Keith Fitzgerald

My god Fitzgerald is beautiful. The Great Gatsby is a breath of beautiful air. Absolutely wonderful. A huge break from mystical fantasy and realistic fiction, which I just devour.

Fitzgerald's belief on the death of the American Dream is most represented as the true dreamers and hope filled, desire stuffed characters in the book, Myrtle & Tom, die. No matter how hard they try, or how many lists they write, or how many years they try and go back in time, in the end it's all pointless as they can't work hard enough for their dreams to come true. They started out as normal people most likely and married into or were given money. They didn't work for it and were given all the advantages someone could possess...and still the dreams were not brought to fruition.

Myrtle and Gatsby mainly have all the hope. Myrtle with Tom and all of her lists and many things to do which would've made here so happy if completed. All she really ever wanted was Tom but she couldn't have him outright because of Daisy. Gatsby was murdered by Wilson because he thought that Gatsby had killed Daisy. Jealously, deceit, and bad circumstances ended their dreams. The only people with real, large ambitions were killed. Pretty straightforward.

This is a rough idea of what i'll do but for now it'll have to do.

This is Weird...

Just a heads up to those of you who have a comment from "EmilyL"--that's me. Not sure what happened there, but I'll log out and log in again. Maybe that will help.

From a Smile to Laughter

F. Scott Fitzgerald uses Gatsby's smile and Daisy's laugh to display the true American Dream versus the corrupt lust for material wealth. gatsby's smile is the essence of the ambition and strive that emcompasses the American dream. His smile is the core of Gatsbys character, you just have to peel away his fake upper class exterior of yellow cars with green interiors, white castles and closets full of beautiful shirts. Gatsby is exempted from nicks judgement because, behind his facade to draw in Daisy, he is the ultimate example of the American Dream, the ultimate example of hope. the last time someone had as much hope/potential was when the Dutch sailor came upon the green breast of New York Hill. Gatsbys capacity for hope excuses him from all of the dust and illusion of his upper class appearence. Daisy's laugh is the corrupt hope of class and wealth that has replaced the spirit of the gatsby and his American dream. Daisy is the yellow and white flower that is encompassed in material wealth and upper class. She is part of the elite group that is allowed to touch Tom's hand when gatsby took her only because he knew he couldn't. The aura of daisy's laugh is the aura of the elite upper class that the American population has created as their ultimate goal, unfortunately this goal has always been artificial. this goal is full of money and this goal is the primary cause for the death of gatsby, the American Dream. Gatsby could of walked alone to gulp down the milk of the universe, but instead he directed his infinite capacity for hope towards daisy and her life of material class. the message that Fitzgerald is trying to send is that gatsby's smile will never vocalize into a full breath of laughter, he will never be a member of the social upper class that daisy is a part of and he will never obtain the fradulent American dream of yellow and white.

1920's life style described in "The Great Gatsby"

BLOG- Kira Hamblin

The “Great Gatsby” purely an expose of the lifestyle in the 1920’s?

Was F. Scott Fitzgerald intention purely to depict life in the early 1920’s?

The Great Gatsby is set in 1922, directly after world war won. American’s contributing to the victory of the war along side with the allies. America is feeling almost invincible industrially and economically. We were ahead of the rest of the world. This feeling of triumph was a glory moment for the United States. This time is known as the “boom” expenditures of the wealthy was normal and an everyday occurrence. To observe whether the “Great Gatsby” is a good depiction of the time period it is essential to focus on that time period and the moral and values of the people. The lifestyle of the people will help us defy what the American dream really is, and also analyze Gatsby and his search for love.

The depiction of wealth and status in the book is over whelming sometimes and makes me think, “Is that all anyone cared about?” Does that explain the diminishing of the American dream? Were the 1920’s the high light of the American dream? --- Fitzgerald may be trying to describe the stereotypical American dream, and that it is dead. He creates the image that the entire American dream is about ----how material wealth has ruined the true the American dream. When the truth is that we have manipulated the dream to only be about wealth and riches.

Gatsby is the kind of man who would do anything for love, and many of the behaviors are not approved by other individuals. The Great Gatsby is a great example of this statement. “The Great Gatsby” is also a very ironic in that Jay Gatsby is a cheater, and gets money through fraud and lies and is almost the anything else other than great. He wants the “American dream”-of becoming rich and in love. In the book the vision of an American dream seems to be distorted, that everyone is only interested in money, and not the true American dream, is to enjoy freedom and to be successful as possible in your life.

