gatsby62-5-0


 * //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?

I'm not quite sure what the theme is but let me tell you about this guy Tom. **Why not? Remember, theme is a central message. What is Fitzgerald trying to say through this book? Think about Tom's character. You later describe him as rude and pushy. How does his character compare to the narrators? How does this relate to the theme?** Tom's Character compares to the narrators because Tom is rude and pushy at times but Nick the narrartor is more laid back and he doesnt speak his mind much. Tom is married to a woman named Daisy and he is very rich and treats people without any respect for them. He's cheating on his wife with a woman named Myrtle and he goes to New York with her and Nick to see her sister. When Tom was having a party at his house during their dinner time his mistress called them and his wife Daisy got really mad at him and they started to fight. I think the colors red and gold might symbolize the revelaing of people's secrets that they are trying to hide from people so they don't know who they truely are or what they are truely like until their secrets come out in the open to everyone so that everyone knows what you are really like. **This is a good thought. When in the story do the colors red and gold appear? What made you draw the connection between colors and secrets? Can you think of a specific quote from the text to use here?** In the book it says " I bought a dozen volumes on bankin and credit and investment securities and they stood on my shelf in red and gold like new money from the mint, promising to unfold the shining secrets that only Midas and Maecenas knew. I made the connection between the colors because I thought that maybe the colors were brought into because maybe there is untold secrets about Tom that no one knows and the colors reveal the unfolding of his secrets because later on in the story it talks about how Tom's mistress called his house during dinner. I think that it's wrong that Tom is playing two different innocent women and I think he should give one of the women up. I think Daisy is only in the marriage with Tom for the money because she never seems to be happy with him but yet she still stays with him and shes still staying with him even though he has a mistress. **Is there evidence in the text you can use to support this statement?** Tom's mistress called in the middle of dinner when Nick and Jordan were over and Daisy got mad so tom and Daisy got in a fight but yet she still stayed around and still beleived him when he said he had to leave town for his mom. Tom can be rude to people sometimes and trys to push them around. **What evidence caused you to draw this conclusion? Always support your statements with examples or quotes!** When Nick was over Tom grabbed Nicks arm and told him that he can't always believe everything that he hears. Myrtle is liking all the things that she can get out of Tom so I think she might be after him just for his money too because she likes all the nice things that she can get and she waited for four cabs to go by before she picked one and the one that she picked was the one new becuase she likes new things so she is kind of high class. **This is a great example! Way to support your statement. The cab example certainly sheds some light on her character.** The west egg has small houses that look like cardboard boxes because the people that live in the west egg doesn't have very much money. The people in the East egg have really nice big houses because they are rich and high class. **These final sentences seem a bit disjointed. What were you trying to say about west egg and east egg? Why did you want to include this in your writing? In other words, why is it important?** It's importnant because it shows that the rich people living in the west egg aren't always as nice and don't always treat people the way they should be treated because they don't understand the qualities of life outside of money.


 * Frankie, you definitely understand the book! However, you seem to shy away from the question. Take a risk and guess at the theme next time. I believe you can do it! Recall it's definition, then apply it to Gatsby. A thesis statement about the theme would help organize your thoughts and minimize summary. You have a good grasp of the plot, but I want to hear more about your insights! Make a statement, then support it with quotes and examples. Remember, you can argue anything as long as you support it!**

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?

At all the parties we have heard about there is always conflict because in the first party Tom's mistress called so it got Daisy and Tom in a fight then in the second party Mrs. Wilson go mad at her husband because he wasn't treating her the way she thought that he should be then in the third party there were rumors about Gatsby such as he killed a man once and a couple of the girls believed it. all the characters relate to each other because they all know things about each other and they are all involved in some kind of rumor or conflict such as Nick was accused of being engaged, Jordan lied about a car, Tom is having an affair on his wife, and Gatsby is being accused of killing a man once and being a German spy in the war. **Great observation! What does this say about humanity? About their elite society? Is anyone perfect?** In all of the small gatherings secrets were getting poured out and who the people really are inside comes out too because they can't hide it and everyone knows everyones business but in the large party no one really knows anything about anyone except for what they have heard.
 * You're supporting your arguments with examples from the text, which I love! Awesome job. Keep up the good work. Think about tying the literary terms you've learned into The Great Gatsby. Do any of the characters represent a foil?**

//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 TE​XT TO SUPPORT YOUR ANSWER.//

Frankie was not in class today. She will post her response as soon as she is able.

