Journal 20

Journal 20 – The Great Gatsby Conclusion

Read the novel’s last passage (beginning with, “Gatsby’s house was still empty when I left”) and discuss the use of imagery and symbolism that is being employed by Fitzgerald.  In your response, specifically address what Nick is saying about the green light and the connection that he is making between Gatsby and the Dutch sailors who “discovered” Long Island. 

The last passage starts with Nick looking back on his time in New York.  He is getting ready to move back West after Gatsby’s death and takes the time to remember all he had done and all that his life was in New York.  He uses imagery to describe the glamorous lifestyle that he had experienced in the East Egg as Gatsby’s neighbor. He mainly described the wealthy and fancy lifestyle of Gatsby and the parties he threw.  Fitzgerald was able to create an image of these parties in the readers’ mind.  The last passage also used symbolism to connect Gatsby and the Dutch sailors who discovered Long Island.  These sailors started with nothing and became wealthy from the land they discovered and built upon. This journey was similar to Gatsby’s.  His house and his lifestyle was something he built from the bottom up.  Fitzgerald used symbolism and the story of the sailors to preface what was to come for Gatsby.  

Journal 19

Journal 19 - Characterization in Chapter 1 of The Great Gatsby
Write a description for each of the following characters based on his/her first appearance in Chapter 1. Your description should include: -the character’s physical appearance; -the character’s actions/words; -an adjective that best describes the character based on his/her initial appearance


 Nick Carraway                Adjective: Quiet
 Nick is a seemingly normal guy. He tends to blend in and go with the flow. He is quiet and observant and doesn’t do anything to draw a lot of attention to himself. He is classy but not over the top. He is in the middle class over society and lives a low key lifestyle.

 Tom Buchanan                         Adjective: Conceited
Tom has a lot of confidence and thinks highly of himself. He comes across as overly confident. He is wealthy and it shows in the way he goes about his life.

 Daisy Buchanan                   Adjective: Outgoing
Daisy is over the top and seems to be extremely happy. She is loud and friendly when it comes to being social. She loves her lifestyle and the wealth that comes with it. In public, she acts as though nothing bothers her. She comes across as kind of fake and superficially nice.

 Jordan Baker                     Adjective:Confident
 Jordan Baker has a ton of self confidence and can read people well. She sees right through Tom and is apparent devotion to Daisy. She doesn’t feel as though she needs a man in her life and never lets what people think get in her way. She is also wealthy and a member of the upper class.

Jay Gatsby                        Adjective: Determined
 Gatsby is very flashy in his possessions. He is always dressed perfectly and spends whatever he needs to in order to impress others. He is determined to get Daisy to fall in love with him again. There is no doubt in hid mind that as soon as they meet again, everything will pick up where they left off many years ago.

Journal 18

1. What is the significance of the story’s title?
The title of the story is literally significant. The title is “In Another Country” and the narrator really I in another country. It could also relate to the way that some people are view. They can be view as outsiders and different from those around them, making them seem as though they are metaphorically from a different country. This could be an effect from people injuries and mental states, making them different.
2. Which character do you think best represents the “Hemingway hero”? Why?
I think The Major represents the Hemingway Hero because of his injury. His was more severe than others mentioned in the story. He was also going through a tougher time than other characters. He had suddenly lost his wife and then faced with the extreme burden of going to war. He put up a strong front and dealt with his grief and other emotional hardships and went forward in his duty as a soldier. He put others in front of himself and made huge sacrifices all while remaining humble making him a hero.

3. What can you infer about the photographs the doctor hangs up? What is the significance of the major’s reaction?
The photographs that were hanging on the wall were of injured people that were able to recover and rehabilitate their injuries to the full extent. The doctor hung these photos to give patients like the Major hope in these difficult situations. The phtos also had to do with convincing the Major that machines could heal his injury. The major was skeptical of the doctor’s approach to sue machines in his treatment. The Major reacted by looking out the window. This is significant because it shows that his mind, heart, and thoughts are elsewhere.

