Here's a link to the lyrics of the song at the end of chapter five:
http://www.smickandsmodoo.com/lyrics/aintwe.htm
Here's a link to an old recording of the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y041-eT6QrI
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Chapter Five--Ponderings
It begins with a sequence that sounds like the picture that we looked at--Gatsby's house on fire. Hmm... Coney Island--the World's Fair Interesting that these are places people go to have fun. Never mentions it being a home...
The plan has been set. Nick is inviting Daisy for tea!!
Notice here too that Gatsby offers Nick something, but Nick refuses (first couple of pages)--this transaction is important--and important that it was refused.
Lots of plans for tea--mowing the lawn in the rain--how does that work? The Finn--remember Nick has a housekeeper. That's who the Finn is.
Gatsby comes early, leaves early, that comes back to make an entrance. Gatsby says at 3:58 that no one is coming. Tea isn't until 4--we see something happen to Gatsby here if we pay really close attention. Something has changed.
Daisy has a chauffeur here named "Fertie." I bring that up only because "Fertie" is a nickname that we used to have for my goddaughter...
Daisy is in lavender. A flower in a flower.
Daisy and Gatsby seem to be "polite." What happens in this chapter is why I believe Jordan was telling the truth to Nick in chapter four.
Are the lemon cakes significant? I don't know--but they are a little bit of yellow are a really rainy day.
There is also the scene with the old clock that is stopped that Gatsby bumps off the mantle...As an English teacher, I think that it's symbolic...what could it mean? Time has stopped--why would that be important?
Gatsby knows to the month how long it has been since he has seen Daisy...Daisy says that it's been "many years."
There is lots of discomfort in this little room... So much so that Nick leaves his house to Gatsby and Daisy. Thirty minutes later, the rain has stopped outdoors, but Daisy has been crying indoors.
Then we take a trip to Gatsby's house. Flowers, shirts, Klingspriner, and the loss of the green light.
A couple of interesting quotations:
about seven pages in (page 89 in the white book): "A brewer had built it (Gatsby's house) early in the 'period' craze, a decade before, and there was a story that he'd agreed to pay five years' taxes on all the neighboring cottages if the owners would have their roofs thatched with straw. Perhaps their refusal took the heart out of his plan to Found a Family--he went into an immediate decline. His children sold his house with the black wreath still on the door. Americans, while occasionally willing to be serfs, have always been obstinate about being peasantry."
Third to the last paragraph of chapter 5: "There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams--not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way. No amount of fire of freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart."
The plan has been set. Nick is inviting Daisy for tea!!
Notice here too that Gatsby offers Nick something, but Nick refuses (first couple of pages)--this transaction is important--and important that it was refused.
Lots of plans for tea--mowing the lawn in the rain--how does that work? The Finn--remember Nick has a housekeeper. That's who the Finn is.
Gatsby comes early, leaves early, that comes back to make an entrance. Gatsby says at 3:58 that no one is coming. Tea isn't until 4--we see something happen to Gatsby here if we pay really close attention. Something has changed.
Daisy has a chauffeur here named "Fertie." I bring that up only because "Fertie" is a nickname that we used to have for my goddaughter...
Daisy is in lavender. A flower in a flower.
Daisy and Gatsby seem to be "polite." What happens in this chapter is why I believe Jordan was telling the truth to Nick in chapter four.
Are the lemon cakes significant? I don't know--but they are a little bit of yellow are a really rainy day.
There is also the scene with the old clock that is stopped that Gatsby bumps off the mantle...As an English teacher, I think that it's symbolic...what could it mean? Time has stopped--why would that be important?
Gatsby knows to the month how long it has been since he has seen Daisy...Daisy says that it's been "many years."
There is lots of discomfort in this little room... So much so that Nick leaves his house to Gatsby and Daisy. Thirty minutes later, the rain has stopped outdoors, but Daisy has been crying indoors.
Then we take a trip to Gatsby's house. Flowers, shirts, Klingspriner, and the loss of the green light.
