The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby

Significance and Use of Setting

East Egg and West Egg are the peninsulas of Long Island and where the main characters live. In real life the peninsulas are not referred to by these names, but Fitzgerald saw them as egg shaped. East Egg is the place where the "old money" lives. The East Eggers are the aristocrats...

The West Eggers are the "new money" that the East Eggers resent. They are all lower and middle class people who have found themselves with outrageous amounts of money, and as a result spend it in an outrageous manner.

...[T]these geographical divisions occur on Long Island today though with different names. West Egg is known now as the Great Neck, and East Egg is commonly known as Manhasset Neck. As far as we can tell, the terms East Egg and West Egg were made up by Fitzgerald and completely fictitious. Jutting into the Long Island sound, the "Eggs" are located on the eastern part of the island.

In The Great Gatsby, action is divided between the East and West Egg, but Long Island as a whole is divided into East and West Long Island.

Gatsby Reading Schedule: (Read actively, paying special attention to imagery and motifs)

4/25: The Great Gatsby, ch 1-2
4/28: The Great Gatsby, ch 3-4 *quiz?!
4/29: The Great Gatsby, ch 5-6
4/30: The Great Gatsby, ch 7
5/1: The Great Gatsby, ch 8-9
5/2: The Great Gatsby, Lively Discussion

Outline Reminder

Your voice should not be in the outline except for your assertions, which are complete sentences (I, A, II, B, etc...). Remember, the outline is the skeleton of the essay. When you write your draft, you will include your analysis and voice.

But make sure that your outline has a 2-3:1 ratio of primary: secondary sources.

**If your outline is due Monday, April 14th, please drop it off in the folder on my desk by 7:30am.

Evaluate Plz...

Cannery Row represents a world apart in which the two major forces embodied by Doc and Mac and his boys search for the same contentment using their relationship with each other through very different means. Through their choices and motivations, one finds satisfaction, while the other searches in yearning.

Does this answer the "so what" question?

thesis...take two.

In Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima, Aunt Ultima selects Antonio as her prodigy due to the innocence and potential found within him that the other siblings do not obtain due to the pressure promoted by the Marez and Luna families.

This is still in the works but I am not sure if I should scratch the other siblings and zoom in on Antonio and what components make up his potential?

Do you think this passes the "so what" factor?

How should I expand more (ex. Anaya's rhetoric, influence of magical realism, components Ultima offers)?

Thesis

Through his use of a separate "chorus" narrarator, rather than narrarating through the character or an omnipotent viewer, detachment between the protagonist's feelings and social norms, and the emotional separation between Eddie & his wife (despite the closeness with his niece) Arthur Miller's "A View from the Bridge" draws from ancient & classic literature to form a modern trajedy about the separation and betrayal in the contemporary society in which he lived.

The Thesis Test

Tonight, take a look at your peer-edit group's thesis statements. Give the thesis test, and then give your feedback. Even if you haven't read their books, you can ask questions that might help guide the process.

The Thesis Test

1. Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose?

2. Is my thesis statement specific enough?

3. Does my thesis pass the “so what?” test?

4. Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test?

Thesis

This is also a huge work in progress. I haven't given it a lot of thought yet because I'm still deciding exactly what I want to address in my paper, but heres one of my ideas.


Thesis->

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, has been criticized for its racist and stereotypical controversies against the African-American society, causing it to be banned and censored throughout the nation. However, these racist and stereotypical remarks and ideas that occur add to the meaning of the book as a whole and become an important part of the underlying message that the story portrays.

thesis...

work in progress- 

In Anaya's novel Bless Me, Ultima, Antonio's spiritual growth develops through the guidance of Aunt Ultima, who ultimately teaches him the value of faith through symbolism, dreams, use of magic, and foreshadowing of the future, therefore aiding Antonio in the significant growth of conscience.

Also, very much a work in progress. I don't even know if this answers a "So what" question...or if I want to follow this route. Anyways,

Edna is reborn through the discovery of her newfound sexuality, individuality, and artistic interests, thus creating a new independent self that society is incapable of handling—leading Edna to take her own life rather than submit herself to someone else’s desires.

Preliminary Thesis

--This is also a work in progess...

In the book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne must wear a scarlet letter ‘A’ permanently for her sin of committing adultery. Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister who she had the affair with, has hid his sin from the Puritan society. However, it is this weight, secret, and guilt, which not only cause him to become extremely lonesome, but ultimately, cause his demise.

Preliminary Thesis

CAUTION: WORK IN PROGRESS! :)

Neglected by her mother, abused and raped by her father, discriminated by society because of her color, Pecola Breedlove is forced to believe that she will be accepted when she reaches the white standard of beauty, defined by white skin and blue eyes, and is eventually driven to insanity because of constant discrimination due to her dark skin color.

The Sis

through use of the sentence structure throughout the book, as well as the repeated motifs and pictures used, and the character of Kilgore Trout, Vonnegut contrasts with many of the idiosyncrasies of the American ideal.

