AP LANG FINAL
Consider Daisy's first comment in the novel. How does this affect the reader's perception of her character?
"This was a permanent move, said Daisy over the telephone, but I didn't believe it--I had no sight into Daisy's heart but I felt that Tom would drift on forever seeking a little wistfully for the dramatic turbulence of some irrecoverable football game."; shows daisy's need to live her perfect life and avoid all conflict; keep a reputation
Recall the first time Wilson appears in the novel. What are the three most effective images with which Wilson's character is established? Why? With which character is he in direct contrast? And why is the important? If this isn't about plot, why contrast these two characters?
"blonde, spiritless, anemic, faintly handsome"; not the perfect east egg man; Tom- important cause shows two different versions of man, also they both lead to the fall of Gatsby
In the passage beginning "with enchanting murmurs..." and ending with "flight of stairs", what is the atmosphere that is created? What mood is evoked? Why is that important? What language directly causes this atmosphere?
"enchanting" makes it magical, majestic, and royal; portrays his enchantment with Daisy once again cause Gatsby almost falls down a flight of stairs looking at her
How does Nick finally explain the charm of Daisy's voice? Why is this even important to explain? What language gives her voice meaning? Why these words?
"her voice is full of money"; everything in this relationship is based on money; she did not want Gatsby when he was poor, but look at her now; she has the tonal quality of never knowing want, of having always been well provided for, of being elitely educated.
Fitzgerald uses the word "holocaust" in the last sentence of Chapter 8. Why does he choose to use this word? What effect does it have on the scene?
"holocaust"- sacrifice by fire; Gatsby= the sacrifice of his friends' actions; also mass slaughter- three people died along w/ hope and dreams; makes it seem like three people dying as an even bigger deal than it already is
Examine the language Fitzgerald chooses to contrast West Egg and East Egg. What are the connotations of his language? Argue why his style is perfect for his subject (can you imagine Yen Mah telling this story??)
East Egg and West Egg represent Old Money and New Money and also together represent the ongoing divisions in society. East Egg is where the "real" aristocrats live: those with older money; West Egg is where the new money lives, and is not considered as classy; East Egg has more respectability than those residing in West Egg; his language is superfluous/pompous just like the locations
In the paragraph beginning "But his heart was in a constant turbulent riot" and ending with "fairy's wing." Analyze the language. How does the language create a dreamlike world?
Gatsby dreamed of a life of luxury/riches ad patiently waited like a spider building their web; it is about fantasy and the alternative life Gatsby made for himself; potential of dreams becoming a reality; lots of juxtaposition to show reality vs fantasy
Consider the paragraph beginning with "As I went to say goodbye..."and ending with "No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart." Explain this comment about Gatsby's dream. How does this connect to Nick's comment in chapter one: "Only Gatsby, -- the man who gives his name to his book, was exempt from my reaction."
Gatsby is an entirely different world because, he is so focused on winning Daisy back; he is barely in reality since his whole life revolves around her; he is exempt because, he is not paying attention
In the paragraph beginning "I've always been glad I said that..." How does this extend the paradox of Nick's feelings about Gatsby?
Gatsby violates all of Nick's values, yet he's glad he told him that he's the best one; It is because, Nick does everything for Gatsby, even though he would not do it for himself; he is amazed yet disgusted by him
Explain Gatsby's attitude toward time. How do Fitzgerald's motifs with time add to this attitude?
Gatsby wants to repeat thee past; portrays the simultaneous desire to reach to our future and relive our past; a life lived in the past is no life at all; never able to rewrite the past
Read the paragraph beginning with "I couldn't forgive him or like him but I saw that what he had done was, to him, entirely justified." Read especially the part about Daisy and Tom. Explain Nick's point here.
Gatsby's only desire in life was to have Daisy, and in order to do this he wanted to relive the past. In the past, there was no Tom so that is how Gatsby wants it. Nick does not see how you can just forget that, so he does not agree with Gatsby's ideals once again
Why is the darkness "unquiet"? Consider the last sentence in chapter 1. How does it add to the mood of the scene?
It means that in the darkness, there is a sort of tension, a foreshadowing of the coming events, that make the night seem not as quiet and settled as you would expect a night by the beach to be; tells of unhappy things to come and is in sharp contrast to the green light; makes mood more depressing/unsettling
Does The Great Gatsby hold a secure place with other novels in the arena of classic literature and Great American literature? How? Why? Could you make the argument it is the American novel?
