The Great Gatsby, complete mindmap

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  • The Great Gatsby
    • Context  (AO4)
      • Published in 1926
        • Prohibition  (Eighteenth Amendment 1919)
          • Organised crime flourished
            • Bootlegging
      • Written about the time during which it was published
      • The author: Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald
        • Very successful- published at 23!
        • Married Zelda Sayre, love of his life, schizophrenic
        • Overindulgence, drinking problem- made money off short stories later in life
          • Died in Hollywood in 1940
        • Quit  Princeton to enlist in the army in 1917 (end of WWI)
      • Decline of The American Dream in the 20s
        • Hard work = money = success = happiness
      • Set during the summer of 1922 near Long Island (West/East Egg)
    • Characters
      • Nick Carroway
        • Our narrator (1st person narrative). Aware of his role
        • Quiet, reflective nature, introspective
        • Tolerant, an empty reciprocal for others to fill with confidences
        • The opening of the novel discusses Nick's character
        • An outsider, misfit
        • Fought in the war
      • Jay Gatsby
        • Representative of the American Dream
        • Excessively wealthy due to his involvement in organised crime
        • Obsessive; every thing he's ever acheived has been in persuit of Daisy
        • Tragic hero?
        • War hero
        • 'An extraordinary gift for hope' p8
        • 'Mr. Nobody from Nowhere' p123
        • 'I seemed to bear an enchanted life' p64
      • Daisy Buchannon
        • Selfish and shallow, but enchanting
        • 'a voice full of money'
        • Fickle
      • Tom Buchannon
        • Bigoted racist
        • 'With a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner' p12
        • Arrogant, hypocritical
        • 'Tom's got some woman in New York' p20
      • Jordan Baker
        • Represents the changing times
        • pro golfer
        • bored and sardonic
      • Myrtle Wilson
        • 'Tom's got some woman in New York' p20
    • Structure, form and language (AO2)
      • 1st person narrative
        • Subjective
      • Language- you can talk about anything, just find a quote.
        • Names are interesting
          • Daisy is pure, white
          • James Gatz changes to Jay Gatsby
          • Jordan - unisex
          • Myrtle is a tree/ bush; compare to the daintiness of Daisy
      • Fitzgerald was known as a 'chronicler of the Jazz age'
    • Influence of time/ culture (AO3/4)
      • Not received well when first published
        • Became better known later
      • It seems acceptable for Tom to have a mistress in the novel- is it now?
      • Fitzgerald's mocking of Tom's racism is uncanny- WWII follows
      • Do we read the novel differently, knowing that the decadence cannot last? The wall street crash

Comments

jsproule778

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very vague record of characters. Missing key quotes, more context and settings!! Not a complete mind map in my view!

Dla2lag

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An excellent collection of clear and concise points on character and context; particularly useful for revising the novel for use in section B of the exam. The points made could be supported with your own references from the text.

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