//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.// Timepieces and clocks are symbols in this chapter because it represents how long Gatsby and Daisy have to spend time together. “The automatic quality of Gastby’s answer set us all back at least another minute”. Gatsby didn’t know what to say to Daisy because he hasn’t seen her in such a long time. The clocks are especially important to this chapter because Gatsby hasn’t seen Daisy in a very long time and the little bit of time that they spend together is worth every minute because he is still in love with Daisy and Daisy is still in love with Gatsby. **Do you think a part of him wants to return to another time? or even stop time?** The more time that Gatsby and Daisy spend together the more their feelings for eachother will come back because they still love each other and Daisy went upstairs at Nick’s house crying because she married Tom who has cheated on her when she could have had Gatsby that loves her unconditionally and that wouldn’t do the things to her that Tom has done. The American dream is being happy and having all the neccesities such as a house. **Yes, materialistic desires such as owning a house are certainly part of the "American Dream." Do you think this dream has changed over time? Would you say it is different today than it was in the 1920s?** I’m happy in life as long as I have all the neccisities that I need to have in order to be happy such as having a house and having a family around that loves me and cares for me. Yes the American Dream is attainable to everyone in the United States because everyone wants to work and be able to provide and care for their families as much as they can and they want to be able to have their own house with their families and be able to live life the way they want to. **I agree that most people want to be able to work and provide for themsleves/ their family. Does this mean owning a house and living in comfort is attainable to everyone?** “Americans, while occasionally willing to be serfs, have always been obstinate about being peasantry”. I think this makes a good connection to the American dream because the Americans want to work to be able to have a house and all the neccessities in life and be able to support and care for their families as much as possible. **What a great quote! How does Fitzgerald's reference to serfs and peasantry support or dismantle the idea of the American lifestlye? Does being a serf and being a peasant mean the same thing? Why would he use those words?

Frankie, you did a great job supporting your second quote-- Fitzgerald was indeed commenting on American lifestyle/ wealth. In the future, pay close attention to all the words he uses, such as peasant/serf. Think about what those specific words mean, and include them in your analysis. I'm so happy you tackled both the above questions. Chapter five is a turning point in many ways... we see Gatsby, as well as concepts like the "American dream,** **in a new light.**

** Chapter 1-6 ** //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 events from the story to defend your thinking.// //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 think the protagonist is Gatsby because Gatsby is the main character and his life is being revealed throughout the story and the story is named after Gatsby. **These are all valid reasons-- expand on the fact you feel his life is revealed throughout the story. Is he a dynamic character?** I think the antangonist is Tom becuase Gatsby loves Daisy and wants to be with Daisy but Daisy is married to Tom. **What sort of antagonistic characteristics does Tom display? Is he arrogant? Greedy?** Daisy is starting to realize that Gatsby loves her because Gatsby has been having flashbacks about him and Daisy kissing and when Daisy seen Gatsby for the first time in years she looked at his shirt and started crying. **Can you find a quote that portrays her emotions for Gatsby?** She could have had gatsby who loves her unconditionly but yet she married Tom who cheats on her and doesn't treat her very well. All the parites are at Gatsby's house and Gatsby is having flashbacks about kissing Daisy before he went away into the army. **Is the fact "all the parties are at Gatsby's house" important to your argument? Why include this?** A theme could be that money can't buy happieness **[Good Observation]** because Daisy is married to Tom and he has alot of money that he inherited from his family but Daisy isn't happy being with Tom because he cheats on her with Myrtle and he's always yelling at her just like he did when they had Nick and Jordan over at their house for dinner when Tom's mistress called and Daisy got upset because she called during dinner and Tom just went off on her. So he doesn't treat her very well so Daisy isn't happy being with Tom even though he has alot of money and can get her whatever she wants. Tom left to go out of the state to see his mistress and he lied to Daisy saying that he was going there to help out his mother even though he really went there to spend time with his mistress. **Ah, further proof of his antagonistic qualities!**


