The Great Gatsby Project

The Great Gatsby Project

We have reached the end of The Great Gatsby. Well, now it is time to do some analysis of the characters of the novel.

Essentially, you are hired to clean out the residence of one of the main characters - Gatsby, Nick, Tom, or Daisy – and the residence of one of the secondary characters - Jordan, Myrtle, or George. As you are cleaning you find various items that the individuals left behind, and you place the items in a box.

As a responsible person, you itemize those objects for them or their families. In the end you have ten things that the main character left behind and five things the secondary character left behind. The newspapers get wind of your discoveries and want to know the significance of certain items. (Here’s where the project comes in.)

You must select five items from the ten in the main character’s box and three items from the secondary character’s box and describe, in paragraph form, each item’s relevance to the character. You must provide specific evidence from the text – meaning find a quotation, and cite the page number – that supports your choice. There are some requirements on the elements you choose to describe for the main character. One item must have sentimental value for the character; one must be an unexpected, but provable item related to the character; and one must reflect a theme or motif to which the character can be connected.

Overall, these descriptions need only be in paragraph format, not necessarily as part of a cohesive essay.

The project is due on: .

The assignment in brief:

1. Create a list of ten items that your main character might have kept/ left behind.

2. Create a list of five items your secondary character might have kept/left behind.

3. From the main character list, choose five specific items that best reflect the main character.

One must show sentimental value

One must show a connection to a theme for the character

One must be an unexpected, yet provable item the character might have kept.

The last two are your choice.

4. From the secondary character list, choose three items that best reflect the secondary character.

5. Each item should

a. be explained in no more than two paragraphs.

b. have a direct tie to the text/character, either through specific detail or a quotation

c. help to clearly explain the intricacies of the character

6. The paragraphs need not be cohesive with each other – meaning they don’t need to flow one into the other.

7. The format for the project should be MLA style – heading and in-text citations. There should also be a proper citation at the end for the source information. The final draft of the project, which is what you will turn in, must be typed – 12 point, Times Roman, 1 inch margins all the way around.

8. Grading will be based on the following criteria:

a. completion of requirements

b. clear and concise paragraphs

c. appropriate and accurate items in the lists

d. appropriate and accurate explanation of the relevance of the items

e. appropriate and accurate use of specific details and quotations.

f. overall understanding of the assigned characters and the text

g. overall grammar, appropriate editing, sentence structuring, and mature writing

Extra Credit Opportunity:

To help some of you improve your grades, I am offering extra credit to those who do either or both of the following:

1. Write the explanations of the items in a cohesive essay, which flows smoothly from one paragraph to the next. This means that there is a controlling idea and transitions that take the reader easily from one item to the next. Make the essay a creative piece if you would like.

2. Create the actual boxes for your characters. Put together the fifteen items on your lists in “personal effects” boxes for each of your assigned characters. Boxes can be no bigger than a small shoe box.

Jennifer Beaven

Mrs. Beaven

Honors English 10, pd 3

March 10, 2009

Their Final Effects – Hester and Pearl

Hester Prynne – Final Effects Box

1. Scarlet Letter – gold embroidered

2. Rose

3. Ticket to Bristol, Eng. for Election Day

4. Marriage Certificate

5. Silver hair brush and mirror

6. Bible

7. Pearl

8. Crochet needles

9. Town notice – public punishment

10. Thank you note

The five items of most interest to the Boston Crier are the scarlet letter, the ticket to Bristol, England, the silver hair brush and mirror, the crochet needles and the Thank you notes. The newspaper reporter was modestly interested in the crochet needles because he heard that Hester was a wonderful seamstress. It seems that she was of ten asked to create clothing items for the members of the community. However, she was never asked to sew a bridal veil or a christening dress due to the innocence and purity of those religious ceremonies.

The silver hair brush is of interest to those who knew Hester in her younger years. Before she met her husband, she was a beautiful and vibrant young woman. She was desired by many men, yet was married to Roger Prynne because he was lonely and needed a wife, and because he was learned and rich. After she was punished for her crime of passion, her beauty faded. She found it only briefly in the forest as she spoke to Dimmesdale of their future together.

It is most curious that Hester would have saved the notice of her own punishment. I found in her belongings the tattered notice: “Hear Ye! Hear Ye! By order of the town magistrate, Hester Prynne will be subject to three hours of public humiliation on the scaffold in the town square for the crime of adultery. Date: April 25, 1650.” I imagine she saved it because it reminded her of the strength it took to face a judgmental and Puritan town. It reminded her of the hateful behavior and thoughts of those who committed sins but didn’t have the courage to face the punishment.

…

Pearl Prynne – Final Effects Box

1. Sea weed

2. treasure box filled with flowers, leaves, rocks

3. plain brown bonnet

4. A made from sticks

5. black glove

In Hester’s house I also found many items that belonged to Pearl, even though she had not been living there for many years. The reporter was most interested in the bonnet and the treasure box. …

Nick Nick Nick Nick Nick

Tom Tom Tom Tom Tom

Daisy Daisy Daisy Daisy Daisy

Gatsby Gatsby Gatsby Gatsby Gatsby

Myrtle Myrtle Myrtle Myrtle Myrtle

Myrtle Myrtle Myrtle Myrtle Myrtle

George George George George George

Jordan Jordan Jordan Jordan Jordan

The Great Gatsby Project Rubric Name:

Grade:

Required Items: (31 points)

List of ten items (5 pts)

Five items described (5 points)

Sentimental item (2 points)

Theme item (2 points)

Unexpected item (2 points)

List of five items (5 points)

Three items described (5 points)

MLA formatting (5 points)

Paragraphs: (35 points)

Clarity (5 points)

Direct Connection (10 points)

Character intricacies explained (10 points)

Accurate details/quotations (10 points)

Conventions: (14 points)

Grammar: Punctuation, spelling, usage (4 points)

Organization (5 points)

Edit obvious (5 points)

Content: (20 points)

Clear Understanding of character/text (20 points)

Bonus:

Story/flow of paragraphs:

Box:

Time of submission:

Total: (out of 100)

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