A few years ago, Adam Cohen noted on the Opinion page that Jay Gatsby was at the top of a list of the 100 best fictional characters since 1900. He went on to discuss how and why Gatsby – the “cynical idealist, who embodies America in all its messy glory” – is still relevant, perhaps more than ever.
Do your students still relate to Gatsby? Do they recognize America and themselves in his drive for self-improvement, his penchant for self-invention, his devotion to self-discipline? Do they too keep their eyes on the green light at the end of the dock?
We offer these resources on, and related to, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” hoping they might help your students appreciate Mr. Nobody from Nowhere and hear the money in Daisy’s voice.
Lesson Plans
- The Gift of Gatsby: Reading ‘The Great Gatsby’ in Urban Classrooms
- I Dreamed a Dream in Time Gone By
- A Personal Journey: Reflecting on One’s Personal Experiences with C...
- Social Motion: Examining Social Mobility Through Personal Interviews
- For Richer or For Poorer
- Class Actions: Exploring the Determination and Impact of Class in A...
- Over-the-Counter Culture: Learning About How Consumerism Reflects C...
- What a Character! Comparing Literary Adaptations
- Girl Power!?: Examining the Role of Gender in American Politics and...
- Search Me (Not): Developing Profiles of Literary and Historical Fig...
