Lesson 2

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

• • The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Scribner, 1925

Materials

Tools

• Analyzing Relationships Tool

• Character Note-Taking Tool

• Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool

• The Great Gatsby: Setting Note-Taking Tool

• Vocabulary Journal

Question Sets

• The Great Gatsby: Question Set 2.2

Editable Google Docs

• Analyzing Relationships Tool

• Character Note-Taking Tool

• Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool

• The Great Gatsby: Question Set 2.2

• The Great Gatsby: Setting Note-Taking Tool

• Vocabulary Journal

Activity 1: Discuss

We will discuss the importance of contrast and counterpoint in The Great Gatsby.

Consider this quotation about Fitzgerald’s writing from a second critical analysis of The Great Gatsby, which we will read in full later in the unit:

The major technical device in The Great Gatsbyis . . . the technique of counterpoint in characterization, setting (including symbol and scene), and narrative structure. Fitzgerald places character against character, setting against setting, and one plot against another. (Mellard)

As a class, discuss the following question:

1. What is meant by the term counterpoint? Are there any examples of counterpoint that you have already noticed in the novel?

Activity 2: Discuss – Write

We will begin to track George’s and Myrtle’s characters using character Note-Taking Tools and contrast them with other key characters in the novel.

With a partner, compare and discuss what you have discovered about Myrtle as a character, using your Character Note-Taking Tool and Analyzing Relationships Tool.

Identify key details about Myrtle that contrast with Daisy, and use a Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool to make a claim about Myrtle and how she presents a counterpoint to Daisy in the novel.

Activity 3: Read – Write – Discuss

We will switch drafts with another group to get feedback on our claims.

Switch your Forming Evidence-Based ClaimsTool with another pair of students. Provide feedback on the pair’s claim.

You are providing two types of feedback:

• reinforcing (e.g., “You did a nice job stating clear connections among details.”)

• constructive (e.g., “You could strengthen your claim by identifying stronger key details from the text. For example, see the sentence on page 3 that begins with…”)

Write the feedback on sticky notes or in the margins of their paper.

Once you and your partner have worked together to review the other pair’s claims, switch back and review the other pair’s comments on your tool. Ask them follow-up questions if you need additional clarification.

Activity 4: Read – Write – Discuss

We will use a setting Note-Taking Tool to write down and analyze key details about the scene in tom and Myrtle’s apartment. We will then form a claim about the mood and atmosphere established in this scene.

Step 1

With a partner, review the descriptions of the scene in Tom and Myrtle’s apartment, and the events that happen in this scene. Use a Setting Note-Taking Tool and write down and analyze key details and events from the scene.

Use the following questions from Question Set 2.2 to think about, discuss, and analyze the scene:

1. Summarize the scene: Where and when does it occur, whom does it involve, and what happens?

2. Examine the narrative point of view: How is the scene presented, and how do its narrator’s perceptions and descriptions influence your reading?

3. Analyze character relationships: What do we learn about the characters, their perceptions, interactions, and conflicts?

4. Evaluate effects: How do description, imagery, symbolism, or dialogue contribute to the mood, atmosphere, and meaning of the scene?

5. Interpret meaning: What theme or themes of the novel does the scene develop? What do you think Fitzgerald is suggesting?

Step 2

Form a claim about the mood and atmosphere of the scene in response to Question 4. (You might want to use a Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool to help you identify and analyze key details, and use those details to develop an interpretive claim.)

As a class, share and discuss your analyses and claims regarding this scene, its mood, and its possible importance in the novel.

Activity 5: Read – Discuss

As a class, we will read pages 39–41 from the beginning of chapter 3 of The Great Gatsby and consider how the scene of gatsby’s party is described and how its imagery and mood contrast with previous scenes.

As a class, follow along as your teacher (or another student) reads the description of Gatsby’s party at the beginning of Chapter 3 (pp. 39-41, up to “The party has begun”). As you listen and read along, use the following questions to guide your annotations:

1. What is the mood or atmosphere of this setting and scene? How do descriptive details and images contribute to that mood?

2. How is the mood of this scene in contrast or counterpoint to the scene in Tom and Myrtle’s apartment? Cite textual evidence to support your answer.

Discuss your responses to this scene and the two questions.

Activity 6: Read – Write

For homework, we will read pages 39–49 of chapter 3 and update our setting Note-Taking Tools and character Note-Taking Tools.

For homework, read and annotate pages 39-49 of Chapter 3, starting from the beginning of Chapter 3 and ending with “At small parties there isn’t any privacy,” and think about the following questions as you read and write down details on your Setting Note-Taking Tool:

1. What kind of mood does Fitzgerald create in this scene?

2. How does Fitzgerald use language and other details to create this mood?

3. What might be the significance of the scene in the library with Owl Eyes? How might this scene relate to the valley of ashes scene and the image of Dr. T. J. Eckleberg? What details from the text support your conclusion?

Be sure to write down new or interesting words you encounter in your Vocabulary Journal.