Hello, everyone.

It's lovely to see you here today for this lesson, analysing the ending of "The Great Gatsby." My name's Dr.

Clayton and I'm here to guide you through learning journey today.

Now, I don't think you've overstated just how important the ending of a text is, and to my mind at least, the ending of Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" is one of the most evocative and well-crafted endings that I can think of.

So I'm really excited to talk it through with you today.

So if you're ready, grab your pen, laptop, whatever you're using for this lesson and let's get started.

So by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to explain and analyse the effectiveness of the ending to "The Great Gatsby.

So we have five words today we're going to focus on as our keywords.

They've been chosen to not only help you unlock the learning, but also to give you some vocabulary in your discussions in written work.

They're identified in bold throughout the learning material, and I've tried to point that to as well, succeed in being used in context.

So our first keyword is recede, and this means to go back or move back or further away from a previous position, to gradually diminish.

Now, this is one of the evocative words that Fitzgerald uses in the ending.

We're going to analyse what it might mean later in the lesson.

Our second keyword is resolution.

And this means the process of solving or ending a problem or disagreement.

So one potential ending you might choose to have for a text is a resolution.

We're gonna talk more about that in the first learning cycle.

Our third keyword is ambiguous, and this means open to more than one interpretation, not having an obvious meaning.

So another ending you might choose for a text is an ambiguous ending.

We leave the reader with questions rather than answers.

Our fourth keyword is paradox, and that means a statement, which seems self-contradictory or absurd, but in reality expresses a possible truth.

We're going to analyse how Fitzgerald uses paradoxes effectively in the ending of "The Great Gatsby." Our final keyword is elude, which means of an achievement of something desired, fail to be achieved by someone.

We're going to think about what Fitzgerald means through the use of this word at the end of "The Great Gatsby." So I'll just give you a moment to write down those keywords and their definitions.

So pause the video, write them down now.

Fantastic.

Let's get started with the lesson.

So we have three learning cycles in our lesson today.

For our first learning cycle, we're going to conceptualise the ending of a text.

So we're going to think of the possible ways you might choose to end a text and how important the ending of a text is for the overall story.

For our second learning cycle, we're going to read the ending of "The Great Gatsby" and then talk it through to make sure we understand what is happening at the end.

Finally, in our third learning cycle, we're going to analyse how Fitzgerald has used language and structure to craft an effective ending.

So to start off with, I want you to imagine you've been reading a book or watching a TV series that you've been really enjoying and you finally watch or read the ending and it's hugely disappointing.

What I would like you to think about is how might the disappointing ending affect you? Would it impact your previous enjoyment of the book or the series? Now, if you're working through this with someone else, you might talk about your ideas together.

If you're going through this by yourself, you might just think about your ideas.

So pause the pause video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, I heard a few similar examples from people there because I think it really does stick in your mind when something has a disappointing ending.

And as Oka pupil Laura says, a disappointing ending can leave a really bitter taste in your mouth and ruin your previous enjoyment because we now look at the whole book or the whole TV series differently.

This is why crafting an effective ending to your creative writing is really important 'cause it affects your entire story.

Now, this is a very subjective question, but I'd like to think about what makes an effective ending for you.

So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, I'm just going to share with you some of the ideas for Oak pupils.

So Laura said, "I think I want to feel satisfied with what's happened to the characters." And Izzy said, "I also think it needs to tie all the narrative threads together so they all make sense.

So both Laura and Izzy want a sense that things have been resolved; it's reached an ending that feels complete.

Now let's consider some of the ways you might end a story.

So you might choose a resolution ending.

So all the narrative threads are tied together and the questions are answered.

You might choose transformation.

Arguably, some of the most successful stories end by showing how the characters have grown and developed.

You might choose surprise, so it turns the readers' assumptions about the plot and characters on its head through an unexpected twist.

Or you might choose an ambiguous ending.

So instead of a resolution, the writer leaves key questions unanswered in order to let the reader consider the questions for themselves.

Now, what I'd like you to think about is what type of ending do you find the most satisfying? So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, I know some people really dislike an open, ambiguous ending, but I personally really like it because it feels to me as if the story isn't fully finished and I can go back to and create an ending that I want to see.

