Casey
4. The Crack-Up
• Kyle, Maddi, Rishon, Sam B., Mikkel
5. Restoring the Dream
• Katy, Sam H., Carington, Ben, Sam L-W
• For the remainder of class, you will work on the group’s analysis of your
assigned excerpt following the guidelines on the handout I give you.
• Friday, your group will lead a five-minute class discussion.

10. SAYS • MEANS • MATTERS
•This exercise asks you to look at important
text in three ways.
1. what an author says (IDENTIFICATION)
2. what that text means (ANALYSIS)
3. why that text is significant/essential to
understanding (EXAMINATION)
•Let’s look at my examples.

11. POSTMODERNISM
1940s - TODAY
Puritanism
1472 - 1750
Rationalism
1750 - 1800
Romanticism
1820 - 1860

Transcendentalism
1830 - 1860
Realism

Naturalism

Regionalism
1860 - 1920
Imagism
1912 - 1927
The Harlem
Renaissance
1920 - 1935
The Lost
Generation
1920 - 1930
MODERNISM
1900-1940s
American Literary Movements

12. • Modernism was a literary movement that lasted
roughly from WWI to WWII.
• Modernist authors felt…
1. alienation, like outsiders in their own society.
2. disillusionment with an American culture they felt was
decaying before their eyes. Where are all the heroes?
3. existential angst, wondering, “Is this all there is in a
meaningless, chaotic, godless world?”other
words, reality bites. No wonder Williams used
writing as an escape.
What is Modernism?
Day 1

13. • Modernist authors wanted…
1. to explore America’s culture of
striking contrasts
• young and old
• rich and poor
• OLD MONEY AND NEW MONEY
• haves and have-nots
2. to create new literary
techniques in order to better
express themselves
• stream-of-consciousness
• surreal (dreamlike) imagery
What is Modernism?
Day 1

14. The Lost Generation
• This name was given to a group of authors and
artists who came of age during WWI.
• The phrase was coined by writer Gertrude
Stein. She told Ernest Hemingway, “That is
what you are. That is what you all are. You are
a lost generation.”
• This group included The Great Gatsby author
F. Scott Fitzgerald and T.S. Eliot, the author of
“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.

15. F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Scott Fitzgerald was born September
24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota.
• His first novel's success in 1920 made
him famous; he then married
Zelda, the woman he loved.
• He published The Great Gatsby in
1925.
• He later descended into drinking, and
his wife had a mental breakdown.
• Following the unsuccessful Tender is
the Night in 1934, Fitzgerald moved to
Hollywood and became a scriptwriter.
• He died of a heart attack at 44, his
final novel only half completed.

16. Setting of the Novel
• The novel takes place in the
summer of 1922 in Long Island and
New York City.
• In 1922, Fitzgerald and his
wife, Zelda, moved to Great
Neck, Long Island, a location
populated by newly rich New
Yorkers.
• Across the bay was Cow Neck, a
town where very
wealthy, established families lived.
• This juxtaposition between NEW
MONEY and OLD MONEY gave
Fitzgerald the idea for his fictional
towns, West Egg and East Egg.

17. Old Money vs. New Money
• Been in family for generations
• Owns heirlooms (antique pieces
from ancestors) of furniture or
jewelry
• Does not need to show wealth
by purchasing extravagant items
• Belongs to Elite Upper Class
• Highly educated (Ivy League)
• First generation with money
• Owns all/mostly new pieces of
furniture or jewelry
• Feels the need to show wealth
to impress others
• Belongs to any class but the
Elite Upper Class
• Not necessarily educated
OLD NEW

18. Character Map
EAST EGGWEST EGG
Jay Gatsby

19. F. Scott Fitzgerald once said:
“The Rich are
different than
you or me.”

20. Reading Quiz Ch. 1 A
Answer these questions in complete
sentences to receive full credit:
A. At this point in the novel, what is
Nick’s (the narrator) connection
to Gatsby?
B. Are the Buchanans old money or
new money? How do you know?

21. Reading Quiz Ch. 1 B
Answer these questions in complete
sentences to receive full credit:
A. How does Mr. Nick Carraway, the
narrator, find himself living on
West Egg?
B. What is Gatsby doing at the very
end of the chapter?

22. Important Term: Hedonism
•Hedonism is a
devotion to pleasure
that becomes a way of
life.

23. Literary Term: Unreliable Narrator
•An unreliable narrator is one, whether in
literature, film, or theatre, whose
credibility has been seriously compromised.
•Credibility can be compromised by:
• mental illness
• immaturity
• arrogance
• lying

24. SAYS • MEANS • MATTERS
•This exercise asks you to look at important
text in three ways.
1. what an author says (IDENTIFICATION)
2. what that text means (ANALYSIS)
3. why that text is significant/essential to
understanding (EXAMINATION)
•Let’s look at my examples.