Preliminary Thesis

The purpose of my paper is to discuss/describe/illustrate

1. Shug's affection and devoted passion to help Celie
2. The impact Nettie's letters
3. Sofia's confidence and assertiveness

in order to show how they impact Celie and encourage her to expresses her feelings and thoughts and discover her independence.


Through Shug’s devoted passion to help and protect Celie, Nettie’s letters and Sofia’s assertiveness, Celie is able to overcome her life of male dominance and transform into an independent, black women, reflecting the theme of the novel.

Does my thesis answer the So What question?

Preliminary Thesis

By using a semi-autobiographical character to demonstrate America’s attraction to wealth, the country’s rejection at financial dependence, and the way in which Americans exhaust themselves by giving to others, Fitzgerald demonstrates the decline of American society during the Depression with the slow deterioration of Dick Diver.

A little wordy, I know.

Preliminary Thesis.....A Farewell to Arms

The purpose of my paper is to discuss/describe/illistrate:
1. the developments of the relationship between Henry and Catherine
2. foreshadowing in the dialogue of Catherine
3. the importance of the innocent appearance of Catherine

in order to show.....
That through the contrast of Catherine Barkley's innocent appearance and realistic outlook on life she causes Henry to awaken from his emotional detachment from the world, allowing him to see the evils of people which drive him to find an escape through desertion and blind love.

Preliminary Thesis

Here goes...

Rabbit's intense internal desire for self-contentment pitted against society's dogmatic views of what is morally right creates a conflict in which the harder he is restrained, the harder he fights back; this ultimately leads to the devastation of his own life as well as the lives of those around him.

Feedback would be appreciated. Thanks...

Preliminary Thesis

Thesis in Beta

In The Sound and the Fury, William Faulkner's use of the stream-of-conscious style coupled with the degeneration of language and disordered time frame all consider the internal struggles of each character. Human morality and idealism is contrasted with the corruption of the American South as the human heart conflicts against itself.

The purpose: to pretty much say that Faulkner's style of writing lends itself to one of the major themes within the book.

The need: the entire thing just seems so inelegant and blunt (in a very bad and boring way); it doesn't really flow well. The big points are gotten across (I think?!?), but it still has to be streamlined as well as smothered in literary make-up. Suggestions involving word usage and sentence structure would be most appreciated!

Preliminary Thesis/Thesis in Progress

Throughout Ernest Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea" Hemingway uses the young apprentice Manolin to represent the lost youth of the old man Santiago as well as contrast the human bond relationship with Santiago's love for the sea. During Santiago's battle with the great marlin the audience is able see both Santiago's contempt and respect for the sea that provides a living for him. We are also allowed a look at how Manolin represents the lost youth of the old man, although Santiago continues to have vivd dreams of the lions of africa on the shores of the beach. The purpose of the young lions are used to represent the eternal youth and motivation for the old man. To examine the main characters relationships Hemingway uses the ocean and Manolin to compare and contrast Santiago's relationship with humans and his relationship with the world around him.

The purpose is to...

1. Compare and contrast Santiago's personal relationships with his relationship to the ocean that he both loves and hates.
2. To show how the old man's various dreams of lions and his apprentice Manolin represent both his eternal strive and his lost youth at the same time.

Please...
Comment:
A lot of this sounds awkward because I'm not entirely sure how to phrase it properly.
What could I change and how to address the "So What" factor?

The characters in John Steinbeck's Cannery Row though vastly different in persona and mannerism all deal with the issue of contentment. The Depression Era in Monterey, California isn't much different than anywhere else in the US, yet you see how different characters take the most of life. Mack and the boys live off borrowed land, and on the outskirts of societal and cultural values, yet are always satisfied, while Doc, the richest and most cultured in Monterey passes day by day wasting his life away depressed, and yearning for more. It is this dynamic of contentment that gives life to these characters somewhat disillusioned stories.

The purpose of my paper is to discuss/illustrate the

1. Contrast between Doc and the boys in what they live life for.
2. Contrast between the satisfaction felt by Doc and other characters around him.
3. Reasons for these contrasts

in order to show-
How these contrast impact the overarching meaning of a book about finding the best in life through unlikely people, and how Monterey symbolizes society as a whole.

Sin is one of the major themes in The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and as a product of sin, Pearl symbolizes and represents evil that exists within society.

I believe Pearl symbolizes evil for a few different reasons 1. the relationships she has with others 2. Hawthorne's use of symbolism throughout the novel 3. The diction Hawthorne uses when talking about Pearl 4. the actions and words that Pearl uses

I also think that because of the situation Pearl lived and grew up with in a puritan society has led her to take on her role of "the product of sin" and pushed her to represent evil rather than the innocence of a child.

Is there anyway I can incorporate some of this into my thesis? I'm terrible at putting a lot of information into 1 tiny sentence.