Journal 21 - Some Like it Hot vs. Gatsby

Some Like it Hot and The Great Gatsby are similar in many ways. They both deal with people in the upper class. Also, they share similar themes. They both deal with wealth and greed. Also, both deal with people who like to live a luxurious lifestyle. In both works, the women are attracted to the high class and wealthy men. Sugar fell in love with Joe because she thought that he was wealthy, and Daisy fell in love with Tom because of his money. Both works also dealt with the conflict of the illegal consumption of alcohol during the prohibition. Through all the conflicts of both books, love is still found between the characters. However, the biggest difference between the two works is that in Some Like it Hot the characters successfully find love, while in Gatsby love is lost by death or tragedy. 

Journal 20 - Gatsby Conclusion

Journal 20 – The Great Gatsby Conclusion

By using imagery to describe the parties that Gatsby would host, Nick explains that positive energy and happiness will never be in that house again. Gatsby’s days of hosting parties had come to an end and Nick retreats to his place on the shore to think about his changing surroundings. The green light that Nick describes symbolizes the hope for Gatsby and his dreams. Gatsby always hoped that he would be with Daisy. Nick connects Gatsby with the sailors by explaining that they both had an obsession with that green light. In both cases, their hopes and dreams ended up hurting them in the end. Gatsby died and the sailors were overwhelmed with many hardships. The dreams of both Gatsby and the sailors gave them false hope that they would reach their goals.

Journal 19 -- Characterization

Journal 19 - Characterization in Chapter 1 of The Great Gatsby

Write a description for each of the following characters based on his/her first appearance in Chapter 1.  Your description should include:

-the character’s physical appearance;

-the character’s actions/words;

-an adjective that best describes the character based on his/her initial    

 appearance

Nick Carraway        Adjective: _____Tolerant_______

Nick is a very understanding and tolerant of others’ problems. Nick tells the reader that people often come to him with their problems because he is a good listener. He doesn’t necessarily like this about himself. He is soft spoken and always kind to others. He seems to genuinely care about his friends, and often focuses on others before himself. Nick’s physical appearance is not discussed in the novel.

Tom Buchanan        Adjective ___Arrogant_________

Tom is described as having an aggressive appearance. Nick describes Tom as having shiny and arrogant eyes. Tom was a successful football player, and still has his aggressive edge as he appears to always be leaning forward. Nick sees Tom as an arrogant and somewhat snobby character. He comments that Tom is wealthy and isn’t afraid to show it. Nick makes it very clear that Tom is overly confident and stuck up.

Daisy Buchanan     Adjective ____Superficial_________

Daisy is Tom’s wife. She is Nick’s second cousin once removed. She is described in this way: “her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it, bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth, but there was an excitement in her voice that men who had cared for her found difficult to forget.” She is blonde haired, dainty, and fair skinned.

Jordan Baker           Adjective ____Independent___________

Jordan is essentially Daisy’s opposite. “She was extended full length at her end of the divan, completely motionless, and with her chin raised a little, as if she were balancing something on it which was quite likely to fall.” She is very poised and elegant. She is described as being slender, small-chested, and having an erect carriage. Her face appeared to be discontented, but polite and welcoming.

Jay Gatsby               Adjective _____Mysterious_____________

Jay Gatsby is a mysterious character. He is close friends with Nick and confides in him in times of need. Jay appears to have a lot of secrets that he is hiding, and Nick describes him as: “If personality was an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life, as if her were related to one of those intricate machines that register earthquakes then thousand miles away.” Jay is first described when Nick sees him peering into the distance at the green light across the water. This further adds to Gatsby’s mysterious character. 

Journal 18 - Hemingway

1. What is the significance of the story’s title?

The story title is significant because they are in Italy. Also, it shows isolation and the fact that the men are outsiders. They are all considered outsiders because of their injuries. They are set apart from the rest of the soldiers. The narrator specifically is isolated because he is not familiar with the language and he is foreign, but their injuries tie them together.

