1. The American Dream Portrayed Through the Setting and Characters
The Great Gatsby
&
The American Dream Portrayed Through the Setting and Characters

2. OBJECTIVE
·Students will define the American Dream, identify and examine examples of the American Dream in the novel, and discuss whether or not the American Dream is still alive today.
·Students will create a settings map to identify the social and historical influences on the settings and characters in the novel.

3. The American Dream Portrayed Through Settings and Characters
·Each setting in this novel corresponds to a specific class level (upper, middle, lower).
·Fitzgerald also intentionally connects character traits with these settings.
·He does this to make a point about the effects that wealth (or the lack of it) has on people's behavior.
·Through the setting map, you will be able to see how Fitzgerald views wealth and the class system.

4. The American Dream Portrayed Through Settings and Characters
In chapter 1, we are introduced to two of the main settings in the novel and given information about the characters that live there.
What are the two settings?
The two settings are ____________ and ___________.

5. Identify West Egg and East Egg and which characters live in each setting.

6. East Egg. 3. What class of people live on East Egg?
The American Dream Portrayed Through Settings and Characters – Use pages 9-10 to help you
East Egg
1. Identify East Egg on
the map.
2. Who lives on East Egg?
____________ and
____________ live on
East Egg. 3. What class of people live on East Egg?
People of the (upper, middle, lower) class live on East Egg.

7. 3. What class of people live on West Egg?
The American Dream Portrayed Through Settings and Characters – Use pages 9-10 to help you
West Egg
1. Identify West Egg on
the map.
2. Who lives on West Egg?
____________ and
____________ live on
West Egg
3. What class of people live on West Egg?
People of the (upper, middle, lower) class live on West Egg.

8. How does Nick describe West Egg (in comparison to East Egg)?
The American Dream Portrayed Through Settings and Characters
How does Nick describe West Egg (in comparison to East Egg)?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What does this tell us about how people view those who live at West Egg?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. Draw a quick representation of each of the houses:
West Egg
East Egg
Tom and Daisy's House
Nick's House
Gatsby's House
What is the difference between Gatsby's house and Tom and Daisy's house?
The difference between Gatsby's house and Tom and Daisy's house is ______________________________________________________.

10. The American Dream Portrayed Through Settings and Characters
QUICKWRITE - Rules of the Upper Class?
Consider where each group lives - even though Gatsby is part of the upper class economically, do you think he will be accepted as part of the upper class socially? What do you think this says about Fitzgerald's opinion on the accessibility of the American Dream? Explain your response.

11. Look at the description of the Valley of Ashes and of Wilsons garage – based on this description which social class lives here? Justify your claim with evidence from the text.

12. Myrtle’s American Dream
What is Myrtle’s American dream? What does she do to achieve her dream? Based on that information what can you say about the American dream in the 1920’s?