The
Great Gatsby Timed Essay Preparation
Directions:
Want to prepare for the essay test just as you might for a college exam? Here’s
the trick: Gather textual evidence to support a position for each of the
prompts below. Next, write a brief essay plan for each to help you flesh out
your thoughts; then, no matter what the actual prompt ends up being on the
test, you may approach it with greater confidence than just “winging it.”
Please note that you may not use your
practice writings during the actual test, but you will use your book and
annotations since textual evidence will be required.
1) Discuss
fear of intimacy and abandonment in reference to one of the novel’s themes.
2) Discuss
how men and women are characterized in reference to one of the novel’s themes.
3) Analyze
one of the novel’s themes through the lenses of one of our literary criticism
approaches
(Formalist, Feminist, Psychoanalytic, and Marxist).
4) How
and why does Fitzgerald have various characters seem to become other characters
as
the
story unfolds?
5) How
and why do various characters symbolize the culture of the 1920s, which
Fitzgerald
referred
to as the “Jazz Age”?
6) What
are a few major themes in this novel, and what textual evidence can you find to
support
each
one?
7) Characters
and themes in this novel are developed by such motifs as parties, colors,
cars/driving,
and houses. How does Fitzgerald accomplish this?
Eckleburg,”
and “the green light.”
