11th Grade English

Miss Sweeney
The Great Gatsby Essay
Due Date:
Final drafts are due April 6th
You may choose any of the four prompts, yet if you come up with another topic you would like to write
about, you can set up a meeting with me to approve it by March 30 th
Objectives:
Ability to control the contents of an analytical essay with a concise thesis sentence that declares your
stance of the topic.
Provide plenty of textual evidence (specific details, quotations, or paraphrases) to support thesis.
Apply the close reading and analytical skills.
Requirements:
Final paper should be 4-5 pages.
Papers should be typed, double-spaced, in 12-point Times New Roman font, 1-inch margins all around.
Use MLA format for citations. (For reference go to
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/12/)
Prompts:
1. What role does the past play in the novel? Consider what Gatsby thinks about recovering the past. Think
about relationships, symbols, and imagery that suggest time passage. Can we successfully deny our past, past
selves, experiences? How does Nick emerge from his experiences with a bitter understanding of reality?
2. What aspects of the 1920s are exemplified in the novel? What role does history play in the novel? In what
ways does this work represent the age in which it was written?
3. What does the geography of the novel suggest about its themes and characters? In what ways is setting
important in The Great Gatsby? Think about the importance of New York. Or consider how the places people
live (even houses) reflect their personalities.
4. What are characters searching for, and do they find it? Why was this generation referred to as The Lost
Generation? In what ways are these characters lost?
Guidelines:
Fully analyze quotations included within your essay. Demonstrate the importance of why you choose
the specific quote and how it fits with your argument.
Introduce your quotationsexplain who is speaking, to whom, and under what circumstances (scene
and emotions).