There’s a high likelihood you read The Great Gatsby in high school. But you probably didn’t have a lesson like the one taught by Brian Hannon last week.
Hannon teaches AP English Literature at Hayfield Secondary School in Alexandria, Virginia. And after collecting his students’ phones, he gave them an assignment: Compare and contrast the themes, symbols and motifs found in The Great Gatsby to Parasite, the 2019 movie directed by Bong Joon Ho.
Both stories deal, in some way, with class differences and social immobility. To nudge the kids along, Hannon shows them a chart known as “The Great Gatsby Curve.” It comes from a report prepared by the Obama White House showing how difficult it is to climb economically in countries such as the U.S., where wealth is concentrated at the top.
“Gatsby is one of those books that still holds a presence because of its thematic similarities to what’s going on today, in terms of the economy,” said Hannon in an interview. “Most of [my students] are making those connections by themselves.”
And yes, in talking to some of the students, they brought up wealth inequality. But it wasn’t the economic policy stuff that got them jazzed. Instead, it was the relationships, the affairs, the drama.Senior Grace Varughese thought it started off slow as the characters were being introduced. Then comes the car crash. And then Jay Gatsby is shot.
“And so it was kind of like, ‘hey, I’m dozing off.’ Then all of a sudden, you’re just wide awake again with everything that’s happening in the book,” Varughese said.
This matches what Amy Goldman experiences with her students. She teaches AP Language at River City High School in West Sacramento, California. “They are far more interested in the romance and the tea of the novel,” she said.
Goldman’s been teaching The Great Gatsby for about two decades. And since then, she said, the reaction from the students hasn’t changed much. One thing that is different is that fewer and fewer of her colleagues are teaching the book – often in favor of books by women or authors of color.
But for Goldman, there’s still a lot Gatsby has to teach kids about the craft of writing. Students can learn a lot about structure and syntax from Fitzgerald’s writing, she said. “It’s only 180 pages. It’s very short. And each chapter is organized in a very specific way. And I think it’s important for them to see that authors can do things,” with language and symbolism and meaning.
And it’s just as important, said Goldman, that students learn the ability to have their own interpretation of the writing.
Back at Hayfield Secondary, class is over. Some students make their way to the door. Others linger by teacher Brian Hannon’s desk, including Hamza Naderi who makes the point that no matter how it ended, at least Gatsby achieved a pretty comfortable life.
“I’m just saying it’s nice not having to go to the coal mines,” Naderi said.
Another student, Iris Nijbroek, chimed in, “I think you’re totally wrong.”
Again, class is over. This isn’t for participation points. They’re just teenagers, who could be doing anything. But instead they’re spending 10 minutes in a discussion about the ethics and feelings and wealth of a character F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote 100 years ago.
Since then, The Great Gatsby has inspired a lot – movies, a musical, cruises, parties, vacation packages. But it also continues to inspire discussion like this one.
Transcript:
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
There’s a pretty good chance that you read or will read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel “The Great Gatsby” in high school. I mean, I certainly did. And it remains a staple of high school English reading lists across the country. The book turns 100 tomorrow. So we were wondering what is it like experiencing the book in a classroom setting now? Here’s NPR’s Andrew Limbong.
ANDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE: Even if you did read it in high school, you probably didn’t have a lesson like the one Brian Hannon is teaching.
BRIAN HANNON: All right, fellows, put them up.
LIMBONG: He teaches AP English Literature at Hayfield Secondary School in Virginia. And after collecting all the kids’ phones, he goes into a lesson comparing themes and motifs in “The Great Gatsby” to “Parasite,” the Bong Joon Ho movie from 2019 that also deals with class differences.
HANNON: Like, what is something from “Parasite” that could effectively work as something similar to Daisy?
LIMBONG: Daisy, if you don’t remember, is the object of Jay Gatsby’s affection, representing an upper-crust social strata. Hannon shows his students a report from the Obama White House showing wealth inequality in the U.S.
HANNON: There’s actually a term for that. The term for the inability to move from one social class to the next is called The Great Gatsby Curve. And here’s kind of a quick chart of it, but basically…
LIMBONG: But when I chatted with some of the students, it wasn’t necessarily econ policy that got them excited. Grace Varughese thought the book took its time setting up various romances and relationships, but it paid off.
GRACE VARUGHESE: And then you get to the end, and it all of a sudden goes from, like, a level 10 to 100. And it’s like, oh, my gosh, they just, like, ran over a person.
LIMBONG: And by the way, you’re not allowed to be mad at me for spoiling “The Great Gatsby.” This is literally a piece about how it’s a hundred years old. Anyway…
GRACE: And they don’t care at all. And then Gatsby gets shot dead in the pool, and Daisy does not care. And so it was kind of just like, hey, like, I’m dozing off. Then all of a sudden, you’re just wide awake again with everything that’s happening in the book.
AMY GOLDMAN: They are far more interested in the romance and the tea of the novel, you know? They…
LIMBONG: Amy Goldman teaches AP Language at River City High School in West Sacramento, California, and has been teaching the book for two decades. And in those years, she hasn’t seen much change from the student reaction side. What is different is fewer and fewer of her colleagues are teaching the book in favor of books by women or people of color. But Goldman says Gatsby still has a lot to teach kids about the craft of writing, that the book is unique in its structure and syntax.
GOLDMAN: It’s only 180 pages. It’s very short. And each chapter is organized in a very specific way. And I think it’s important for them to see that authors can do things and then also to see how we can interpret those.
HAMZA NADERI: Well, at least, you know, he made it out, though. That’s the difference.
LIMBONG: Speaking of interpreting, back at Hayfield, class is over. Some students make their way out the door, others linger by teacher Brian Hannon’s desk, including Hamza Naderi, who makes the point that, hey, no matter how the book ended, at least Gatsby achieved a pretty comfortable life.
HAMZA: I’m just saying it’s nice, like, not having to go to the coal mines, but you can just, like, wake up, just thinking about, like, damn…
IRIS NIJBROEK: Yeah, it’s nice…
HAMZA: …If that’s my biggest problem…
LIMBONG: Another student, Iris Nijbroek, chimes in.
IRIS: I think you’re totally wrong because the whole point is that he’s trying to get Daisy. Like, OK…
LIMBONG: Again, class is over. This isn’t for participation points. These are just teenagers chatting.
IRIS: Like, I hate that he doesn’t care at all about the fact that he has wealth, and I feel like he should…
HAMZA: Yeah.
IRIS: …Care so much more about the fact…
HAMZA: Exactly.
IRIS: …That he has this wealth.
HAMZA: That’s what I’m talking about.
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: Because put…
HAMZA: Right. Right.
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: …In order are top…
HAMZA: A lot of the things that we’re saying…
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: But…
HAMZA: …Is the same.
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: …I feel like…
LIMBONG: In its 100 years, “The Great Gatsby” has inspired a lot of things – a few movies, a musical, cruises, parties, vacation packages. But it’s also spent a hundred years inspiring discussions like this one. Andrew Limbong, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF WOLFGANG LOHR SONG, “RE-CHARLESTON (RADIO EDIT)”)
