Post by Sarah Singletary on May 27, 2013 11:51:58 GMT -5
Hey guys!! With summer movies coming out, and most importantly the movie version of " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald coming out, I thought it would be important to read the classic version of the book as well! In this book club we will infact read "The Great Gatsby" and thanks to cliff notes, I have some book discussion/prompts that will help guide us through our book discussions!! Happy reading guys!! This book is going to be our #2 book so all of the book reviews are due on July 25th!
The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald on Amazon
Here is the list of book deisscusion questions/prompts that I found on cliff notes!
1. The notion of the American dream figures prominently in this story. How should readers define "American dream"? Morevoer, is pursuing the American dream necessarily a good thing, as evidenced by The Great Gatsby?
2. Explore the character of Nick. How are readers supposed to feel about him? In what ways does he come off as reliable or unreliable?
3. Fitzgerald's story shows the clear delineations between different strata of society: new money, old money, some money, and no money. How are readers to interpret his comments on each of these groups? Does he hold any one group above the other? Are there ways in which people of all groups are alike?
4. Throughout the story, Gatsby has difficulty accepting that the past is over and done with. Where do you find evidence of his trying to recapture the past? What does this say about him? Should people live their lives yearning for something in the past? Why or why not?
5. Part of Fitzgerald's strength as a writer comes from his imagistic style. His writing is very sensory-oriented. What examples of sensory-oriented imagery (sight, taste, touch, smell, sound) can you find in the story? What kind of atmosphere do these details help create? How do they affect you as a reader?
6. It is not uncommon to hear the term "a self-made man." In what possible ways might this term be explained? How does Gatsby fit that definition? In what ways does he take it too literally?
7. Although Gatsby professed to love Daisy, there is a sense that he was not in love with her as much as he was in love with the idea of her. Where can you find evidence of Gatsby's devotion to an ideal rather than an actual person?
8. Although Nick Carraway has his reservations about Gatsby, it is clear he thinks of him fondly; after all, he titles the book The Great Gatsby. He leads a questionable existance and comes to a tragic end, yet Nick (and by extension, the readers) feel empathetic toward him. Does Gatsby deserve to be called "Great"? In what ways is he great? In what ways is he not? In the end, which wins out: greatness or mediocrity?
The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald on Amazon
Date Due: | Read Chapters: |
June 20, 2013 | Chapter 1-2 |
June 27, 2013 | Chapter 3-4 |
July 4, 2013 | Chapter 5-6 |
July 11, 2013 | Chapter 7-8 |
July 18, 2013 | Chapter 9 |
Here is the list of book deisscusion questions/prompts that I found on cliff notes!
1. The notion of the American dream figures prominently in this story. How should readers define "American dream"? Morevoer, is pursuing the American dream necessarily a good thing, as evidenced by The Great Gatsby?
2. Explore the character of Nick. How are readers supposed to feel about him? In what ways does he come off as reliable or unreliable?
3. Fitzgerald's story shows the clear delineations between different strata of society: new money, old money, some money, and no money. How are readers to interpret his comments on each of these groups? Does he hold any one group above the other? Are there ways in which people of all groups are alike?
4. Throughout the story, Gatsby has difficulty accepting that the past is over and done with. Where do you find evidence of his trying to recapture the past? What does this say about him? Should people live their lives yearning for something in the past? Why or why not?
5. Part of Fitzgerald's strength as a writer comes from his imagistic style. His writing is very sensory-oriented. What examples of sensory-oriented imagery (sight, taste, touch, smell, sound) can you find in the story? What kind of atmosphere do these details help create? How do they affect you as a reader?
6. It is not uncommon to hear the term "a self-made man." In what possible ways might this term be explained? How does Gatsby fit that definition? In what ways does he take it too literally?
7. Although Gatsby professed to love Daisy, there is a sense that he was not in love with her as much as he was in love with the idea of her. Where can you find evidence of Gatsby's devotion to an ideal rather than an actual person?
8. Although Nick Carraway has his reservations about Gatsby, it is clear he thinks of him fondly; after all, he titles the book The Great Gatsby. He leads a questionable existance and comes to a tragic end, yet Nick (and by extension, the readers) feel empathetic toward him. Does Gatsby deserve to be called "Great"? In what ways is he great? In what ways is he not? In the end, which wins out: greatness or mediocrity?