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2009
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May
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- Non-Fiction Book Suggestions
- Just Some Fun with Gatsby
- 1. What is the American Dream? (Everyone must answer)
- 2. The Great GAPsby Society
- 3. Social Rules
- 4. Nick Carraway's Sense of Morality
- 5. Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan
- 6. POV
- 7. Nick's Feelings
- 8. Social and Moral Behavior
- 9. Symbols
- 10. Poetry
- 11. Tragic Hero
- 12. Females
- 13. Believable?
- 14. Climax
- 15. Archetypes
- 16. Stereotypes
- 17. The Relationship
- 18. Gatsby's Actions
- 19. Style
- 20. Gatsby and Tom
- 21. Compare and Contrast
- 22. The Real Daisy
- 23. Minor Characters
- 24. Title
- 25. Nick's Role
- 26. Who was responsible for Gatsby's death.
- 27. Gatsby's Death
- 28. Myrtle's Death
- 29. How was Nick different
- 30. Was Gatsby different
- 31. Tom and Daisy
- 32. Classic
- 33. Rotten Crowd
- 34. Money
- 35. The Green Light
- 36. Gatz
- 37. The Funeral
- 38. The Child
- 39. The Party
- 40. Myrtle
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May
(42)
Your Summer Assingment
1. Read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. You should be prepared to take a test on the book on the first day of class.
2. Participate on The Great Gatsby Blog (Due the first day of class.)
Rules for Discussion Board
a. You must make ten postings over the next two months. Each posting is worth a maximum of ten points. Therefore, make sure that what you say is valid, supported, and original.
b. Five of these postings should be in response to a posting made by someone in the class. You may agree or disagree, but you must provide support for your point of view using MLA citation format.
c. The remaining five postings must be original observations by you. You should use the book to give help you support your answer and use internal citations.
d. Each posting must be thoughtful and grammatically correct sentences.
e. Use correct grammar and spelling; do not use slang, abbreviations, or IM speak. (Watch capitalization.)
f. It is a good idea to type your response in a word processing program first to eliminate basic errors. Then copy and paste it into the discussion board. Proofread carefully!
g. Do not use any cute nicknames. I will only grade the work by the names that are given to me on my roster. You must use your real name. h. Any postings that are defamatory or the least bit obscene will be deleted and will receive no credit.
i. Be creative, thoughtful, and open.
j. Remember your comments are now public.
3. Read a non-fiction book of high academic rigor. It must be at least 150 pages long. I have suggestions for you if you need any help.
4. Write an essay about your non-fiction book. It should be one of the following formats:
Language Analysis Essay – evaluates the use of language devices such as metaphors, figurative language, diction, etc. which support the theme.
Writing Strategy/Structural Analysis Essay – evaluates the organization, structure, point of view, etc. which support the theme.
Argumentative/Persuasive Essay – includes identification of strategies by the author and students writing a persuasive essay in response to the text.
You essay should be typed double, spaced, following MLA formats and using correct MLA citations. This paper should be emailed to me the first day of class. Please analyze the form of the book, do not summarize.
5. To go with your paper, you must prepare a PowerPoint that highlights your paper. Please have your thesis on a separate slide and PLEASE do not summarize the book. You should analyze the book, not summarize it.
6. Have a great summer and prepare for an engaging and hopefully challenging class.
7. If you have any questions over the summer please email any time. My email is ehogshead@cm.edu.gt or elroark@yahoo.com.
2. Participate on The Great Gatsby Blog (Due the first day of class.)
Rules for Discussion Board
a. You must make ten postings over the next two months. Each posting is worth a maximum of ten points. Therefore, make sure that what you say is valid, supported, and original.
b. Five of these postings should be in response to a posting made by someone in the class. You may agree or disagree, but you must provide support for your point of view using MLA citation format.
c. The remaining five postings must be original observations by you. You should use the book to give help you support your answer and use internal citations.
d. Each posting must be thoughtful and grammatically correct sentences.
e. Use correct grammar and spelling; do not use slang, abbreviations, or IM speak. (Watch capitalization.)
f. It is a good idea to type your response in a word processing program first to eliminate basic errors. Then copy and paste it into the discussion board. Proofread carefully!
g. Do not use any cute nicknames. I will only grade the work by the names that are given to me on my roster. You must use your real name. h. Any postings that are defamatory or the least bit obscene will be deleted and will receive no credit.
i. Be creative, thoughtful, and open.
j. Remember your comments are now public.
