Gatsby: Beginning of Chapter 1

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The Great Gatsby, Chapter 1 Response

DUE MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26

In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism to establish a greater meaning in the text.   Consider what you read in Chapter One of the book and write a two to three paragraph response in which you analyze how the author’s use of symbolism helps communicate a larger meaning.  Use strong and thorough evidence from the text to support your analysis. Do not simply summarize the text.  

Guidelines:

Be sure to:

• Identify a central idea in the text

• Analyze how the author’s use of one writing strategy (literary element or literary technique or rhetorical device) develops this central idea. Examples include: characterization, conflict, denotation/connotation, metaphor, simile, irony, language use, point-of-view, setting, structure, symbolism, theme, tone, etc.

• Use strong and thorough evidence from the text to support your analysis

• Organize your ideas in a cohesive and coherent manner

• Maintain a formal style of writing

• Follow the conventions of standard written English

Due Monday, December 21

Due Monday, December 21

The following passage takes place on page 110 of The Great Gatsby:

Nick:  "I wouldn't ask too much of her," I ventured.  "You can't repeat the past."

Gatsby: "Can't repeat the past?"  he cried incredulously.  "Why of course you can!"

He looked around wildly, as if the past were lurking here in the shadow of his house, just out of reach of his hand.

Based on your understanding of Chapter 7 of The Great Gatsby which point of view do you find to be most accurate and why.  Explain in a well-developed paragraph.

Due Monday, December 15

Monday, December 15

27. Choose a specific literary element (e.g., theme, characterization, structure, point of view, etc.) or literary technique (e.g., symbolism, irony, figurative language, etc.) used by one of the authors F. Scott Fitzgerald. Using specific details from either Passage I (the biography excerpt) or Passage II (the poem),The Great Gatsby in a well-developed paragraph, show how the author uses that element or technique to develop the passage.

Possible Sentence Starter: —F. Scott Fitzgerald uses _________ as a symbol to show….

USE EVIDENCE FROM CHAPTER FOUR OF THE GREAT GATSBY TO FORM YOUR RESPONSE.

Due Monday, November 10

Read the following quotation from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. What is a common theme between the book (as evidenced through this quote) and one of your Independent Reading articles (IRJ documents)?  Write a well-developed paragraph in which you use ideas from bothThe Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie and an IRJ document to establish a common thematic statement (controlling idea). Develop your controlling idea using specific examples and details from each text.

“I got you something,” he said.

“What?”

“It’s in my boot.”

I picked up one of his cowboy boots.

“No, the other one,” he said. “Inside, under that foot-pad thing.”

I picked up the other boot and dug inside. Man, that thing smelled like booze and fear and failure.

I found a wrinkled and damp five dollar bill.

“Merry Christmas,” he said.

Wow.

Drunk for a week, my father must have really wanted to spend those last five dollars. Shoot, you can buy a bottle of the worst whiskey for five dollars. He could have spent that five bucks and stayed drunk for another day or two. But he saved it for me.

It was a beautiful and ugly thing.

“Thanks, Dad,” I said.

He was asleep.

“Merry Christmas,” I said, and kissed him on the cheek.

In-Class Blog, November 3

Read the following quotation from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. What is a common theme between the book (as evidenced through this quote) and one of your Independent Reading articles (IRJ documents)?  Write a well-developed paragraph in which you use ideas from bothThe Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie and an IRJ document to establish a common thematic statement (controlling idea). Develop your controlling idea using specific examples and details from each text.

Traveling between Reardan and Wellpinit, between the little white town and the reservation, I always felt like a stranger.

I was half Indian in one place and half white in the other. (p.118)