Tenth Grade English Language Arts

The Great Gatsby by: F. Scott Fitzgerald

I. Essential Question
1. To what etent can wealth and all o! the luuries that it "ro#ides a!!ect one$s ability to achie#e
what they desire%
II. The&es
1. 'isintegration o! the A&erican 'rea&
(. Greed and )orru"tion
a. )haracters: *ay Gatsby+ To& ,uchanan+ 'aisy ,uchanan+ -ic. )arraway
/. 0a""iness is Greed is 1ower
a. 0a""iness is seen through &oney and then &oney is de#elo"ed into greed and ha#ing too
&uch o! e#erything. Gangsters+ Fla""ers+ &inisters+ actors+ actresses+ "olice o!!icers+ and
stoc.bro.ers are all sy&bols. 0a""iness !or these characters included &oney and &aterial
ob2ects. Greed is shown !ro& the #ery beginning until the #ery end o! the boo..
3. Sociology o! 4ealth
a. 5ld 6oney7 The ter& 85ld 6oney8 re!ers to "eo"le who ha#e had wealth "assed down
within their !a&ilies !or generations. These "eo"le ha#e o!ten grown accusto& to a
la#ish style o! li#ing and are #ery &uch concerned with .ee"ing u" a""earances.
6anners and eti9uette are held in high regard within this society.
b. -ew 6oney7 The ter& 8-ew 6oney8 re!ers to "eo"le who were able to ac9uire their
wealth &ore recently and did not ha#e to rely on it being "assed down through their
!a&ily. These "eo"le ha#e not necessarily grown accusto&ed to a la#ish li!estyle+ but can
o!ten be seen trying to !launt their newly ac9uired &oney in order to i&"ress "eo"le
around the&. These "eo"le &ay lac. the "ro"er eti9uette and grace that the "eo"le with
8old &oney8 hold in such high regard.
1. Although both 8new &oney8 and 8old &oney8 "ossess a great deal o!
wealth+ in the end it is not enough to !ul!ill the drea&s o! either grou" o!
"eo"le. ,linded by their "ursuit o! wealth rather than their true drea&s+
neither grou" o! "eo"le were able to co&e out with a ha""y ending.
III. :The ;oaring Twenties8
1. The ;oaring Twenties was an era o! un"recedented wealth and "ros"erity due to the rise o! the
stoc. &ar.et a!ter 4orld 4ar I.
I<. =ey Question
1. In what ways do the the&es o! drea&s+ wealth+ greed+ and ti&e relate to each other in the
no#el>s e"loration o! the idea o! A&erica%
2. 4hat does the no#el ha#e to say about the condition o! the A&erican drea& in the 1?(@s% 0ow
does this a""ly to *ay Gatsby%
3. )o&"are and contrast the East Egg and 4est Egg. 0ow are the si&ilar and how are they
dissi&ilar% 4hy does -ic. choose to go bac. to the 4est Egg%