Search Our Essay Database

Essay Instructions: Book: "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The novel is ?built? around a central mystery: Jay Gatsby, who he is, how he gets his money, why he does the things that he does. Here?s a quote: ? The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his own 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? (chapter 5, p. 104 in my volume).

For your essay, I want you to explore the nature and implications of this mystery Jay Gatsby symbolizes. Begin by unpacking the above quotation. What is Fitzgerald talking about? What are the metaphors he uses, and why? This analysis should form the nucleus of your opening paragraph ( or paragraphs) and relate to the formulation of your thesis statement. Once you have exhaustively analyzed the above quotation in your early paragraphs, pick two more quotes from anywhere in the novel that support your reading of the ?mystery.? Your interpretations of these examples should illustrate your sense of what that mystery is. Be sure to relate Gatsby?s story to a larger sense of american experience. How is Gatsby ?representative? of america, or of some aspect of our national character.

The assignment should be 4-5 typed and double-spaced pages. YOU MUST FURNISH BOTH A TITLE AND AN EPIGRAPH FOR THIS PAPER.

Essay Instructions: The essay will discuss how one of the novels from the course represents the American Dream. Alternatively, the essay will conduct a comparative reading of the way two novels from the course depict the American Dream (it is not advisable to use more than two novels). Keep in mind, however, that you must develop a specific topic within the larger rubric of the American Dream. In other words, it is not enough simply to show that a novel speaks to the American Dream, since this is already implied.

Some potential topics include: the frontier spirit; the construction of an ?American? persona; the formation of a (national, regional, local, etc.) community; material success versus self-actualization; the motif of sports and the ?level playing field?; unreliable narration versus the omniscient, all-seeing figure; the breakdown of the American Dream narrative; living the American Dream without honesty (or talent or luck or hard work); leaving America; coming to America; women and the American Dream; national history versus personal history; ethnic identity and the American Dream narrative; the motif of driving; building the domestic sphere; crime as the (only?) pathway to the dream; and others.

NOTE: The novels that may be used are as follows:

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby
Highsmith, Patricia. The Talented Mr. Ripley
Morrison, Toni. Beloved
Thompson, Hunter S. Fear and Loathing in Las VegaS

Essay Instructions: Choose one character from the novel. Describe at least three key details about that character (something he/she says, he/she does, or something another character says about him/her), supporting the detail with specific quotations from the text. Use at least 3-4 quotations. Next, discuss whether those details make the character sympathetic (one you can relate to, a character the reader likes) or unsympathetic (one the reader does not like)and why.

In a separate paragraph after the conclusion answer this question:
As you probably know, several films have been made of The Great Gatsby (one just came out this year), and the character of Gatsby is one often referred to in our culture. Why do you think this story is so compelling for people? Why do you think it is so often required reading in schools and colleges? How does the movie compare with the book.

Source materials:

The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald

Essay Instructions: Request Writtergrrl101! Can use previously purchased research paper on Gatsby as a base to work from, using as much as needed. (Order ID:109314)

From Syllabus - This research paper will be based on the novel, The Great Gatsby.
You are to write a paper on a literary topic related to your novel in some way.
Think about questions like this:
Does the novel contain a great deal of symbolism? Perhaps you could write a paper that deals with the author's use of symbolism in that novel.
How does realism play into the meaning of the novel?
How does the change in setting affect the development of the plot?
You may choose to address standard fiction elements such as theme, characterization, symbolism, allegory, irony, realism, or settings. History papers and biographical papers are not acceptable for this assignment. Begin planning your literary research paper now. In determining the grade for the paper, I will consider form (mechanics, grammar), content, documentation, and process. Each will affect the final grade for the paper.
Research papers will have a body of seven to ten (7-10) pages. The paper must also have title page, outline, and Works Cited pages. (These pages are NOT considered as part of the essay page count.) You will find a sample title page, a sample outline, and a sample Works Cited page in the Simon and Schuster Handbook. The order of pages in the paper is title page, outline, body of paper, works cited.
The final Works Cited page will contain seven to eight (7-8) sources. The sources will be derived from appropriate books, periodicals, etc., to denote variety of sources used. Cliffs Notes, Masterplots, Monarch, Wikipedia are NOT appropriate sources. Each of the sources used in the Works Cited must be used at least once in the research paper.
You are to follow MLA format and documentation as described in your handbook.
Use direct quotations sparingly (no more than 25% of the paper).
Be sure topic is sufficiently limited.
All words should be spelled correctly and errors in sentence structure eliminated.
The level of diction should be formal (no slang, contractions, jargon, or technical terms without definition).
The paper should be well written and scholarly.
All borrowed information must be noted whether quoted or not.