Is there a circumstance

where adultery should be

allowed?

Today’s Warm-up

The Great Gatsby

Chapter 2

What is suggested by the colors of the

opening scene in chapter 2?

“This is the valley of ashes – a fantastic farm where

ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and

grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of

houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally,

with a transcendent effort, of ash grey men, who

move dimly and already crumbling through the

powdery air.”

•Notice the contrasts between ashes and wheat/gardens.

What effect is created by combing the images?

•How long is the sentence? What is the effect of the long

sentence? How many times does the word “and” appear?

What effect does this create?

•Transcendent = beyond usual limits. What is a “transcendent

effort”? What does “already crumbling” imply?

Diction = word choice Syntax = sentence structure

What is suggested by the colors of the

opening scene in chapter 2?

• Wheat field – symbolizing prosperity,

fullness, “bread of life”

“About half way between West Egg and New York

the motor road hastily joins the railroad and runs

beside it for a quarter of a mile...”

The Valley of Ashes: “where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising

smoke and...of men who move dimly and

already crumbling through the powdery air.”

Why ash? What does the phrase taking forms of houses and

chimneys and rising smoke mean?

The eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg overlooking the Valley of

Ashes are mentioned several times.

What could the eyes symbolize?

“She was in the middle thirties, and faintly stout, but she carried her surplus flesh sensuously as some women can. Her face, above a spotted dress of dark blue crepe-de-chine, contained no facet or gleam of beauty, but there was an immediately perceptible vitality about her as if the nerves of her body were continually smouldering. She smiled slowly and, walking through her husband as if he were a ghost, shook hands with Tom, looking him flush in the eye. Then she wet her lips, and without turning around spoke to her husband in a soft, coarse voice. . .”

“He was a blond, spiritless man, anemic,

and faintly handsome.”

What does it mean to be

anemic? What does this tell us

about George?

How is George different

from Tom?

It was President Wilson who took the

Americans into WWI. During the

peace process, Wilson was

outmaneuvered by England,

France, and Italy. Unwilling to

compromise his ideals, Wilson

set out across the country working

to “sell” his position to the

Americans. He worked himself too

hard and became ill, eventually

suffering a stroke. Wilson eventually

died a defeated idealist.

How is George Wilson also a defeated idealist? An

idealist is a person who is guided more by ideals than by

practical considerations.

As you read, note what types of scenes take

place in West Egg

What typically draws the characters into the

city? What types of things happen?

Myrtle Daisy

Both of Tom’s women are

named after flowers. What

differences and similarities

do you see?