Gatsby’s Webquest

Gatsby as a Savior:

Passages from Chapter 6

 

PASSAGE ONE:

The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic
conception of himself. He was a son of God—a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that—and he must be about His Father's business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty. So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end.

 

• The bold-faced words are words that have religious significance. Thus, these words/phrases either carry religious connotations or allude to religious doctrines. Examine the hyperlinks for all of the bold-faced words. Discuss Fitzgerald's message about each bulleted point below by considering what is being conveyed about Gatsby through diction.
  
  • Platonic
    

    
     

    
     

    
     

    
     

  • conception
    

    
     

    
     

    
     

    
     

  • son of God
    

 

 

 

 

• His Father's business
  

 

 

 

 

• conception
  

 

 

 

 

• faithful
  

 

 

 

 

• Next, examine the diction that contributes to further Fitzgerald's development of Gatsby. What is the denotation? What is the connotation?
  
  • vast
    

    
     

    
     

  • vulgar
    

    
     

    
     

  • meretricious
    

CRITICISM (adapted from several internet sources):

When Nick finally describes Gatsby's early history, he uses this striking comparison between Gatsby and Jesus Christ to illuminate Gatsby's creation of his own identity. Several scholars believe that Fitzgerald was influenced by Ernest Renan's The Life of Jesus so much so that he paralleled this text in The Great Gatsby. Renan's book presents Jesus as a figure who decided to make himself the son of God, then brought himself to ruin by REFUSING TO RECOGNIZE THE REALITY that denied his self-conception. This is a suggestive comparison because Gatsby also transforms himself into the ideal that he envisioned for himself (a "Platonic conception of himself") as a youngster and remains committed to that ideal throughout his life.

 

PASSAGE TWO:

Gatsby saw that the blocks of the sidewalk really formed a ladder and mounted to a secret place above the trees—he could climb to it, if he climbed alone, and once there he could suck on the pap of life, gulp down the incomparable milk of wonder. His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy's white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God…Then he kissed her. At his lips' touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete.

 

1. Examine the hyperlink attached to the word "incarnation." What concept does this word further develop? Why?
   

 

 

 

1. Identify the noteworthy diction. Be sure to analyze five words. Discuss the denotation and connotation of each word. Click on the word "denotation" to be directed to Merriam Webster's website.
   

   
    

   
    

   1. WORD:
      
      1. denotation—
         

         
          

      2. connotation—
         

         
          

         
          

   2. WORD:
      
      1. denotation—
         

         
          

      2. connotation—
         

         
          

         
          

   3. WORD:
      
      1. denotation—
         

         
          

      2. connotation—
         

         
          

         
          

   4. WORD:
      
      1. denotation—
         

         
          

      2. connotation—
         

         
          

         
          

   5. WORD:
      
      1. denotation—
         

         
          

      2. connotation—
         

         
          

         
          

   6. WORD:
      
      1. denotation—
         

         
          

      2. connotation—
         

         
          

         
          

1. What effect does this diction have on mood or character development?
   

   
    

   
    

   
    

   
    

 

PASSAGE THREE:

Each night he added to the pattern of his fancies until drowsiness closed down upon some vivid scene with an oblivious embrace. For a while these reveries provided an outlet for his imagination; they were a satisfactory hint of the unreality of reality; a promise that the rock of the world was founded securely on a fairy's wings.

 

1. Examine the hyperlink attached to the word "incarnation." What concept does this word further develop? Why?
   

   
    

   
    

   
    

   1. Identify the noteworthy diction. Be sure to analyze five words. Discuss the denotation and connotation of each word. Click on the word "denotation" to be directed to Merriam Webster's website.
      

