Table of content - The Great Gatsby: A Level

A novel of its time, or of all time?, Fitzgerald and a story of the Midwest?, The New World and the Old World, The Jazz Age, Flappers, Prohibition and organised crime, Study focus: Key issues to explore

Studying the novel

Synopsis

Nick Carraway narrates, Love and marriage, Possession and desire, Tom’s affair with Myrtle, Gatsby the bootlegger, The death of Myrtle Wilson, The death of Jay Gatsby, Nick returns to the Midwest, Study focus: Modernism

Chapter 1

Summary, Analysis, Extract analysis

Chapter 2

Summary, Analysis

Chapter 3

Summary, Analysis

Chapter 4

Summary, Analysis

Chapter 5

Summary, Analysis, Extract analysis

Chapter 6

Summary, Analysis

Chapter 7

Summary, Analysis

Chapter 8

Summary, Analysis

Chapter 9

Summary, Analysis, Extract analysis

Progress check

Section One: Check your understanding, Section Two: Working towards the exam, Section Three: Check your progress

Characters & Themes

Characters

Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway, Daisy Buchanan (née Fay), Tom Buchanan, Jordan Baker, George and Myrtle Wilson, Meyer Wolfshiem

Themes

American ideals, The American Dream, The Frontier, Desire and wonder, Vision and insight, Codes of conduct

Progress check

Section One: Check your understanding, Section Two: Working towards the exam, Section Three: Check your progress

Genre, Structure & Language

Genre

Tragedy, Frame narratives

Structure

Looking for clues, Study focus: Clues, Intricate patterning

Language

The first-person narrator, Dialogue and the scenic method, Cinematic techniques, The written word, Symbolism

Progress check

Section One: Check your understanding, Section Two: Working towards the exam, Section Three: Check your progress

Contexts & Interpretations

Contexts

Historical context, Settings, Literary context, Contemporary American literature

Critical interpretations

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s reputation, Reaction on publication, Subsequent criticism, Contemporary approaches

Progress check

Section One: Check your understanding, Section Two: Working towards the exam, Section Three: Check your progress

Progress Booster

Assessment focus

How will you be assessed?, What do the AOs actually mean?, What does this mean for your revision?

How to write high-quality responses

Five key areas, 1. The structure of your answer/essay, Effective opening paragraphs, 2. Use of titles, names, etc., 3. Effective quotations, Effective use of quotations, 4. Techniques and terminology, 5. General writing skills

Questions with statements, quotations or viewpoints

Key skills required, Answering a ‘viewpoint’ question

Comparing The Great Gatsby with other texts

Writing your response

Using critical interpretations and perspectives

What is a critical interpretation?

Practice task

Introduction, Decode the question, Plan and write

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