IDEAS? CRITICISMS? QUOTES? ANYTHING PLEASE :)

The Great Gastby: Symbolism of Colors

Fitzgerald incorporates colors in the novel to demonstrate the corruption of the American Dream:

White represents honorable wealth and the upper class population.
Daisy and Jordan are the two main characters who wear white, constantly.
East Egg has fashionable palaces that are painted white- symbolic of the higher class
Jordan and Daisy's childhood is "beautifully white"
Nick and Tom are also seen wearing white because they both have feelings and emotions for the two women, Jordan and Daisy
Gatsby also dresses up in white to represent "Daisy's color" to show his true affection and passion for being with her

Yellow and Gold represent superiority, class, high maintenance
Gatsby owns a yellow car
Myrtle dies from a yellow car, near her yellow house
Twins wear yellow dresses to the party
When Gatsby first realized he loved Daisy he was wearing gold
Inside of a Daisy is yellow
TJ Elckleburg

 Blue: HOPE
George Wilson's eyes- damp gleam of hope
Myrtle is wearing a blue dress when she first meets Nick
Gatsby's garden is blue
the chauffeur who delivers the invitation to Gatsby is wearing blue

Green symbolizes the hope and desire for change
Green dock light at Daisy's
symbolic of Gatsby's hope to show his love for Daisy and to win her over Tom
he believed in the "Green light"

Colors

I am writing about the colors in Great Gatsby. The characters and objects in the book are given life by the colors. Yellow/gold, blue, green, and white are the colors that are used throughout the book.

White- Upper class, superiority.
White "fashionable" white palaces
Daisy and Jordan are wearing white when we first see them
white girlhood in Louisville
Tom says the white race will be "utterly submerged"
Catherine's face is white
Nick wears white to gatsby's party

Yellow/gold- wealth
Tom's mansion windows reflect gold
Gatsby wears a gold tie to Nick's house
shuttle is yellow
Myrtle lives in a yellow brick house
The car that hit Myrtle is yellow
Twin's wear yellow to the party

Blue-hope
TJ Eckleburg's eyes
Gatsby's garden
blue uniform worn by chauffeur
Wilson's eyes

Green- Corrupted Hope
Reaching for the green light
"Gatsby believed in the green light" on the last page
uses green light to show his love

Murdering the Dreamer

In my paper I will be comparing the spirits and aspirations of Myrtle and Gatsby and discussing how they epitomize the corruption of the American Dream. Fitzgerald strategically killed off the three characters that thirsted for a life outside the realm of possibility and fantasized about better days. This proves that societal class systems and raw, unrestricted dreaming do not fall hand in hand. He or she who desires to become someone they are not, live a life they do not have, will wilt and die out. American society was manipulated by the solidification of institutions and old wealth. Not even the acquisition of new money granted one a glorified future: it was all about status. Those who belonged to the “secret society” of which Tom and Daisy were such prominent members were guaranteed a glossy, important life. Gatsby’s aspirations were so large that he manufactured a luxurious existence for himself, but it all disintegrated.
The loss of the American dream led to the falseness of relationships. People became attracted to the “advertisement of the man,” but never dissected the story of the man himself. Of all the hundreds that flocked to Gatsby’s parties over the summer, only a select handful knew the real reason why he threw them and the wounded heart bleeding underneath his costly clothes. Daisy was won over by the mystery and lure of Gatsby’s new life as a wealthy man, not by a true, simple proclamation of love.
In the American 1920s, money coated everything. If you didn’t build a life around it, you weren’t a survivor. The three characters that died were the ones that were motivated by genuine love, by wholesome dreams. There lives hadn’t been gilded from the start. Dreaming became a hazard, a life risk. The more Myrtle, Gatsby, and Wilson attempted to grasp their dreams, the closer they inched to a tragic demise. Once they felt their love and desire within a fingers reach, they died. The danger lied in the fact that they were stepping on the toes of the wealthy and prosperous. Anything threatening a societal member’s place meant redemption. Gatsby and Myrtle could never have gotten away with overthrowing Tom and Daisy’s rank, burning the thrones they sat on.

Gatsby vs. Myrtle and the death of the American Dream (literally)

     The great Gatsby has died, and so has the smoldering flower, Myrtle. But what does this mean for Fitzgerald's portrayal of the American Dream? Is he suggesting that the dream has died along with its dreamers? Well, the death of these two powerful characters near the end of the novel certainly seems to point to that. examples, examples, examples, lead into body paragraphs:

• Gatsby and Myrtle: both dreamers
• Myrtle's death: breast
• Gatsby's: in the pool, irony
• scenes before and after: night vs. day, light vs. dark
• Nick's, Tom's, and Daisy's relationship to both
• Wilson's relationship to them; their deaths
• Owl Eyes' benediction?
• Daisy vs. Myrtle; the flowers
• Gatsby/Daisy vs. Myrtle/Tom
• Tom/Daisy vs. Wilson/Myrtle
• Tom/Daisy vs. Tom/Myrtle

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote a great novel about the American dream and how the class system has the ability to ruin it. Throughout the novel we see that Gatsby is forced to stay away from Daisy simply because they are not a part of the same class system. Just before Gatsby goes away to war Daisy and Gatsby decide to say goodbye to each other however because Gatsby is beneath Daisy on the social ladder Daisy's father forces her to stay away from Gatsby and they don't have a chance to see each other before he leaves.

