The Great Gatsby Annotation Assignment

THERE WILL BE A TEST THE FIRST DAY BACK FROM WINTER BREAK. If you are not here to take the test, you will take an AP Style MC test in place of The Great Gatsby Test. This will ensure the integrity of the exam is not compromised.

Annotation

  • Every page must be annotated with either a comment or question. If page(s) in your book or not annotated, your assignment is not complete
  • All unknown vocabulary words should be circled and defined in the margin. (Vocabulary is covered on the exam.)

For every chapter

  • Develop three discussion questions (see Developing Discussion Questions)
  • Create an original title for the chapter
  • Select a significant passage and complete a “Close Reading of a Literary Passage”

Reader Response

  • After you finish reading each chapter, write a reader response/reaction to that chapter. These responses should be thoughtful and analytical in nature. Do not merely summarize the plot—I have the read book and do not need background information. I want to read your reactions to what is happening in the novel and to the characters and their personalities and motivations.

Background/Author Information

  • Research and print out information on F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Jazz Age/Roaring 20s, prohibition and the novel itself.

Current Event

  • Make connections between the novel and current issues of the day. Prove this by printing out an article that connects to Gatsby in some way. Explain this connection in a thoughtful and analytical way.

Close Reading

To do a close reading, you choose a specific passage and analyze it in fine detail, as if with a magnifying glass. You then comment on the points of style and on your reactions as a reader. Close reading is important because it is the building block for larger analysis. Your thoughts evolve not from someone else’s truth about the reading, but from your own observations.

I. First Impressions

  1. What is the first thing you notice about the passage?
  2. What is the second thing?
  3. Do the two things you noticed complement each other? Or contradict each other?
  4. What mood does the passage create and why?

II. Vocabulary and Diction

  1. Which words do you notice first? Why? What is noteworthy about this diction?
  2. How do the important words relate to one another?
  3. Do any words seem oddly used to you? Why?
  4. Do any words have double meanings or connotations?

III. Discerning Patterns

  1. Does an image here remind you of an image elsewhere in the book? Where?
  2. What’s the connection? Are the images juxtaposed?
  3. How might this image fit into the pattern of the book as a whole?
  4. How does the image relate to culture? Where have you seen this image in life/movies/other books?
  5. What is the sentence rhythm like? Short and choppy? Long and flowing? How does it contribute to the overall affect and/or meaning of the passage?
  6. Look at the punctuation. Is there anything unusual about it?
  7. Is there repetition within the passage? What is the effect of that repetition?
  8. Can you identify paradoxes in the author’s thought or subject?
  9. What is left out or silent? What would you expect the author to discuss that has been avoided?

IV. Symbolism

  1. Are there metaphors? What kinds?
  2. Is there one controlling metaphor? If not, how many different metaphors are there, and in what order do they occur? How might that be significant?
  3. How might objects represent something else?
  4. Do any of the objects, colors, animals, or plants appearing in the passage have traditional connotations or meaning? What about the religious or biblical significance?
  5. If there are multiple symbols in the work, could we read the entire passage as having allegorical meaning beyond the literal level?