The Great Gatsby: Text Analysis

Incorporation of outside texts and resources can help students draw connections with the source material they are reading. For a novel, like The Great Gatsby, which is embedded in historical and cultural significance, students need avenues for building the context in which the novel operates. In terms of classical literature, The Great Gatsby is already an accessible text for adolescent readers because of its themes and fast moving plot. However, combining the novel with external resources really enriches the learning experience and helps students think critically about the novel and its context in American literary history.

I initiated this multiple text study with photos from the 1920s and an assignment which helps students inquire into the historical background of the novel. By laying this foundation, students

go into the novel with an understanding of what the society of the 1920s was like: who important individuals were, how people dressed, what was going on in government, etc. Students then get to apply this knowledge to a narrative which solidifies their understanding of 1920s society and culture.
The second assignment, helps draw out one of the most important themes of the novel: the American dream. This assignment also helps bridge this theme across time, with views how the current American dream may be affected by economics and how social class factors into it. Class standing is another important theme addressed in The Great Gatsby, and I believe this activity helps expose how these two themes intertwine with one another for Gatsby.
For the third assignment, I wanted to give students the opportunity to examine how a modern adaption of F.

Scott Fitzgerald’s classical work compares with the original text. I enjoyed the idea of the pass around response journal mention in the text, Reading Aloud and Beyond, so I adjusted this activity to create a critical comments journal. The most important aspect of this activity is that it encourages students to support their evaluations with evidence from the text. This will help build students ability to analyze text and highlights the importance of supporting claims with evidence.

Lastly, the final assignment incorporates another classical work of American literature to help students recognize how texts from a similar period address similar themes and topics. These two texts both address dreams: for Gatsby it’s the upper class life with Daisy and for George & Lennie its independence and life on homestead. Likewise, these novels also deal with themes of social class, love/relationships, gender, and the power that comes from wealth. The graphic organizer and open-mind portrait help students organize and connect these themes across the two

texts.
This assignment helped me recognize how outside texts and resources can help students connect with and construct an understanding of what they are reading. I found this especially enriching for teaching literature courses where students may have little in background knowledge to bridge their understanding and help them access what they are reading. I am looking forward to finding new resources to supplement the novels and forms of literature that I am teaching in my classroom. For example, I am excited by the discussions that can be generated by incorporating modern day articles on topics and themes that are addressed in novels. Also, I am certain that historical resources, such as classic photographs and texts, will help students build a context for the novels we study. I certainly intend to seek out any resources that will enrich the reading experience to help students draw a perspective and think critically about the literature. These resources would be a great asset to my teaching.