Gilded Identities Prompts Gilded Identities
Character Analysis Essay Prompts
Name:
Date:
Subject: AP English / Literature
Work: The Great Gatsby
Assignment Overview
Select one of the following prompts to explore in a formal, multi-paragraph essay. Your analysis should move beyond surface-level plot summary to examine the psychological depth, symbolic significance, and thematic contributions of the characters within F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Use specific textual evidence and maintain a formal academic tone.
Category I: The Protagonists
Prompt 1: The Observer's Lens
Analyze Nick Carraway's dual role as both a participant and an observer. How does his internal conflict—being "within and without"—shape the reader's understanding of Gatsby? Does his evolving character arc suggest that he is the novel's true protagonist, or merely a reliable (or unreliable) vehicle for Gatsby's myth?
Prompt 2: The Architect of Invention
Jay Gatsby is described as having "sprung from his Platonic conception of himself." Analyze Gatsby as a self-made construct. To what extent is his pursuit of Daisy actually a pursuit of his own idealized identity? Discuss how his inability to distinguish between the past and the present leads to his ultimate tragic downfall.
Category II: The Women of West & East Egg
Prompt 3: The Golden Girl's Cage
Explore the character of Daisy Buchanan through the lens of gender and social class. While often viewed as a "villain" or a "victim," analyze how Daisy navigates the limited agency afforded to women in the 1920s. How does her "voice full of money" represent the impossibility of Gatsby’s dream?
Prompt 4: Mirrors of Modernity
Compare and contrast the characters of Jordan Baker and Myrtle Wilson. How do these two women represent different facets of the changing social landscape for women in the Jazz Age? Analyze how their physical environments (the Valley of Ashes vs. the golf course) dictate their fates and their relationship to the American Dream.
Category III: The Clash of Titans
Prompt 5: Old Money vs. New Ambition
Gatsby and Tom Buchanan represent the two extremes of the American upper class. Perform a comparative analysis of these two men. How does Fitzgerald use their conflict to critique the concepts of "meritocracy" and "pedigree"? In the end, what does Tom's survival and Gatsby's death suggest about the permanence of social hierarchies?
Submission Requirements
3-5 Pages, Double Spaced, 12pt Font
At least 4 direct textual citations with MLA formatting
Clear thesis statement in the introductory paragraph
Formal, objective tone (avoid "I", "me", "you")
Gilded Identities Slides Gilded Identities
The Great Gatsby Character Analysis
The Core Conflict
Character as Symbol
In Gatsby, characters aren't just people; they are vessels for ideas about class, gender, and the American Dream.
The Essay Goal
Move beyond what they do to why Fitzgerald created them that way.
I. The Protagonists
01
The Observer's Lens
Analyze Nick Carraway’s internal conflict: how does his role as an "honest" observer shape our understanding of Gatsby's myth?
02
The Architect of Invention
To what extent is Jay Gatsby’s pursuit of Daisy actually a pursuit of his own idealized, self-created identity?
II. The Female Characters
Daisy
How does Daisy navigate the limited agency of women in the 1920s? Is she a victim or a villain?
"Her voice is full of money."
Jordan
In what ways does Jordan challenge traditional gender roles, and what does her cynicism reveal about the elite?
"It takes two to make an accident."
Myrtle
How does Myrtle’s desperate social climbing contrast with the effortless (and careless) status of Daisy?
"I want to get one of those dogs."
III. The Clash
GATSBY
"New Money"
Does his dream ever stand a chance against the establishment?
VS
TOM
"Old Money"
What does his survival reveal about the permanence of social hierarchies?
"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy..."
Choose Your Path
Select one of the formal prompts from your handout. Craft an argument that transforms character observations into literary insight .
Outline
Evidence
Draft
Gilded Identities Teacher Guide Teacher Reference: Gilded Identities
Character Analysis Essay Series — The Great Gatsby
Instructional Context
Target Skills
Thematic character analysis
Synthesizing textual evidence
Evaluating authorial intent (Fitzgerald)
Formal academic writing structure
Ideal Placement
This assignment is best used as a summative assessment following the completion of Chapter 9. Students should have a firm grasp of the "valley of ashes" symbolism and the distinction between West and East Egg.
Prompt Breakdown & Evidence
1. The Observer's Lens (Nick Carraway)
Focus: Reliability, Judgment, Moral Ambiguity
Look For: Discussions on Nick's claim to be "one of the few honest people" vs. his tolerance of corruption. Analysis of his mid-western values vs. Eastern decadence.
Suggested Evidence: The opening lines (father's advice), the description of Gatsby's "extraordinary gift for hope," Nick’s 30th birthday realization in Ch. 7.
2. The Architect of Invention (Jay Gatsby)
Focus: Self-creation, the past, the Platonic ideal
Look For: Analysis of "James Gatz" vs "Jay Gatsby." Exploration of whether Gatsby loves Daisy or simply the status she confers upon his myth.
Suggested Evidence: The backstory of Dan Cody, the "can't repeat the past" exchange, the final description of the "green light."
3. The Golden Girl's Cage (Daisy Buchanan)
Focus: Gender roles, social class, limited agency
Look For: Recognition that Daisy is trapped by societal expectations. A nuanced take on her as both a siren and a survivor of Tom's "brute force."
Suggested Evidence: The "beautiful little fool" quote, her reaction to Gatsby’s shirts, the "voice full of money" observation, her retreat into "carelessness" in Ch. 9.
4. Mirrors of Modernity (Jordan & Myrtle)
Focus: Class contrast, the "New Woman," physical vs. social vitality
Look For: Comparison of Myrtle’s overt striving in the Valley of Ashes vs. Jordan’s detached cynicism on the golf course. How geography dictates fate.
Suggested Evidence: Jordan’s driving metaphor, Myrtle’s apartment in NYC, the physical descriptions of Myrtle’s "vitality" vs. Jordan’s "erect carriage."
5. Old Money vs. New Ambition (Gatsby vs. Tom)
Focus: Meritocracy, pedigree, social hierarchies