25. SAYS • MEANS • MATTERS
“And I hope she’ll be a
fool—that’s the best
thing a girl can be in this
world, a beautiful little
fool” (Fitzgerald 17).

26. Reading Quiz Ch. 2 A
Answer these questions in complete
sentences to receive full credit:
A. Who is Myrtle?
B. What does Myrtle do to make
Tom angry?

27. Reading Quiz Ch. 2 B
Answer these questions in complete
sentences to receive full credit:
A. Who is George Wilson?
B. What does Myrtle want Tom to
buy for her?

28. Movie Trailer: Coming May 10, 2013

29. Symbol: The Valley of the Ashes
•It represents the moral and social decay
that results from the uninhibited pursuit of
wealth, as the rich indulge themselves with
regard for nothing but their own pleasure.
•The valley of ashes also symbolizes the
plight of the poor, like George Wilson, who
live among the dirty ashes and lose their
vitality as a result.

30. Symbol: The Eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleberg
•Although it’s
ultimately unclear,
the eyes may
represent God
staring down
upon and judging
American society
as a moral
wasteland.

31. Ch. 2 Prompts
1. SAYS • MEANS • MATTERS for Ch. 2.
2. Word Choice: Examine the way
Fitzgerald describes the symbols on p.
23. What words are used to describe the
valley and the eyes? Make a list.
3. Deep Thoughts: At first, it seems odd
that Tom would have a mistress that
comes from a lower social class than
him. In actuality, it’s preferable to him.
Why might that be?

32. Reading Quiz Ch. 3 A
Answer these questions in complete
sentences to receive full credit:
A. Why is Nick embarrassed when
he finally meets Gatsby?
B. Who does Nick mostly hang out
with at Gatsby’s party (besides
Gatsby)?

33. Reading Quiz Ch. 3 B
Answer these questions in complete
sentences to receive full credit:
A. What is Nick invited to?
B. What happens outside of
Gatsby’s house as Nick is leaving
the party?

34. Ch. 3 Prompts
1. SAYS • MEANS • MATTERS for Ch. 3.
• Quote 1: “He snatched the book from me and
replaced it hastily on its shelf, muttering that if
one brick was removed the whole library was
liable to collapse” (46).
• Quote 2: Jordan says, “It takes two to make an
accident” (58).
• Quote 3: Nick says, “Every one suspects himself
of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this
is mine: I am one of the few honest people that
I have ever known” (59).

35. Ch. 3 Prompts
Word Choice:
Make a list of all the color and
enumeration words used to describe
Gatsby’s party. Why does Fitzgerald uses
this diction? How does it help you, the
reader?
Deep Thoughts:
Why does Fitzgerald include the drunk
driving accident in the book? What’s the
point?

36. Reading Quiz Ch. 4 A
Answer these questions in complete
sentences to receive full credit:
A. Gatsby is friends with Meyer
Wolfsheim. How does this
relationship help you understand
how Gatsby made his fortune?
B. What did Daisy do the night
before she married Tom?

37. Reading Quiz Ch. 4 B
Answer these questions in complete
sentences to receive full credit:
A. What does Meyer Wolfsheim do
for a living? In other words, how
does he make money?
B. Why did Gatsby really move to
West Egg?

38. Will the Real Jay Gatsby Please Stand Up?
So, what else
does this
symbol now
represent?
APPEALING APPALLING

39. Ch. 4 Prompts
Word Choice:
Reread Nick’s list of party goers on p.
61-63. Look for a pattern in their
names. What happens to them a year
after all the parties? What point is
Fitzgerald trying to make about these
party guests?
Deep Thoughts:

40. Reading Quiz Ch. 5 A
Answer these questions in complete
sentences to receive full credit:
A. What is Daisy’s reaction to seeing
Gatsby again after all these years?
B. Why does Nick leave Gatsby’s
house without saying goodbye?

41. Reading Quiz Ch. 5 B
Answer these questions in complete
sentences to receive full credit:
A. Describe Gatsby’s and Daisy’s
reunion.
B. What is Daisy’s reaction to seeing
Gatsby’s house and possessions?

