The Great Gatsby - flappers and philosophers in the upper secondary classroom. A historical-biographical reading, watching and studying of Fitzgerald's novel

Abstract

This master's thesis tries out a historical-biographical approach to the challenge of teaching English literature in Norwegian upper secondary schools in three steps according to three curricular aims. In selecting The Great Gatsby for this purpose, I discover the opportunity to kill several birds with one stone when I enable my students to interpret and analyse the novel, compare to film versions, and additionally study the Interwar period i depth. Through employing a historical-biographical approach to The Great Gatsby, I seek to demonstrate how several curricular aims can be reached through one and the same novel, and I claim that teaching these aims in combination helps augment the students' learning outcomes. This thesis has a two-fold aim in accomplishing several curricular aims through a three-step process, together with additionally securing my students a more profound comprehension of The Great Gatsby and its context.