1 / 13

Midnight in Manhattan

Explore the profound themes, American ideals, and the elusive American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald's iconic novel, The Great Gatsby. Discover the unique connection between Fitzgerald and Gatsby, unravel the layers of the plot, and delve into the longing and tragedy that define the story. Reflect on the relevance of Gatsby's pursuit of the unattainable and find your own green light.

michalk
Télécharger la présentation

Midnight in Manhattan

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Midnight in Manhattan A Look Back at F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby, & the 1920s

  2. Beginning Statements… • At the very beginning of the documentary, a bold statement is made (within the first minute): • Writer Jay McInerney says, “It’s the most important American novel of the 20th century. It’s THE great American novel. That elusive notion of the American Dream has never seemed quite so tangible as it is in the context of The Great Gatsby.” • What do you think about this claim and what does the second half of the statement mean?

  3. Beginning Statements… • Right after that statement comes another about the novel’s American focus (starting ~ 1 min. mark): • Fitzgerald Biographer Matthew Bruccoli says, “It (The Great Gatsby) is filled with American themes, American ideas, American ideals and the ways in which the American Dream has rewarded its believers and betrayed its believers.” • Explain what Bruccoli means in regards to the novel and the American Dream.

  4. Beginning Statements… • And then, one more big statement (at about the 1 minute, 30 second mark): • Screenwriting Budd Schulberg says, “That book takes over your mind, it takes over your heart. That book can make you think and think and think about this country. Where we’re going and where we came from.” • What does he mean by this? • What is it saying about our country and its past and future?

  5. Connection Between Fitzgerald and Gatsby • Consider the following statement from Bruccoli (at just past the 10 minute mark): • “Gatsby and Fitzgerald had in common the belief in the possibilities of American life. More than that, the capacity to power of any American to remake himself. You can be whatever your determination, your dream, your belief, your conviction…” • What does Bruccoli mean by this statement, what is he saying about America and its uniqueness?

  6. 20 Minutes In… • At approximately the 20 minute mark of the documentary, we get several interesting comments. • Fitzgerald Biographer Matthew Bruccoli says that Gatsby doesn’t understand what Daisy does about money. She understands that “Buchanan money is better than Gatsby money”. • Speculate as to what Bruccoli means by this statement.

  7. 23 Minutes In… • At approximately the 23 minute mark of the documentary, we get several interesting comments. • Literary critic James West says “You have to get by the plot of The Great Gatsby and as you get deeper into the book, you see that Fitzgerald had very profound things to say.” • Speculate as to why do you need to “get by the plot of the book” in order to understand it? • Secondly, what are these profound things that FSF had to say?

  8. 23 Minutes In… • At approximately the 23 minute mark of the documentary, we get several interesting comments. • Literary critic Harold Bloom says, “You can read the book in the end perfectly validly in one of two ways and they are totally antithetical to each other. The surface story is simply of the roaring 20’s in the United States. You know, a good time is had by all, parties go on all day and all night. A stronger reading is a kind of meaningless dance of death…” • What does he mean by the story being about a “meaningless dance of death”?

  9. 38 Minutes In… • After the film has compared the 1920’s to current times (in terms of the abundant wealth, morals, etc…).... Author Christopher Hitchens says, “He’s (Fitzgerald) is one of the small but persistent voices people hear in their heads at times when things appear to be mindless.” • What does Hitchens mean? What is Fitzgerald warning us about when “things appear to be mindless”?

  10. 39 Minutes In… • Literary critic Harold Bloom says, “The American Dream in The Great Gatsby just leads to self-destruction. The book is loss, it’s a vision of loss, not of gain.” • Now that you’ve finished the novel, either agree or disagree with Bloom’s assessment of the story.

  11. 44 Minutes In… • Garrison Keillor says that he is still trying to figure out and make sense of the novel. He claims that “there is a nobility to the tragedy that justifies the life of the hero. He had a longing for something that was absolutely pure… That’s the feeling of the novel. We yearn for something that we cannot have.” • What is Keillor referring to? What is the longing that Gatsby desires? What is that he/we want but cannot have?

  12. 45 Minutes In… • As the documentary comes to the close, Allan Gurganus says, “I think everybody has a green light that they see across the channel…It’s (the novel) is so full of longing and so full of impossible longing. But that’s what longing is.” • So…what is your green light? Explain.

  13. 48 Minutes In… • In the documentary’s last moments, Garrison Keillor claims that “we are all Gatsbys.” • In what ways are you like Gatsby? What do you have in common with this legendary character? Explain and give examples.

More Related