10 questions
11th - 11th Grade
English
Great Gatsby Figurative Language is a Grade 11 English worksheet that helps students identify figurative language in excerpts from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel. Students classify nine quotations as simile, metaphor, personification, or hyperbole, then complete one multiple-select item that requires them to identify both simile and alliteration. Examples include the comparison involving an ectoplasm, the metaphor describing the Valley of Ashes, and personification applied to cars, a station wagon, and houses. This worksheet strengthens close reading by requiring students to distinguish how Fitzgerald uses comparison, exaggeration, human actions, and sound patterns in literary language. It works well for independent practice, guided analysis, or a quick formative assessment after introducing figurative language in The Great Gatsby. The resource is a free printable worksheet with a complete answer key, making it easy to review why each classification fits the quoted passage.
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WorksheetsAnswer KeySimile
Metaphor
Personification
Metaphor
Simile
Alliteration
, a)Simile
Personification
Simile
Hyperbole
Personification
This Grade 11 English worksheet uses 10 excerpts from The Great Gatsby to assess figurative-language identification: nine multiple-choice questions cover simile, metaphor, personification, and hyperbole, while one multiple-select question asks students to identify simile and alliteration together. Classifying lines such as the comparison to an ectoplasm, the Valley of Ashes metaphor, and the station wagon that scampered helps students connect literary devices to Fitzgerald’s wording.
Introduce the four primary answer categories by modeling one excerpt, such as the line containing like an ectoplasm, and ask students what language signals a comparison. Then have students explain why phrases such as cars that crawl or a station wagon that scampered fit personification, before assigning the remaining items independently or in pairs. Use the multiple-select farm excerpt to discuss how one quotation can contain more than one device, including alliteration.
Students may confuse similes and metaphors, especially when a comparison is stated directly rather than introduced with like or as, as in the rose comparison. They may also label any vivid expression as hyperbole instead of examining the device used, or overlook that the farm excerpt requires two selections: simile and alliteration. Remind students to read the entire quoted line before choosing a category.
The worksheet is available as a printable PDF and as a digital quiz on Wayground, so you can use the nine multiple-choice items and one multiple-select item for independent practice or assessment. It includes a complete answer key for grading, and printable submissions can be graded by scanning student work with the Wayground for Teachers app. The printable format also supports classrooms that are reducing screen time.
In the worksheet’s Advanced Settings, adjust font spacing or choose a larger font size to make the short literary excerpts and answer choices easier to track. You can also enable a dyslexia-friendly font or translate the worksheet into another language while keeping the simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, and alliteration questions in the same format.
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