2. Which character do you think best represents the “Hemingway hero”? Why?

The fencer best represents the “Hemingway hero” because he suffers with grace and dignity, but is fighting hard until his bitter ending. He is dealing with the most suffering because of the loss of his wife. He is suffering not only because of his injury, but also because of his life. He knows that his hand isn’t going to get better, and the loss of his wife isn’t going to be something that is easy to overcome.

3. What can you infer about the photographs the doctor hangs up? What is the significance of the major’s reaction?

The photographs are used as encouragement to the soldiers, even though they are most likely fake. They are supposed to be used as motivation even though the machines might not actually work. The major doesn’t say anything about the photographs; he simply looks out the window. He isn’t very focused on what the doctors want him to do. He is distracted and not very hopeful that his hand will get better, so he doesn’t show any interest. He is isolating himself and pondering his thoughts and losses.

Journal 17 - Prufrock

Journal 17 - “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” – T.S. Eliot (p.775)

1. What is the significance of the poem’s epigraph? How does it relate to Prufrock?

The poem’s epigraph is six lines of a quotation from Canto of the Inferno by Dante Alighieri. Eliot does not translate it out of Italian, which makes people think that Eliot is ignorant and flashy. However, Eliot’s real purpose is that he wanted people to truly be interested enough to translate the quotation themselves.

2. Make a list of questions that Prufrock asks. Do you see a pattern/theme to these questions or are they random?

Prufrock asks very random questions. Should I eat a peach? Should I part my hair from behind? Do I dare? All of the questions are asking “should I” or “should I not?” He is unsure of himself, with low self esteem.

3. What do you think is Prufrock’s main flaw/problem?

Profrock’s main flaw/problem is an internal conflict. In the poem, he is speaking to a lover and he wishes to tell her how he feels about her. He doesn’t believe that anyone will read this poem, because he is not bold enough to express his feelings in that way. He is self conscious and said that he would feel disgraced and embarrassed if people knew about his feelings.

4. Why do you think this is called a love song? In what way is it a love song?

This is a love song in an ironic way. The title is used loosely as the poem centers itself around Prufrock’s feelings. He is actually expressing his lonliness, isolation, and unhappiness which is the complete opposite of love. The poem is very much about his physical and mental wandering and displeasure with his own life. He is very alone and not bold enough to express his feelings for his desired woman, and the title is therefore ironic.

Journal 16 - Crane/London

Journal 16 – Crane’s “The Blue Hotel” and London’s “To Build A Fire”

Read the following quote and discuss how it applies to the main characters in both stories. In the course of this discussion, address how each of the characters is both similar and different:

“Determinisim governs everything … The writer must study the inherited traits of individual character and the social condition of the time. Together, these elements determine the course of any action, the outcome of any life. Free will or self-determination is mostly an illusion, although chance is granted a role in human affairs. Still, even the effects of chance are obliterated in the inevitable course determined by the interaction of inherited character traits and the social environment.“

In “The Blue Hotel,” the stranger’s ultimate downfall was his personality traits. He was very awkward and bad at socializing. Unfortunately, his situation requires him to be social which is the ultimate cause of his downfall. If the stranger would have been put into a situation that didn’t require social activity, he probably wouldn’t have been killed. His awkwardness and lack of social skills caused his death in the longrun. However, in “To Build A Fire,” the man’s social surrioundings had nothing to do with his death. There was no way that the man would have beaten nature in his situation. The weather conditions were simply too harsh for any human being to survive. The man’s personality and inherited traits didn’t have anything to do with his death. The uncontrollable weath conditions caused his ultimate downfall.

Journal 15 - Editha

Journal 15 – William Dean Howell’s “Editha”

1. Write a sentence that summarizes the story’s overall message, and provide three direct quotes from the story that best illustrate this message.

The story’s overall message was to not give into peer pressure, and to follow your own desires.

