This novel is set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City. The novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with Jay Gatsby, the mysterious millionaire with an obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan.​

Group Guide for Workshop

Reading & Writing Workshop:  Exploring The Great Gatsby Through Literary Elements
In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald explores illusion, wealth, love, and the American Dream through vivid symbols, layered narration, and recurring motifs. Students will analyze the novel using literary terms such as symbolism, imagery, motif, irony, point of view, and theme. The workshop develops close reading and critical writing skills while encouraging original written responses inspired by Fitzgerald’s style and ideas.
General Instructions:

• Read The Great Gatsby in four sections (Ch. 1–3, 4–5, 6–7, 8–9).
• Each group summarizes their section and identifies symbols, motifs, and key literary terms in action.
• Use a Literary Thinking Guide (companion notes) to track characters, recurring images, narrative techniques, and thematic developments.
• Each session includes analysis + a creative or analytical writing task.

Workshop Objective
Students will strengthen their literary analysis skills by identifying and interpreting Fitzgerald’s use of symbols, motifs, narrative voice, irony, and thematic contrasts. Students will produce written work (analytical responses, creative imitations, reflective pieces) that demonstrates understanding of how authors use literary techniques to shape meaning.

Session-by-Session Plan
Session 1: Narration, Point of View, and Reliability

• Objective: Explore Nick Carraway as narrator — his bias, reliability, and how point of view shapes the story.
• Key Terms: Point of view, reliability, framing, tone.
• Reading Focus: Ch. 1–2 (Nick introduces Gatsby, Daisy, and Tom).
• Writing Prompt: Write a retelling of one scene (e.g., Tom and Myrtle’s apartment) from a different character’s perspective. How does shifting the narrator alter tone and meaning?

Session 2: Symbolism and Motifs (The Green Light & Eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg)

• Objective: Analyze how recurring symbols develop deeper themes of hope, illusion, and morality.
• Key Terms: Symbolism, motif, imagery, juxtaposition.
• Reading Focus: Ch. 3–4 (Gatsby’s parties, Nick’s observations, the eyes of Eckleburg).
• Writing Prompt: Choose one recurring symbol (the green light, the valley of ashes, Gatsby’s mansion) and write a one-page analysis that explains how Fitzgerald uses it to reflect a theme.

Session 3: Characterization and Contrast (Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, Myrtle)

• Objective: Examine Fitzgerald’s methods of character development through contrast, dialogue, and irony.
• Key Terms: Characterization, foil, irony, diction, dialogue.
• Reading Focus: Ch. 5–6 (Gatsby and Daisy’s reunion, Tom’s suspicions).
• Writing Prompt: Write a character sketch that contrasts Gatsby’s dream with Daisy’s reality. Use literary terms (diction, irony, contrast) to explain the gap between illusion and truth.

Session 4: Theme, Irony, and Conflict

• Objective: Connect major conflicts to themes of wealth, love, illusion, and the corruption of the American Dream.
• Key Terms: Theme, dramatic irony, conflict (internal/external), climax.
• Reading Focus: Ch. 7 (the Plaza Hotel confrontation).
• Writing Prompt: Write a two-paragraph thematic analysis of this chapter, showing how Fitzgerald uses irony and conflict to expose the hollowness of the American Dream.

Session 5: Symbols of Death and Disillusionment

• Objective: Interpret how Fitzgerald ends the novel using imagery and symbols to critique ambition and illusion.
• Key Terms: Imagery, symbolism, motif, resolution, circular structure.
• Reading Focus: Ch. 8–9 (Gatsby’s death, Nick’s reflections).
• Writing Prompt: Write a reflective piece in Nick’s voice (1–2 pages) connecting Gatsby’s fate to one central theme (illusion, ambition, disillusionment). Include at least three literary terms in your response.