Another example of class crushing Gatsby's dream, and the American Dream is the fact that Daisy and Tom are married yet they don't really love each other and the only real reason for them being together is the fact that they share wealth and the fact that they are in the same class system.

Both Daisy and Tom are together yet they both love someone that doesn't "belong" in their lives so they cheat on each other in order to be with people who they are actually happy with. The class system in The Great Gatsby forces a sense of insecurity and unhappiness within marriage. Tom cheats on Daisy with Myrtle however he cant really be with her even if he wasn't with Daisy because Myrtle wasn't born into the proper wealth.

The class system not only crushes the American Dream but it also corrupts the people that reach for their dreams. All throughout the book Mrytle lives in her own head she dreams of being happy with Tom and she acts as if she has wealth that she doesn't actually posses. Gatsby is also corrupted by the dreams and ideals of having wealth. Gatsby wants to be with Daisy so badly that he actually become corrupt as a person he becomes a bootlegger in order to become rich and gain the approval of Daisy.

And even in the end of the book we see that no matter how hard Myrtle and Gatsby tried to become a part of the Buchanan's world they simply couldn't break the barrier and the both ended up dead and unfulfilled.

Relationships Throughout Gatsby

I'm thinking about using the topic of love. The book is centered around the relationships between all the characters.

• Tom & Daisy (married)

          - pg 16 (...quote about Tom being gone while birth)
          - she never loved him "pg 132"

• Tom & Myrle (cheat)

        - Myrtle wants to marry Tom pg 37 (quote "...broke her nose" ) He treats her badly
        - "lured by money"
        - Myrtle runs out to meet Tom (killed by his wife)...pg 137/143

• Gatsby & Daisy (cheat)

        - Gatsby only wants riches (never will be rich)...pg 120
      

Gatsby

Comparison between Myrtle and Gatsby:

- Corrupted by class

-Myrtle wants to get in with Tom (mistress of a upper class person)

-Gatsby loses his own dreams to be apart of that class and gain that class (corrupted)

- Both dreamers (ambitions)

- Both get killed

- Myrtle sweeps into plaza as if a bunch of servants are there (believe that they are apart of the upper class)

- Gatsby thinks that because he has a big mansion that he is part of the upper class but he isn't

- Both lower class with big dreams

- Irony of both deaths

- Fitzgerald is showing that the American dream is no longer possible

- Both make lists

-list of resolves (Gatsby)

-both still posers

- American restlessness

- Reference to Daisy’s laziness “paralyzed with happiness”

- Aspiring to what Tom and Daisy had achieved--- American Dream was not achieved for them

Gatsby essay on the america dream

The Great Gatsby is a symbolic book that depicts the destruction of the American dream. It shows how the American dream is destroyed by our loss of traditional values through materialism and cynicism. Tom, and people alike him lead to our loss of sight of traditional values because he does what ever he wants, sleeping with whatever women he wants regardless of the fact that he has a wife. This is also shown through the depiction of East and West egg. East egg is fancy, populated by the sophisticated and materialistic rich, while West egg is less materialistic and more innocent. We can also see this through colors. In East egg, everything is white, which portrays the upper class. The destruction of the American dream is also evident in Gatsby's and Nick's first meeting. Gatsby is looking across the ocean to the East egg, with a green light beside him. Green portrays a false hope and dream, even though Gatsby has immense hope. Blue shows hope and both Gatsby and Myrtle have hope. But in the end both die, which shows how this American dream, this hope has died. And this blue hope was broken by the upper class. Daisy, the dull one, who is upper class kills Myrtle on accident, put is shows how the upper class has taken away this hope. And finally yellow, which portrays money. Anything that has value is portrayed in yellow, and money drives this false and corrupt hope that it only evident throughout the upper class and people who have money. Throughout the entire book, we see evidence that this great American dream, and this hope, is destroyed by the upper classes liking for materialism and the overall cynicism.

Gatsby Ideas

The Great Gatsby has many themes all revolving around the idea of a great American theme. I think the most interesting part of the American dream that Fitzgerald writes about is how money and class has led to its corruption. He believes that people have become blinded by this materialism and lost sight of the real goal that a Dutch sailor had when he first laid eyes on America. I will be using the Dutch sailor at the end of the book, and all of the comparisons to money. Also how Gatsby works hard just to get the attention of Daisy but in the end it doesn't work out and doesn't even matter because he is simply not in the same class and not worthy of her attention. This whole book is about the American dream and how its been conquered by other forces but I want to write about how money and class has had the most effect on it.