3. Read a non-fiction book of high academic rigor. It must be at least 150 pages long. I have suggestions for you if you need any help.
4. Write an essay about your non-fiction book. It should be one of the following formats:
Language Analysis Essay – evaluates the use of language devices such as metaphors, figurative language, diction, etc. which support the theme.
Writing Strategy/Structural Analysis Essay – evaluates the organization, structure, point of view, etc. which support the theme.
Argumentative/Persuasive Essay – includes identification of strategies by the author and students writing a persuasive essay in response to the text.
You essay should be typed double, spaced, following MLA formats and using correct MLA citations. This paper should be emailed to me the first day of class. Please analyze the form of the book, do not summarize.
5. To go with your paper, you must prepare a PowerPoint that highlights your paper. Please have your thesis on a separate slide and PLEASE do not summarize the book. You should analyze the book, not summarize it.
6. Have a great summer and prepare for an engaging and hopefully challenging class.
7. If you have any questions over the summer please email any time. My email is ehogshead@cm.edu.gt or elroark@yahoo.com.
The social divisions drawn at the beginning of the book are East and West Egg.
ReplyDeleteWest Egg is full of young rich people, probably due to the industrialization during that time. Meanwhile East Egg, the majority of the population, was inhabited by people who had inherited their family’s wealth. East Egg represents the old aristocracy, and West Egg represents the newly rich.
At that time, the social and moral aristocratic America was declining, this meaning that due to the fact that it was easier for anyone to become rich, it was no longer a priced hierarchy. Therefore, it was easier for the young to become rich.
The division is seen with Jay Gatsby who belonged in West Egg, as did Nick Carraway while Daisy and Tom Buchanan belonged to East Egg. Tom Buchanan, for example believed that women were inferior than men and their place was at home. Gatsby on the other hand represented the new social trend in which women were self-sufficient and equal to men. This separation represents the way people thought at the time, depending on where they lived. East Eggers had an “old” way of thinking, while West Eggers had the opposite, fresh new opinions.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Xara. Though Long Island is full of wealthy people, There is cultural separation by time. West Eggers who attained their wealth as members of the capitalist society move on and create a new liberal society, while East Eggers remain conservative and use 19th century moral values (Fitzgerald 9). I think that's what the river represents, the barrier between old and new, both because of the physical separation between societies but also in the sense of the river's interpretation as time, ever flowing and unstoppable. Both societies decided to use the past to move into the present or, to remain in the past because the old customs suit East Eggers better, since in there, they cant loose their wealth to some young entrepreneur. The story is told by the perspective of the high class, though instead of having income differences, they have different moral standards and customs.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Xara. The main division is between the old wealth and the new wealth. The East Egg holds all of the families that have had their wealth for a long time. The West Egg holds the people who have had to work for their wealth, therefore its new wealth. Supposedly the West Egg “was the less fashionable of the two” (Fitzgerald 9), but “this was a most superficial tag” (Fitzgerald 9). The reality was that the houses in the West Egg were just as big and fancy as those in the East Egg. The difference was not the houses but the people. The thing I don’t agree with is that the place where the characters live defines who they are. Yes Nick and Gatsby both respect women and they both live in the West Egg. Yet Tom and Gatsby both have done some corrupt and evil things. Tom had a lover and Gatsby did some odd jobs. Both characters have some evil part in them and they live in separate eggs. So although the West is new wealth and the East is old wealth, both have people who have flaws and problems.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Xara. There are two social lines that are evident in the beginning of the book. There is the West Egg society and the East Egg. The West Eggers are the people who are newly rich: the people who have worked hard and earned their money in a short period of time. In a way, they are self-made men. Their wealth is nothing more than materialistic. Gatsby is part of the West Eggers. Gatsby is newly rich and has worked tirelessly to earn money in a short period. He lacks the traditions of those of the east. He believes he can win Daisy by impressing her with his lavish parties and rubbing his money in her face. When he first meets Daisy, he tries to impress her with his clothes. “He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing them one by one before us, shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel…While we admired he brought more and the soft rich heap mounted higher…” (Fitzgerald 97-8) Gatsby tries to show his opulence like that.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, there are the East Eggers. Tom and Daisy Buchanan are part of the East Egg society. Unlike the West Eggers who have made their wealth, the East Eggers have inherited their wealth. They live with the traditions of high class society. It is only reasonable that they do not appreciate the money they have because they have not worked hard to accumulate it. They have simply been given everything on a silver platter. Tom and Daisy both are East Eggers. They do not realize the importance of money because they have never experienced the struggle of earning it. They seem to have a “perfect” life. Tom is rich and has Daisy, a beautiful wife. However, this is all a show because Tom has an affair with Myrtle Wilson. Their “perfect” life is not so perfect after all. Like that which symbolizes the East Egg society, which involves people who cling to antiquated values, Tom and Daisy remain together (even with her knowledge of his affair) because they want to maintain that “perfect” appearance which makes them perfect East Eggers.
