English 11: The Death of the American Dream
Tuesday 25 January 2011
Tuesday 18 January 2011
Fitzgerald website and new vocabulary
Here is a good website on Fitzgerald, his life, and The Great Gatsby.
Vocabulary List # 2
mesmerize
sardonic
decadent
pastoral
rendezvous
indulgence
prestigious
prominent
expatriate
exasperate
affable
aspirations
Vocabulary List # 2
mesmerize
sardonic
decadent
pastoral
rendezvous
indulgence
prestigious
prominent
expatriate
exasperate
affable
aspirations
Monday 10 January 2011
Vocabulary Words
1) Wan
2) Prodigality
3) Feigned
4) Languidly
5) Colossal
6) Complacency
7) Levity
8) Extemporizing
9) Supercilious
10) Infinitesimal
11) Fractiousness
2) Prodigality
3) Feigned
4) Languidly
5) Colossal
6) Complacency
7) Levity
8) Extemporizing
9) Supercilious
10) Infinitesimal
11) Fractiousness
Tuesday 4 January 2011
The Great Gatsby: Themes
The Themes:
1.This novel is filled with multiple themes but the predominate one focuses on the death of the American Dream. This can be explained by how Gatsby came to get his fortune. Through his dealings with organized crime he didn't adhere to the American Dream guidelines. Nick also suggests this with the manner in which he talks about all the rich characters in the story. The immoral people have all the money. Of course looking over all this like the eyes of God are those of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg on the billboard.
2.The second theme that needs to be acknowledged is the thought of repeating the past. Gatsby's whole being since going off to war is devoted to getting back together with Daisy and have things be the way they were before he left. That's why Gatsby got a house like the one Daisy used to live in right across the bay from where she lives. He expresses this desire by reaching towards the green light on her porch early in the book. The last paragraph, So we beat on, boats against the current, born back ceaselessly into the past reinforces this theme.
3.Fitzgerald was in his twenty's when he wrote this novel and since he went to Princeton he was considered a spokesman for his generation. He wrote about the third theme which is the immorality that was besieging the 1920's. Organized crime ran rampant, people were partying all the time, and affairs were common play. The last of which Fitzgerald portrays well in this novel.
4.The eyes of T. J. Eckleburg convey a fourth theme in this novel. George Wilson compares them to the eyes of God looking over the valley of Ashes. The unmoving eyes on the billboard look down on the Valley of Ashes and see all the immorality and garbage of the times. By the end of the novel you will realize that this symbolizes that God is dead.
1.This novel is filled with multiple themes but the predominate one focuses on the death of the American Dream. This can be explained by how Gatsby came to get his fortune. Through his dealings with organized crime he didn't adhere to the American Dream guidelines. Nick also suggests this with the manner in which he talks about all the rich characters in the story. The immoral people have all the money. Of course looking over all this like the eyes of God are those of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg on the billboard.
2.The second theme that needs to be acknowledged is the thought of repeating the past. Gatsby's whole being since going off to war is devoted to getting back together with Daisy and have things be the way they were before he left. That's why Gatsby got a house like the one Daisy used to live in right across the bay from where she lives. He expresses this desire by reaching towards the green light on her porch early in the book. The last paragraph, So we beat on, boats against the current, born back ceaselessly into the past reinforces this theme.
3.Fitzgerald was in his twenty's when he wrote this novel and since he went to Princeton he was considered a spokesman for his generation. He wrote about the third theme which is the immorality that was besieging the 1920's. Organized crime ran rampant, people were partying all the time, and affairs were common play. The last of which Fitzgerald portrays well in this novel.
4.The eyes of T. J. Eckleburg convey a fourth theme in this novel. George Wilson compares them to the eyes of God looking over the valley of Ashes. The unmoving eyes on the billboard look down on the Valley of Ashes and see all the immorality and garbage of the times. By the end of the novel you will realize that this symbolizes that God is dead.
