Journal 20

Read the novel’s last passage (beginning with, “Gatsby’s house was still empty when I left”) and discuss the use of imagery and symbolism that is being employed by Fitzgerald.  In your response, specifically address what Nick is saying about the green light and the connection that he is making between Gatsby and the Dutch sailors who “discovered” Long Island.

            The author uses a lot of visual imagery. He sums up the whole book using the visual imagery. He is using the green light and comparing it to his life with the grass, and the trees. Just as the sailors discovered Long Island, Gatsby discovered a way to try to go back to the days when he and Daisy were in love, and Nick discovered what he wanted in his life and that the city was not for him. He believes it was no coincidence seeing that green light. Nick is reflecting back on everything that has happened to him and how these experiences have changed his life.

Journal 21

Journal 21 - Some Like It Hot and The Great Gatsby Comparison/Contrast

Although Some Like It Hot is a comedy and The Great Gatsby is a tragedy, both works use popular culture to portray life in 1920s America.  Focusing on the following elements (characterization, conflict, and theme), discuss how the two works are similar and different and what each is saying about American life.

These two movies are similar because they both have love triangles. In Some Like It hot the love triangle is between the two personas of Joe and Sugar. She wants to marry someone rich and powerful so Joe invents the persona Junior. This is very similar to Daisy wanting to marry someone rich so Gatsby becomes rich and powerful to get the girl. Other similarities can be found between Jerry and Nick. They both play the sidekick to the real hero of the story like what Nick did for Gatsby and Jerry did for Joe.  Osgood and Tom share similarities because they both play the rich man who does whatever they want to. Both of these movies also contain a gangster, in “Gatsby” there was Wolfshien and in Some Like It hot there was Spats. The two movies also have similarities in their conflicts with the love triangles and they share the themes of love, romance, crime, money, and morality.

The movies are different though because of how the characters act in these situation and how the American 1920s. In The Great Gatsby, the love triangles are extramarital affairs and they go wrong with Myrtle and Gatsby both end up dead. Osgood is not exactly a bad guy, but Tom is the villain in Gatsby. Gatsby, who is the hero in his story, has similarities in his bootlegging and crime involvement to Spats, who is the villain in Some Like It Hot. The comedy of Some Like it Hot, ends on a positive note with the couples being together, but in The Great Gatsby, it ends in death and on a much more negative note. One theme in The Great Gatsby that is much more prominent is the theme of the differences and conflicts caused by social classes. Some like it Hot shows a much brighter, funnier, and easy going look at the 1920s, where The Great Gatsby shows a negative, violent, and judgmental take on society that is not present in the other movie. 

Journal 19

                                                                        Name:

Journal 19 - Characterization in Chapter 1 of The Great Gatsby

Write a description for each of the following characters based on his/her first appearance in Chapter 1.  Your description should include:

-the character’s physical appearance;

-the character’s actions/words;

-an adjective that best describes the character based on his/her initial    

 appearance

Nick Carraway:       Adjective: reserved

Nick is an unassuming man who people seem to trust. He is New to New York from out West.

Tom Buchanan:       Adjective: arrogant

Tom is a former football star who is married to Daisy. He is a large and strong man who considers himself better than everyone else. He is arrogant and aggressive.

Daisy Buchanan     Adjective: superficial

Daisy is Nick’s sister who is all about appearances. She is very pretty and has a very high and carefree sound to it. She is about what is on the outside and she just drifts around with people.

Jordan Baker           Adjective: independent

 Jordan is an independent woman who is Daisy’s friend. She was very pretty and well dressed. Although she is such good friends with Daisy she is very different than her. She has a darker and more mysterious manner.

Jay Gatsby               Adjective: mysterious

Gatsby is Nick’s very wealthy neighbor. He is a very mysterious character who Nick sees on his pier looking across the river at a green light on the other side.