You guys seem to be doing well!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jojo in that East Eggers are the young people who have been rich their whole lives and don’t know what it is like to not be able to get whatever they want in life. The West Eggers are the people who have made their own money and are self-made men, as Jojo said. The West Eggers are also probably more down to earth than the East Eggers because everything hasn’t been handed to them on a silver platter their whole lives. Another social line drawn in the beginning of the book is between the people who like in New York City, the East and West Egg and the valley of ashes where the big picture of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg is. The people of the valley and the people of New York City and the Eggs are like a different kind of race. The people in the valley are not as well off as the people in NYC and the Eggs. They “… swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud which screens their obscure operations from your sight.” (Fitzgerald 27) because they did not grow up with money, like the East Eggers, and they have not been able to create their own money, like the West Eggers. Mr. Wilson and all of the other people living there have not had the chance to leave and make a better life for themselves. Only Myrtle is the one that has a chance to get away from the valley of ashes because she is “Tom Buchanan’s mistress.” (Fitzgerald 28). Daisy, Tom, and Jordan are the people of East Egg. Even though Jordan does not live in East Egg, she is the type of person who would. When Nick walks in to the living room “…two young women were buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon.” (Fitzgerald12). Daisy and Jordan are more similar than Nick and Tom. Nick is not really an East Egger or West Egger. He lives on the West Egg but he does not have a lot of money like Gatsby or the other people who live on the West Egg. Gatsby is definitely a West Egger because he made his own money; he didn’t inherit it like Tom and the other East Eggers did.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone. The social lines are drawn between the East and West Egg. East Eggers are people who inherited their wealth from their families; they don't know how it feels to be in the lower class in society because money was available to them all their lives. Traditions and customs are passed down to families; therefore East Egg seems more fancy and classy. However, in West Egg, the people gained their wealth through hard work and effort. For instance, Gatsby was born in a poor family. He had to work his way through to win all his riches. One of the main reasons why Daisy married Tom would be because of his wealth and status in society. That is why both of them are in East Egg; their lives were financially easy. But people like Gatsby and Nick belong to the West Egg because they had to work for the money; it simply did not come into their hands from their families. However, in both places, people do not live a perfect life. They all have their problems in life. Wealth does not always lead to happiness.
ReplyDeleteThe social lines that are drawn in the beginning of the book is obviously the different towns like all of you said. East Egg and West Egg. The people from the East Egg side inherited their wealth, so they have lived their whole lives without really having paid attention to reality, and live as they see fit. They have not felt the pain of life. However, in contrast to the people in the East Egg, West Egg people got their wealth through their hard work and determination. Although both sides are wealthy, there is a difference of thinking and the ways of using money. This shows that the gaps of society can be broken down by determination and hard work, just like Gatsby. He got even richer than the East Egg people, even though he was the son of farmers. Just like Gatsby, Nick was also a hard working man, so he is from West Egg. However, he gets to taste a bit of the East Egg side. Tha makes him almost neutral. Tom was from East Egg, and he had a lifestyle which everything was given to him. Even though they ended up almost the same, the difference between them can be shown through their words and actions.
ReplyDelete