Journal Entry 6 - Death and Betrayal

Due: Thursday, May 7, 2009

Read chapter 8. Then, find a creative way to respond to the events of this chapter. Perhaps you want to analyze a line of text. Or, perhaps you want to discuss the "accident." Was it truly an accident? Perhaps you want to discuss Tom's reaction to what occurred, or Gatsby's.

Journal Entry 5 - Daisy, Daisy

Due: Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Read the remainder of Chapter 7. Then, find one sentence or phrase which you would like to use to discuss Daisy Buchanan as a character. You may choose a line that she speaks, something another character says about her, or a line of narration. What does the line you choose reveal about her, especially if the line says something new that we have not discussed before?

Journal Entry 4 - Core Curriculum Skills

Due: Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Read the first half or so of Chapter 7 (first 13 pages, up to Myrtle looking out the window and mistaking Jordan Baker for Tom's wife). Then, look closely at the Key Terms and Elements of Analysis and Key Terms and Elements of Literary Analysis in the Humanities Core Curriculum Guide (pages 7-9). Focus on one of the terms and describe Fitzgerald's use of that term in an analytical paragraph about one passage in the reading. For example, you might write about Fitzgerald's use of metaphor and simile when he has Gatsby say, "[Daisy's] voice is full of money."

Journal Entry 3 - The Self-Made Man

Due: Monday, May 4, 2009

Read chapter 6. What evidence can you find in this chapter about the concept of the "self-made man?" To what extent is Gatsby self-made? What commentary is Fitzgerald making about self-made men in 1920s America?

Journal Entry 2 - Claim about Gatsby

Due: Thursday, April 30, 2009

After you read chapter 5, choose one scene - try to limit yourself to about a page of the text - to provide you evidence to support a claim that you write in the form "This scene reveals that Gatsby is ________________." You should fill in the blank with some claim about Gatsby only after you have grappled with the language of your chosen passage. Your blog entry should then explain the rationale for your claim, citing evidence from the text to support it.

Journal Entry 1 - Words and Image

Due: Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Read Chapter 4
Look closely at the last paragraph of the chapter and then look carefully at the cover of the book. In what way does the cover art by Francis Cugat, which was commissioned for the first edition of The Great Gatsby, reflect or amplify themes from the novel?

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