42. Ch. 5 Prompts
Word Choice: On p. 86, Fitzgerald creates Gatsby and
Daisy’s reunion. Make a list of words that help
establish this awkward/tense mood.
Deep Thoughts: Gatsby is tied to a clock twice in this
book. What’s the significance?
• Example 1: “His head leaned back so far that it rested against
the face of a defunct mantelpiece clock… Luckily the clock
took this moment to tilt dangerously at the pressure of his
head, whereupon he turned and caught it with trembling
fingers and set it back in place… ‘I’m sorry about the clock’”
(86).
• Example 2: “He had been full of the idea so long, dreamed it
right through to the end… Now, in the reaction, he was
running down like an overwound clock” (92).

43. Ch. 5 Prompts
1. SAYS • MEANS • MATTERS for Ch. 5.
• Quote 1: “Possibly it had occurred to him that
the colossal significance of that light had now
vanished forever… Now it was again a green
light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects
diminished by one” (93).
• Quote 2: “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”
(95).

44. Reading Quiz Ch. 6 A
Answer these questions in complete
sentences to receive full credit:
A. What is Daisy’s reaction to her
first Gatsby party?
B. Tell me about a specific time you
witness the difference between
old and new money in this
chapter.

45. Reading Quiz Ch. 6 B
Answer these questions in complete
sentences to receive full credit:
A. Tell me all that you can about Dan
Cody.
B. Nick tells us that the Gatsby party
in this chapter is different for him
than others. How so?

46. Ch. 6 Prompts
1. SAYS • MEANS • MATTERS for Ch. 6.
• Quote 1:
Nick: “I wouldn’t ask too much of her *Daisy+. You
can’t repeat the past.”
Gatsby: “Can’t repeat the past? Why of course you
can!” (110).
• Quote 2: “He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that
she should go to Tom and say: “I never loved you”
(109).
• Quote 3: “He talked a lot about the past, and I
gathered that he wanted to recover something, some
idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving
Daisy” (110).

47. Ch. 6 Prompts
Word Choice: In this chapter, we get to see the subtle differences
between the two kinds of rich people: old and new money. Look
back and tell me what words help you understand the difference
between West Egg and East Egg.
• Example 1: “…I felt an unpleasantness in the air, a pervading
harshness that hadn’t been there before. Or perhaps I had
merely grown used to it, grown to accept West Egg as a world
complete in itself, with its own standards and its own great
figures, second to nothing because it had no consciousness of
being so…” (104).
• Example 2: “But the rest offended her—and inarguably, because
it wasn’t a gesture but an emotion. She was appalled by West
Egg…appalled by its raw vigor…” (107).
Deep Thoughts: Why don’t we get any of the juicy details about
Daisy’s affair with Gatsby?

48. Reading Quiz Ch. 7 A
Answer these questions in complete
sentences to receive full credit:
A. Who kills Myrtle? How?
B. Who does Daisy pick: Tom or
Gatsby?

49. Reading Quiz Ch. 7 B
Answer these questions in complete
sentences to receive full credit:
A. How does Myrtle die?
B. Who does Daisy pick: Tom or
Gatsby?

50. Ch. 7 Prompts
1. SAYS • MEANS • MATTERS for Ch. 7.
• Quote 1: “Gatsby and I in turn leaned down and
took the small reluctant hand. Afterward he kept
looking at the child with surprise. I don’t think he
had ever really believed in its existence before”
(117).
• Quote 2:
Nick: “She’s got an indiscreet voice… It’s full of—”
Gatsby: “Her voice is full of money.”
That was it. I’d never understood it before. It was
full of money—that was the inexhaustible charm
that rose and fell in it…” (120).

51. Ch. 7 Prompts (pick 1/2)
Deep Thoughts 1: On p. 131, Daisy tells Tom he’s
revolting. And, she really does love Gatsby. But, Tom is
right—ultimately, Gatsby can’t destroy the Buchanans’
marriage. In fact, Tom’s so confident that he lets Daisy
ride home with Gatsby. Why can’t Gatsby take Daisy
away from Tom?
Deep Thoughts 2: Throughout this chapter, Nick is
rather invisible. Instead of participating, he is more of
an observer. On p. 135, he becomes active
again, remembering that it’s his birthday. Starting with
“I was thirty,” do a close reading of p. 135-136, ending
with “So we drove on…” Why, all of a sudden, does
Nick feel so utterly hopeless?

52. Ch. 7 Prompts (pick 1/2)
Deep Thoughts 3: Why is Myrtle’s death
ironic? And, out of all the characters, why
is she the one to die?
Deep Thoughts 4: At the end of this
chapter, Gatsby is standing outside on
Daisy’s green grass, full of longing, just
like he was at the end of Ch. 1. What’s
different now?