A couple of interesting quotations:
about seven pages in (page 89 in the white book): "A brewer had built it (Gatsby's house) early in the 'period' craze, a decade before, and there was a story that he'd agreed to pay five years' taxes on all the neighboring cottages if the owners would have their roofs thatched with straw. Perhaps their refusal took the heart out of his plan to Found a Family--he went into an immediate decline. His children sold his house with the black wreath still on the door. Americans, while occasionally willing to be serfs, have always been obstinate about being peasantry."
Third to the last paragraph of chapter 5: "There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams--not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way. No amount of fire of freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart."
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Chapter Four
This will give you some historical context for chapter four, especially about Meyer Wolfsheim. Sorry I can't get it to link.
www.answers.com/topic/the-great-gatsby-novel-5
Here are the things that I wonder about...
We hear lots of rumors about Gatsby, who he is, what he has done. This book seems to promote the idea that when enough people say something, it must be the truth. With that in mind--look at all the rumors about Gatsby. What does that tell the reader?
How does that compare with the story Gatsby tells Nick on their way into New York? Try to figure out what it tells us that Gatsby just happens to have the medal and the photograph with him.
Why would Fitzgerald list the names of the party goers? See if you can find any similarities. What would Fitzgerald want the reader to think by using the names he does? You may have to look up some of the names.
Two more parties in this chapter--lunch and tea. What happens at each?
Why does Gatsby disappear after Nick introduces him to Tom?
Meyer Wolfsheim--an unforgettable character or just someone with lousy bling?
What do Nick and we find out about Gatsby at tea? Should we believe Jordan--remember she's dishonest, oh, but wait--so is Nick--and just a second--Gatsby says he's from the Midwest--San Francisco. Is their a San Francisco, North Dakota?
What should we believe?
www.answers.com/topic/the-great-gatsby-novel-5
Here are the things that I wonder about...
We hear lots of rumors about Gatsby, who he is, what he has done. This book seems to promote the idea that when enough people say something, it must be the truth. With that in mind--look at all the rumors about Gatsby. What does that tell the reader?
How does that compare with the story Gatsby tells Nick on their way into New York? Try to figure out what it tells us that Gatsby just happens to have the medal and the photograph with him.
Why would Fitzgerald list the names of the party goers? See if you can find any similarities. What would Fitzgerald want the reader to think by using the names he does? You may have to look up some of the names.
Two more parties in this chapter--lunch and tea. What happens at each?
Why does Gatsby disappear after Nick introduces him to Tom?
Meyer Wolfsheim--an unforgettable character or just someone with lousy bling?
What do Nick and we find out about Gatsby at tea? Should we believe Jordan--remember she's dishonest, oh, but wait--so is Nick--and just a second--Gatsby says he's from the Midwest--San Francisco. Is their a San Francisco, North Dakota?
What should we believe?
Friday, February 6, 2009
More Allusions--Gatsby
Versailles: This this a HUGE place? Take a look
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.french-touch-art.com/lecomte-versailles-1715.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.french-touch-art.com/en-panorama_versailles.htm&usg=__-nkkXVEiteDQt0SWFgf4BKdiKy0=&h=664&w=911&sz=220&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=aFvkogPfa9_l-M:&tbnh=107&tbnw=147&prev=/images%3Fq%3DVersailles%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN
Belasco
http://www.angelfire.com/ny/davidbelasco/
Gilda Gray
http://www.streetswing.com/histmai2/d2ggray1.htm
Vladimir Tostoff:
Vladimir Tostoff's Jazz History of the World is an imaginary composition by an imaginary composer. The jazz orchestra plays it for the guests at Gatsby's party in Chapter III. It's self-important title is Fitzgerald's cynical comment on how jazz tried to present itself as a serious rival to classical music during the '20s.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.french-touch-art.com/lecomte-versailles-1715.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.french-touch-art.com/en-panorama_versailles.htm&usg=__-nkkXVEiteDQt0SWFgf4BKdiKy0=&h=664&w=911&sz=220&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=aFvkogPfa9_l-M:&tbnh=107&tbnw=147&prev=/images%3Fq%3DVersailles%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN
Belasco
http://www.angelfire.com/ny/davidbelasco/
Gilda Gray
http://www.streetswing.com/histmai2/d2ggray1.htm
Vladimir Tostoff:
Vladimir Tostoff's Jazz History of the World is an imaginary composition by an imaginary composer. The jazz orchestra plays it for the guests at Gatsby's party in Chapter III. It's self-important title is Fitzgerald's cynical comment on how jazz tried to present itself as a serious rival to classical music during the '20s.