Journal 16

Read the following quote and discuss how it applies to the main characters in both stories. In the course of this discussion, address how each of the characters is both similar and different:

“Determinisim governs everything … The writer must study the inherited traits of individual character and the social condition of the time. Together, these elements determine the course of any action, the outcome of any life. Free will or self-determination is mostly an illusion, although chance is granted a role in human affairs. Still, even the effects of chance are obliterated in the inevitable course determined by the interaction of inherited character traits and the social environment.“

The social conditions of this time period along with the inherited traits of each individual character traits from the two story lines, “To Build a Fire” and “The Blue Hotel”, contributed greatly to the overcoming of the characters’ conflicts. In the Blue Hotel, Sweed, a rough and hazy man was in a bad situation. He could be characterized as shy, quiet, and indecisive. In “To Build a Fire”, the prospector was adventurous and spontaneous. He believed in traveling and in life’s purpose. The quote applies to both stories and both characters. The social atmospheres in both stories were fairly similar. They were both set during blizzards and the characters were unable to remove themselves from the situations. The differences include the individual characters and the plot details. The social conditions in “To Build a Fire” were life threatening and more urgent than in “The Blue Hotel”. Both situations ended up being dangerous but in the “blue Hotel” the conflicts were brought on b the characters where as in “To Build a Fire” it was brought on by nature. The main difference was the way the two men dealt with their problems. The handled their situations very differently.

Journal 17

Journal 17 - “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” – T.S. Eliot (p.775)

1. What is the significance of the poem’s epigraph? How does it relate to Prufrock?
The epigraph is actually from the Inferno by an Italian poet named Dante Alighieri. The word “inferno” refers to hell. The epigraph refers to Prufrock because it shares his private feelings which is not something that he would do himself. They both show insight to who they really are.



2. Make a list of questions that Prufrock asks. Do you see a pattern/theme to these questions or are they random?

Do I dare?
Do I dare disturb the universe?
How should I presume?
How should I begin?

These seemingly random questions actually show the pattern of the authors indecisive and self conscious nature. He is unable to make normally easy decisions without first questioning each one.



3. What do you think is Prufrock’s main flaw/problem?

I think Prufrock’s main flaw is his own self doubt. He doubts and questions all of his decisions, even the minor ones. Prufrock is lacking self confidence as he regularly refers to himself as a Fool. I don’t think Prufrock would ordinarily be seen as a fool if he didn’t suggest it himself.



4. Why do you think this is called a love song? In what way is it a love song?


This being called a love song is a complete display of irony. It is actually about him being loney and sad, not in love. The only way this could be seen as a love song is if the reader looks as it as the absence of love.

Journal 15

Journal 15 – William Dean Howell’s “Editha”

1. Write a sentence that summarizes the story’s overall message, and provide three direct quotes from the story that best illustrate this message.

The overall message is that it is important for people to not only live in an idealistic world like Editha, but instead a realistic one.



“It isn’t this war alone; though this seems peculiarly wanton and needless; but it’s every war –so stupid; it makes me sick. Why shouldn’t this thing have been settled reasonably?”

“He told me he had asked you to come if he got killed. You didn’t expect that, I suppose, when you sent him.”

“To take the part that her whole soul willed him to take, for the completion of her ideal of him”







2. What tactics does Editha use to make George believe as she does about the war?
Editha uses religion to convince George to want to go to war. She makes references between the war and God. She makes him believe that god would want George to fight in the war. She also shows him the positives of the war such as the brotherhood between the soldiers. She sort of uses a guilt trip on him. Editha tells him that he doesn’t love his country if he doesn’t want to fight for it, which persuades him further.





3. Is there ever a time in which Editha truly understands what she has done? Does she ever experience an epiphany?
I think Editha understood what she did but in the end it didn’t change her ways. She grieved the loss of George and realized he would still be alive if she hadn’t talked him into going to war. She carried through with his wishes in the case of his death but she continued persuading others to join in fighting in the war.

Journal 14

Journal #14 - E. A. Robinson Poems

Realism – The theory or practice in art and literature of fidelity to nature or to real life and to accurate representation without idealization of the most typical views, details, and surroundings of the subject.

Read the following poems and write a detailed description for each of the title characters and explain how each is an example of the “real” instead of the “ideal.”

“Richard Cory“ (497)
This poem is written from the prospective of onlookers who loked up to and adore Richard Corey, believing he lives a perfect life that they should also strive for. When the poem takes a turn and Richard Corey kills himself. This adds a very real twist to the poem, depicting a realistic situation where on the outside someone seems to be perfect but no one really knows what is going on in their life.