It's the most American of stories; The romance of the Roaring '20s; It remains relevant; Crazy love; Imperishable prose; is the combination of its extraordinary rendering of the American vernacular — it's a "voice-driven novel" — and its success at capturing the aspirational (if borderline delusional) nature of the American psyche
In chapter four, Nick states: "Then it had not been merely the stars to which he had aspired on that June night. He came alive to me, delivered suddenly from the womb of his purposeless splendor." What is meant by this comment? What is Nick finally realising? How does this change his views of the plot overall? On the other characters?
Nick realizes that Gatsby wasn't just looking up at the stars but that he was actually looking toward Daisy's house on that night and it reveals Gatsby's true ambitions. The first part of the second sentence alludes to how people reinvented themselves when they became rich at that time period as they were "delivered suddenly from the womb". The last part of the second sentence, "purposeless splendor", reveals that people at that time lived their lives without a purpose and although they had hope about reaching splendor(upper class), they could not. This foreshadows that although Gatsby was able to become rich that he most likely would not win Daisy back.
Consider Nick's comment : "I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life." How does this give the reader insight into Fitzgerald's usage of point of view in the novel?
Shows us Nick is high class, but not at the same level as everyone around him, making him almost a nonparticipating third party; Nick= the average man
"It was testimony to the romantic speculation he inspired that there were whispers about him from those who had found little that it as necessary to whisper about in this world." How does this sentence give meaning to what has happened so far. What is Fitzgerald's purpose?
So far, we learned that Tom is having an affair. It is to show how everyone in this society is more focused on others than themselves.
Consider the paragraph beginning with "When they met again two days later it was Gatsby who was breathless, who was somehow betrayed". What suggestion does this create about Daisy? What simile in the paragraph achieves this?
Suggests that Daisy is not this perfect girl she has been pictured to be;"gleaming like silver": she is always a possession/wealth, not a real person
Analyze the effect of language in the first sentence and first short paragraph (ending with "crystal glass"). Look carefully.
The first sentence is ironic as it juxtaposes the church bells ringing (righteousness) with the world and its mistress who represent immorality. This beginning is similar to that of the previous chapter and it somewhat reflects the magical tone created in the third chapter. The first short paragraph reveals a major theme in the novel which is decadence. Fitzgerald uses the paragraph to show the hypocrisy of the 1920's as the women are criticizing Gatsby but thy drink his alcohol and enjoy his hospitality. Fitzgerald utilizes the "crystal glass" to portray the greed and the excessive indulgence in the roaring twenties time period
What effect does Fitzgerald create in the paragraph beginning "For daisy was young and her artificial world was redolent of orchids and pleasant, cheerful snobbery and orchestras which set the rhythm of the year, summing up the sadness and suggestiveness of life in new tunes"?
This paragraph gives the effect of setting up the speaker/narrator as a bit skeptical of Daisy. He calls her world "artificial" which denotes a sense of triviality in her character. Then, a bit later, uses the word "snobbery" a pejorative that hints at effeteness. He goes on, though, to end the sentence speaking of the "sadness and suggestiveness" of life which, coming from an original upbeat beginning, seems to allude to the future troubles yet to come in the book, in Daisy's life.
What's the novel really about? When you close the back cover what are you intended to leave with?
a new look on the American lifestyle and social classes/wealth themselves; to become more critical of our own world; the amorality and selfishness of easterners and materialism that corrupted the American dream
Examine the paragraph beginning "Even when the East excited me most...." Particularly the part following his mention of El Greco. What language creates the tone? What is tone? What is the effect of this passage?
a nightmarish tone; The imagery of this passage is in keeping with El Greco's style, which is described as "fitful and unreal."; El Greco (like West Egg) haunts his dreams and memories in an uncanny manner
Look at the paragraph beginning with "But he didn't despise himself and it didn't turn out as he had imagined." Particularly note the second sentence: "He had intended, probably, to take what he could and go - but now he found that he had committed himself to the following of a grail." What is this an allusion to? How does it add meaning to the reader's understanding of Gatsby's dream?
alludes to the holy grail (cup that Jesus drank out of during his last supper)- Gatsby is the type to chase his holy grail (Daisy) to try and receive eternal life; "didn't" makes it cause and effect between Gatsby and his dream of Daisy coming true; shows his fatal flaw cause he doesn't self loath about trying to steal daisy (he believes he can live his fantasies); foreshadow to his demise
What's the point? Why write the book in the first place; what's his purpose and how does he do it?
different ways to see it: commentary on wealth and social classes, warning of a shallow lifestyle, America is decaying because of the greed and corruption of Americans; rags to riches story
How does the first paragraph in chapter three contrast with the previous scene? Look especially at irony. How does it create a magical tone? What is the overall effect of Fitzgerald's choice of verbs.
