1. Exploring the Narrative of The Great
Gatsby
Learning Objective:
How does Fitzgerald tell the story in Chapter 8 and 9 of the
Great Gatsby?
Learning Outcome:
To explore Fitzgerald’s use of:
• Time and Sequence
• Characters and Characterisation
• Points of View
• Voices in texts
• Scenes and Places
• Destination

2. Chapter 8
• Write a one sentence summary
• Choose a single quotation to sum up the chapter
• What can you say about chapter four and each of
the aspects of narrative?
–
–
–
–
–
–
Time and Sequence
Characters and Characterisation
Points of View
Voices in texts
Scenes and Places
Destination

3. Jan 2012
The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Write about some of the ways Fitzgerald tells
the story in Chapter 2. (21 marks)
AND
How do you respond to the view that it is very
difficult for readers to feel anything other than
contempt for Tom Buchanan? (21 marks)
Spend one hour on this section

4. Write about some of the ways Fitzgerald tells the
story in Chapter 2.
Authorial methods need to be related to the story
being told in this chapter.
Possible content:
• narrative perspective/voices: first person
narrator, self-conscious story teller and author,
significance of Nick’s reconstruction of
drunkenness, use of voices of Tom, Wilson,
Myrtle, the McKees, Catherine, etc.
• setting: Valley of the Ashes, New York, Tom’s
apartment, Pennsylvania Station/ early 20th
century, one afternoon and evening, etc.
• 20th century tragedy, a novel about writing a
novel, a love story, etc.
• linear chronology in this chapter but with a
sense that the story is being told retrospectively
begins with the description of the Valley of the
Ashes, moves to the train journey to New York
and the party at Tom’s apartment, ends with
Nick on the station, etc.
• poetic prose, descriptive detail, sensual
description, use of dramatic dialogue,
descriptive writing, surreal description of
drunkenness, references to newspapers and
other texts, colloquial language, time
references, use of names, language of
altercation, use of ellipsis, etc.
How do you respond to the view that it is very difficult for
readers to feel anything other than contempt for
Tom Buchanan?
Possible content:
Some will agree and focus on
• Tom as the antagonist to Gatsby
• Tom as a bully and brute
• Tom as arrogant
•
Tom as a racist
• Tom as adulterer
• Tom’s attitude to women
• Tom’s language
• the behaviour of Tom at the end of the novel/ his
collusion with Daisy
• Tom’s dismissal of Wilson
• Tom’s snobbery
• Tom’s role as villain in the tragedy, etc.
Some will disagree and focus on
• Tom as a victim of the world of the 1920s
• Tom’s sadness at Myrtle’s death
• Tom’s discovery of his wife’s affair
• Tom’s own purposelessness, etc.
Some will challenge the word ‘contempt’.
• Some will see Nick’s bias in the presentation of Tom.
• Some will see Tom as a representation of a type.
• Credit needs to be given for any relevant argument.

5. Chapter 9

6. At the beginning Nick is...
1.
2.
3.
4.

7. At the end Nick is...
1. Judgemental – he becomes increasingly judgemental
as the plot continues and finally condemns Tom and
Daisy as “careless people” who “smash things up”.
2. Careless – Jordan accuses Nick of being a “bad driver”
– she thinks he’s guilty of carelessness, the very thing
he accuses Tom and Daisy of.
3. Morally ambiguous – he helps Gatsby to have an
affair with Daisy.
4. Disillusioned – he wants to move back to the
traditional West. He realises that it’s hopeless to try
and escape the past.

8. The Ending of the Novel
1. Read the two extracts from Chapter 9 and
discuss your initial thoughts about the ending of
the novel. Think about:
– Your view of what Fitzgerald was trying to achieve in
ending the novel in this way.
– What view of Nick emerges at the end of the novel
and whether he seems to have developed through
his experiences.
– What major themes are signalled and the way in
which Fitzgerald achieves this.
– Whether the ending provides satisfactory closure for
the reader.
– The mood of the ending and the style in which it is
written.

9. The Ending of the Novel
2. Look at the critical extract, choose 1 and follow
the prompts below to help you decide what
impact the criticism makes on your own initial
interpretation of the ending:
– Does it give you any fresh knowledge/ information
that’s useful in reading the ending of the novel?
– Does it confirm your interpretation of the ending?
– Does it add to or develop your interpretation of the
ending?
– Does it challenge your interpretation of the ending?

10. Chapter 8 and 9
• Write a one sentence summary
• Choose a single quotation to sum up the chapter
• What can you say about chapters 8 and 9 and
each of the aspects of narrative?
–
–
–
–
–
–
Time and Sequence
Characters and Characterisation
Points of View
Voices in texts
Scenes and Places
Destination