But I know for some people it can feel very unsatisfying.

Now for a quick check for understanding.

So which of the following is the explanation for an ending that shows transformation? Is it A, it turns the assumption of the reader on its head? Is it B, it ties all of the narrative threads together? C, it shows the development and growth of the main character or D, it leaves unanswered questions.

So pause the video, make your selection now.

The correct answer is C.

A is the definition of a surprise ending.

B is the definition of A resolution, and D is the definition of ambiguous ending.

So very well done if you got that right.

Now, I'm sure you've heard this before and I probably couldn't count how many times I've said it, but arguably, one of the most disliked endings to a story is it was all a dream.

So for your first task of the lesson, I want us to consider why it might be an unsatisfying ending by answering the following questions.

So number one, have you read a story where it turned out it was all a dream, a game, or hallucination? Number two, if yes, how did that ending make you feel? If no, how do you think an ending like that would make you feel? And question three, why do you think people in general might dislike an ending that said it was all a dream? Pause the video, answer the questions now.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now I'm just gonna share with you the ideas from one of our Oak pupils, Sofia, and I'd like to answer how well they align with your ideas.

So question one was have you ever read a story where it turned out it was all a dream, a game or hallucination? And Sofia said, yes, Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." Number two, how did the ending make you feel? And Sofia said, "It made me feel disappointed.

I loved the fantastical nature of Wonderland and it felt frustrating to know it never actually existed." Question three, why do you think people in general might dislike an ending that said it was all a dream? As Sofia said, "I think there are a couple of reasons why people would dislike such an ending.

Firstly, I think as a reader you feel cheated.

It feels as if your emotional investment in the story was for nothing.

Secondly, it means there's no sense of consequence.

It doesn't matter what happened during the story or the characters 'cause it wasn't real in the first place." So pause the video.

Consider whether you have similar or different ideas to Sofia.

Welcome back, everyone.

I think there was a general consensus.

It feels very unsatisfying to find out that everything was just a dream.

It feels if you've become invested for no reason and therefore, we do feel cheated as a reader.

Amazing work so far, everyone.

Now to the second learning cycle where we're going to read through the ending to "The Great Gatsby" and think about whether or not you think it's effective.

As I said, now that we've considered what might make an ineffective or effective ending to a story, let's explore Fitzgerald's ending to "The Great Gatsby." But before we do, I'm just gonna share a summary of "The Great Gatsby with you so you have an idea of context.

So "The Great Gatsby" is narrated by Nick Caraway, a Yale University graduate from the Midwest who moves to New York after World War I to pursue a career in bonds.

He recounts the events of the summer he spent with a mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and Gatsby's session to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan.

So we're gonna read through the first part of the ending.

Then we're going to consider some questions about it to make sure we understand it before we continue to read.

So the ending begins, "And as I sat there brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby's wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy's dock.

He had come a long way to this blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close he could hardly fail to grasp it.

He did not know it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night." Now, the first question I'd like you to consider is what tone does brooding on the world create? So what emotion does brooding on the world suggest to you? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

And you might have said that brooding creates a reflective, pensive tone.

It's just someone thinking deeply about something.

Now, what do you think this tone suggests about the ending? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

And you might have said, the idea of someone thinking deeply about the world perhaps suggests they're going to tell us something important, something that will make us reflect on the world.

Now let's zoom in on what it tells us about Gatsby himself.

So what does the phrase "he had come a long way" suggest about Gatsby's life? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

And you might have said the idea he'd come a long way in life suggests he's worked hard to make something of his life and perhaps he's changed his life for the better.

Now, let's consider the phrase, "His dream must have seemed so close he could hardly fail to grasp it." What does that tell us about how Gatsby felt about his dream? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, the day he thought he was able to grasp his dream suggests he felt optimistic about achieving his dream.

Now, finally, let's consider the phrase, "He did not know it was already behind him." What does that tell us about his dream? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, the idea his dream was already behind him suggests to us his dream has already failed.

Now let's read the rest of the ending, which is "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 our arms further.