goes from serene to chaos (quiet train station to Gatsby's party); shows the extravaganza and elegance of his parties; makes his parties seem real and extraordinary
Explain the significance and meaning of the green light. Explain Why "the colossal significance of the light had now vanished forever". Why has Gatsby's "count of enchanted objects diminished by one"?
green light: daisy's house had a green light AND daisy is the green light for Gatsby; green light= a symbol of wanting; Nick Carraway makes both of these observations after witnessing Gatsby's long desired reencounter with Daisy. Both observations point to the idea that no matter how wonderful reality is, it can never match our dreams; daisy is the enchanted object
Look at the paragraph about Tom Buchanan beginning with," He had changed since..." List ten words in the paragraph that contribute to the impact of the last sentence. What is the purpose and the effect of the last sentence?
hard, supercilious, arrogant, dominance, aggressively, enormous, power, great, effeminate, glistening; last sentence: "a cruel body"; lets us know that Tom would lead to trouble in the end (reason or Gatsby's death)
How do you see his influences in the novel. Argue why he would include them in his work? Why not just use fictitious matter?
he includes them in his work to prove that the great Gatsby is based on real life in America and that this lifestyle is not fiction for everyone; puts himself in cause he is a romantic like Gatsby; he was cheated on, dropped out of college, rags to riches until his demise (death from alcohol)
Look at the last three paragraphs of the chapter, beginning with "One autumn night...." What is the tone of the passage? Which words contribute to it?
it is a dumbstruck tone; "suck of the pap of life", "she blossomed for him like a flower", "incarnation was complete", "elusive rhythm", "incommunicable forever"
Consider Gatsby's dream. Is it plausible? What is ideal about it? What is corrupt? How does it change the reader's perception of Gatsby?
it is not plausible cause it is impossible to repeat the past (even though Gatsby disagrees); ideal- the idea of having the perfect life with a perfect girl; corrupt- having an affair with someone else's wife and trying to erase her past as well; shows how selfish and lowkey insane Gatsby actually is
How do the last two sentences of thesis chapter continue the theme of Gatsby's dream?
it says his career as a "Trimalchio" was over, which as a former slave how becomes wealthy w/ distasteful tactics, and this is pretty much Gatsby's life story. Since that is over, we know Gatsby's dream is over.
Recall Wolfsheim's cuff buttons. What were they made of? What is the significance of this? How does it affect the reader's perception of his character? What can the reader assume from this? How does it give meaning to the work itself?
made of human molars; shows a certain lack of reverence for human beings; shows an actual part of a human as nothing showing he treats humans like objects; it is also a warning to show he is hard and ruthless (don't cross me); show the mix of sophistication as well as barbarism in his character. It paints Wolfsheim as a person similar to the devil
"Something was making him nibble at the edge of stale ideas as if his sturdy physical egotism no longer nourished his peremptory heart." Explain the context and meaning of this comment by Nick about Tom Buchanan. What is Nick inferring about Tom? What is the effect of his use of syntax?
saying tom has a large ego that his insane bod feeds him, yet he was off (most likely from mistress). The syntax keeps the audience questions cause it doesn't have the subject at the beginning of the sentence; doesn't tell us the something
The last four paragraphs of the book, beginning with "Most of the big shore places were closed now" are widely known. How does this passage effectively connect the main ideas in the novel? How does it wrap up the novel?
that empty feeling is basically the whole point. F. Scott Fitzgerald was not particularly optimistic about the capitalist boom of the 1920s. To him, America was just like Europe in its disdain for new money, and the elites were scornful of the self-made men who were supposed to be the people living the ideals of the country. He saw that instead of actually being committed to equality, the country was still split into classes - just less acknowledged ones; the actually "successful" people - successful in that at least they survive - (the Buchanans, Nick, and Jordan) are all old money; while those who fail (Gatsby, Myrtle, and George) are the strivers; the novel makes Gatsby explicitly represent all humans in the present and the past; LAST SENTENCE: people want to recapture an idealized past, or a perfect moment or memory, but when this desire for the past turns into an obsession, it leads to ruin; we resiliently battle against fate with our will and our strength; OR simply saying that through our continuing efforts to move forward through new obstacles, we will be constantly reminded and confronted with our past
In the fourth paragraph of chapter three, there is a shift in verb tense. What is the reason for this? What is the effect?
things just start to begin in this chapter (orchestra shows up, swimmers are done, bar, chatter); shows us that the important happenings happen at night
Is the novel really any good, in terms of it's language? How so? Why?
yes because, its written like poetry; it makes up for the lack of plot in the book; his writing conveys the lifestyle he is portraying