The Great Gatsby/ Dante’s Inferno

1. The Great Gatsby/Dante’s Inferno Interactive Notebook Notes

2. Dante’s Seven Deadly Sins

3. Lust • Dictionary definition: “intense or unbridled sexual desire” (Merriam-Webster) • Elements often included in the theological definition: lust as sexual desire; secondarily, lust as desire for other things like money and power

4. Gluttony • Dictionary definition: “excess in eating or drinking” (Merriam-Webster) • Elements often included in the theological definition: an emphasis on over-indulgence, stress on lacking trust for future provisions, stress on taking from those in need, especially the hungry.

5. Greed • Dictionary definition: “a selfish and excessive desire for more of something (as money) than is needed” (Merriam-Webster) • Elements often included in the theological definition: excess, stress on lack of trust for future provisions, stress on taking from those in need, especially the poor.

6. Sloth • Dictionary definition: “disinclination to action or labor” (Merriam-Webster) • Elements often included in the theological definition: laziness, primarily spiritual (i.e. lack of spiritual maturity, growth development); secondarily, physical laziness; spiritual laziness considered a rejection of God's grace

7. Wrath • Dictionary definition: “strong vengeful anger” (Merriam-Webster) • Elements often included in the theological definition: out-of-control anger, inside is fueled by hate, outside is manifested through verbal and/or physical violence

8. Envy • Dictionary definition: “painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage” (Merriam-Webster) • Elements often included in the theological definition: excess, jealousy over a range of issue like materialism and sexual desire

9. Pride • Dictionary definition: “inordinate self-esteem” (Merriam-Webster) • Elements often included in the theological definition: the chief sin from which others are generated, the sin that occurred in the Garden of Eden, Lucifer's sin

10. Sin Review • Choose one sin and connect with a character that you have read in another piece of literature. Name the literature, character, and analyze how/why it connects. (1/2 page)

11. Gatsby

12. Fitzgerald’s Style, Theme, Motif, • Fitzgerald is known for his imagistic and poetic prose. • His topics were largely influenced by his surroundings and experiences. • Fitzgerald uses motifs and symbols throughout the novel that are significant to the development of his themes.

13. Fitzgerald’s Style, Theme, Motif • The motif of geography plays an important role in defining social stratification. • Weather is used to reflect human conditions. • Names are one of the important tools that Fitzgerald uses to enhance character development.

14. Fitzgerald’s Style, Theme, Motif • The green light and the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg are mentioned several times; the meaning changes or signifies different things to different characters and to the reader. • Dates and ages help to define the beginning and ending of the dreams, and tie Fitzgerald’s life’s happenings into Gatsby’s life and the 1920s.

15. Theme/Motif Difference • Define Theme and Motif • Give a literary example of each. Make sure to be descriptive and detailed.

16. Fitzgerald’s Setting/Historical Background • The setting of the story is in the summer of 1922, near New York City, in the towns of West Egg and East Egg. • The 1920s was an era of great change. Politically, the 1920s were a time of growth, prosperity, and corruption.

17. Fitzgerald’s Setting/Historical Background • Growth for the 1920s included financial and population growth. • Financially, there was rampant materialism. • Post-World-War-I manufacturing flourished, producing cars, radios, telephones. Consumer goods flooded the market, and people bought and bought.

18. Fitzgerald’s Setting/Historical Background • Professional sports grew in popularity as people spent more and more money on entertainment. • Immigration, which had subsided during the war, increased drastically. • The threat of differing political ideas and the loss of American jobs to foreigners created an intense dislike of outsiders.

19. Historical Opinion • What is one historical fact about this period of time that you agreed with or disagreed with? • Write one thesis sentence and give three pieces of evidence.

20. Fitzgerald’s-Allusions • On page 9 – An allusion to Theodore Lothrop Stoddard’s The Rising Tide of Color Against White World Supremacy. • On page 32 – An allusion to Kaiser Wilhelm • On page 70 – An allusion to Rosy Rosenthal, a small time gambler involved with the • underworld. • On page 73 – An allusion to the “Black Sox” team of 1919 and the fixing of the World Series. • On page 113 – An allusion to Trimalchio

21. Allusions • Choose one of the allusion references • Analyze how/why this historical allusion was necessary in Fitzgerald’s novel.

22. Characters

23. Nick Carraway • Novel’s narrator • Honest, tolerant, and inclined to reserve judgment • Daisy Buchanan’s cousin • Friends with Jay Gatsby • Educated at Yale, fought in WWI, bond business

24. Jay Gatsby • Protagonist • Wealthy young man • Famous for lavish parties • Mysterious background • Loves Daisy • Dishonest, vulgar, flawed • Transformed his “Dream” into a reality

25. Daisy Buchanan • Nick’s cousin • Married Tom Buchanan but loves Gatsby • Sardonic, somewhat cynical, and behaves superficially to mask her pain

26. Tom Buchanan • Husband of Daisy • Wealthy • Arrogant, hypocritical bully • Social attitudes linked with racism, sexism, no morals • Affair with Myrtle

27. Jordan Baker • Daisy’s friend • Nick is involved with her • Competitive golfer • “new women” of 1920s • Cynical, boyish, self-centered • Beautiful but dishonest

28. Myrtle Wilson • Tom’s lover • Looks for ways to improve herself • Treated as a mere object of desire

29. George Wilson • Myrtle’s husband • Lifeless, exhausted owner of a run down shop • Loves and idealizes his wife • A dreamer but ruined by the love of a women

30. Owl Eyes • Drunk • Eccentric • Interest in Gatsby’s books

31. Klipspringer • Shallow freeloader • Takes advantage of others

32. Character • Choose one character and compare its background to a famous figure in today's society. (1/2 page)

33. Symbols • Gatsby’s uncut books/Nick’s unread books • Wolfsheim’s cufflinks • Gatsby’s car/Gatsby’s clothes • Tom Buchanan pushing people around/ Tom Buchanan quoting things “he read”

34. Symbols • The faded timetable (showing the names of Gatsby’s guests • Anti-Semitism, prejudice • Weather • Time, seasons • The ash heap • The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock

35. Symbols • East versus West Egg • Gatsby’s career/Nick’s career • Dan Cody • T.J. Eckleberg • Silver and gold (color) • White (color) • Green (color)

36. Symbols • List the meaning and function of five of symbols but keep in mind you should be familiar with each.