And one fine morning.

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." Now, I'd like us to focus on the word recedes, which is one of our keywords.

It means to go back or move back or further away from a previous position, to gradually diminish.

So what do you think this suggests about the reality of Gatsby's dream? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

And you might have said the word recedes implies that although Gatsby thought he could reach his dream, it's actually getting further and further out of reach.

Now, let's go to the phrase it eluded us.

Now, here we have a shift from talking about Gatsby to suddenly talking about us.

Who do you think Fitzgerald is talking about here? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, the shift to a collective pronoun might suggest that Fitzgerald is now referring to a situation beyond just Gatsby.

So perhaps humanity in general.

Now, let's consider the phrase, "Tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms further." What do you think Fitzgerald is saying here about our collective dreams? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone, and you might have thought the idea of running faster and stretching out our arms further might suggest we think if we just work harder, we can achieve our dreams. Finally, let's focus on the final line, which are my favourite lines.

"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." What do you think Fitzgerald is saying about the realities of our dreams? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, the idea of being constantly taken back into the past suggests we can't escape our past.

We aren't actually making any progress forwards.

Now, contextually, "The Great Gatsby" is largely thought to be about the American Dream, the idea you can achieve anything if you just work hard enough.

And I think that talking through the ending of the novel shows that actually, Fitzgerald believes that isn't the case.

We're held back by our past and our background and we aren't able to progress beyond that.

So it's a very sad end to the story, but I think it's also incredibly powerful and poignant.

And we're going to analyse how Fitzgerald has enhance this message of the ending through his use of language and structure in the final learning cycle.

Now for a quick check for understanding.

What I'd like you to do is tell me whether the following statement is true or false.

So is it true or false? The ending for "The Great Gatsby" only focuses on the failure of Gatsby's dream.

Pause the video, make your selection now.

The correct answer is false.

Now I'd like you to tell me why.

So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

And you might have said, "Arguably, the use of pronouns such as we, our, us suggests just that Fitzgerald is also talking about humanity in general.

So very well done if you got those right.

Fantastic work, everyone.

Now, for your second task of the lesson, I'd like you to consider whether you think the ending of "The Great Gatsby" is effective.

And you might consider whether you think the ending offers resolution, whether you think the ending brings a powerful close to Gatsby's character, and whether you think the ending offers a chance for the reader to reflect on themselves and society.

And if you're working through this with someone else, you might talk about your ideas with them.

If going through this by yourself, you might just think about your ideas.

So pause the video, take a few minutes to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, I'm just gonna share the ideas of one of our Oka pupils, Izzy.

I'd like you to consider how well her ideas align with your ideas.

So Izzy said, "I think it's a really effective ending because while it offers resolution for Gatsby himself, it also asks me to consider the nature of my own life and think about my dreams and how achievable they are.

Pause the video.

Think about how well Izzy's ideas align with your ideas.

Welcome back, everyone.

I heard some fantastic discussions there around how people wish the ending could have been happier because we all want to feel as if we can achieve our dreams. But I think Fitzgerald is really trying to criticise the American Dream and say something about the reality of society.

You're all doing amazingly well, everyone.

We're now onto our final learning cycle where we're going to analyse Fitzgerald's ending to "The Great Gatsby." So as I said, now we've read the ending of "The Great Gatsby," let's analyse how Fitzgerald has constructed the ending.

Let's begin by looking at the symbolism in the ending.

We're going to focus on the quote, "Tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms further.

And one fine morning." What I'd like you to begin by thinking about is how might the symbolism of morning connect to the optimism of the concept that if we work harder, we will achieve success? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, light and sunrise are typically associated with positivity.

So you might have said that the symbol of the morning suggests ideas of hope, new beginnings and positivity.

Now, I'd like us to think about how Fitzgerald presents us with the image of the morning.

So why do you think the double dash after morning is significant? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone, and you might have said, "The double dash cuts off the image and leaves the morning incomplete.

Therefore, the optimistic idea isn't fulfilled and fits with Fitzgerald's message about our dreams." Now, in the final line, Fitzgerald metaphorically suggests that we are boats.