The Great Gatsby essay proposition

I will be composing an essay on The Great Gatsby tracing the hope and capacity thereof among the characters, and the emotional response to disillusionment. Naturally, the most prominent symbolic elements to discuss include Gatsby’s enchantment with the green light and what it marks, as well as the desolation of the valley of ashes and its god,

Dr. T.J. Ekleburg. Scenes that come to mid in order to illustrate the emotional writhing and thrashing of Gatsby’s obsession and the struggle to prevent the inevitable include the night Gatsby is observed reaching out to the green light, as well as the tranquility and final reckoning of Gatsby’s last moments in the garden, and the bodies that are empty and discarded, like ashes marking where a fire once was.

The Great Gatsby: An American Dream in the Past

The American dream can no longer be lived, with all the corruption and surroundings of the material world that we have created. The American Dream is out of reach, too far in the past. The whole idea of living this dream was to discover new land and have new experiences in a new place. Everything today is already discovered and now it’s just about building on top of everything that was the American dream. Throughout the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, we are constantly reminded that it is too late; they are trying to live a dream that can no longer be lived in a society like ours today.
We have run out of time to keep the American dream alive. Fitzgerald reminds us about time throughout the novel, whether it is in the form of a clock or in the setting of the sun and moon. The novel starts out in the past and progresses to the future. Nick encounters many characters who try to live the American dream that in reality can no longer be reached. They all want to be free and party, not care and just have fun, but they are blinded by this and end up trying to forget the dream they wanted to come true. Gatsby does not live the American dream because he had been trying to accomplish a dream of his own, to get Daisy, and got caught up in the materialistic word by trying to give everyone else the parties they wanted to live their own American dream.

Gatsby Essay- Colors

For the Gatsby essay, I was planning on writing about the symbolism that Fitzgerald uses towards colors. I was planning on mostly using the colors white, gold, and yellow to talk mostly about Daisy. I'm going to use white to show upperclass, and yellow/gold to symbolize money/wealth. This is a good way to show Daisy because a daisy has a yellow center and white petals and Daisy was an upperclass lady who married Tom for his money.

I'm also going to show how white symbolizes upperclass and how yellow/gold symbolize money/wealth. I'm going to use the color of the fashionable palaces (white) to show that that was where upperclass people lived. I'm also going to use Daisy and Jordan's dresses which were white, to show that they lived in the upperclass and that they wanted to show it. The color of the shuttle that takes guests from the train station to Gatsby's house is yellow. Fitzgerald uses this color to show Gatsby's wealth. Finally, the color that the French windows of the Buchannan mansion reflect gold, which shows their wealth and all the money that they have.

At the end I'm going to show how Gatsby hints towards wanting Daisy back by dressing in her colors. He wears a white suit with a gold tie to symbolize a real daisy.

Gatsby topic

For my paper on the Great Gatsby I'm going to write about how the American dream is dead, because of how it has been corrupted by class and money. There is so much symbolism supporting this, such as colors, potential being used up, Advertisements and facades.

With the colors i will talk about Daisy and how she is the embodiment of wealth and class. Daises are a flower that have white pedals with a yellow, or gold, center. It shows how class and social status always have money at the heart of them. This is huge because it shows how everyone wants social status but to get there they must become rich first. Gatsby shows us this by putting up a huge facade that he is wealthy just to get Daisy. Gatsby pours every penny he has into making an elaborate mansion, throwing huge rich guy parties, filling his book cases with real books that he will never even cut the pages on, just so he can have Daisy. In this sense Daisy is the embodiment of the american dream.

I will also talk about the symbolism of the piles of used up stuff(aka. orange rines and ashes.) This shows how at one point America and the American dream had so much potential, but has been so corrupted by money and power that it has been destroyed and lost all potential. It has become a pile of ashes that once fueled the world but now it is unobtainable goal that will never be as pure and useful as it once was.

Gatsby & Myrtle

In my essay I am going to focus on Myrtle and Gatsby and how they are dreamers and represent the American dream. when they die they are part of the American dream dying. Myrtle and Gatsby are the dreamers of the book. When we first meet Myrtle she is full of energy, she has plans, dreams, so many things that she wants to do that she has to write them down. Gatsby lives this as well, he has parties every night and a major dream to be back with daisy, once he has this he will have everything. He plans parties everyday and is always ready for an adventure. he does stuff. When myrtle dies this marks a dreamer dying and a dream dying because Gatsby is starting see that he won't be able to be with Daisy. Once Gatsby dies all the dreamers are dead and there is no one else with a plan or a dream and the American dream is over. Even the field of ashes doesn't seem the same.

