Terra Lange/Darren Hedman

Curriculum Unit

English 409.05

May 5, 2007

Theoretical Justification/Rationale:

Welcome to our classroom! You will be substitute teaching for us one week at the beginning of this novel study and one week towards the end of the novel study.

For our unit, we will be looking at The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald through the lens of rhetoric. This means both reading the text rhetorically and writing in rhetorical situations in response to the text.

Although, “[f]or some people rhetoric is synonymous with ‘empty talk,’ or even deception” (Herrick 1), this is the result of widespread misunderstanding of the term among the general population. In reality, rhetoric “has become an important topic of study in recent years, and its significance to public discussion of important political, social, and even scientific issues has been widely recognized” (Herrick 1). This means it is important for teachers to address the concept of rhetoric in their classrooms.

So what is rhetoric? According to George Kennedy, it is “the energy inherent to emotion and thought, transmitted through a system of signs, including language, to others to influence their decisions or actions” (Herrick 5). Aristotle defines rhetoric as “the art or faculty of discovering the best possible means of persuasion in regard to any subject matter” (Winterowd 14). But, these scholarly definitions may be a little overwhelming when attempting to incorporate rhetoric into the classroom. A workable definition of rhetoric for the English classroom would be the use of language to write or speak for specific purposes and audiences. Thus, the goal of this unit is to teach that basic concept to these students by using The Great Gatsby.

One way to include rhetoric as a part of the English classroom is to introduce each reading and writing situation as a rhetorical situation. Furthermore, it is important for students understand that every communicative act is a rhetorical situation. Reading and writing situations include student writing and professional writing, encompassing all forms. Some examples of writing include essays, letters, personal narratives, or any form of presentation. One way to introduce the rhetorical situation is to discuss pieces of writing in terms of topic, occasion, audience, purpose, and the credibility of the speaker or writer (ethos). These elements described are what constitute a rhetorical situation. When students are able to analyze writing in terms of the rhetorical situation, they are able to grasp a deeper understanding of the texts.

It is imperative that students think about the rhetorical context as they are reading others’ works or creating their own work.

Students need to answer the following questions to analyze the rhetorical situation when they are writing rhetorically:

· Who is my intended audience?

· What type of language should I use to communicate to my audience effectively?

· What is my purpose for writing this piece?

· What type of language should I use to communicate the purpose?

· What points should I make?

· How do I make myself sound credible on the topic?

· What motivated me to write this specific piece of writing?

· What genre should I use to communicate my intended purpose and audience?

Students need to answer the following questions to analyze the rhetorical situation when they are reading rhetorically:

· Who is the intended audience?

· What type of language has the author used to effectively communicate to the audience?

· What is purpose of this piece of writing?

· Again, what type of language has the author used to effectively communicate the purpose?

· What points should be made by the author to effectively communicate the purpose?

· How does this author sound credible?

· What was the cause for this piece of writing?

· Why might the author have chosen this genre to communicate with the intended audience? What other genres might have been used just as-or even more-effectively?

As teachers of rhetoric, we cannot forget about the rhetorical appeals. Logos (logical reasoning), pathos (emotional appeal), and ethos (the ability/knowledge to address a specific topic) play a role in how an author develops a topic. A writer may use one or a combination of these appeals to communicate a topic.

Not only does the study of rhetoric work with reading and writing in the classroom, visual rhetoric is also an important aspect of study. Visual rhetoric is when rhetorical applications are applied to images. The most accessible example are advertisements. Through the image, advertisers are able to communicate to a specific audience with a specific purpose in mind. “Because we live in a visual age, pictures count as never before” (Hart 188). This is a strong statement, and because of this statement, we have decided to begin the study of The Great Gatsby with a movie clip that will represent a prominent theme in the novel, the theme being women gaining voice in society. For the beginning of the unit, we will use visual rhetoric and reading the first couple of chapters rhetorically to discuss prominent themes in the novel.

Furthermore, visual rhetoric gives students the chance to create, analyze, and seek meaning without the major focus centered on writing. Students can practice the art of persuasion through visual creations. Once students have grasped the ideas of ethos, pathos, and logos that go into a visual advertisement, or in this case a book cover, they can move on to using those skills in their writing. According to Charles Hill, a vivid description actually activates the same part of the brain as the image itself. “Vivid information is identified as information that is emotionally interesting and concrete” (Hill 31). With this in mind, one of the final activities in the unit will be designing a new book cover for the novel that will attract younger readers. During this activity, students will expand their knowledge and practice of written rhetoric into visual rhetoric.

Finally, using rhetoric as response is more beneficial to a struggling student than traditional revision practices. Instead of responding based on grammatical errors or other directive type comments, the instructor would use comments that promote growth in the writing. For example, one way a student can look at revision is based on audience. One comment might be something like “Perhaps you could add more here to better capture that audience you are seeking” or “Your purpose is not clear at this point, what could be added to clarify in that regard?” In this way student writing is being built upon, instead of cut down. A student who takes the time to actually write for a teacher and then is criticized will be less likely to trust a teacher with their writing again. If the teacher instead shows them how to expand on their ideas, the student will be more likely to continue to work on the assignment. Because revision is so important to the writing process, we have decided to devote the final day of the unit to revision, giving students a chance to use facilitative comments, provided by the teacher, to improve their work.