So he says, "We're boats being borne back ceaselessly." Within the imagery of a boat, Fitzgerald uses the paradox of trying to move forwards but not going anywhere.

Now a paradox is one of our keywords.

It means a statement that seems self-contradictory or absurd, but in reality expresses a possible truth.

So what I'd like you to think about is how might we tie those two ideas together? What does the use of a metaphor, where something is said to be something else, link to the idea of a paradox being unable to move forwards? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, that was a really difficult question, so very well done for having a go.

As our Oak pupil Izzy says, "Perhaps it suggests that in trying to move forwards away from our past, we're trying to become something we're not and therefore, we can't move forwards.

So we've connected the idea of us being a boat as meaning we're trying to be something we're not.

And the paradox of trying to move forwards but not going anywhere and how that suggests we're stuck because we're trying to be something we're not.

Now let's consider the specific use of language through the final line of, "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." What I'd like you to do is say the line aloud.

And once you've done that, I want you to consider what you notice about the sounds in the sentence when you say it aloud.

So pause the video, say the line aloud now.

Welcome back, everyone.

I think say it aloud really shows how beautiful the line is 'cause it really does have a sense of fluidity.

And as Laura says, there are a lot of repeated sounds within the line and that makes it sound as though it just rolls off the tongue.

Now let's focus on those repeated sounds for a moment, specifically the repeated B consonants are an example of consonants and there's assonance within the line as well.

What I'd like you to think about is what might the significance be of those repeated consonant and vowel sounds? So what might they represent in terms of what Fitzgerald is trying to say about our dreams? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, as our Oak pupil people Izzy says, perhaps the repetition of sounds reflects the concept of how we're constantly trying to move forwards, but we aren't actually going anywhere.

We're simply repeating ourselves over and over.

So Fitzgerald has used the construction of the sentence to really evoke meaning.

Now for a quick check for understanding.

What I'd like you to do is tell me whether the following statement is true or false.

So is it true or false that Fitzgerald's use of consonance reflects the main concept of the ending of "The Great Gatsby?" Pause the video, make you selection now.

The correct answer is true.

Now I'd like you to tell me why.

So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

And you might have said, "Potentially, we might read the repeated sounds as depicting the constant struggle to move forwards yet constantly being pushed backwards.

There's no progression or change." So very well done if you've got that right.

Amazing work, everyone.

Now the final task of the lesson.

Now, arguably, Fitzgerald has constructed the ending of "The Great Gatsby" not to represent the concept of not being able to move forwards and reach one's dream.

What I'd like you to do is consider which element of the construction do you think is the most effective in achieving this? I'd like you to write a couple of sentences to explain your reasoning.

Now, you might consider the use of the paradoxical metaphor of the boat struggling against the current.

These are consonance and assonance, and the punctuation following the morning imagery.

So pause the video, complete the task now.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now we're going to end the lesson with a reflective task.

What I'd like you to do is share your work with a peer.

Then answer and reflect on the following questions.

So did you both choose the same element as the most effective? Why do you think those particular elements resonated with you? And do you think you'll try to emulate the same element in your own writing? Why or why not? Pause the video, reflect on the questions now.

Welcome back, everyone.

I think it's always really useful to compare how effective we find imagery 'cause I think it really helps to show us how we all respond differently and how we might then can start our own writing to help other people respond to it and the way we want them to respond.

You all did amazingly well today, everyone.

Here's the summary of what we covered.

Arguably, an effective ending either offers a resolution or ends in ambiguity with unanswered questions.

The ending of "The Great Gatsby" shows that Gatsby's dream of his life and future wasn't reached.

We might interpret the ending of "The Great Gatsby" as suggesting we're all striving for something we can't reach.

Fitzgerald's use of repeated sounds might reflect the idea of trying to move forward with no progression.

The symbolism of the morning might depict the idea of a new beginning being cut off.

Now, I know you already know the ending of the story, but it really is a fantastic book.

So hopefully you might feel inspired to go and read it.

I really hope you enjoy the lesson, everyone.

I hope to see you for another lesson soon.

Goodbye.