The Great Gatsby

  

The Great Gatsby

Taking a few mintues to read some background information on the author will enhance your understanding of the text.

Here are a few quotes to also think about from the text:
 “ Whenever you feel like criticizing any one…just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had” (1).

“”a single green light, minute and faraway, that might have been the end of a dock” (22).

”He smiled understandingly-much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced–or seemed to face–the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself” (48).

“Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known” (60).

Article from class today on the green light:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/education/17gatsby.html?referrer=&_r=1

and one on the American Dream:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/opinion/sunday/nicholas-kristof-usa-land-of-limitations.html?referrer=&_r=1

This article is about Jay Gatsby as a dreamer:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/12/books/review/jesmyn-ward-great-gatsby.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=mini-moth&region=top-stories-below&WT.nav=top-stories-below


This link discusses some random facts about the novel and the writer:

http://gothamist.com/2013/05/07/gatsby_facts.php

The Wire breaks down The Great Gatsby (There is some strong language here):

http://www.openculture.com/2012/08/ithe_wirei_breaks_down_ithe_great_gatsbyi_f_scott_fitzgeralds_classic_criticism_of_america_nsfw.html

Footage of Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda:

http://www.openculture.com/2012/11/rare_footage_of_scott_and_zelda_fitzgerald_from_the_1920s.html

http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch/?action=click&contentCollection&region=TopBar&WT.nav=searchWidget&module=SearchSubmit&pgtype=Homepage#/THE GREAT GATSBY

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=the%20great%20gatsby

Race and The Great Gatsby:

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/06/rise-of-the-colored-empires/276844/

https://www.uscupstate.edu/uploadedFiles/Academics/Undergraduate_Research/Reseach_Journal/006_ARTICLE5_2009.pdf

http://flavorwire.com/391193/the-complicated-and-troubling-role-of-race-and-class-in-baz-luhrmanns-Gatsby

https://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/why-i-believe-that-jay-gatsby-was-black/153166.article

"Babylon Revisited"

 Criticism:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00144940.1990.9934031

http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-94-007-0773-3_8?LI=true

Themes found in the story:

• Facing the consequences of one’s actions
• The struggle to change

Symbols found in the story:

• Honoria’s doll
• Snow

This link has some background information and criticism of the story (there is a lot of info here that could be used if you choose to write your first essay about this story):

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tdlarson/fsf/babylon/chap_3.htm

In two weeks we will discuss The Great Gatsby which “Babylon Revisited” shares many themes and issues with. Here is a short description of how they are similar:

“Babylon Revisited”: Similarity to The Great Gatsby
In both works, the main character is trying to create a new identity. In the case of Jay Gatsby, he has reinvented himself by a name change and by becoming rich through criminal acts to win Daisy. In Charlie’s instance, he has made a serious effort to reform to gain custody of Honoria.
Both The Great Gatsby and “Babylon Revisited” are also statements about the twenties, the pursuit of wealth and careless living of that generation. Gatsby’s pursuit of wealth, hoping it will bring him happiness and fulfillment, is the embodiment of the American Dream gone wrong. “Babylon Revisited” makes a statement not only about Charlie’s his personal dilemma but the irresponsible seeking of pleasure that was characteristic of the post-war Roaring Twenties generation.

From: http://vickie-britton.suite101.com/babylon-revisited-summary-and-analysis-a204727