      
       

      
       

      1. WORD:
         
         1. denotation—
            

            
             

         2. connotation—
            

            
             

            
             

      2. WORD:
         
         1. denotation—
            

            
             

         2. connotation—
            

            
             

            
             

      3. WORD:
         
         1. denotation—
            

            
             

         2. connotation—
            

            
             

            
             

      4. WORD:
         
         1. denotation—
            

            
             

         2. connotation—
            

            
             

            
             

      5. WORD:
         
         1. denotation—
            

            
             

         2. connotation—
            

            
             

            
             

      6. WORD:
         
         1. denotation—
            

            
             

         2. connotation—
            

            
             

            
             

2. What effect does this diction have on mood or character development?
   

   
    

   
    

   
    

Schedule for Last 9 Days

SCHEDULE FOR THE LAST 9 DAYS

**9th period will be held in E208**

Date	Location	Class Assignment	HW
TUESDAY 5/29	E308		Castle Learning Quiz (Great Gatsby Ch. 1-6)
WEDNESDAY 5/30	G305	Webquest for Chapter 6 of The Great Gatsby **Be sure you’ve read this chapter beforehand.	FINISH  THE GREAT GATSBY WITH NOTES!!
THURSDAY 5/31	E308	Review the CONSTRUCTED SHORT RESPONSES (Regents Exam  )
FRIDAY 6/1	E308	Review the CRITICAL LENS (Regents Exam)
MONDAY 6/4	E308	Review the listening and multiple choice questions of the Regents Exam
TUESDAY 6/5	E308	Review The Great Gatsby	STUDY FOR THE REGENTS!!!
WEDNESDAY 6/6	G305	In-class FINAL EXAM
THURSDAY 6/7	G305
FRIDAY 6/8	G305

HOMEWORK and VOCABULARY from 5/18

86.  ZEALOUS
87.  NEFARIOUS
88.  PRODIGIOUS
89.  OSTENTATION
90.  SERENDIPITOUS

Over the weekend, please finish CHAPTER 3 of The Great Gatsby. Also, please finish the first three rows of the worksheet.  We will work on the "Commentary on Society" row and the "Other" row in class on Monday.

HW and VOCAB for 5/16

1.  VOCAB TEST on words 1-80 TOMORROW!!
2.  Finish reading chapter 2 of The Great Gatsby, and fill in the remaining boxes from the chart (class work worksheet).
3.  Today's vocabulary:

84.  decadence (n)-- (1) Moral or cultural decline, esp. after a peak of achievement; (2) a luxurious self-indulgence

85. haughty (adj)--Arrogantly superior and disdainful

• hauteur (n) / haughtiness (n)--arrogance

Tom's Infidelity

Read the following article: http://voices.yahoo.com/the-truth-men-women-cheating-4872562.html?cat=41 Then, using The Great Gatsbyand your own personal philosophy, analyzetheconcept of infidelity.

Words 1-83 (Today's Words Included)...

The test on Thursday will cover the first EIGHTY (80) words.

1.      patronizing   

2.      repress        

3.      pragmatic       

4.      reticent   

5.      capricious    

6.      frivolous

7.      ignominious   

8.      squalor    

9.      subjective       

10. objective   

11. vulnerable    

12. anomaly

13. revere       

14. pretentious    

15. condescending   

16. alleviate   

17. uncanny    

18. conventional

19. vilify       

20. slander    

21. trepidation       

22. turbulence   

23. puritanical    

24. crucible

25. rapturous       

26. languish    

27. indulge       

28. hedonism   

29. convoluted    

30. abstention

31. misanthrope   

32. avarice        

33. recoil       

34. enervate   

35. meek        

36. averse

37. relinquish       

38. dissension

39. rue

40. disseminate

41. disdain

42. chastise

43. contempt

44. spurn

45. scorn

46. surreptitious

47. malice

48. stringency

49. iniquity

50. iniquitous

51. malevolent

52. malicious

53. valor

54. valorous       

55. amoral

56. maniacal

57. compelling—evoking interest, attention, or admiration in a powerfully irresistible way

58. daunting—seemingly difficult to deal with; intimidating

59. cunning—having or showing skill in achieving one's ends by deceit or evasion

60. aspersion— an attack on the reputation or integrity of someone or something

a.      The verb “asperse” means to attack the integrity of someone.