The Colorful Book

This is a very colorful book. Everything that is described is described with a color. All the colors have a deeper meaning. Without the color in the book it isn't as deep of a book, it doesn't mean as much

White= the upper class

Blue= Hope

Yellow/Gold= Money

Green= Mystery

It is easy to just forget about the colors while reading the book. You can read the book and have a pretty good understanding of it without noticing the colors. But When you take the plunge and find the deeper meaning to all the colors you find out more stuff about the book. You will understand more or just get more of a meaning of certain stuff in the book.

Wilson's blue eyes, "gleam of hope springs into them"

Myrtle changes in to cream colored chiffon dress for her party

Gatsby's gardens are blue

Twins where yellow dresses to the party

Colors, Social class, American Dream

I am going to be doing my paper on colors and their meaning while tying it into class and social structure. I will also tie in how colors and social class link in to how the American dream cant be accessed. Fitzgerald uses the symbolism of color to show how the American dream is corrupted by wealth and social class. The use of colors through out the novel symbolize wealth that corrupts the American Dream.

colors---> honorable wealth/upper class-----> Corruption of American Dream

Gatsby Essay Idea

For my Gatsby essay I plan to mainly focus on the American Dream being corrupted by material things and the colors that Fitzgerald uses to exemplify them. The American Dream says that anyone can work hard to build themselves up, making there own breaks in life. But I will go on to talk about all the ways its compromised in this novel. Things like money, cheating, and greed. Then i would go a step further to analyse the colors that exemplify each of these things.

Erin Pihl

December 13th 2011

Hope vs. Disillusionment

In The Great Gatsby, Nick is the narrator; through his eyes we see the world how it really is. Nick is a realist, very grounded, he sees the world literally and not through fantasy. Gatsby on the other hand is filled with hope and sees the world in a better way. He sees his world has the potential to become greater. Like the ash in the Valley of Ash, his world begins as coal and has the potential to burn into something beautiful. But the coal's flame ends and turns to ash and goes under the watchful eye of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg in the Valley of Ash.

In this story Nick watches over the happenings and gives us his opinion on them. Nick represents the questioning American. The question, "Is the American Dream dead?" Gatsby is the hope that the world keeps in the American Dream. Gatsby has kept his dream alive over the years and does all he can to obtain it. Daisy is the representation of that dream. For Gatsby Daisy is what he needs to obtain the dream. Daisy is part of high society, rich, and beautiful(maybe more on the outside than the inside). When Gatsby fails to get the girl it and dies it shows the end of the American Dream. Nick respected Gatsby's ambition and what he wished to accomplish. But Nick is a realist and at the time of Gatsby's death Nick speculates the end of that hope we had. While we can respect the idea of the American Dream, it is corrupted by money and social classes. Gatsby was deterred by his class, although he had the money, he did not have the right background. He was a poor boy when he met Daisy and when they met he was inspired to better himself. He wished to be with the social elite but was excluded from it.

Even after all of Gatsby's endeavors to catch the dream, he dies trying because the dream he chased no longer exists. It has been poisoned and is no longer existent. The manipulation of class and money prevented him from having his dream and shows that money and class prevents America as a whole to find that dream once more.

Colors by Scoot

White represent honorable wealth and upper class.

-Daisy is the perfect character to embody this trait.

-Money is always on her mind.

-She is usually always wearing white or it is described for her personality.

-Jordan and Daisy's childhood is "beautiful white".

-Gatsby dresses up in "daisy" colors to help with the effort of getting with her again. White tux.

Yellow and gold represent superiority, material wealth and money

-Ironic that the inside of a daisy is yellow

-Gatsby's house is not his real wealth but just his material wealth

-Myrtle is killed by Gatsby's yellow car, outside of Wilsons yellow house

-Gatsby's first encounter with Daisy her was wearing a gold neck tie

-T.J. Eckleburg has yellow glasses

Blue represents hope

-Gatsby's blue gardens

-T.J's eyes are blue

-NEED MORE IDEAS FOR BLUE SYMBOLISM

Green represents desire and corrupted hope

-Green light at the end of Daisy's dock

-When Nick first sees Gatsby he is reaching for a green lamp

Gatsby: The One and Only

Hello fellow AP Lit classmates. I wanted to discuss the topic of TJ Ekleberg and the Valley of Ashes. Right now im just throwing out ideas because i really dont know where i want to go with this essay. the topics that are suggested seem to have one basic direction- i dont want to write an essay that's already been written, if u know what i mean.

Anyways... TJ represents how the american dream leads you nowhere, expect to a dead end where your dreams fail. TJ's hopes and dreams were destroyed because of the corruption of the american dream. he now resides in the valley of ashes, where Gatsby soon follows the same path that TJ went down. Corrupted hope led them to the Valley of Ashes. TJ's big blue eyes were a sign of hope but because of the american dream- it was destroyed.

