Transcript GreenLightsymbolismx

Get the article from the back. Get
your Gatsby books. Turn in late
essays. Missing quizzes have
mandatorials Thursday.
Do Now: Begin (free) writing!
Optional Prompt: Are all hopes and
dreams attainable? Why or why not?
Great Gatsby
Unit 2 Day 5
Novel discussion
Ending?
Daisy and Tom ( 179)
Nick and Jordan (177)
Gatsby’s funeral
The What, The Why, the IB
The What: Today we’re going to look at the symbolism of the Green
Light within Great Gatsby. A symbol is a word or object that stands
for another word or object or idea. The green light was Gatsby’s hopehis hope for Daisy and the past life he wanted to make come true. The
green light can also represent the American Dream.
The Why: How has the idea of the American Dream changed over
time? The green light in Gatsby represents the hopes and dreams he
had which he didn’t necessarily attain. Some might wonder if the
American Dream, even today, is still attainable. Aren’t we after the
American Dream too?
IB Learners are Risk-Takers: Scholars approach unfamiliar situations
with courage and have the independence to explore new roles and
ideas by being brave when considering the hopes and dreams of others.
To start our thinking..
One Day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl9voSKJmEU
On a separate sheet of paper, write down any parts of the song that
deal with the idea of hope.
The Green Light in the novel
Turn to page 21 (or the last page in Chapter 1)
Now turn to page 92-93.
Turn to the last page of the novel.
Today...
Today you’re going to read two articles: one about students
thinking about The Great Gatsby, and the other a news article
questioning if the American Dream is economically possible
in 2014. As you read these articles, consider what the green
light in Gatsby might stand for, what your green light is, and
if the idea of the “green light” is even possible in today’s
society.
Keyword
As you read these articles, we’re going to use a reading
strategy called “keyword”.
One person will read a paragraph out loud, and then the
other person will assign a “keyword” to that paragraph. A
keyword can be anything which you understood from the
paragraph, a word you thought of when reading the
paragraph like a connection, or a word from the paragraph
that stood out to you. After each paragraph switch roles.
Do this for both handouts and write the keywords on the
sheet you began. Label this section “Keyword”
Music from the Movie
Now that we know what symbolism is, and what the green
light symbolized in the novel, let’s apply it to something new:
Music from the Movie.
As you listen to the song, look for any symbols the writers,
the band Florence and the Machine, included to help us tie it
to Great Gatsby. This song was written intentionally for the
movie’s soundtrack.
Analysis
(Throughout the lyrics of the song we can see symbols from F. Scott
Fitzgerald's novel, like the yellow dress Daisy wears and the green light
that appears outside her home in East Egg's dock. Moreover, the line
"'Cause you're a hard soul to save with an ocean in the way, but I'll get
around it" symbolizes the space between East Egg and Long Island Sound
in West Egg where Gatsby awaits Daisy. An alternate interpretation would
be that it is a reference to the Atlantic. It was Gatsby's service in WWI that
originally separated Daisy and Gatsby. Yet another interpretation is that
the line refers to Gatsby's unshakable determination which is both a source
of his strength as well as the cause of his downfall. In the novel, Nick
describes a woman in a yellow dress who is wailing next to the piano at the
end of the first party he attended. Another woman tells Nick she "had a
fight with a man who says he's her husband." Her tear-stained face is
smudged with mascara and guests are telling her to sing the notes on her
face)
Song Discussion
Who might the yellow dress symbolize?
What might the line “ocean in the way” mean?
Who do we think might be narrating this song?
Next..
Just like we’ve been talking about the hopes and dreams, the
things that bring us do things, to act, we’re going to look at
how we express actions in language.
Practice
Using this passage from our novel, identify the action verbs
and the helping verbs.
Exit Ticket
What is your Green Light?
Create your own green light non-linguistic representation
(drawing, symbol) and accompanying paragraph
interpretation as to why this is their personal green light.
Closing
How do historical contexts shape our version of the
American Dream today?