Week 29:

AP Literature Exam Thursday, May 10, 2007


F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, is often acclaimed the best picture of the years tagged the “Jazz Age.” It offers a vividly realistic portrayal of the artistic, political, and economic climate of the 1920s. It discloses the psychological outburst of release from enforced sacrifice and deprivation of WWI.

In the nine chapters Fitzgerald captures the myth of the “American Dream” with its hope, search—the knight looking for the grail – and illusion, as corruption, intolerance, prejudice, and self-interest lead to tragedy.

Each chapter is rich in imagery, symbols, foreshadowing, juxtaposition, irony, paradox, sentence patterns, and speech styles. And within this mastery of literary techniques is Fitzgerald’s criticism of a materialistic society focused on this American Dream. For this, The Great Gatsby is a social epithet, and a work that has endured to tell us something about the human condition, which is universal.

Have a really good week, work hard, and look for a rainbow!

DUE DATES:

Thursday, March 29: Read Chapter 2, The Great Gatsby
Monday, April 2: Read Chapter 3, The Great Gatsby

Week 29 MS Word

Week 29 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.