Guided Analysis
In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.“Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”
He didn’t say any more, but we’ve always been unusually communicative in a reserved way, and I understood that he meant a great deal more than that. In consequence, I’m inclined to reserve all judgments, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores. The abnormal mind is quick to detect and attach itself to this quality when it appears in a normal person, and so it came about that in college I was unjustly accused of being a politician, because I was privy to the secret griefs of wild, unknown men. Most of the confidences were unsought — frequently I have feigned sleep, preoccupation, or a hostile levity when I realized by some unmistakable sign that an intimate revelation was quivering on the horizon; for the intimate revelations of young men, or at least the terms in which they express them, are usually plagiaristic and marred by obvious suppressions. Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope. I am still a little afraid of missing something if I forget that, as my father snobbishly suggested, and I snobbishly repeat, a sense of the fundamental decencies is parcelled out unequally at birth.
And, after boasting this way of my tolerance, I come to the admission that it has a limit. Conduct may be founded on the hard rock or the wet marshes, but after a certain point I don’t care what it’s founded on. When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart. Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book, was exempt from my reaction — Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn. If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life, as if he were related to one of those intricate machines that register earthquakes ten thousand miles away. This responsiveness had nothing to do with that flabby impressionability which is dignified under the name of the “creative temperament.”— it was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again. No — Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men. / What advice does the narrator’s father give him? What can you infer about the narrator based on this?
What does the narrator claim is the result of his father’s advice?
Describe how the narrator related with people in college. Provide support for your response.
Explain the phrase, “Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope.” What does this statement reveal about the narrator?
How has the advice previously mentioned by the narrator been clarified?
How is metaphor used to portray the narrator’s attitude toward human behavior?
What is different about Gatsby? List supporting details.
How does the use of figurative language contribute to the characterization of Gatsby?
What effect did Gatsby have on the narrator?
What is the tone of this passage? What words help contribute to the tone?
How does the author’s use of language contribute to the characterization of the narrator?
Lesson Title: Analyzing Author’s Word Choice: The Great Gatsby
Grade Level : English 11
Creator: Janet LarkinCreation Date: October 2013
Lesson Intro: Students will be asked to analyze the author’s language and its impact in characterization and tone.
Duration: One block period
Primary Standards Addressed: (In addition to standards 1 and 10)
11.RL.3Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story (how the characters are introduced and developed).
11.RL.4Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful.
Skills embedded in these standards:
Analyze author’s word choice
Analyze characterization
Determine the meaning of words in context
Identify connotation
Identify elements of figurative language
Analyze the impact of word choice on tone
Secondary Standards Addressed:
11.RL.2Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
HI-4 Answering literal, inferential, prediction, evaluation, and personal response questions about text.
Learning Goals and scales:
Students will be able to analyze and explain how an author’s language impacts the writing.
1 / 2 / 3 / 4I am not able to identify elements of figurative language, connotative meanings, or summarize the selected passage. I do not understand how the author’s language impacts the writing and cannot examples from the text. / I am able to identify some elements of figurative language, connotative meanings, and summarize the selected passage. I kind of understand how the author’s language impacts the writing . I still need help citing examples from the text. / I am able to identify all elements of figurative language, connotative meanings, and summarize the selected passage. I understand how the author’s language impacts the writing and can cite examples from the text. / I am able to identify and analyze all elements of figurative language, connotative meanings, and summarize the selected passage. I understand and can explain how the author’s language impacts the writing, citing examples from the text.
Summary and Rationale- The Great Gatsby is the classic novel of the American Dream. Set in the roaring 20’s, Nick Carraway gets caught up in the life of the mysterious Jay Gastby in pursuit of his dream. The introduction is actually set up as a flashback, so it is ideal to be read alone and dissected. The vocabulary and phrasing is challenging, so in order for students to truly grasp what is being said, the section needs to be re-read and analyzed. The qualitative score places it at 11th grade (1140) and the novel is on the exemplar list for the 11th grade level. The text has multiple themes and is full of literary devices, complex vocabulary, and symbolism that requires students multiple opportunities to use higher level thinking and inference
Hook- Students will complete a journal entry addressing the idea of “Great” people. Consider people throughout history who have been named as “Great.” What do you suppose earned them that title? What qualities do you feel make a person “Great?”
Pre-teaching – Review analysis stems for discussion questions/answers
Independent Read – Students will be given a copy of The Great Gatsby to start reading and create discussion questions/answers for. Students should focus on characterization using their analysis stems. Students will also be encouraged to utilize a dictionary if they encounter any unknown vocabulary.
Processing – Students will partner share their discussion questions/answers. As they discuss, they will be reminded to provide concrete details to support their responses.
Modeling – The passage will be read aloud by the teacher. Students will be asked to focus on the author’s use of language and careful word choice as it contributes to the tone and characters. As I read, I will go through the process of deciphering words through context clues, pause at words that contribute to tone, and question myself aloud to model active reading.
Guided Analysis –Students will answer questions on the 2-column Guided Analysis sheet. They will underline concrete details as required in the text portion of the handout to support their responses.
Cumulative writing –Students will be asked to answer a prompt: What effect does the author’s use of language have on his writing? They will utilize their Guided Analysis Sheet to complete the written portion. Responses will be graded with a holistic rubric and must include concrete details from the text.
Closure –Students will go back to their journal entry and add why they believe Gatsby is Great based on what they have read.
Assessment:
Formative – Discussion questions/answers during initial reading and participation with partner discussions. Guided Analysis Sheet completion and discussion.
Summative – Cumulative written response graded on a holistic scale.
Diverse Learners:
Struggling Learners will be paired with helpful students for discussion. All students are provided with sample discussion questions.