“Miniver Cheevy” (497)

This poem is about a man named Miniver who thinks he was born in the wrong era. He dreams about a life in a different time period of the past. He never does anything with his present life because he was so caught up on his idealistic one. This is a real situation of people waste their actual life wishing the had a different one.





“Mr. Flood’s Party” (498)
The main character, Mr. Flood, is a lonely man who lost all those close to him. He is so lonely that he decides to drink and have a “party” by himself. This reminds us of real problems surrounding alcoholism after losing loved ones.

Journal 13

Journal #13 – Edgar Lee Masters Epitaphs (p. 502)

Read “George Gray” and “Lucinda Matlock” and answer the following questions.


1. What object symbolizes George Gray’s life? How is this object representative of him?


George Gray’s life is represented by the boat with the furled sail. The sail is sort of a metaphor for Gray’s missed opportunities as well. If he didn’t have the furled sail, his life would have been more full becase he would have had more life experiences and taken more adventures and opportunites. His ship never “set sail”, causing him to miss out on many of his life ambitions. If he would have opened his sail or opened his mind and heart he would have had much more meaning to his life.




2. How was Lucinda Matlock’s life different than George Gray’s? How do you interepret the last line of the poem?
Lucinda seemed to have lived a more happy and joyous life. She took advantage of opportunites and acted upon her wishes whereas George Gray has more regrets of things he didn’t do. Lucinda experienced many of live’s great processes and acted on spontaneous feelings leaving her feeling fulfilled and content. George seemed to let life pass him by leaving him wanting more. The last line of the poem seems to say that no one will appreciate the greatness of life if you don’t live it to the fullest.






3. How are “George Gray” and “Lucinda Matlock” examples of realism?
George Gray and Lucinda Matlock are both examples of two very different and very real types of people. They are instances of two ordinary people living ordinary and normal lives, one being happy and one being unhappy. They are examples typical people with different outlooks on life.

Journal 12

Journal #12 - “Young Goodman Brown”

1. “Young Goodman Brown” is an allegory (symbolic narrative). What do the following represent?

Young Goodman Brown – He represents a man who was once good but changes as loses faith.


Faith – Faith represents his religious beliefs as well as the faith Goodman Brown has in others.

The Elderly Traveler/Fellow-Traveler – Represents the devil who temps Goodman Brown.


Goody Cloyse – Represents corruption and hypocrisy because she taught him about God but she herself is really evil.


The Ceremony – The ceremony represents people’s sinful nature. It was like the opposite of baptism. Instead of being cleansed of sin in a Baptism, they are celebrating sin and the converts to sin.


The Pink Ribbon – Represents Goodman’s loss of Faith in terms of religious faith and his wife, Faith.


Young Goodman Brown’s Journey – His journey represents the path from innocence to experience and of knowledge of good and evil.


2. Identify the following for “Young Goodman Brown”:

Theme Message of Theme Element Used to Establish


Theme: Deception
The message tells readers that Goodman tried to do everything right in life but in doing that he was unable to see how people truly are, even people as close to him as is wife. The people in his life turned out to be extremely different than what he originally believed.
Element used: Characterization






In addition, provide three direct quotes from the story that address your theme.
I have been as well acquainted with your family as with ever a one among the Puritans; and that's no trifle to say. I helped your grandfather, the constable, when he lashed the Quaker woman so smartly through the streets of Salem; and it was I that brought your father a pitch-pine knot, kindled at my own hearth, to set fire to an Indian village, in King Philip's war. They were my good friends, both; and many a pleasant walk have we had along this path, and returned merrily after midnight. I would fain be friends with you for their sake."

That old woman taught me my catechism," said the young man; and there was a world of meaning in this simple comment.

But something fluttered lightly down through the air and caught on the branch of a tree. The young man seized it, and beheld a pink ribbon."My Faith is gone!" cried he, after one stupefied moment. "There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil; for to thee is this world given."

Journal 11

Journal 11 - Selections from Walden

Write a summary of the following selections and identify a direct quote that you feel best expresses its main idea.