Monday 3 January 2011
The Great Gatsby
NOVEL UNIT: The Great Gatsby
“In leaving something unsaid the beholder is given a chance to complete the idea and thus a great masterpiece irresistibly rivets your attention until you seem to become actually a part of it.” –on the value of art and suggestion, Kakuzo Okakura--
The novel unit is designed to give students the chance to expand the fundamentals learned during the short story unit at a much larger scope. Students will learn how to break a novel down by applying basic prose elements such as themes, plots, subplots, characters (and character development), while learning about symbols, metaphors, imagery, and word choice. Students reading The Great Gatsby will learn about social issues of America during the Roaring Twenties and the failure of the American Dream. In the novel we will look at characters and characterization, and see how they prove to be harsh, lively, compelling and most of all—human.
OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the unit students will be able to
1) Define character development, irony, metaphor, personification, subplot, atmosphere and allusion and symbol
2) List all the characters that appear in the novel and describe their physical appearance, motivations, social class.
3) List various allusions and foreshadows and discuss what they mean in relation to plot.
4) List the various types of conflict that occur throughout the novel and discuss who the conflicts are between.
5) Keep a journal that outlines each chapter by listing setting (if applicable), characters, conflicts, and summaries.
6) List three themes and in a paragraph or more discuss how these themes work in the novel.
7) In an essay of a page or more discuss how Fitzgerald uses particular images or characters as symbols and discuss how these symbols reflect larger themes or ideas in the novel.
8) Outline the character development (inward change) of various characters (to be mentioned later).
9) List and outline four subplots in either novel.
10) List and outline the central plot.
11) In a paragraph or more discuss how social class or social problems fit in the novel and relate them to conflict and theme.
12) Pick out two or three examples of similes and/or metaphors and in a paragraph discuss how they are used.
13) Given a quotation identify the speaker.
14) Write various journal entries from different characters’ points of view, which demonstrates an understanding of the character and the character’s attitude towards life.
ACTIVITIES TO BE INCLUDED:
1) Quizzes
2) Reading (inside and outside of class)
3) Viewing Documentaries and Movies that relate to the novel
4) Listening to CDs that relate to the novel
5) Journals
6) Group questions and group work
7) Drawings
8) Unit Final
Possible memorization and acting of characters
“In leaving something unsaid the beholder is given a chance to complete the idea and thus a great masterpiece irresistibly rivets your attention until you seem to become actually a part of it.” –on the value of art and suggestion, Kakuzo Okakura--
The novel unit is designed to give students the chance to expand the fundamentals learned during the short story unit at a much larger scope. Students will learn how to break a novel down by applying basic prose elements such as themes, plots, subplots, characters (and character development), while learning about symbols, metaphors, imagery, and word choice. Students reading The Great Gatsby will learn about social issues of America during the Roaring Twenties and the failure of the American Dream. In the novel we will look at characters and characterization, and see how they prove to be harsh, lively, compelling and most of all—human.
OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the unit students will be able to
1) Define character development, irony, metaphor, personification, subplot, atmosphere and allusion and symbol
2) List all the characters that appear in the novel and describe their physical appearance, motivations, social class.
3) List various allusions and foreshadows and discuss what they mean in relation to plot.
4) List the various types of conflict that occur throughout the novel and discuss who the conflicts are between.
5) Keep a journal that outlines each chapter by listing setting (if applicable), characters, conflicts, and summaries.
6) List three themes and in a paragraph or more discuss how these themes work in the novel.
7) In an essay of a page or more discuss how Fitzgerald uses particular images or characters as symbols and discuss how these symbols reflect larger themes or ideas in the novel.
8) Outline the character development (inward change) of various characters (to be mentioned later).
9) List and outline four subplots in either novel.
10) List and outline the central plot.
11) In a paragraph or more discuss how social class or social problems fit in the novel and relate them to conflict and theme.
12) Pick out two or three examples of similes and/or metaphors and in a paragraph discuss how they are used.
13) Given a quotation identify the speaker.
14) Write various journal entries from different characters’ points of view, which demonstrates an understanding of the character and the character’s attitude towards life.
ACTIVITIES TO BE INCLUDED:
1) Quizzes
2) Reading (inside and outside of class)
3) Viewing Documentaries and Movies that relate to the novel
4) Listening to CDs that relate to the novel
5) Journals
6) Group questions and group work
7) Drawings
8) Unit Final
Possible memorization and acting of characters
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