April 4, 2014

1. April 4, 2014 • Agenda: Journal entry, so get out your journals. Preparing for the essay assignment (due Thursday) Finishing Body Biography (last 15 minutes of class, to be turned in before class ends) • To be turned in: Soundtrack Project. Any missing work or quiz can be taken care of before or after class/school, or during lunch. See me to make an appointment. • Today’s purpose: We’ll be practicing the method of gathering ideas for an essay, as well as taking a character & relating him/her to a greater meaning of a book. • The more effort you put into today’s work, the more confident you should be in writing your essay. • Learning the skills of reading deep into characters and real people, based on their words and actions.

2. Journal Entry 1. How have we seen these ideas represented in the novel? What characters exemplify, or demonstrate, these ideas. Copy down these ideas. a. Social class/ social mobility (ascending to higher social classes) b. Honesty/dishonesty c. Setting affecting a story’s conflict d. Responsibility/ irresponsibility regarding your Fellow Man e. Morality/immorality f. Dying for your dream (the American Dream); Full Dedication to something or someone g. Presentment of oneself; how one wants the world to see them

3. Take a look at the essay handout. Think about what prompt is most interesting, or you feel the most knowledgeable about. Choose that prompt. • With that prompt in mind, brainstorm ideas concerning those topics from the last slide (that you wrote down). • Apply all you’ve learned about these characters (body bio, our discussions, your journal writing) when you’re brainstorming ideas. • Think of the character’s traits, actions, and dialog in relation to the prompt.

4. Brainstorming • Practice prompt: Compare Tom and George. What’s their relationship like with their wives? With Myrtle? How do their personalities affect their treatment of women? Think about both their reactions to being cuckolded. • Think about the characters’: • Problems - & their solutions • What Fitzgerald thought of him/her • What Fitzgerald wanted us to think about them • Did they have any good ideas? Bad ideas? No idea? • Did they do more harm than good for themselves and others? More good than harm? • Speculate something about the character that you don’t know is a sure fact about them.

5. Create the Thesis • Using our brainstorming ideas, construct a 1 sentence thesis statement that answers the essay prompt. • Say something that would surprise me, or that we’ve never thought or talked much about. • Once you’ve written a thesis statement, ask yourself: • Is this too simple to be interesting to the reader? Too obvious? • Am I sure I have enough concrete detail and evidence to write 2 pages about this? • Is this thesis based on my opinion, or does it just summarize something that is said explicitly in the book? • Did you try to write other thesis and decide on the best one? • Can I word the thesis differently, so that it sounds more academic and fancy?

6. Choose a Thesis • Tom Buchanan and George Wilson have different personalities, but they are in similar situations with their wives. • Although Tom Buchanan and George Wilson are polar opposites in character, neither of them can seem to please their wives enough to be loyal. • Though Tom Buchanan and George Wilson are polar opposites in character and have extremely different relations with their wives, they both react in a similar fashion when realizing their wives’ unfaithfulness.

7. Now,let’s choose our support • Factual support should be used to back your thesis. • How did you get the idea of your thesis? What parts of the book did you base your idea off of? • Buchanan is the silverback gorilla of East Egg, as he’s determined to rule his household and possessions with an iron fist. For example, he insists in the Plaza Hotel that Daisy is only confused in spending time with Gatsby and doesn’t think to consider her opinion on the situation.

8. But, you must include quotes, eh? • It’s important to not only provide specific scenes from the text to use as evidence, but include the quotes from these scenes as well. • By embedding the quotes into the sentence, it helps the quote flow well while reading: • Buchanan is the silverback gorilla of East Egg, as he’s determined to rule his household and possessions with an iron fist. For example, he insists in the Plaza Hotel that Daisy only “gets foolish ideas in her head,” such as spending time with Gatsby, and doesn’t think to consider her opinion on the situation. (Fitzgerald 131)