"The Great Gatsby" Book Club Afghanistan

The Great Gatsby Book Club

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Great Gatsby Book Club! I am so thrilled that you will be joining us! We meet Friday from 5-6 pm (Kabul time). 2025 was the 100th anniversary of The Great Gatsby, so there has been a lot of interest recently in the book. A lot of things have changed since 2022, when the story was set, but many things remain the same! There are several options for reading: the original and the graded (simplified/easier) versions. We will read one chapter a week.

Original text (B2/C1 Upper Int/Adv): https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200041h.html

Easier version (B1/B2 Int/Upper Int): https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/lals/resources/paul-nations-resources/readers/mid-frequency-graded-readers/The-Great-Gatsby-Simplified-4000-Version.pdf

Easiest version (Elementary/A2: To buy online):

https://www.amazon.ca/Penguin-Readers-Level-Gatsby-Graded-ebook/dp/B0891SHNSN

Chapter summaries (If you want support with reading the novel or don't have time to read the chapter): https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/section1/

Audio book (Original version): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9U43te3ZFw

Audio book (Easier version): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eayuRBrYN3k

Google Meet (To join online):

More information about your facilitator Laura: https://auroraenglish.wixsite.com/english

Week One: Friday, June 5: 5-6 pm

Introductions and Setting

1) Introduce ourselves and the literature we enjoy.

2) What is the geographical, historical and physical setting of the novel? You can do some research online.

3) What do you know about the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald? His wife Zelda?

4) What do you know about the Jazz Age? The Roaring Twenties?

5) What is the same and different from 1922 when the novel takes place? Think about Afghanistan, North America and the world.

6) Why is The Great Gatsby considered a great American novel?

6) What are your thoughts about the novel and the book club?

Here are some extra resources:

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rARN6agiW7o

The 1920s: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AnCVV3Xr6qE

F. Scott Fitzgerald: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XvIXvD3AXz0&pp=ygUMRml0emdlcmFsZCBm

Week Two: Friday, June 12: 5-6 pm

Chapter One Discussion Questions

Try and answer the discussions questions. You do not need to answer every question.

1) What advice does the narrator's father give him? What does this tell us about the narrator?

2) What does the narrator say about Gatsby?

3) What is the narrator's name? Where is he from? What has he done? Where does he move to? Why?

4) What are East and West Egg?

5) Who are Daisy and Tom? Describe them.

6) Who is Jordan Baker? Why does she say "You live in West Egg" contemptuously (p. 11)?

7) What secret is revealed during dinner? What does this tell us about Tom and Daisy's relationship?

8) What does Daisy say about her daughter? Why?

9) What do we learn about Nick's love life? Why doesn't he get married?

10) Who does Nick see at the end of the chapter? Why doesn't he talk to him?

11) What is the purpose of the first chapter?

12) What are your thoughts about the book so far?