MISRYOUM turns The Great Gatsby into a classroom-ready anticipation guide with 20 agree/disagree prompts to spark discussion about self-deception, class, and the American Dream.
20 agree-or-disagree prompts for The Great Gatsby
Why these statements work before students read
Statements like “People are generally honest with themselves” push students to test whether self-awareness is truly common. or whether people rationalize what makes them feel safe.. Meanwhile. lines such as “It’s easier to form opinions about things we don’t understand” give students permission to examine how stereotypes and surface impressions form quickly.. That matters because Fitzgerald’s Jazz Age world runs on quick judgments—about money, manners, romance, and morality.
The Gatsby themes behind the prompts (and what to watch)
Consider “We become the things we want.” That’s not just a literary idea—it’s a moral warning in plain language.. Ask students whether they agree because it feels true, or whether they disagree because it sounds too harsh.. Either way. it sets up the novel’s tragic trajectory: Gatsby’s obsession shapes his choices. and those choices narrow his future.
Other statements press on class and social stories, which are central to the novel’s critique.. “Status is just a story people agree to believe” encourages students to treat wealth and reputation as systems—not just facts.. When paired with prompts like “How you got your money matters as much as how much you have. ” students can compare “old money” and “new money” not as labels. but as competing social rules.
Printable prompts: 20 agree/disagree statements
1. Desire can obscure judgment.
2. People are generally honest with themselves.
3. It’s easier to form opinions about things we don’t understand.
4. How people think about you is largely determined by how you think of yourself.
5. Wealth without morality is more desirable than morality without wealth.
6. How you got your money matters as much as how much you have.
7. The desire to belong can be stronger than the desire to be yourself.
8. We tend to over-value what we want more than what we have.
9. We become the things we want.
10. Status is just a story people agree to believe.
11. The American Dream is more about the pursuit than the destination.
12. Some dreams are better as dreams.
13. We tend to value what we want more than what we have.
14. The wealthier or more attractive someone is, the more people forgive them for being a bad person.
15. What people believe about someone or thing matters more than what is true.
16. Success is subjective.
17. People are generally honest with themselves.
18. It’s easier to form opinions about things we don’t understand.
19. How people think about you is largely determined by how you think of yourself.
20. People create their own standards for success.
21. Some kinds of ‘success’ are ‘good’ and some are ‘bad.’
22. (Advanced) We become the things we want.
How to turn agreement into critical reading
A practical classroom move is to track which statements stay controversial after students see evidence from the narrative. If a student changes their mind, ask what changed: the plot, a character choice, or their own assumptions. That turns the activity into metacognition, not just opinion sharing.
For educators. the bigger payoff is that these statements align reading with transferable thinking skills—evaluating claims. identifying bias. and distinguishing appearance from reality.. Fitzgerald’s novel is already a study in performances: social performance, romantic performance, and self-performance.. Misryoum’s guide helps students notice those layers early. so the story doesn’t arrive as just “drama in the 1920s. ” but as a mirror for how people justify. project. and pursue.
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