Key Literary Anchors
Students should continually track the following:

1. Point of View — Nick’s narration, bias, reliability.
2. Symbolism — The green light, valley of ashes, Eckleburg’s eyes.
3. Motifs — Parties, cars, weather, color imagery.
4. Irony — Dramatic and situational irony in relationships and events.
5. Theme — Illusion vs. reality, corruption of the American Dream, wealth and morality.
6. Characterization — Contrast between Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, Myrtle, and Nick.​

Reading and Writing Workshop:  Exploring The Great Gatsby Through Historical Primary Sources
General Instructions:
Begin by reading The Great Gatsby either in groups or as a class. To complete a work quickly, use groups to read the work.  This helps with longer texts. Divide the work into sections and assign each group a section.  As groups, they will read their section, write a summary of each chapter, and then each group reports on their chapters sequentially. As students read, they should complete the Historical Thinking Guide. After reading and reporting on the entire work, the workshop might consist of a single session or more. The goal is to engage participants in an exploration of the life and times of characters through primary sources, and writing exercises that foster a deeper understanding of concepts such as migration, cultural exchange, conflict, and resilience. 
​Objective: Participants will analyze historical events from this work using public domain primary resources and create original creative writing pieces inspired by these events.

Session 1: Introduction to the 1920s

• Objective: Provide an overview of the era and its key historical events.
• Reading: Excerpts from Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920s by Frederick Lewis Allen (Public Domain)
  • URL: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43699
• Writing Prompt: Imagine you are a journalist in the 1920s. Write an article about a major cultural change (Prohibition, jazz music, women’s fashion, etc.).

Session 2: World War I and Its Aftermath

• Objective: Understand the war’s impact on the novel’s characters.
• Reading:
  • Over the Top by Arthur Guy Empey (a WWI soldier’s account)
    • URL: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8972
• Writing Prompt: Write a letter from Gatsby to Daisy while he is serving in the war.

Session 3: Prohibition and Organized Crime

• Objective: Explore the effects of Prohibition and its connection to crime.
• Reading:
  • "The Eighteenth Amendment and Its Results" (1922) - A contemporary analysis of Prohibition.
    • URL: https://archive.org/details/eighteenthamendm00nola
• Writing Prompt: Write a short story about a bootlegger in the 1920s.

Session 4: The Jazz Age and The Harlem Renaissance

• Objective: Explore the influence of jazz and African American culture in the 1920s.
• Reading:
  • The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois (1903)
    • URL: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/408
  • Selected poems by Langston Hughes (public domain works)
    • URL: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23471
• Writing Prompt: Write a poem about attending a jazz party like Gatsby’s.

Session 5: The American Dream: Myth or Reality?

• Objective: Analyze the theme of the American Dream.
• Reading:
  • The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen (1899)
    • URL: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/833
• Writing Prompt: Write a personal essay reflecting on whether the American Dream still exists today.

This workshop plan integrates The Great Gatsby with public domain resources to deepen understanding of the historical period.


Historical Events Referenced in The Great GatsbyF. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is set in the 1920s and references several major historical events and cultural phenomena of the era. Below are the key historical events mentioned or alluded to in the novel:

1. World War I (1914–1918)
   • The novel references the impact of World War I on its characters, particularly Jay Gatsby, who served in the war, and Nick Carraway, who was also a veteran.
2. The Roaring Twenties & The Jazz Age
   • The book captures the extravagance, economic prosperity, and social changes of the 1920s, including the rise of jazz music, changing gender norms, and the culture of consumerism.
3. Prohibition (1920–1933)
   • The illegal sale and consumption of alcohol are central to Gatsby’s wealth and his lavish parties, referencing the era of Prohibition in the U.S.
4. The Rise of Organized Crime
   • Gatsby’s business dealings with Meyer Wolfsheim hint at the real-life rise of organized crime, which thrived due to Prohibition.
5. Economic Boom and Stock Market Growth
   • The novel references the booming economy of the 1920s, with Gatsby making his fortune through questionable means.
6. Class Divide & The American Dream
   • The division between old money (East Egg) and new money (West Egg) reflects class tensions in 1920s America.
7. The Harlem Renaissance
   • The influence of African American culture, particularly jazz music, is evident in the novel.
8. Women’s Liberation & Flapper Culture
   • Characters like Jordan Baker embody the changing role of women during the 1920s.