“Where I Lived and What I Lived For” (232)

- Only to live the essentials
- Essentials
o Water (pond near his home)
o Shelter (15 x 10 simple built shed)
o Food (natural)
o Clothes

- Not to worry about the little things
- Simplicity
- Self-reliant and efficient
-





Quote:
“I went to the woods to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life… and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived”.




“Sounds” (234)

In this passage the narrator simply sits and listens to the sounds of the day. He hears the sounds of nature and the sounds of society. He comes to the realization that most of society is in search of amusement. People chase amusments such as going to the theater and socializing. The narrator shares that instead of involving themselves in different actitivties, they would instead be amused by being still and listening to the sounds.




Quote: “I had this advantage, at least, in my mode of life, over those who were obligateded to look abroad for amusement, to society and the theater, that my life itself was become my amusment and never ceased to be novel”
(pg. 244)




“Brute Neighbors” (235)
- The supreme example of trancedental art
- For thematic purposes, Thoreau condenses his two years at Walden Pond into one year (summer-spring)





Quote:
“I went to the woods to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life… and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”




“The Pond in Winter” (237)
Pond froze over
- People are fishing in the frozen pond
- We go out into nature to experience it for ourselves. The fishermans’ lives are simple and not artificial
- Nature and life is still thriving even in the winter when everything seems to be gone
-






Quote: “Early in the morning, while all things are crisp with frost, men come with fishing reels and slender lunch, and let down their fine lines through the snowy field to take pickerel and perch; wild men, who instinctively follow other fashions and trust other authorities than their townsmen, and by their goings and coming stitch towns together in parts where else they would be ripped”.




“Spring” (238)
- Everything is starting to renew and change with the beginning of spring
- He could never match the wise old man with his experience and knowledge







Quote: “As every season seems best to us in its turn, so the coming in of spring is like the creation of cosmos out of Chaos and the realization of the golden age”

Journal 10

Journal #10

Othello’s Insight

Write a one paragraph response to the following question:

Often at the end of a play, Shakespeare’s tragic heroes often have a moment of insight. What is Othello’s insight? Look closely at Othello’s last speech before answering this question.

Othello’s moment of insight is displayed in his final speech. He takes the time to speak to the people in the room right before he kills himself. He realizes that he was manipulated by Iago and instead of making excuses for his actions he asks that the others remember the good that he did as well. He is aware that his actions during the last few days of his life make him look bad but he doesn’t want the good to be forgotten either. Othello knows that he was wrong in killing Desdemona and doesn’t try to avoid that. In owning up to his actions, he shows insight and remorse even though he doesn’t stick around to live out the consequences. His final speech lets the audience see his true character and the pain and troubles that Iago’s mind games had caused to him.

Journal 9

Journal #9 - Free Will vs. Determinism


Free Will - The power of making free choices that are unconstrained by external circumstances or by an agency such as fate or divine will.

Iago: “'tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our bodies are our
gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners” (1.3 361-3).

Determinism - The philosophical doctrine that every event, act, and decision is the inevitable consequence of antecedents, such as genetic and environmental influences, that are independent of the human will.

Othello: “Yet ‘tis the plague of great ones … ‘tis destiny unshunnable, like
death” (3.3 313-16).

Using the above definitions, write a paragraph that argues in support of each of the terms. In your paragraphs, use specific examples from Othello to support your ideas.

Free will was demonstrated throughout many of the characters’ actions throughout Othello. Iago was often looked at as the villain who was the cause of the fallouts in relationships between characters as well as the deaths that occurred in the end. This could be argued as free will instead. Iago may have been a force in putting ideas in Othello’s head but Othello had the choice to believe what he was being told or not and further, act on the things that he had no concrete proof of. In reality, the proof Iago gave to Othello was very broad. Othello played into Iago’s plan without doing much thinking on his own. He chose, with his free will, to believe Iago. He took this even further to do what Iago suggested to him and kill his wife to get rid of problems that never really existed.

Determinism could also arguably be the cause for different situations in Othello. The first situation that comes to mind is the initial relationship between Othello and Desdemona. There was no solid answer throughout the play of whether the two were actually meant to be, which would be the explanation of determinism. Determinism would argue that fate brought Othello and Desdemona together. This could definitely be the case as they were both aware of the differences between them when they met but did not let that stop them from moving forward with a relationship. They went off of fate until free will came into play between their relationship.