53. The Death of the American Dream
What is this
chapter saying
about who wins
and who loses in
America?

54. Reading Quiz Ch. 8 A
Answer these questions in complete
sentences to receive full credit:
A. Who comes to Gatsby’s funeral?
B. How does Gatsby die?

55. Reading Quiz Ch. 8 B
Answer these questions in complete
sentences to receive full credit:
A. Describe Nick’s last moments
face-to-face with Gatsby.
B. Who kills Gatsby and why?

56. Ch. 8 Prompts
1. SAYS • MEANS • MATTERS for Ch. 8.
• Quote 1: “…Gatsby was overwhelmingly aware of
the youth and mystery that wealth imprisons and
preserves, of the freshness of many clothes, and
of Daisy, gleaming like silver, safe and proud above
the hot struggles of the poor” (150).
• Quote 2: “‘They’re a rotten crowd,’ I shouted
across the lawn. ‘You’re worth the whole damn
bunch put together.’ I’ve always been glad I said
that. It was the only compliment I ever gave
him, because I disapproved of him from beginning
to end” (154).

57. Ch. 8 Prompts
Word Choice: Reread the last page (or so) of the
chapter, beginning on p. 161 with “Gatsby shouldered
the mattress…” These paragraphs include two violent
deaths, yet, Fitzgerald’s writing style makes even death
sound beautiful. How does he do this?!? Think about
diction, tone, mood, figurative language, etc.
Deep Thoughts: Think about the weather motif in this
novel. The most tension-filled day in Ch. 7 (the Tom-
Gatsby showdown, Myrtle’s death) takes place on the
hottest day of the summer. Gatsby dies on a day that
feels like the start of autumn. What’s the significance?
(Think back to what Jordan said about the seasons on
p. 118).

58. Reading Quiz Ch. 9 A
Answer these questions in complete
sentences to receive full credit:
A. Who comes to Gatsby’s funeral?
B. Where does Nick decide to move?

59. Reading Quiz Ch. 9 B
Answer these questions in complete
sentences to receive full credit:
A. What happens when Nick calls
Daisy to tell her about Gatsby’s
funeral?

60. Ch. 9 Prompts
1. SAYS • MEANS • MATTERS for Ch. 9.
• Quote 1: “Oh, and do you remember”—[Jordan]
added—”a conversation we had once about driving a
car? You said a bad driver was only safe until she met
another bad driver? Well, I met another bad
driver, didn’t I? I thought you were rather an
honest, straightforward person…” (177).
• Quote 2: “They were careless people, Tom and
Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and
then retreated back into their money or their vast
carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them
together, and let other people clean up the mess they
had made…” (154).

61. Ch. 9 Prompts
Word Choice: Reread the very last
page of the book. What has
happened to the color green over
time? It meant one thing when the
country was being settled, and now it
means another. How has green
changed?
Deep Thoughts: Think about the last
page again. Does the book end on a
positive or negative note? What is
the final message about the hope of
the American Dream?

62. Other Titles Fitzgerald Considered…
•Trimalchio
•Gold-hatted Gatsby
•The High-Bouncing Lover
•On the Road to West Egg

63. Final Paragraph
PROMPT: How are readers ultimately supposed to infer the
title of The Great Gatsby? Is it sincere? If so, why is Gatsby
great? Or, is it ironic? If so, then why is he the opposite of
great?
INSTRUCTIONS: Respond to the prompt in a paragraph of five
sentences.
1. Start with an effective topic sentence.
2. Use transitions between sentences, correct
punctuation, strong parallelism, third-person point of
view, and academic diction/tone!
3. Finish with a thought-provoking conclusion statement.

64. Claude McKay (1890-1948)
• McKay emerged as the first
and most militant voice of
the Harlem Renaissance.
• He had great racial
pride, showing contempt for
racism throughout his poetry.
• His most aggressive poems
challenged the white
authority in America.

65. “America” by Claude McKay
Although she feeds me bread of bitterness,
And sinks into my throat her tiger's tooth,
Stealing my breath of life, I will confess
I love this cultured hell that tests my youth.
Her vigor flows like tides into my blood, 5
Giving me strength erect against her hate,
Her bigness sweeps my being like a flood.
Yet, as a rebel fronts a king in state,
I stand within her walls with not a shred
Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer. 10
Darkly I gaze into the days ahead,
And see her might and granite wonders there,
Beneath the touch of Time's unerring hand,
Like priceless treasures sinking in the sand.

66. How does “America” treat
the poems’ speaker?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
How does the speaker
respond?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The Joy is in the Struggle