The Great Gatsby Anticipation Guide

1. The Great Gatsby Anticipation Guide

2. For each statement, indicate whether you agree or disagree. In a paragraph, state your reason for each answer, for instance, a real-life example or an explanation of how the statement exhibits faulty logic.

3. Outward appearances can be deceptive. • Can you give specific examples from your own life in which outward appearances were misleading? • In what ways do you think that people in American society may be too concerned with outward appearances? Explain.

4. Attainment of a dream may be less satisfying than the pursuit of that dream. • Why do you think pursuing a dream or goal might be more satisfying than actually achieving it? Explain. • Can you give an example of this happening to someone you know or have heard about?

5. Wealth can breed carelessness. • Under what circumstances do you think this could happen? Describe. • Can you think of a situation in which wealthy persons have demonstrated great generosity, kindness, or sensitivity to others?

6. Blind pursuit of an ideal is destructive. • In what ways might the “blind pursuit” of any dream or goal be damaging both to the pursuer and those around him? • Why do you think people become obsessed with a particular goal?

7. The American Dream is corrupted by the desire for wealth. • What do you think is meant by the concept of the American Dream? • What means are generally used to attain it? • In what ways do you think the original American Dream, the dream of the people who settled this country, may have differed from its modern definition.