ASSIGNMENT: 1938 Letter written by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Answer the questions below:
Focus on this gem of a quote from a 1938 letter written by F. Scott Fitzgerald: “That was always my experience—a poor boy in a rich town; a poor boy in a rich boy’s school; a poor boy in a rich man’s club at Princeton. … However, I have never been able to forgive the rich for being rich, and it has colored my entire life and works.”
What is Fitzgerald really saying here? What is he assuming about the rich and poor? Are rich and poor defined differently? That is, is it even possible to cross class boundaries and still fit in? Then, discuss whether the essence of this quote comes through in the first two chapters of Gatsby. Where in the first two chapters do questions of class, wealth, and privilege come to the fore? Who’s rich and who’s poor here? Of course, Nick isn’t exactly “poor”—but is his money or status in any way different from those of the other characters?
Nick comments that Daisy “looked at [him] with an absolute smirk on her lovely face as if she had asserted her membership in a rather distinguished secret society to which she and Tom belonged.” What, exactly, does this comment suggest? How might you relate it to Fitzgerald’s comments on his experiences (the above quote)?
Make sure you use direct quotes from the novel as you answer these questions; make sure you cite the page numbers you use.
Free link to the book, the great Gatsby: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64317
