English 3 Orange Group

The American Dream in GG

jjschilt — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 18:52:41 +0000

So, I discussed the importance of the American Dream with my tutor and briefly in class but I learned that Fitzgerald is trying to show try different types of the American dream through the stories of three different people.

The first person is Tom Buchanan who, at a young age became a football star and achieved wealthiness at an early age. He married Daisy and lives in the Hamptons. What could possibly be wrong with living in the Hamptons and having a good amount of money you ask? Tom Buchanan is bored. He wants a thill.

Next is George Wilson. According to my research the American Dream has literally and figuratively passed over him. He owns a garage on one of the main streets (where Dr. T. J. Eckleburg’s billboard is) and he never gets any business. He’s much better off than most people but still the only customer that comes in is Tom Buchanan who just comes because he’s sleeping with his wife. His garage is on the boarder of New York and Long Island so when people are driving to New York the don’t think twice about going to garage. They’d much rather go to a crazy alcohol party in New York. Who wouldn’t?

Lastly, Gatsby. Gatsby has achieved the American Dream to the point where he’s so wealthy that everything he owns is considered as “overkill”. When he throws a house party there’s a description of everybody using his stuff. “His Rolls-Royce served as an omnibus” (Pg. 39) and also at this party people are cruising and having fun on his boats. Why isn’t Gatsby out there on the boats having a good time as well. Gatsby doesn’t know what to do with himself and I think he’s depressed.

Dr. T. J. Eckleburg

Katey Spanos — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 01:15:26 +0000

When Dr. T.J. Eckleburg was first introduced to us in the story, I didn’t grasp onto the symbol which “he” portrayed. The book states that “… above the gray land.. you perceive, after a moment, the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg” (23). Overlooking the valley of ashes, Eckleburg’s blue, gigantic, one yard high retina’s look out of no face- instead “from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a non-existent nose… but his eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days under sun and rain, brood on over the solemn dumping ground” (24). This, here, was what suggested that Doctor T.J. Eckleburg symbolized God, in that he was looking over the valley of ashes.

Throughout the book, Eckleburg is kept in mind when characters committed sin, such as when Wilson found out that his wife had committed infidelity, and then when she got hit by Daisy. Wilson got together with Michaelis (the witness of the death of Myrtle) and told him what he had said to Myrtle. Wilson had said “she might fool me but she couldn’t fool god…” (159). After Wilson said that, Michaelis turned around and found that he “was looking at the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, which had just emerged, pale and enormous, from the dissolving night” (160). The symbolism couldn’t be any more obvious – right after Wilson had talked about God seeing everything, Michaelis turned and looked right into the eyes of Eckleburg, as if to look right into the eyes of God. Symbols of God and Heaven were present all throughout the book; with Doctor T.J. Eckleburg being just one of them.

Words and Word Patterns

mcloutman — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 20:25:57 +0000

F. Scott Fitzgerald chooses his words carefully in this novel. Choose passages that reveal the use of specific words and associated words and ideas that may, when taken in total, add meaning to the novel. For example, notice how many times the word “hope” and “dream” are used in the first chapter. What other words seem to appear with regularity? Look for patterns — make associations between seemingly unrelated passages that may have similar words that are echos of words used in other parts of the text. Some words to consider are: hope, dream, money, any number of colors (green, blue, white, etc.), words that are associated with violence and/or destruction, dust and dirt, death, body parts (anything anotomical), restlessness and/or agitation, light and dark, and others that you may run across. Pick a word and track it through the novel and you’ll be surprised what the results may yield.

The American Dream

mcloutman — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 20:11:33 +0000

This category is for passages that relate to aspects of the so-called American Dream. What does it mean? How does Gatsby and other characters participate in this dream? What are the positive and negative consequences of the pursuit of the dream? Is the American Dream a fallacy? Who benefits and who are victims?

Symbols and Interpretation

mcloutman — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 20:07:12 +0000

Post passages that reveal symbols in the novel and how you interpere what they mean. Consider actions, setting, seasons, among objects the many possibilities that could be interpreted as symbolic. What do they mean, and in what ways do these symbols help readers derive meaning in the novel?

Character Analysis

mcloutman — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 19:59:34 +0000

This category is for passages that reveal something about one or more of the characters in The Great Gatsby. Consider a character’s motives, actions, description, and relationship to others in the novel.

The Great Gatsby Blog

mcloutman — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 19:50:09 +0000

Welcome English III A and G periods. Your assignment for this blog is to choose a meaningful passage and explain its signficance in a post. The goals of this assignment are to learn how to: use textual evidence, analyze a passage for meaning, develop an idea thoroughly, and respond to a peer’s original post with a comment of your own. Student posts must be a minimum of 250 words.

Choose a subcategory under The Great Gatsby and post your passage in the most appropriate subcategory. If nothing seems to fit, use the Uncategorized option