8/15/2019 The Great Gatsby Essay Prompts

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Essay prompts for The Great Gatsby 

Write on one of the following prompts.

 Your essay will be due November 10th. You must include references to both texts:

The Great Gatsby  and the short story “Winter Dreams.” Your aer should be !"a#es in len#th $tyed% or &" a#es written in en $blue or blac' in'%. You essayshould be free of errors $#rammatical and factual% and must have an interestin#title.

1. Many readers of The Great Gatsby struggle understanding the relationship betweenTom and Daisy. Even Nick cannot pinpoint why they stay together !They were carelesspeople" Tom and Daisy# they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated backinto 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.! Discuss Tom and Daisy$srelationship" tracing it back to its origins through the end of the novel. Why does Tom

indulge in multiple affairs% Why does Daisy stay with him" knowing about his affairs%&ow does the attitude of the time in which they live '(it)gerald*s own time" as well asthe time of +Winter Dreams,- affect their relationship%

. /atsby$s obsession with Daisy drives his adult life" and" thus" the novel. 0t one pointNick observes" !... and /atsby was overwhelmingly aware of the youth and mystery thatwealth imprisons and preserves" of the freshness of many clothes and of Daisy"gleaming like silver" safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor.! What is itabout Daisy that /atsby loves% Why is he so obsessed with obtaining her% Why is it so

important to him to erase the previous five years% What does he mean when he cries

incredulously to Nick" !$an$t repeat the past% . . . Why of course you can2! &ow does

/atsby*s relationship with Daisy parallel De3ter /reen*s relationship with 4udy4ones%

5. The Great Gatsby is" among other things" a sobering and even ominous commentaryon the dark side of the 0merican dream. Discuss this theme" incorporating the conflictsof East Egg vs. West Egg and old money vs. new money. What does the 0mericandream mean to /atsby% What did the 0merican Dream mean to (it)gerald% &ow doesmorality fit into achieving the 0merican dream% 6ou may reference the 7uote below inyour response+Many successful entrepreneurs 8a person who organi)es and assumes the risk of a

business venture9 rose to their positions of power from great poverty. These wealthy

people represented :the 0merican Dream*. 6oung people were taught to believe thatthey could be financially wealthy" no matter how humble their beginnings" if only they

would work hard enough. The popular writer &oratio 0lger promoted this idea in his

many novels with the theme of rags#to#riches. The heroes in his novels were poor boys

who achieved wealth" a high social position" and power through hard work" virtuous

living" and an unusual amount of luck, '0rmento" ;everly 4. et al. 0 M o re

8/15/2019 The Great Gatsby Essay Prompts

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?. Nick says" +A am one of the few honest people that A have ever known., When you

consider his role as narrator" do you believe that he is honest" serving as a reliable

narrator% 0re his depictions of others honest% Af he is not honest" why does he believe

he is so honest% What does he find so attractive about /atsby% Do any of Nick*s

7ualities parallel the character of De3ter /reen% Af so" which ones" and how are they

manifested in each character%

@. An +Winter Dreams, and The Great Gatsby " heroines Daisy ;uchanan and 4udy4ones have many similarities. ;eauty" wealth and shallowness are some of the traitsthey share.