Essay #1 DUE OCT 10TH

3 PAGES, DOUBLE SPACED, SIZE 12 TIMES NEW ROMAN
USE TWO OUTSIDE SOURCES (NOT INCLUDING THE TEXT!) AND QUOTE THE PRIMARY TEXTS AS WELL.
USE THE EXAMPLE PAPER HANDOUT FOR MLA GUIDELINES!!

Refer to the class blog for outside source info: eng215fall2018.blogspot.com
Pick ONE of the essay topics below for your paper.

1. Illusion vs. reality is something that comes up in a lot of literature. We saw some in The Great Gatsby. Pick one aspect of a character’s life, whether it be from the past or the present, and explain how he/she uses illusions to distort their reality. Use examples from the texts along with outside sources to support your thesis.

2. Pick up to three of the many symbols from the novel and describe what it is important. What does this symbol mean in to this particular text? Use examples from the texts along with outside sources to support your thesis.

3. How does Gatsby represent the American dream? What does the novel have to say about the condition of the American dream in the 1920s? In what ways do the themes of dreams, wealth, and time relate to each other in the novel’s exploration of the idea of America?

4. Is Nick a reliable narrator? We do not have much choice but to believe what he says throughout the novel so decide if he is and prove your point. Use examples from the texts along with outside sources to support your thesis.

5. Compare and contrast Gatsby and Tom OR compare Gatsby to Charlie from “Babylon Revisited.” How are they alike? How are they different? Given the extremely negative light in which Tom is portrayed throughout the novel, why might Daisy choose to remain with him instead of leaving him for Gatsby?

• Your introduction should include:
1) Title and authors of primary (stories we have read in class) texts
2) Your thesis (Which depends on the question you write about from above)
• Never end a paragraph with a quote.
• Cite outside sources within in your text; if it appears on your works cited page it has to be used in the paper (direct quotes or paraphrasing).
• Always keep in mind: is this quote proving and supporting my thesis? If not, do not use it!
• WITHOUT A WORKS CITED PAGE OR OUTSIDE SOURCES THE PAPER WILL FAIL

More on The Great Gatsby

This links provide many articles and resources for The Great Gatsby:

http://reading.cornell.edu/reading_project_06/gatsby/great_gatsby_resources.htm

http://www.fscottfitzgeraldsociety.org/resources/critical-materials.html

Some more helpful links: 

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jun/10/great-gatsby-fitzgerald-jay-mcinerney

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/achenblog/wp/2015/03/20/why-the-great-gatsby-is-the-great-american-novel/?utm_term=.d4153c7d759f

http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/books/ct-prj-great-gatsby-f-scott-fitzgerald-hl-mencken-20141010-story.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karielle-stephanie-gam/the-great-gatsby-analysis_b_3430967.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/04/to-early-reviewers-the-great-gatsby-was-not-so-great/390252/

Articles I will give out in Class on Sept. 24th. You will pick one to read as a group.

1) In Defense of The Great Gatsby

2) Do Americans Get Second Chances

3) Gatsby's Green Light a New Set of Strivers

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