Owl Eyes, Gatsby, and TJ are also one of the same- they're like the Holy Trinity. The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. I say Owl Eyes is the Father because we refer God to TJ and Owl Eyes. It only makes sense that Owl Eyes watched Gatsby be buried because it's like God (Father) watching Jesus getting nailed to the cross. TJ would be the Holy Spirit because his hope and spiritual presence was always there throughout the novel.

Again i still dont know where i want to go with this essay. if you have any suggestions i would love to hear it in the comments.

Gatsby vs. Myrtle

For my Great Gatsby essay I want to focus on the similariters between Gatsby and Myrtle. I want to examine how the fate of these two dreamers deteminsrates the corruption of the American dream. Fitzgerald used these two people to show how he believed that the American dream was corrupted. Both of these people were dreamers. They had faith in society and believed that they could fulfill their plans in life. Both of these people had their life planned out and had sceduals that they had to fulfill. Ironically, both of the dreamers die at the end of the book. These two people did not die from natural causes, they were murdered. I take these murders as them being murdered by their faith in the American dream. They were the few remaining people that still believed on the American dream and ironically they were killed by people who had corrupted the American dream (Daisy had corrupted the American dream through heruse of social class and materialism and Wilson had corrupted it by taking revenge on Gatsby-he had not given Gatsby a chance to live and succeede). Both of these dreamers had fake fronts and facads. Gatsby had his with his attempt to be in the upper social class. Since he wasnt born in this social class, he did'nt pick up on the social ques that were present. Gatsby was also fake in the reagrds to the life he lived in. His house, his money, even his atitdue were fake. He goes through great lanks to make his false front very believeable. This is evident when Owl Eyes is in his library and is baffled that the books are real. But he knows that Gatsby is fake because the pages are not torn. Myrtle had a false front when she entered her house and acted as if 12 servents were waiting to wait on her; she puts on a show. Gatsby also put on a show when he threw his magnificent parties. He only through them in the hopes of attracting Daisy to his house. He had no intentions of actually enjoying the parties. These two people were similar because they had similar drives and ambitions. They both put on fake aires.
Overall, I will add more examples but basically I just want to write a paper about how both Myrtle and Gatsby are the two characters that Fitzgerald used to show the corruption of the American dream.

The Great Gatsby

Because The Great Gatsby is such a complex novel, much of its rewarding story lies behind the intricacy of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s text. Although there are many topics to touch ground on, one of the most astounding ones is the underlying matter that revolves around the idea of the American dream. Throughout several points, the reader is confronted with the idea that the American dream has been corrupted by class structure and the materialistic idea of money. Colors mainly introduce the evident symbolism hidden in the text representing class, hope, purity, corruption, and wealth. With the primary colors white, blue, yellow/gold, and green, Fitzgerald generates a sense of distinction and symbolism between the characters as well as their social structure. In general, many of the sophisticated ideas about the corruption of the American dream lie beneath the use of colors and the relationships between the characters.

In my essay, I will elaborate on the symbolism of the colors and how their presence in the novel is vital to the deeper meaning of the story, that is the American dream. In order to demonstrate the color’s importance in the book, I will use the relationship between Gatsby and Myrtle as a strong key point of the story. Among the other characters, Gatsby’s and Myrtle’s relationship strongly accentuates Gatsby’s aspect of the American dream better than the others. On another point, they both also are associated with the colors blue throughout the book which clearly exemplifies they are dreamers and have a profound source of hope. Because they both die towards the end of the novel, their death could also symbolize how dreamers can never reach the American dream and thus the American dream is deceiving and cannot be attained. Overall, my essay will mainly pinpoint the proposal of the corruption of the American dream in the novel and how the symbolism of the colors and the relationships between the characters supports it.

Rachel- Gatsby essay

For this paper I will be discussing Fitzgerald’s belief that the American Dream has not been destroyed, but has been lost. He believes that the American dream has been transformed from the want to live your life to its fullest potential, into a shallow desire to become part of the wealthy, and elite, upper class. And in the pursuit of this, we have surrounded ourselves and, in many cases, lost ourselves behind elaborate facades, designed to fool not only our peers but our selves into thinking that we have achieved our goals.

