Unraveling Character Motivation
This worksheet helps 12th-grade students analyze and understand the complex motivations behind characters' actions in literature, aligning with CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.3.
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Unraveling Character Motivation
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Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow, focusing on the characters' motivations and how they drive the plot.
Excerpt from 'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.... And one fine morning— So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. His dream had been a colossal one, a dream of such magnitude that it encompassed not only Daisy but a whole new life, a new identity. He had built his entire world, his vast fortune, his opulent mansion, all as a beacon to draw her back to him. Every party, every lavish display, was a desperate, hopeful attempt to recreate a past that never truly existed, to capture a moment that had long since slipped away. His unwavering belief in the possibility of recapturing that past, of making Daisy love him as she once had, fueled his every action, even as it propelled him towards an inevitable, tragic end.
1. What is the primary motivation behind Gatsby's accumulation of wealth and lavish lifestyle?
To gain social status and acceptance among the elite.
To impress Daisy Buchanan and win back her affection.
To escape his humble origins and reinvent himself.
To establish a successful business empire.
2. How does Gatsby's belief in "the green light" symbolize his ultimate motivation?
3. Gatsby's entire world, his vast fortune, and his opulent mansion were all built as a to draw Daisy back to him.
4. His unwavering belief in the possibility of recapturing the fueled his every action.
5. Gatsby's primary motivation was to create a new, authentic identity for himself, entirely separate from his past.
True
False
6. Discuss how Gatsby's motivations, while seemingly romantic, ultimately contribute to his tragic downfall. Refer to specific details from the passage to support your analysis.