The Great Gatsby is one of the most taught American novels. It transports readers to a vibrant era of American history, the Jazz Age. It also examines the American Dream, the belief that a person can come from a lower economic background and reinvent themselves with success. It’s a story that can be understood through a modern lens, and it continues to engage students year after year.
The Great Gatsby is a novel full of beautiful imagery and complex characters attempting to be people they’re not. This creates psychological conflicts for readers to analyze and connect to their own lives. High school students may recognize life-long friends suddenly trying to change who they are to fit in, or doing things they wouldn’t normally do to succeed. Students need help and guidance to fully ingest the novel and be able to write critical analyses of the themes.
Castle Learning has over 200 questions to help students master their study of the novel. Teachers will find a combination of question types available to assess comprehension of The Great Gatsby, including multiple choice, short answer, fill-in-the-blank, and constructed/extended response. These questions can be used as reading quizzes, review assignments, or response questions to help direct students in their close-reading of the text.
The Great Gatsby offers an opportunity for students to become fully engaged because the themes and characters are timeless. The pressures of society to make money, become famous, to fit in, and to achieve dreams are built into the American student’s life. They’ll have lots to draw on to make connections and be able to write and discuss the novel critically. Castle Learning question sets will help them sharpen their understanding of the book, readying them to succeed on every level.