Gatsby essay outline

Hunter Chasens

The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, has been

considered a by some to be a tragic romance by others a
statement about the unattainability of the American Dream.
Others would say it is both about a tragic Romance and
unattainability of the American Dream. This is possible due to
the dual symbolism the objects and characters possess in the
book.

On the surface, it is a tragic romance, one to rival the

great works of Shakespeare and Homer. A story of love gained,
lost, gained, then lost once more and left to sink. One of two
lovers, daisy and gatsby blocked by daisy's husband, tom. It
endorses their love by explaining their backstory; a Romeo and
Juliet type plot. A story in which their courtship is stopped by
the contrast in social status and wealth. Topically it is a
romance. This fact can not be denied or refuted, but one that
hides in its depths a secret. The book being a tragic romance
does not mean it can not incorporate other themes into its web,
or that Daisy is not a symbol for more.

Now look through your minds lense: The green light

symbolised the American dream, and Daisy was part of that. They
are connected by association. Daisy did symbolized the American
Dream, but so did the light. Both are in parallel and
sequential. From an abstract sense, Daisy was a machine that
carried two ghosts. (Referencing Arthur Koestlers book Ghost in
the Machine)Gatsby could not obtain the green light nor Daisy,
but because the green light and Daisy were so closely tied it
could be said that the occupy the same space. In other words,
they are but one symbol personified in two hosts. He could not
repeat the past and this dissolution is what emphasises my
point. Gatsby was a man dying of thirst trying to drink
quicksilver with a fork. He died trying to reach too high,
endorsing that the American Dream, for him, was unattainable.

The depth of the book allow this dual theme;

superficially it is nothing but a romance but if one unfocuses
their mind they can see something much deeper, and much sadder.
This allows multiple messages to be carried with one story, but
more over multiple symbols in one character. People view the
message that they need to, or want to see. To say that because

two messages contrast that could not coexist would be folly. It

is the uncompromising mind that thinks in binary and boolean.

If two ideas are present then one can not reject the
validity of an another idea just because they have a set belief
that only one idea can be present. This can be proven with the
interpretation of scripture.[1 ~David Livermore PhD, Customs of
the World] The test of first-rate intelligence is the ability
to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still
retain the ability to function. ~ F.Scott Fitzgerald. (author
of the Great Gatsby) The general belief is that even if two
messages contrast they can still both be held side by side,
analysed and believed to be the intended message by the same
mind. This is what it is to be human, for X to equal both true
and false at once without loss of sanity. The message changes
and is dynamic. This proves that the message changes depending
on cultural, disposition, political stance, and beliefs.

Ultimately the reader is the only one that can interpret

what it means for them. This is the tragedy and beauty of
symbolism; depth and flexibility in meaning. A hundred years
from now our children might read this book and receive a very

different message, but one that is equally important to their

fate. The Great Gatsby is ultimately a tragic romance and a
statement about the unattainability of the American Dream;
coexisting, living in the same words; just different planes of
existence. If you look closely you can see it, you can hear it
whisper. Listen close and it will tell you its secrets. The more
lenses and filters you place over your understanding the faster
your comprehension will develop of the truth.

(I understand that second person is informal but my belief is

that this last part connects to the reader better then it would
if I abandon second person. Ultimately it is a trade off, and
one I hope you approve of as I feel it makes the conclusion more
tangible.)

[1]: David Livermore PhD in his 24 part lectures series, Customs

of the World, mentions how a study found that asking clergy of
the same religion about the same lines of scripture differ
geographically; specifically at cultural gaps. So different
cultures see different things? Does this not mean that one must
be the right interpretation and the rest must be wrong?

Highlights
1. What did you hope to accomplish with this writing?
In this writing I hoped to accomplish a in depth examination of
properties of symbolism in the Great Gatsby.
2. What do you think you did well in this writing?
I think I did a good job conveying my text into words.
3. What are areas of weakness in this essay?
I whent off topic in the first draft and hope I corrected this
in the final draft.
4. After the peer review and self revision, what are changes
that you made?
My partner gave me good feedback on my introduction especially.
I took out almost a page of unnecessary material. Also had many
redundant words that were taken out.
5. What would you specifically like me to look for in this
essay?
I would like you to look at my conclusion. It is probably the
weakest point of my essay right now. I'm finishing this late at
night and I can only hope that I did not write complete
nonsense.
Rubric:
4 = exemplary
1=insufficient

3=proficient

2=developing

Purpose: writing clearly communicates an insightful or

original point or purpose

Development: writing supports purpose with sound

thoughts, ideas, and arguments that reference and
explain specific details or facts

Organization: writing is well organized and features

logical progression, effective transitions, and
coherence within and among paragraphs

Style: writing creates reader's interest through

accurate, varied and creative use of words, sentence

types, and sentence patterns

Grammar: writing follows conventions of standard written
English about literature (includes: spelling,
punctuation, capitalization, syntax, MLA format, etc.