I will discuss this view mainly looking at Gatsby’s transformation, the way Tom and Daisy can hide behind their wealth and all other references to facades made by the characters and the way it affects their lives and relationships (owl eyes, T.J. Eckleburg, the houses). Gatsby is my main focus however; the way he abandons his childhood ambitions to better himself through learning and discovery to pursue a life in the upper class, surrounded by material wealth. This is why he is so mesmerized by Daisy, because she is the symbol of class, and the moment he connects himself to her he is sucked into a spiraling vortex that leads to his ultimate corruption and downfall. This is evident in house and its elaborate façade, that makes even Gatsby feel as though he is upper class, and is purely designed to gain the favor of the elite. The tragedy of this is that, despite his fame, he has few real friends. But the friends he does have are profound because they are the only ones he can see past the façade, who see Gatsby for what he really is and what he was. I also liked the reference that Daisy and Tom could hide behind their status in the worst of situations, but I think this also brings up another point from Fitzgerald: that wealth does not guarantee happiness, in fact that the richest people are the most unhappy. Daisy is stuck, without plans or ambition, just living to survive, this is a sad existence and is as far removed from the original American dream as one can get. Hope to make the world and yourself better is what the American dream is all about, it is not about collecting material at all costs, and especially not being so focused on it that you through away yourself and all that you believe in (as Daisy and Gatsby both do). In fact our only character that retains his sense of self and ambition without compromise seems to be our narrator Nick, the poorest and least wealthy character of all. He represents the closest thing to the American dream that we have left.

Huck Finn Criticism

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is labeled one of the greatest American novels ever printed, however there is much criticism over whether or not it contributes to racial discrimination. In my opinion Mark Twain’s motive wasn’t to write a racist or anti racist novel, rather he was simply commenting on the social norm of society during that time. The use of the “n word” was accurate during the 1830’s but today it holds a profoundly despicable meaning which leads us to believe the novel is racist. Therefore my main argument is that Twain did not write a racist nor anti racist novel, but a novel depicting southern society during the 1800’s.

Whether or not this novel should be taught in school I am indifferent about, we shouldn’t hide from history or alter what the 1830’s were like, yet some are too quick to judge that it's racist and can't comprehend the true meaning behind the text.

This is just the start to my paper or thesis and i'm still trying to figure out all my thoughts in a more organized manner!

I will be using Leo Marx, TS Elliot as my supporting critics and Trilling and a few others as the foils.

SORRY this blog is also late I just couldn't figure out exactly what I was going to write about, I kept changing my mind.

Hope everyone had a fabulous break!!

This One's From Sarah W.

For my essay on Huck Finn I'm arguing the point that it's not a racist book but it should not be taught in schools. I think if a teacher wants to show their kids about racism, there are better ways to do so instead of reading Huck Finn. Could I argue the point about when this book was written? And that its more looking back on how things were, almost making fun of it making it an adventure story? I'm still reading through the other articles and readings but I'll be also mentioning that it had to have some racism in the story so that Huck could make that transition to accepting Jim as a friend. Does this work? What do you think??

Racist and Should Not be Taught

Huck Finn is a both a racist as well as an antiracist novel. However, I am going to argue that it is racist overall and should not be taught in the classroom. The only portions of the novel in which Jim is portrayed as a fellow “human” is when Huck and him are on the river. The river symbolizes the freedom that they both really which to have and the shore represents the life they are trying to get away from. So on the portions where the two are on the river, this is clearly an antiracist book and worthwhile to teach. However, once Twain introduces the duke and the king, the book should no longer be read. It baffles me that Twain could so easily just forget about Jim and write the boy book that he had planned on writing. That is all he wanted to create. A simple boys book that would allow him to gain much profit. He had to include the word “nigger” because that was what was used as the term for black people. This term is not racist it’s the implications that it causes. Twain had no intention of being racist or antiracist. He wrote this book to make money. When he realized that he was writing about a black man’s quest for freedom, he had to put the book away. He had no idea how to continue with it, if he gave Jim freedom then his book would not sell as well. Twain used Jim for his own, as well as the readers, entertainment. He had no intention to write a racist book. Although there are portions of the book that are antiracist, it doesn’t account for the last 13 chapters in which Jim was completely demoralized as a person and Huck went back to being the sidekick. Twains whole novel went down here at this moment. Some critics believe it is because he wanted a circular plot but this book did not need this kind of plot. This book should not be taught. This is not because it is racist but simply because it is an awful book. There are parts that are humorous, I will admit that, but the last 13 chapters ruined the book. Jim just allowed himself to be demoralized like that simply because the white boys knew better than he did. Huck also went back to the old boy he had grown out of prior to this point. This book should not be taught because it is an American classic, personally its not worth the time of day to have this highly esteemed title. When it first came out, Twain received high criticisms, no one liked it. It seems strange that it went from this review to one of the most highly liked books. It also should not be taught simply because it is racist. If this were to be the case, a book should be read that further emphasizes the huge race gap back then. It would benefit the classroom more to read a book written from a black slave perspective. This book in my opinion was not worth the time of day, it is racist, and should not be read.
Ps. Mr. Lavender I am so sorry I did not get to blog prior to this moment. I did not have internet access until today so I am very sorry! I am also sorry that my thoughts are so jumbled, I just wanted to get them out as quickly as I thought of them. I also did not bring the different critic articles with me so I cant reference them at this moment but I know who and what I am going to use in order to back up my opinions.

