by cmeike4

Slides
10 slides

Great_Gatsby.ppt

Published Apr 28, 2013 in
Direct Link :

Great_Gatsby.ppt... Read more

Read less


Comments

comments powered by Disqus

Presentation Slides & Transcript

Presentation Slides & Transcript

The Great Gatsby

Christian Meike

F. Scott Fitzgerald
Was born September 28th, 1896 into a upper middle class Irish Catholic family in St. Paul, Minnesota
Spent the first part of his childhood in Buffalo, NY, where he attended two different Catholic schools, where he first started to express interest in writing and literature
The family returned to Minnesota when Fitzgerald was 13 after Fitzgerald’s father was fired from his job
When he was 15, his parents sent him to a prestigious catholic boarding school in Hackensack, New Jersey called Newman School
After graduating from Newman School he decided stay in New Jersey to pursue his writing career at Princeton
Wrote for the Princeton Tiger and the Princeton Triangle Club while he was there
Went on too write many novels and short stories before his death in 1940 of a myocardial infarction, a form of heart attack caused by his heavy drinking addiction (he had been an alcoholic since his college days)
Widely regarded as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century

The Book
Written by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Published April 10th, 1925
Started planning the novel in 1922
Began composing it in 1923
Was somewhat popular when published, but nowhere near as popular as his previous works (This Side of Paradise and The Beautiful and Damned)
By the time Fitzgerald died in 1940, it had been mostly forgotten
In 1951, Aurthur Mizener published The Far Side of Paradise, a biography of Fitzgerald, which renewed the peoples interest in him, and The Great Gatsby became very popular
By the 1960’s the The Great Gatsby was considered an American classic
It has been filmed 5 times and is being filmed for a 6th time
6th one being released on May 10th, 2013 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXAB2A8iHLE

Characters
Nick Carraway- Main character and narrator, went to Yale, lives in West Egg. Next door neighbor and good friend of Jay Gatsby
Jay Gatsby- Extremely mysterious and wealthy man who throws lavish parties at his mansion in West Egg every weekend. Helplessly in love with Daisy, Nick’s cousin
Daisy Buchanan- Nick Carraway’s cousin, fell in love with Gatsby back when he was training to be an officer in Louisville but married Tom Buchanan instead. Lives in East Egg with her husband Tom
Tom Buchanan- Daisy’s wife, racist, arrogant, and wealthy. Has an affair with Myrtle Wilson.
Myrtle Wilson- Has an affair with Tom, husband of George Wilson, who runs a garage in the valley of ashes. Tom treats her brutally and at one point breaks her nose. Killed by Daisy in a car accident
George Wilson- Runs a garage in the valley of ashes. Kills Gatsby.

Synopsis
The story starts with Nick Carraway moving from Minnesota to New York for a new job
Moves into a house in West Egg, where he is next door neighbors with Jay Gatsby, who throws lavish parties every Saturday night
Has a cousin named Daisy who lives in East Egg, lives with her husband Tom, one day they invite Nick over for lunch where they introduce Nick to Jordan Baker, who he eventually starts dating
Nick finds out that Tom is having an affair with a girl near New York, Myrtle Wilson, who is the husband of George Wilson, a poor man who runs a garage in the Valley of Ashes
Over the summer Nick gets invited to one of Gatsby’s huge parties
Nick meets Jordan Baker there, and finds out through her that Gatsby is hopelessly in love with Daisy, falling for her when he was training to be a soldier in Louisville a while back
Daisy fell in love with him also, but married Tom while Gatsby was out on his pursuit of wealth
Also finds out that Gatsby is incredibly wealthy, but started off poor, and has a mysterious background
Nick befriends Gatsby, and meets his friend Meyer Wolfshiem, who claims to have fixed the 1919 World Series (this suggests Gatsby may have achieved his wealth in illegal ways)








Synopsis
Nick agrees to help Gatsby reunite with Daisy, so he invites Daisy to tea with him, but does not tell her Gatsby will be there
They meet back up and initially, its awkward, but after a while they fall back in love with each other and soon start an affair
Nick begins to wonder whether its possible for Daisy to live up to the god-like image that Gatsby has envisioned ever since she left him
Tom has a drink one night with Gatsby, and Gatsby tells him he knows Daisy

Synopsis
Tom begins to suspect an affair
Tom and Daisy go to Gatsby’s next party
Tom, who is jealous of Gatsby, tells Daisy his wealth comes from bootlegging
Daisy angrily defends Gatsby, making Tom even more suspicious
Tom then invites Gatsby to lunch at his house and it’s clear to him that Gatsby is in love with Daisy
Tom forces the group to the Plaza Hotel downtown where he confronts Gatsby about Daisy, claiming Gatsby “hasn’t been through what he and Daisy have been through”
Daisy then realizes her allegiance is for Tom, which is probably due to the fact that Tom is the father of her daughter
Tom sends Gatsby home with Daisy to prove Gatsby is nothing to him or Daisy
While driving home with Gatsby, Daisy runs over Tom’s lover Myrtle with her car, killing her
Gatsby tells Nick that Daisy did it, but that Gatsby intends to take the blame
Tom tells Myrtle’s husband George that Gatsby was driving the car that killed Myrtle
George goes over to Gatsby’s house and kills Gatsby while Gatsby is in his pool, then kills himself
Nick composes a small funeral for Gatsby, then moves back to the Midwest to get away from the sadness


Significance
Recognized as one of the greatest American novels written
Represents the Roaring twenties time period and the American dream and how prosperous the people were at the time financially
Shows how even though people were well off, in the end money can’t buy happiness

Themes
Love and Its Power- Drives Gatsby insane, causes him to do unreasonable things (takes the blame for killing Myrtle, throws lavish parties every Saturday hoping that Daisy will take notice)
Money Can’t Buy Happiness- Gatsby has incredible wealth, but is miserable. Tries to use his money to buy him Daisy/happiness
Fantasy vs Reality- After all the years of Gatsby fanaticizing about Daisy, when he finally meets her again, she cannot compare to the vision of her he built up in his head
The Downfall of Achieving a Dream- Gatsby dedicated his whole life to getting back Daisy, and when he finally does, his dream is over, and he has nothing to look forward to




Connections
The Great Gatsby to Song of Solomon
“Wanna fly, you gotta give up the sh** that weighs you down”- Guitar
Gatsby has Daisy dragging him down until his death
Guitar with the gold- Wants the gold/wealth because he thinks it will make things right with his family again
Gatsby has a mansion and throws lavish parties because he things it will make things right with Daisy again