gatsby55-1-6

//**The Great Gatsby **// F. Scott Fitzgerald
 * Chapter 1-2:** //If these chapters were short stories, what would be their theme? (What insight do they give to human life? What do they tell us about how people act?) Have you noticed any symbols? What do you think they represent? What are you thinking about the characters we've been introduced to so far?//

In Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby the main character is Nick Carraway. He is a bonds man who is living in New York, in the "East Egg". His neighbor is a very wealthy man named Jay Gatsby. I think Nick wants to find out as much as possible about Mr. Gatsby. I think the theme would be telling us how people act [How do the characters act? Do you see a difference between Nick Carraway and the other characters?] , for example it seems like being wealthy and having money is important to these characters in the book. [ Staying with the theme, say that we separate the two chapters. What do you see as the theme in them as separate stories? Are they the same theme? If not, which story do you think that wealth plays the biggest role in?]  I have noticed some symbols but I'm not sure what they represent, it's kind of confusing. The first symbol is the painting and the second symbol is the colors red, white and gold. [Can you show this from the text? I think you’re right, so let’s go to the text and pick out the places where these colors and the painting are mentioned. Once you’ve found them, is there a common thread that connects them? Are they describing places, objects, or an image?]  My thoughts about Mr. Gatsby are that he seems like a mysterious man, so far. I want to find out more about him. [ What do you make of the Buchannans? As we learn more about them, what do you think about their relationship/friendship with Nick?] Myrtle Wilson seems like she is mean because of the way she treats her husband, but how she treats Tom Buchanan is completely different. [How so?] There were a lot of questions to answer and I think you tackle each of them very well. Is there a connection between the questions—What is the theme, what are the symbols, who are the characters and how do you feel about them—is there a way in which they all tie together? Some of the characters act more stuck up and like to show off what they have. I think if you seperate the chapters, in the first one its more philosophical and then the second chapter is more about materialistic things. Wealth plays a bigger role starting in the second chapter. The symbol of the painting is on page 7 and the colors are on page 8 and page 11. I was thinking maybe the colors are used in the painting but im still a bit confused about it. The Buchanans are popular and they are enormously wealthy. Myrtle treats Tom Buchanan in a more loving manner, its as if she has feelings for him as more than friends. I think they all tie together in the way that money is important to the characters.

Chapters 1-3
//Well, so far we've seen three crazy parties that Nick has shared with us. What stuck out to you about each of them? What do each of them tell us about the characters we've met and how they relate to each other? Jordan is talking to Nick when she says, “And I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy” (Fitzgerald 52). How does this quote reflect each of the gatherings in the first three chapters?//

//The point-of-view that a novel is told in frames the entire story. How would// The Great Gatsby //change if if it were told in another character's perspective (like Jay Gatsby's point-of-view?) Why do you think Fitzgerald chose Nick to be the narrator?
 * Chapters 1-4**

Apply Marxist Criticism to the first four chapters of// The Great Gatsby//. How is wealth portrayed in this book? How does the characters' wealth affect their lives and their choices? PLEASE, USE EXAMPLES FROM THE TEXT TO SUPPORT YOUR ANSWER//

//Fitzgerald makes use of timepieces in several parts of chapter 5. What do these clocks and watches represent? Explain why these symbols are especially important in this chapter. Find one to three quotes that would serve as an example of a timepiece being a symbol, and explain what they represent.
 * Chapters 1-5**

The American Dream shows up as theme in many writings and discussions over// The Great Gatsby//. How do you define the American Dream? Does it have any influence in your life? Is the American Dream attainable to everyone in the United States? Find one to three quotes from the text that you believe makes a connection to the American Dream and explain why.//

//There is sometimes a question about who exactly the protagonist is in The Great Gatsby. Is it Nick or Gatsby? Who then would be the antagonist? Explain your answer using at least three events from the story to defend your thinking. //
 * Chapter 1-6 **

I think that at the begginning the protagonist was Nick because he was the one we knew more about. But now the book is following more into Gatsby's life and who he is, also the book is named after him. Another reason for it is how Nick keeps wanting to know more about him and he becomes friends with him. It makes it seem as if hes the one we're suppose to be following up on in the story.  //What theme(s) are becoming apparent in The Great Gatsby by this point in the book? Support your answer with at least three examples in the text up until this point. //
 * I feel like you are saying that Gatsby at this part in the story is the protagonist and Nick the antagonist. Is that right? Or do you think that it switches back and forth? Is there anything that the characters do or say that makes you take a side? **

A theme would be that money and power can't buy love and happiness. An example would be Myrtle and how she is married but yet she has an affair with Tom just for his money, she apparently isn't in love with her own husband and she must not be happy. The second example is Tom because although he is married he still doesn't seem happy enough with his life, he has wealth and everything a person could desire but yet, to me, it seems that there is stilll something missing in life.

 //Who is the most dynamic character in this book? How (and how much) do they change? Would he/she be considered round or flat? Support your thinking with examples from the text. //
 * I think you are right with money and power being very big themes within the story. Do you see any others or are these the only ones? What do you think is missing in the Tom’s life? Is that same thing missing from other characters’ lives as well? **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Chapter 1-7 **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The most dynamic character in the book would be Jay Gatsby. He changes from being a man born poor to becoming a rich upper class man. I think he is a round character because we see many sides of him. We've seen how he argues, when he's sentimental and how he shows love for Daisy. //** What are the sides that we see? You brought up that we see how he argues, how he’s sentimental, and how he shows love for Daisy. What does he do in these three areas that are different from Tom? **//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Who would be considered a foil in The Great Gatsby? Why would the author use these characters to show differences? By applying structuralism and looking for binary opposition, what values are considered important in this book? <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> I think the foil is Daisy and Myrtle. The author would probably use them because they are different in many ways and so that the reader can see like how people acted around this time period. In this book, family values play and important role because that is who brought most of them up, also money is important. It seems as if money is one of the most important things that they value. It's mostly about the new money and the old money. **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Can you explain what you mean by family values? Do each couple have different definitions of family values? You mention Daisy and Myrtle in passing as the foil. What characteristics make them a foil? Do you think, if they ever met, would they get along? **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">

**Chapters 1-9** //Choose one of the following symbols and explain what they represent. Then find three quotes in the text where this symbol appears – use MLA formats to avoid plagiarism. • Ashes and Dust • Cars and Drivers • Colors • Houses and Owners • Photography and Lenses • Flowers

Answer definitively what the theme of The Great Gatsby is. Find three quotes in the text to support your thinking.//