Read through the following questions. Mark a minimum of three you know you could answer thoroughly.

Essay questions

1.  F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel focuses on the male characters, but he has several clearly delineated female characters as well, each with her own desires, motivations, and needs.

Write an essay comparing and contrasting Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, and Jordan Baker.

2.  Tom Buchanan and George Wilson are more similar than different. Write an essay in which you compare and contrast these two men according to their attitudes toward women, their ways of showing violence, and their reactions to having adulterous wives.

3.  Fitzgerald includes the following quote in the last chapter of his novel: “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together and let other people clean up the mess they had made…” (187-188).

Comment on the ways in which Tom and Daisy exemplify this quotation and the consequences of their choices.

4.  Some characters are static; they remain the same from start to finish. Others are dynamic; they emerge at the end having undergone a substantial change.

Is Nick a static or dynamic character? Does he change? If so, how? If not, why not?

5.  Compare and contrast the characters of Tom and Gatsby. In what ways are they similar? In what ways are they different?

6.  Is The Great Gatsby a modernist novel? Why or why not?

7.  Debate that The Great Gatsby illustrates the theme of the American dream being corrupted by the desire for wealth.

8.  At Gatsby’s funeral, Nick remembers “without resentment, that Daisy hadn’t sent a message or a flower” [174]. Should Nick’s attitude surprise us, and how might it illuminate the world that Gatsby, Nick, and Daisy inhabited, and the value of Gatsby’s “incorruptible dream” (154)?

9.  How is The Great Gatsby a novel about the American Dream?

10.  In what ways does Fitzgerald depict a “moral wasteland” in the novel? How does Fitzgerald use this “moral wasteland” to examine certain truths or conflicts in the novel, such as materialism vs. spirituality, carelessness vs. carefulness?

After you have settled on the three questions you know you could answer thoroughly, complete the following:

1.  Create a topic (no complete sentences) outline for one of the questions. Include the following:

Thesis:

Claim:

Warrant:

Evidence:

Evidence:

Warrant:

Evidence:

Evidence:

Claim:

Warrant:

Evidence:

Evidence:

Warrant:

Evidence:

Evidence:

Claim:

Warrant:

Evidence:

Evidence:

Warrant:

Evidence:

Evidence:

2.  For the second question you chose, write a 250-word (minimum) response. Though you don’t have to create a formal outline for this, you do need to do some planning, so list your thesis and the main points you will cover and the order you will cover them below.

Thesis:

Main point:

Main point:

Main point:

Write your response on a separate document.

3.  For the last question you chose, write a 500-word (minimum) response. Create an outline. In your paper, be sure to include

  1. An introduction that
  2. Grabs attention
  3. Names title (in italics) and author
  4. Bridges to thesis
  5. States a clear thesis
  6. A body with
  7. One paragraph for each of three main points
  8. Each paragraph includes claim-wee-wee-clincher
  9. Each paragraph uses specific evidence from the book
  10. A conclusion that
  11. Rewords thesis
  12. Answers “So what?”
  13. Makes a general/universal statement (NOT a question) that ties your point with today’s world

Things to remember:

·  No first person (I, me)

·  No second person (you, your)

·  Write in active voice (avoid be)

·  Work on sentence maturity—make conscious choices to include sentence-composing tools and rhetorical devices


Evaluation Name______

_____/20 Outline of question #1

_____/10 Outline of question #2

_____/30 250-word response to question #2

_____/20 Outline question #3

_____/100 Essay question #3

Criteria / Points
possible / Points
earned
MLA format
·  Correct left-hand heading (your name, Mrs. Unruh, Great Gatsby essay, date due)
·  Proper pagination in right-hand corner (last name space page number)
·  Title that engages attention centered
·  One-inch margins
·  Double-spaced / 15
Content
·  Introduction engages attention, names title (in italics) and author, bridges to thesis, states a clear thesis
·  Body has at least one paragraph for each of the three main points, each paragraph is complete (claim-wee-wee-clincher), each paragraph uses specific evidence from the story
·  Conclusion rewords thesis, answers “so what?”, makes a universal statement to connect the story to today’s world / 10
30
10
Organization
·  Within paragraphs
·  Between paragraphs
·  Effective transitions / 10
Style
·  Sentence structure/maturity
·  Active voice
·  Third person / 15
Grammar, mechanics, usage
·  Spelling
·  Apostrophes
·  Run-ons
·  Intro adverb clause commas
·  Fragments
·  Capitalization / 10