1. Introductory Paragraph “As time goes on we get closer to that American Dream of there being a pie cut up and shared. Usually greed and selfishness prevent that and there is always one bad apple in every barrel” (Danko). F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and its “careless, moneyed people” (Mangum) present many bad apples in his view of the 1920s and their chase for the American Dream proving the pitfalls of what happens when dreams are attained without morals. Two such bad apples appear in the characters George Wilson and Tom Buchanan both men searching for the ideal life in very different ways. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s characterization of George Wilson as weak but hopeful contrasts that of Tom Buchanan as violent and wealthy demonstrating that blind pursuit of an ideal can be destructive.

2.  Hook ◦ Startling fact, statistic, or interesting statement about the topic at hand = GHSWT ◦ Make a good statement that connects your research to the unit theme. Ours is “As time goes on we get closer to that American Dream of there being a pie cut up and shared. Usually greed and selfishness prevent that and there is always one bad apple in every barrel” (Danko).

3.  These sentences should transition from your hook to the thesis statement connecting the book or story to the thesis that you have created.  Original quote: Daisy, for example, so enchants Gatsby and the reader who identifies with him that only in retrospect (if at all) or through the detached observer, Nick, does it become clear that she and the other careless, moneyed people in the novel are villains of the highest order. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and its “careless, moneyed people” (Mangum) present many bad apples in his view of the 1920s and their chase for the American Dream proving the pitfalls of what happens when dreams are attained without morals. Two such bad apples appear in the characters George Wilson and Tom Buchanan both men searching for the ideal life in very different ways.

4.  The Thesis ◦ This is the last sentence of your intro paragraph. ◦ This sentence is the prompt that you have chosen to guide you. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s characterization of George Wilson as weak but hopeful contrasts that of Tom Buchanan as violent and wealthy demonstrating that blind pursuit of an ideal can be destructive.