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Having recently returned from military duty overseas during the Great War, Nick Carraway is restless and tired of his provincial life in the Midwest. He moves East to get into the bond market and soon finds himself living among the idle rich on Long Island. Nick reacquaints himself with his cousin, Daisy Buchanan, and her husband, Tom, and through them he meets the "incurably dishonest" Miss Baker, for whom he begins to develop a romantic interest. Nick soon learns of Daisy's deep unhappiness and Tom's affair with Myrtle Wilson, a married woman.
Before long, Nick is drawn inextricably into their lives and to one man who still believes in the American Dream—Jay Gatsby. As Nick and Gatsby are carried along by forces that neither of them fully controls or understands, they will experience the consequences of materialism, deceit, and petty self-interest.
Content Warning: Mature Themes
English/Language Arts credit: This is a one-quarter credit high school level Literature curriculum.
Author Biography: Learn about F. Scott Fitzgerald and the fascinating background behind the author and novel.
Vocabulary: Understand words used throughout the novel, utilizing a variety of activities to stimulate retention and growth.
Literary Techniques: Character study, personification, imagery, allusion, symbolism, dramatic irony, tone, grammatical change analysis, paradox, juxtaposition, Gothic imagery, title analysis, plot, tragic flaw, theme.
Moral Lessons and Character Values: Ecclesiastes and the pursuit of pleasure, priorities, adultery, struggle between temptation and doing what is right, drunken foolishness, true friendship, camaraderie, materialism, pursuing dreams, self-worth, naivety, living in the past, death, view of God, life goals, Good Samaritan, comfort in sorrow, Christian hopes vs. worldly hopes.
Activities and Writing Assignments: Research 1920s clothing design and textiles and create designs or posters, research: The Lost Generation, Prohibition, the American Dream, materialism, track relationships, literary technique research, T.S. Eliot analysis, art imagery, biblical marriage study, define success, Kant’s philosophies, essays: eyes of God, use of color, compare and contrast, character growth, personal reactions to characters.
Suggestions for Further Reading: We include an in-depth reading list of more books by the same author(s) and other books that tie in with, or are similar to, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
All of Progeny Press' Language Arts unit lessons are written from a Christian perspective!
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Formatted with your High School grade student in mind, Progeny Press language arts study guides divide the book into writing assignments and lessons that strengthen their reading comprehension, vocabulary, and refines their critical analysis and writing skills. Each Progeny Press novel study accomplishes all of this without busy work that can drain the fun out of reading and literature! Kids have loved using Progeny Press ELA curriculum in homeschool, co-ops, and private schools around the world for over 30 years!