homework for Monday 21st

[mslewis]

For Friday 18th Jan

Choose ONE past essay question that you could answer on "Gatsby". DO NOT do either of the past essays you have written on the novel!!! This means 2010 q5 or 2005 q8.

Write a plan for this essay. The plan must be as full as you can make it and include
- your line of argument
- the points you would make in each paragraph
- most of the quotes you would use to support your points

[robbieyoung96]

harmony his/her society 2007


In the novel, 'The Great Gatsby' by F Scott Fitzgerald, the main character Jay Gatsby, a working class man dies a destitute death caused by his upper class counterparts, having ceased to find harmony in the society in which he belongs.

1) Despite the fact that Gatsby represents all that Nick holds in contempt, Nick cannot help but admire him.
''Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men.''

2) the Valley of Ashes is a place which shows the contrast between the rich East Egg and the unproporous West Egg.
An advertising billboard of Doctor T.J Eckleberg - which is in the Valley - is a symbol which shows the change in industry and the introduction of brand names in America at the time. It appears, to Nick, a failed business as the billboard is in a tired, poor condition. "Retinas one yard high, persistent stare" - standing there emphasing to the people of the Valley, the billboard symbolizes that a large proportion of society will not achieve their dreams and therefore better themselves, no matter how intensely they try.

3) car with its "monstrous length" and it's "gorgeous" exterior reflects Gatsby's ambition to move up the social spectrum and obtain aristocratic status. Notably the car is an off white, cream colour which emphasises that Gatsby is not old money and never will be.

4)
Fitzgerald emphasises the clock that is in Nick's home. It is an important symbol in the novel as the time piece is broken it reflects that the past -relationship with Daisy- will stay there and ultimately he will not achieve winning Daisy back which is his dream. "Daisy tumbled short of his dreams" - his dreams of being with her, could be not realized not through his own fault but merely by the social class divide and her marriage to Tom.

5) The climax of the novel in chapter seven depicts Gatsby;s dream and the inevitable failure of that dream. Pathetic fallacy is used - "broiling certainly the warmest of summer" - to effectively indicate that something dramatic is about to occur.
Gatsby imprudently shouts to Tom that Daisy never loved him and that she wants to be his his spouse. The writer makes it clear to the reader that this is unattainable for Gatsby. Tom reciprocates by saying to Gatsby that she will not. Tom becomes rude and aggressive towards Gatsby - "she's not leaving me". Tom realizes that his wife will not leave him no matter what he does because of his status. Gatsby now turns his attention to Daisy - "you never loved him". He is unrealistic and disillusional about what he desires. Daisy quite obviously loves Tom despite his fling with Myrtle.

6) . Nick on page 98 shouts over to Gatsby and says "You're worth the whole damn bunch of them put together". Nick believes this because underneath all the criminality Gatsby is a good person and despite his wrong doings he cares about others, he is not selfish and he persues what he believes in till the bitter, dramatic end.

7) "Perhaps he had an easier way of finding out what he wanted to know" - this implies George Wilson was told by Tom that it was Gatsby who killed Myrtle even though the reader knows it was not. George Wilson, with gun in hand, shoots Gatsby and then commits suicide. It's symbolic that Gatsby is killed by a gun because it suggests a criminal past. Where Gatsby is killed is also very significant, the swimming pool. Fitzgerald chooses this as it symbolizes summer with Daisy. This dream is over, his dream kills him.

8) green breast of the world" - just like the Dutch sailors who came to America in search of a better, new life, Gatsby wanted this also but more specifically Daisy. The green light of Daisy's dock is yet again referenced here. The final line of the book is very significant to the theme. "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past" - Gatsby being the boat and the aristocracy being the current.

[mslewis]

Thanks Robbie - good question picked!

Will mark in more detail and return next week.

[davidchristie]

here you go, sorry it's a bit late

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