‘The Great Gatsby’ turns 100. What’s it like teaching it today?

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.

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