61. compunction—a feeling of guilt or moral scruple that follows the doing of something bad; remorse

62. absolution (n)—freedom from blame, sin, guilt; clemency; exculpation

1. verb—absolve

63. exculpation—(n) freedom from guilt or blame; clemency; absolution
1. verb-exculpate
64. limpid- clear, transparent
65. latent- hidden but capable of being exposed abigail's intentions were latent in the community

69. archetypal (adj)—
70. quintessential (adj)—
71. ambivalent (adj)—not having strong feelings of like or dislike; not affected; unsure; hesitant; of two minds
72. affluent (adj)—rich; wealthy

71. bombastic (adj)—pompous; pretentious

72. opulent (adj)—wealthy; lavish; luxurious
73.  supercilious (adj)—excessively proud; arrogant
74.  cajole (v)—coax; wheedle; flatter; sweet talkremoved (adj)—distant; detached; uninvolved
75. bigoted (adj)—racist; prejudiced; biased; xenophobiccomplacent (adj)—often without awareness of some potential danger or defect; self-satisfied
76. complacent (adj)—often without awareness of some potential danger or defect; self-satisfied
77. languid (adj)—lacking in spirit or interest; listless; indifferent
78. discomfit (v)— humiliate; to make someone feel uneasy
79. divert (v)—deflect; distract; change direction
80. disputatious (adj)—inclined to argue
81. intimation (n)—a hint; an insinuation; a suggestion; a warning
1. to intimate (v)—to suggest; to hint
82. enigma (n)—a mysterious or puzzling object/person; a person who is difficult to understand
1. enigmatic (adj)—puzzling; mysterious
83. pine (v)—to yearn for; suffer a mental and physical decline, esp. because of a broken heart

5: An Author's Legacy

Watch the following video:

Arthur Miller states that a great play must inform the people of their societies' problems.  It is true that authors--after death--leave their legacies behind, specifically what infuriated them about their societies.  Considering this philosohpy, decide upon the most powerful point Arthur Miller conveyed to people.  Argue your point by supporting it with evidence from the text.

4: The Importance of a Title

        The word “crucible” is used once in the play but for an important reason; it is its title.  With that point made, the word "crucible"  has two definitions: (1) “severe test” and (2) "a ceramic or metal container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures." Discuss the meaning of the title and its connection to the play.  You must support your claims with thorough evidence from the text.  How is it an effective title?  You may also discuss the importance and connotation of “heat” in the play.

Notes from Today

VOCABULARY WORDS FOR 5/9

72. supercilious (adj)—excessively proud; arrogant

SAMPLE SENTENCE:

73.  cajole (v)—coax; wheedle; flatter; sweet talk

SAMPLE SENTENCE:

Then, copy down this quote at the top of a blank sheet of paper:

It was an extraordinary gift of hope…such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again.  No—Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily close out my interest in the abortive (fruitless/without a product) sorrows and short-winded (short-lived/not lasting) elations (ecstasy) of men (HUMANS).

1. Extraordinary—amazing—positive connotation (other words with positive connotations from passage: hope, gift, dreams, elations)—GATSBY—From these words, Gatsby is characterized as a good man.
2. Prey—hunted (Animals that are hunted: rabbits, mice, deer—animals of innocence/purity)  This word choice illuminates Gatsby’s vulnerability, innocence, and purity.  He is the prey.  It also emphasizes Gatsby’s helplessness in the situation.
3. It—The thing/the person—The story, although titled The Great Gatsby, is really about the “it” that preyed upon Jay Gatsby.  The narrator chooses to tell this story because he is truly bothered by what preyed upon Gatsby.  Thus, the focus of the story is the “it” and not GATSBY himself.  The “it” is what changes our narrator.  The “it” closes our narrator off from society.
4. IT—FOUL DUST—PREDATOR—Right from the start, our narrator indicates to us that it is a battle between GOOD (GATSBY) AND BAD (IT).
5. wake—funeral—The word “wake hints at/provides us with the image of death. It also brings to mind the image of water (waves).  It highlights the concept of the rippling effects of water.
6. From the last section of this passage, we can see that this experience had a traumatizing effect on our narrator.  He feels that sorrows are useless and that happiness is always short-lived.

