American Lit Home

---

Unit Review

Themes and Symbolism in The Great Gatsby

I. Themes--

• Parallelism of Myrtle's and Gatsby's attempts to break into the Upper Class.
• The American Dream.
• The consequences of self-absorption and carelessness.

II. Concrete symbols--objects with symbolic significance:

• The green light at the end of the dock
• The ash heap
• Dr. TJ Eckleburg's eyes (the billboard)
• Dan Cody
• The weather in Chapter 7

III. Situational symbols--situations with symbolic significance:

• Gatsby's "career as Trimalchio"
• The parallelism of the scenes at the Buchanan's home in Ch. 1 and Ch. 7
• Daisy's treatment of her daughter
• Tom's sending Daisy to ride home with Gatsby
• Gatsby's guarding of the empty room

 

20's Presentation Topics (Click on the link for more information)
Flappers and Fashion Links 1 and 2	Business Boom of the 20's Links 1 and 2
Prohibition Links 1 and 2	Dance: Charleston & Swing Links 1 and 2
Art Deco Architecture Links 1 and 2	Science and Inventions Links 1 and 2
Louis Armstrong and Jazz Links 1 and 2	Henry Ford's Model T Links 1 and 2
Charles Lindbergh Links 1 and 2	1919 World Series Links 1 and 2
Fads and Slang Links 1 and 2	1929 Stock Market Crash Links 1 and 2
St. Valentine's Day Massacre Links 1 and 2	Miss America Pageant Links 1 and 2
Greta Garbo and Hollywood Links 1 and 2	Harry Houdini Links 1 and 2

 

Back to top