Huck. Not Racist and Worthwhile

Huck Finn, written by Samuel Clemons, is not racist, for the reasons many have banned the novel, and is worthwhile in teaching; but only for advanced students who accept the controversies this novel brings because having it be a mandatory book for students younger than juniors is probably not ok as it wasn’t meant to be a children’s book and it will be a waste of time as they will not fully understand and focus all the novel around the word “nigger”.

Parents and students need to understand before hand the controversies surrounding the novel and the racial conflicts brought to light or it will be a big waste of time and anger.

“Having all focus on word “nigger” like having all focus on Thomas Jefferson being that he owned slaves”

Good teaching opportunity to discuss what word meant back then, and how important it is to be historically accurate in a work. Can’t look over this racism more than we can look over the racism in our own country. Can’t brush aside these topics, they need to be discussed as they have been huge factors in the construction of America and process we have gone through as a nation and people.

Tells us a lot about the time, like Shakespeare and can be primary sources for historians. Cleaning up the art by changing to “slave” takes away meaning from novel and is then just, nothing. Like covering up nudity in art.

Although Clemons didn’t set out to make a novel that addresses issues of race, writing a follow up to Tom Sawyer as Tom was a total cash cow, he discovered the topics of the quest for a slaves freedom and the racist society of that time and was the reason he put aside the manuscript for 3 years. When he came back and had his two months of enlightenment, Clemons used a satire to show people how ridiculous, unfair, and awful slavery was (is back then) for the entire world and the people.

Equality is on the river, where Jim tells off Huck and Huck apologizes to him. They are equals.

Jim stays with Huck because he knows Pap is dead and realizes he has to care for him because he has no father. Jim is portrayed better in contrast to Pap, a white racist alcoholic that left his kid and comes back for Huck’s money, whereas Jim is fighting for his freedom and the freedom of his family that he loves but still takes care of this young child. Protecting him, staying up late on the raft for the lookout so he could sleep, and jeopardizing his life, in terms of being under harsher slave rule, for Huck. Then in the end Jim steps out and again realizes he will jeopardize his freedom and become a slave again by helping the doctor save Tom after he was shot in the leg.

Critics that agree:

Shelly Fischkin

Cherry Hill article

Peaches Henry

Kaplan

Fiedler

Critics as foils:

Marx (Against)

Jane Smiley: we read these things, Shakespeare, Huck Finn, others because they also tell us about the time period in which it was written.

Justin Cathin (Morality one on web page)

Anti-racist

Anti-Racist
Jim is the first black character in a book
- This is the first book were they humanize black people
-Once we actually get to know Jim he isn’t as stupid as he was portrayed in the beginning
River vs. Shore
-Huck defies society to help Jim
-Huck started to really care about Jim
-“they’re after us”
-Huck tears up the letter and says “I’ll go to hell”
All racist characters are assholes
-There are racist characters but that doesnt mean the book is racist but it is just what the people were like in that time
· When kids were young they didn’t think that anything was wrong with having slaves.
·
It should be taught in schools

Huck: Anti Racist

The book huckleberry film is a non-racist book and it should be taught.

-There are many points in the novel where it is evident that Huck is not a racist. For example, when Huck said “They’re after us!” it shows how Huck is with Jim. At that moment, Huck could have easily turned Jim in, but he thought of Jim as his friend. --- -Huck lies to the slave hunters to protect Jim.
-Huck goes against society to protect Jim. Although he knows he should turn Jim in, he tears up the letters saying “I’ll go to hell.”
-Jim and Huck are together almost the whole book, this is the first book in American literature where there are feelings towards a black person.
-Huck apologizes to Jim after his trick
- The N word was historically accurate.
- Jeff Nichols stated that “The word is there for a reason.”
- Martha T. Moore said the N word is there ” to convey the language and attitudes of Missouri in the 1840s”

Alright brand new essay, Huck Finns portrayal of slavery and racism. Lets do it!

Huck Finn- And Non-Racist book that should be taught

Huckleberry Finn an American Literary Classic creates and image that many literary analysts think is racist, but others think the book is anti racist. The way Jim’s character is portrayed can argue either point – the way Huck Finn was the first book to create an African American as a real character and creating him as a human and not a dehumanized like all of the books before Huck. We also see how Huck transforms from being raised as a racist white boy, later in the book we see how he transforms and grows to become friends with Jim and breaking the law for him.

Huck Finn Creates many good arguments that should be discussed in the classroom and children of the high school should argue how they feel about the novel, the book should be taught but with care toward the students in the classroom. It is good to have these discussions in the classroom to make the students be more cautious of the word and be aware of ‘word’.

Kira