Good luck with these lessons!!

Context:

The Great Gatsby is read as part of a larger unit on the study of American Modern Literature geared towards junior level students with varying abilities. In addition, junior students who are also enrolled in US History will be able to make many cross-curricular connections with the roaring twenties America and the setting of the novel.

The American Literature focus of Junior English corresponds with the development of America’s identity through its literature and its evolution into the America we know today. The theme of disillusionment that is present in modernist writing is depicted through Fitzgerald’s characters as seen through the eyes of Nick Carraway. Students have previously read literature on The Civil War and the division and reconciliation of America. The setting of The Great Gatsby finds America between two World Wars, and again America is growing divided again. This time it is not between the North and South, but between the haves and have-nots. America’s socioeconomic climate is set for disaster as the gap between the rich and poor continues to grow. The lessons learned through this unit will not only be about rhetoric, literature, and writing, but also about reevaluating the American dream and learning to live with one another.

This unit will begin with a historical context of The Great Gatsby. Then, we will move into a study of the novel looking at rhetorical elements. Finally, we will end with activities discussing final impressions of the novel and the study of rhetoric.

National Standards

Reading

2.5 Analyze an author's implicit and explicit philosophical assumptions and beliefs about a subject.

3.3 Analyze the ways in which irony, tone, mood, the author's style, and the "sound" of language achieve specific rhetorical or aesthetic purposes or both.

Writing

1.1 Demonstrate an understanding of the elements of discourse (e.g., purpose, speaker, audience, form) when completing narrative, expository, persuasive, or descriptive writing assignments.

1.2 Use point of view, characterization, style (e.g., use of irony), and related elements for specific rhetorical and aesthetic purposes.

1.5 Use language in natural, fresh, and vivid ways to establish a specific tone.

Evaluation and Revision
1.9 Revise text to highlight the individual voice, improve sentence variety and style, and enhance subtlety of meaning and tone in ways that are consistent with the purpose, audience, and genre.

Writing Applications

2.2 Write responses to literature:
a. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the significant ideas in works or passages.
b. Analyze the use of imagery, language, universal themes, and unique aspects of the text.
c. Support important ideas and viewpoints through accurate and detailed references to the text and to other works.
d. Demonstrate an understanding of the author's use of stylistic devices and an appreciation of the effects created.
e. Identify and assess the impact of perceived ambiguities, nuances, and complexities within the text.

Materials:

· The movie Chicago

· The Great Gatsby

· F. Scott Fitzgerald biographical information

· Obituary section of the Newspaper

· Book reviews from Rolling Stone, Reader’s Digest, and Time

Handouts:

· Teacher Time!

· Handout on Celestial Eyes

Daily Activities: (Each class period will be forty-five minutes)

Day one:

Teacher will begin with a brief discussion of the theme of women in the 1920s. Then, teacher will show the first twenty minutes of the movie Chicago to exemplify some the characteristics of women in this decade. Most importantly, the teacher needs to show students that women are beginning to gain a voice in society.

Question to answer as you are watching:

1. How do men treat women in the movie and vice versa?

2. How do women seem to get their way? How does the movie show this?

3. What are some differences you notice right away about the 20s and 2007?

4. What are the dreams of the characters?

5. What role does money seem to have in all of this?

For homework, students are to read chapters one and two from The Great Gatsby and look for this theme of women in the novel. If there is any class time left, have students begin reading the novel. As you are writing makes note of the way the women are acting around Nick and how he perceives them.

* At this point, students are using visual rhetoric to gain an understanding of this theme and reading rhetorically to look for clues to the development of this theme in the novel.

Day two:

The class will begin with large group discussion of the “narrator” in the novel by asking these questions:

· Who is the narrator?

· What do we know about the narrator?

· What do we know about Gatsby from Nick’s description?

· On the bottom of page 33, Nick tells us he got drunk and not to trust

him. How much can we trust him throughout the whole story? (Ethos)

· How will Nick’s narration affect our understanding of the story?

· Who would Nick be telling this story to? Are we to assume that we are the audience or do you think he had another more specific one in mind?

* At this point, students are reading rhetorically to gain an understanding of the “narrator” in the novel.

The second part of class will be an introduction to a “secret society” writing assignment with these discussion questions.

· What is a secret society?

· Have you ever felt the desire to belong to a certain crowd or group?

· How did you become a part of that group, if you did?

· What is an “inside joke?”

· What does it feel like to be on the outside?

For homework, students are to complete the Teacher Time Handout.

Day Three:

Begin with a discussion of the Teacher Time handout to show how teachers differentiate themselves from students. This should represent a society.

Next, turn the discussion to the novel.

During his evening at the Buchanans’, Nick Carraway says Daisy “looked at [him] with an absolute smirk on her lovely face as if she had asserted her membership in a rather distinguished secret society to which she and Tom belonged”.

Ask the following questions:

· What do you think this secret society involves?

· What about class, money, power, and privilege?

* Students are reading rhetorically to figure out why Daisy and Tom belong to a secret society. They are reading rhetorically by analyzing Fitzgerald’s purpose when describing them as members of a secret society. Also, they are examining the language in the context of the novel to create ideas for their secret society.