 * Awesome job supporting your arguments with examples from the text! Can you think of an example other than Daisy's relationship with Tom to portray the theme? What about Daisy's relationship with Gatsby? Did his self-made fortune buy him happiness? What about other characters/ events?**

Chapter 1-7
 * //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.

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?//**

Gatsby is the most dymanic character because at the beginning of the book he said that he got all of his money from his family because he inherited it but then when Tom and Gatsby were together Tom said that Gatsby got his money from being an bootlegger which is selling alcohol illegally and Gatsby said that its true that he did do that and Gatsby had a drug store where he sold the alcohol illegally because in that time period alcohol was banned. Gatsby changed because at first he lied to everyone but then when tom was around him and confronted him about it he told the truth and didn’t lie about it so Gatsby has a changed a little bit throughout the story. **Can you think of any points where Gatsby's insight or values change? You make a valid point-- he does lie, but does this make him a dynamic character? Remember, dynamic characters are changed by events or people in the book. This change may occur over a long period of time, or during one "aha" moment.** Gatsby would be considered a round character because at first Gatsby is thought to have inherited his money then its found out by Tom that Gatsby got all of his money from being a bootlegger and at first when Gatsby was at Tom’s house he didn’t tell Tom about how he felt about Daisy and how Daisy felt about him but then once they got to the hotel Gatsby told how he felt about Daisy and Gatsby got Daisy to say to Tom that she never loved him when in reality she loved Tom even though she still loved Gatsby too. **There is something to this. Perhaps the better question is, why does Gatsby lie? He feigns indifference to daisy, which signifies he is complicated. There is an internal struggle brewing beneath Gatsby's smooth facade... does this struggle develop his character?** Gatsby and Tom are foils because Gatsby is laid back but then Tom tries to push people around and Tom has to physically move people by grabbing their arm and taking them to where he wants them to go. **When in the book does he do this? Can you find quote or specific example that portrays Tom's attitude? How about Gatsby's?** Gatsby loves Daisy unconditionally and wouldn’t cheat on her or treat her the way that Tom treats her but Tom on the other hand says he loves Daisy but I’m not really sure if he actually does love her like Gatsby does because Tom is cheating on Daisy with a lady named Myrtle Wilson and Tom doesn’t treat Daisy very well because he’s always yelling at her and wanting to fight with her and trying to tell her what her to do just like when they were in the hotel she told Tom to have some self control and he went off and then he told her to sit down when they were in the hotel and didn’t really give her a choice. Values would be that Tom thinks he’s more powerful in the society because he has old money instead of new money like Gatsby has and in that society old money is better to have then new money because old money is inherited where new money you have to earn. **Awesome! Could the concept of old/ new wealth be considered an aspect of the foil? How does having "new money" play into the idea of an American Dream?**


 * Frankie, you did a wonderful job. Your statement, "in that society old money is better to have then new money because," is quite insightful. You seem to have a good grasp on binary opposition-- rich vs. poor/ old rich vs. new rich.

I agree: Gatsby is a flat character-- we see he has deep, complicated emotions through his dialog with Nick. However, this doesn't necessarily mean Gatsby is a dynamic character. Think about the definition of a dynamic character. Are there any others that fit this description? Whose character is most manipulated by events and people in the book?**

//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.
 * Chapters 1-9**

• 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.//