If you missed either journal this week...
Journal one should focus on what you think "The American Dream" is based on what your research and experience tells you.
Journal two should focus on the art at this site:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/essays/eyes/cugat_10.jpeg&imgrefurl=http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/essays/eyes/eyes.html&usg=__bod5HpdOKAciwPCnjp1JaK3JyLc=&h=500&w=351&sz=252&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=Al3tUnIEd7PruM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=91&prev=/images%3Fq%3DFrancis%2BCugat%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG
If you click on the image in the upper right, you will get a larger print. Write about what you see and what you think it represents. Remember this was the cover art for the original The Great Gatsby. Also remember that it was finished before Fitzgerald had completed the book!
Journal two should focus on the art at this site:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/essays/eyes/cugat_10.jpeg&imgrefurl=http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/essays/eyes/eyes.html&usg=__bod5HpdOKAciwPCnjp1JaK3JyLc=&h=500&w=351&sz=252&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=Al3tUnIEd7PruM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=91&prev=/images%3Fq%3DFrancis%2BCugat%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG
If you click on the image in the upper right, you will get a larger print. Write about what you see and what you think it represents. Remember this was the cover art for the original The Great Gatsby. Also remember that it was finished before Fitzgerald had completed the book!
Fitzgerald Bonus
Since we are reading F. Scott Fitzgerald, a local author, students may earn bonus by exploring areas of significance in St. Paul that relate to the author for bonus formative.
To complete this task, have a photo of yourself taken in front of Fitzgerald's statue in Rice Park, in front of the Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul, and in front of the house he lived in on Summit Avenue (between the 500 and 600 block - do a websearch to find the exact address). Print the photos for me--DO NOT EMAIL ME DIGITAL COPIES AS THEY JAM UP MY EMAIL! 5 points.
One last formative opportunity for now: watch the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button or read the short story, and write a one page reflection connecting the story's themes to class. 5 points.
To complete this task, have a photo of yourself taken in front of Fitzgerald's statue in Rice Park, in front of the Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul, and in front of the house he lived in on Summit Avenue (between the 500 and 600 block - do a websearch to find the exact address). Print the photos for me--DO NOT EMAIL ME DIGITAL COPIES AS THEY JAM UP MY EMAIL! 5 points.
One last formative opportunity for now: watch the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button or read the short story, and write a one page reflection connecting the story's themes to class. 5 points.
Chapter Three--suggestions
1. Pay attention to the colors, especially about the party.
2. Describe Nick at the party: what's he wearing, what sets him apart, what does he do.
3. Owl Eyes is important...and what is it with those library books?
4. Describe what Gatsby is like. Pay attention to him in terms of the other people at his party.
5. How do the people at the party behave? (You should be able to write a well-developed paragraph about this!) Pay attention to what happens to the behavior as the party progresses.
6. The oranges and lemons, the couples, and cars all have something in common in this chapter. You needed to pay attention to them because they give great insight into what happens!
7. We find out something new about Jordan...Uh oh!
8. Owl Eyes is at the end as well. Which wheel is it? The steering wheel? What does that tell us.
9. "Old Sport"--discuss.
10. Things seemed tacked on at the end--why might Fitzgerald do that?
2. Describe Nick at the party: what's he wearing, what sets him apart, what does he do.
3. Owl Eyes is important...and what is it with those library books?
4. Describe what Gatsby is like. Pay attention to him in terms of the other people at his party.
5. How do the people at the party behave? (You should be able to write a well-developed paragraph about this!) Pay attention to what happens to the behavior as the party progresses.
6. The oranges and lemons, the couples, and cars all have something in common in this chapter. You needed to pay attention to them because they give great insight into what happens!
7. We find out something new about Jordan...Uh oh!
8. Owl Eyes is at the end as well. Which wheel is it? The steering wheel? What does that tell us.
9. "Old Sport"--discuss.
10. Things seemed tacked on at the end--why might Fitzgerald do that?
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