Rebellion in American Lit Class!
Rebellion in American Lit Class!Jerz’s Literacy Weblog)
I’ve got a tough crowd in my American Literature class.
When I opened the discussion of The Great Gatsby with the question, “How was Gatsby great?” the students in their small groups overwhelmingly decided that he wasn’t great at all. A few mentioned favorably his love for Gatsby DAISY [Duh! –DGJ], but even then they thought his fixation on her was kind of creepy. Then we went to the computer room and I let the students blog. We’re talking about the same book next week, so their homework is simply to blog about it.
If you’d like to participate, please stop by the New Media Journalism website, see what the students are blogging about, and weigh in with your opinions. (You might search the site for “Gatsby” if there aren’t any Gatsby postings immediately visible.)
I’m planning to say as little as possible about the subject because I don’t want my opinions to sway the students too much, but if nobody brings up the points I was hoping they would discuss, I’ll mention them in class next week.
(You might also find posts on The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Bernice Bobs Her Hair, and A Jury of Her Peers.)
Similar:
Recent Posts
Shakespeare did not leave his wife Anne in Stratford, letter fragment suggests
It has long been assumed that William Shakespeare’s marriage to Anne Hathaway was less than…
Pater Noster Pedestrian Elevators
Some 50 years ago, my father took me to his office in Washington, DC. I…
Notes on Teaching August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle
I first taught Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle during an intensive 3-week online course during the 2020-21…
AP wins reinstatement to White House events after judge rules government can’t bar its journalists
A federal judge ordered the White House on Tuesday to restore The Associated Press’ full…
By Inferno’s Light #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 15) Dominion / Cardassian edgeplay and prison camp stratagems
Rewatching ST:DS9 After the recap of last week's "In Purgatory's Shadow," we see the Defiant,…
In Purgatory’s Shadow #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 14) Garak answers a coded message as Dominion forces prepare to attack
Rewatching ST:DS9 Kira helps Odo re-adjust to life as a shape-shifter, obliviously but brutally friendzoning…
View Comments
Glad to hear it, Heather.
We are about to break the bind of "The Great Gatsby," as a class novel in my AP course. I have a strange feeling I may get more out of the book than my classmates. Maybe not though, my class and teacher know I like this site very much. It's the first thing I go to and read during computer, and free time. Amazingly enough, it helped me pass a pop-quiz over e-mail, and it has helped me to use the correct wording for some of essay's I have had to write recently. Overall, this site has made me seriously think about topics, and shown me how to enjoy life too.
*Break the bind = Open and read
*AP Advanced Placement
Yes, I wondered why that hadn't made more of an impression on the class, but I didn't want to announce it (that would sort of invalidate my whole "this class isn't about finding out what the teacher thinks about a novel and spitting it back to him on a quiz" speech.
But maybe someone will bring it up in class next week.
I was thinking about it some more on the way home last night and Gatsby makes the ultimate sacrafice for Daisy. Whether willingly or not, Gatsby dies in the end leaving Daisy to live her life and not go to prision for running over Mrs. Wilson. I think that when characters are too romantic most people now a days see it as creepy. Romance in this day and age is almost extinct! Most people are worried about #1 and what's in it for them.
You're talking about Gatsby the way I thought of him when I first read the novel. I wonder why so many of my students were so cynical -- only one or two mentioned his devotion to Daisy... most focused on his wealth, and the presumably illegal actions he undertook in order to gain that wealth.
I think Gatsby's fixation on her could be considered romantic. He loved her very much but it was bad timing when they first met. After returning to where she lived and finding out that she couldn't wait for him anymore and that she married another is a turning point for him. He goes out and makes something of himself with the hopes that he will be good enough for her and can give her everything she ever wanted and that will win her back. Every action he makes after that is with the purpose to win her back. He doesn't want an affair, he wants to be with her forever. He is being very unselfish. I think that even with all of his flaws, being unselfish is a great quality.