ENGLISH 10

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe 

Though the tales told in these novels take place in vastly different settings and in completely different cultures, there are some similarities here in terms of character and the overall arc of each protagonist’s life.  Gatsby and Okonkwo are both characters who reach some noteworthy degree of success in their respective societies.  The fates of both characters can be considered tragic in a loose sense of the term (and possibly in the more strictly defined classical sense as well).  Each novel is keenly insightful in its development of character and in its portrait of a society and its values.  Keep these ideas in mind as you read the books.  Your first essay assignment of the fall semester (assigned after classes begin) will involve a comparison of these two characters. 

As you read each of these books, you should underline important passages and make marginal notes as necessary.  Please read both novels and complete the writing assignment by the first day of class.

WRITING ASSIGNMENT: To prepare yourselves for our classroom discussion of these books (and to make sure that you are interacting with the books you read), you will have to do some writing about each book.  Since it is summer, I am keeping it pretty simple.  Here’s the deal:

For each book, copy down four quotations that you find memorable (include page citation).  For each quotation, write an explanation of four or more sentences that reveals how the quotation relates to one or more of these literary elements or themes.  Your quotations and responses should be typed.  You do not need to cover all of the topics listed below.  The written assignment will be due on the first day of class in the fall.

Literary Elements*                       Themes                                                        

character development                           the importance of family relationships

setting                                       the acquisition of status/wealth

narrative style/perspective            the importance of culture/traditions

symbolism                                   the true qualities of good character

motif                                         the importance of romantic love/marriage

tone                                          the value of honesty

                                                gender roles as defined by culture and custom

*You may wish to consult a textbook or dictionary to review the meaning of these terms.

SAMPLE:

“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.” (7)

--At this point in the book, we don’t know much about Gatsby, but we do know that he is a pretty important character.  This is the kind of quotation that a reader has to revisit later on, after finishing the book.  Later, we see that Gatsby has some negative qualities to his character, but Nick’s judgment here, that he is “all right,” is pretty revealing.  Nick, as we see, is a good judge of character, so this statement about Gatsby should be taken seriously.  Also, the quotation indicates that Gatsby represents something as a character; he is the embodiment of certain “dreams” that all people aspire to achieve.