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Radio National: 'The Great Gatsby' and all that jazz

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Radio National: 'The Great Gatsby' and all that jazz

SUBJECTS:  English

YEARS:  9–10


'The Great Gatsby' is considered a classic of modern literature, so what makes people value books like this one over others?

In this audio clip, explore a range of responses to F Scott Fitzgerald's enduring novel and consider the qualities people value in literature.

This clip from 'Books and arts daily' on Radio National is the first in a series of eight.


Things to think about

  1. 1.What do you think makes a great work of literature? Have you read F Scott Fitzgerald's 'The great Gatsby'? If not, find a summary on the internet. What do you think makes this such a celebrated novel? Why do filmmakers such as Baz Luhrmann regard it as still being relevant to audiences almost 90 years after its publication?
  2. 2.There are four guest panellists: Scott Donaldson, Professor Kirk Curnutt, Jason Di Rosso and Jane Gleeson-White. Note down each speaker's response to the novel. In particular, write down the descriptive words that reveal their attitudes towards the novel.
  3. 3.What is the basis of each of the four panellists' reading of the novel? Scott Donaldson focuses on how it critiques American culture. What of the others? What does this suggest about the things each panellist values in a work of literature?
  4. 4.Interview a range of people about what they think qualifies a text as a great work of literature. Record their responses on a tally sheet under headings such as 'Enduring nature of the text', 'Impressive writing style' and 'Insightful social comment'. Is there consensus as to what defines great literature? Why do you think this is?


Acknowledgements

Produced by RN Books and Arts Daily.


Date of broadcast: 31 May 2013


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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