While I was reacquainting myself
with The Great Gatsby I remembered that I was not a huge fan. I felt as if the
story dragged on, it did not really grasp my attention. However I did notice
some small details of symbolism for example, the weather through out the book
matched up with the emotion of the scene. When Gatsby is first reunited with
Daisy it is raining heavily giving off a feeling of depression but when the
feeling of love between them starts to come back the sun is beginning to shine.
The green light at the end of the
dock is a symbol of Gatsby’s hope and his dreams of the future. In the
beginning of the book he reaches toward it as if it will lead him to where he
wants to go.
I also feel as though the green
light is a symbol of the long lost American dream. The American dream is one of
freedom and hardworking people who respect each other but as shown in the book
through greed and the pursuit of simple pleasures the dream is far from what it
once was.
That’s just some theories of mine.
I could be way off though, any thoughts? –Mary
Okay, I'm giving you the same comment I gave Kayleigh, since the prompt was to discuss the beginning of Gatsby THROUGH THE FRAME OF our readings and discussions so far in this class. So: How do these questions and ways of talking about the text relate to value/evaluation? What approaches are you using to read and why? What are the goals of your critical approach above? (Don't say, "to understand the book." Go further!)
ReplyDeleteI think that 'The Great Gatsby' is a great book to analyze using the formal techniques. There are tons of examples of symbolism and metaphor. I always saw the light on the dock as you do, as well as a symbol of hope. Daisy always bothered me though. She is kind of helpless, a sort of trophy to be won. I look forward to reading Gatsby from a feminist approach - I bet that I won't enjoy it half as much as I did the first time!
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