3: Arthur Miller's Intention

        Read the following excerpt from an interview with Arthur Miller.  Throughout the year, we have discussed that an author writes to expose the injustices he/she sees in the world.  With this in mind, were Miller's intentions  SUCCESSFULLY AND EFFECTIVELY conveyed through The Crucible.  Use one (1) THOROUGH EXAMPLE in your response to support your claim. 

Miller’s response to why he wrote the play:

…I wished for a play that would show the sin of public terror as it divests man of conscience, of himself. I had known of the Salem witch hunt for many years before “McCarthyism” had arrived and it had always remained in inexplicable darkness to me. When I looked into it now, however, it was with the contemporary situation at my back, particularly the mystery of the handing over of conscience, which seemed to me the central and informing fact of the time. The central impulse for writing was not the social, but the interior psychological question of that guilt rising in Salem which the hysteria merely unleashed, but did not create. Consequently, the structure reflects that understanding, and it centers on John, Elizabeth, and Abigail.

NOTE: You may have to look up some of the vocabulary to truly understand Miller's point.

2: Elizabeth Proctor's Dilemma

Watch the video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=Y_MeLaZuKYs&feature=endscreen


In a well-developed paragraph, discuss your interpretation of Elizabeth Proctor.  How do you see her dilemma?  What does it say about her if she willingly lied in court about John?  Remind yourself of Act 2 because in that scene she will not let him forget his sin.

REMEMBER:  The quote worksheet...

1: John Proctor's Confession

In lieu of a formal class test on The Crucible, you will be responding to 5 posts, Monday through Friday of this week.  Each post will be worth 20 points.  Here is today's question.  Watch the film clip below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Eel02K-WPo

In a well-structured paragraph, discuss and evaluate this man's analysis of John Proctor's confession.  He calls John Proctor a savior.  Are Proctor's actions at the end of the play as valiant as this man claims them to be?  Why or why not?

NOTE: The quote worksheet must be handed in by FRIDAY, without exception.

SAT

Answers to Reading Section #9:

7. D (easy)
8. E (medium)
9. D (medium)
10. D (medium)
11. B (medium)
12. C (easy)
13. A (medium)
14. E (medium)
15. C (medium)
16. B (medium)
17. E (medium)
18. A (medium)
19. D (medium)

Strategies for the SAT:

VOCABULARY—

• Define A-E before reading the sentence.
• Read the sentence, paying close attention to the KEY word(s) that hint at the definition(s) that you are looking for.
• Try to fill in the blank(s) on your own.
• Re-examine the choices (A-E), and select the BEST answer.

GRAMMAR—

• Bracket all prepositional phrases to avoid confusion.  This strategy will help you highlight the subject and verb.
• Mark the subject and verb. Make sure that they agree (e.g., if the subject is singular, then the verb should be singular)
• If there is more than one verb in the sentence, make sure that they are all in the same tense.
• Check the comma usage by running through the comma rules we’ve been studying (e.g., prepositional phrase, transition, subordinating conjunction, coordinating conjunction)
• Check the semi-colon usage.
• If you still cannot locate the error, check for the following concepts:
• parallelism (if there is a list in the sentence, this could be the answer)
• pronoun-antecedent agreement
• modifiers (make sure that the modifier matches the subject of the sentence)

READING—

• Look at the questions to see the line numbers that you are supposed to examine.  Mark those line numbers on your passage.
• Read the italicized print before the passage.  It will help to set up the context of the passage.  It will also help give you an overview of what the passage is about.
• Read the passage in its entirety.  Annotate as you read.
• Answer the questions, rereading not just the singular line numbers but the paragraph or line before and after.

GOOD LUCK! :)