THE GREAT GATSBY CHAPTER 2. In today’s lesson we will discuss: SETTING – VALLEY OF ASHES AND NEW...
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Transcript of THE GREAT GATSBY CHAPTER 2. In today’s lesson we will discuss: SETTING – VALLEY OF ASHES AND NEW...
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THE GREAT GATSBYCHAPTER 2
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In today’s lesson we will discuss:
• SETTING – VALLEY OF ASHES AND NEW YORK
• SYMBOLISM – EYES AND VALLEY OF ASHES
• CHARACTERISATION – TOM, WILSON, NICK, MYRTLE
• THEMES – VISION AND AMERICAN SOCIETY / SHALLOWNESS OF UPPER CLASS
• STRUCTURE
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SETTING – VALLEY OF THE 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”
• Task: Consider the word choice used in this extract – how does it compare with description of East Egg (remember connotations).
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Points to Consider:
• ‘Wheat’ and ‘gardens’ are associated with life and nature.‘Ashes’ are dead and depressing. Combining them suggests that beauty has been destroyed.
• Repetition of ‘and’ – creates a long list of objects made from ash to emphasise the SCALE of the DECAY and slows the pace of the sentence emphasising the trudging drudgery of life.
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Points to Consider:
• Image of ‘transcendent effort’ conveys the way in which all the men’s energy is taken up just existing. Despite their struggle to survive, they are ‘already crumbling’.
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Symbolism of Valley of Ashes
• It is a place of poverty that is a dumping round for all the waste produced by the city.
• It is an ugly by-product of CONSUMERISM forgotten by the wealthy Egg communities.
• Symbolically it represents the moral and social decay that results from the pursuit of wealth and riches. The rich indulge themselves with no regard for anything but their own pleasure.
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Symbolism of Valley of Ashes
• Its bleak and barren nature provides a contrast to the loudness and brightness of NYC and the beautiful
exterior of the two Eggs.• The residents of the Eggs don’t care –
T. J. Eckleburg’s advertisement looks out indifferently at the desolation.
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Points to Consider:
• The Valley of Ashes could be seen to symbolise the moral decay which is hidden beneath the glitzy façade of East and West Egg – behind this façade could the same ugliness exist?
• DISCUSSION: Have there been any indications of moral decay in the first two chapters?
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Setting – New York
• 4TH setting.• Opposite of the Valley of Ashes• DISCUSSION: How is this difference
emphasised? Consider the word choice used in describing elements of New York e.g. “ ...lavender-coloured with grey upholstery, and in this we slid out from the mass of the station into the glowing sunshine”
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Setting – New York
• represents wild, selfish behaviour and the pursuit of pleasure – illustrated as it provides a backdrop for Tom and Myrtle’s affair.
• The drunken debauchery of Myrtle's party demonstrates the city’s lack of moral depth. People feel they can act how they want without fear of the consequences.
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SYMBOLISM – EYES OF DR T.J. ECKLEBURG
• Literally this advertisement is a realistic detail of a culture of consumerism found in 1920s America.
• Wilson sees the old optician’s advert as the eyes of God. Is the suggestion that society needs its vision correcting in order to see its faults.
• BUT the faded paint of the eyes symbolise the extent to which this society has lost its connection with God – the sign is looking over the Valley of Ashes just like God.
• LINKS with Theme - vision
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Characterisation - TOM
• “bordered on violence”• “supercilious manner”
• DISCUSSION: What elements of Tom’s character do these two quotes emphasise?
• How does Tom wield power over Wilson? What does this add to our initial impressions of Tom’s character?
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Characterisation - TOM
• Events in this chapter further add to what we have learned in Chapter 1 about Tom’s character
• “Get on..” emphasises the bossy tone of his character
• “said Tom decisively” - arrogant and in charge.
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Characterisation - Myrtle
• DISCUSSION: What are your initial impressions of Myrtle?
• “She was in the middle thirties, and faintly stout, but she carried her flesh sensuously as some women can”
• “She smiled slowly and, walking through her husband as if he were a ghost, shook hands with Tom, looking him flush in the eyes”
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• TASK: How does Myrtle behave when away from the Valley and in New York?
• Myrtle’s behaviour in New York links with the theme of vision and appearances
• She is very concerned with creating an impression of an upper class woman,
“Throwing a regal homecoming glance around the neighbourhood...and went haughtily in.”
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• “I married him because I thought he was a gentleman”
• “...he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe.”• “I knew right away I made a mistake.”• “...I lay down and cried to beat the
band all afternoon.”• DISCUSSION: Does the reader feel any
sympathy for Myrtle?
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TOM AND MYRTLE
• Myrtle believes she is above Wilson and Tom is a more suited partner.
• Consider if you think Tom would ever have married Myrtle – remember that he has lied about Daisy’s religion to make excuses for staying with his wife.
• Tom’s relationship with her is physical and material.
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Characterisation - Wilson
• Stands in stark contrast to Tom• He is a handsome and morally upright
man who lacks money, privilege and vitality.
• DISCUSSION: What are your initial impressions of Wilson?
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• “Spiritless man, anaemic”• “walking through her husband as if he
were a ghost”• A white ashen dust veiled his dark suit• Tom says: “He’s so dumb he doesn’t
know he’s alive”
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Characterisation - Nick
• “I wanted to get out and walk eastward toward the park through soft twilight, but each time I tried to go I became entangled in some wild, strident argument which pulled me back, as if by ropes, into my chair.”
• DISCUSSION: Does Nick’s behaviour at the party affect the reader’s impression of him as a narrator?
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Characterisation - Nick
• He is shown to be indecisive in this section.
• Normally repelled by vulgarity and tastelessness, but he is too fascinated to leave.
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Though I was curious to see her I had no desire to meet her (page 30)
• What does this suggest about Nick?• We are given a hint that he is not a
fully trustworthy narrator:Everything has a dim hazy cast over it
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Structure – Delayed introduction of Gatsby
• “Well they say he’s the nephew or a cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm’s. That’s where all his money comes from”
• Continues to build an atmosphere of mystery around Gatsby – no-one has any real information about him.
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Theme - Vision
• Eyes of DR T.J. Eckleburg – do they represent God staring down upon society and judging American society as a moral wasteland?
• DISCUSSION: How important are appearances in The Great Gatsby? How does this link into the theme of Vision? Are appearances deceiving in any way?
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• “The little dog was sitting on the table looking with blind eyes through the smoke, and from time to time groaning faintly”
• Again we see the idea of distorted vision.
• This quote also links to the theme Shallowness of the Upper Classes
• Material possessions are tossed aside when people are finished with them.
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Theme- Shallowness of the American Upper Classes
• Myrtle bought the dog to create a certain appearance.
• Once the dog had served its purpose, Myrtle no longer had a need for it.
• This is endemic of the whole of American Society at the time.
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Theme – American Society
• The Wilsons live where they work• They have a lower social standing than
Nick because he lives in the Suburbs.• The very rich (Buchanans, etc) do not
appear to work and can live where they choose.
• Fitzgerald is emphasising here that America, despite its claim of democratic equality, is a society split in to a number of social classes based on wealth and property.