· “All the while, in her duplex emotioning, she was

aware that now at the very beginning she must put a

guard upon herself against urging him, by any word

or act, to take the part that her whole soul willed him

to take, for the completion of her ideal of him.”

· “He was very nearly perfect as he was, and he must be

allowed to perfect himself. But he was peculiar, and

he might very well be reasoned out of his peculiarit.”

· “He took half the lemonade at a gulp, and he

answered as he set the glass down: "I know you

always have the highest ideal. When I differ from

you I ought to doubt myself."

A generous sob rose in Editha's throat for the

humility of a man, so very nearly perfect, who was

willing to put himself below her.”

2. What tactics does Editha use to make George believe as she does about the war?

Editha makes herself seem pathetic and upset about the ideas of war in oder to convince George about her ideas. She tells him how great he is and how much he could help our country, right or wrong. She tricks him into beliving that the war is what is best for him. She twists his mind and almost brainwashes him.

3. Is there ever a time in which Editha truly understands what she has done? Does she ever experience an epiphany?

Yes, Editha truly understans what she has done. George is killed in the war and she feels as if it is her fault. She is full of self-pitty and sorrow throughout her life, until the end of the reading when she talks to the lady that is painting her. She then realizes that she needs to move on with her life and continue to live the way she used to, in the ideal.

Journal 14 - Robinson

Journal #14 - E. A. Robinson Poems

Realism – The theory or practice in art and literature of fidelity to nature or to real life and to accurate representation without idealization of the most typical views, details, and surroundings of the subject.

Read the following poems and write a detailed description for each of the title characters and explain how each is an example of the “real” instead of the “ideal.”

“Richard Cory“ (497)

Richard Cory was rich and very well liked, but he wasn’t happy with his life. He presents himself in a good way and his outward appearance makes him seem admirable. However, his appearance is different than his reality. Although everyone else is happy with him, he isn’t happy with himself. He was depressed and upset, and didn’t see himself in the same way that everyone else saw him. He is a real character, not an ideal character, because he is not perfect. He would be happy, and his appearance and reality would match up if he was an ideal character.

“Miniver Cheevy” (497)

Miniver Cheevy wishes that he had a different life than he has. He wishes that he lived in the Middle Ages, and to compensate with that pain, he drinks excessively. Miniver was obsessed with romance and the mideval times, but he did not live in that time. He is trying to escape from reality with his Mideval fantasy. Miniver didn’t do anything with his life, because he is too busy being a daydreamer. He represents the “real” versus the “ideal” because his ideal would be to live in the past, which is not possible. He is real because he is unhappy with his current life, and he isn’t perfect. He feels that he was born too late, and all he does is think about how great his life would be if he was in the Middle Ages. His name is significant because it represents a minimal achiever.

“Mr. Flood’s Party” (498)

Mr. Flood is by himself, but he is pretending that he’s at a party. He is having a conversation with himself and acting like he is at a social gathering. He doesn’t have and family or friends, and he is completely alone. All his friends are gone, it doesn’t specify how or when, but he is left completely alone. He is making cheers and taking a drink for his past times. He is wrapped up in the past. Mr. Flood’s ideal is his past, but he is living in the present. He is lonely and wants to go back to the times when things were better. He is a lonely old man stuck in the present, and wants to relive his past times. His name is signifigant because “flood” usually refers to a liquid. Mr. Flood drinks to deal with his problems. The “flood” could also be a sign of a lot of tears, as he is missing his past times.

Journal 13 - Masters

Journal #13 – Edgar Lee Masters Epitaphs (p. 502)

Read “George Gray” and “Lucinda Matlock” and answer the following questions.

1. What object symbolizes George Gray’s life? How is this object representative of him?

The boat represents George Gray’s life. This boat does not represent how George Gray lived his life, but more his life as a whole. It is a symbol that he was too afraid to fulfill his dreams and “set sail.” He remained docked throughout his entire life. He had a very average life, maybe even below average. His life was muted and very gray.

2. How was Lucinda Matlock’s life different than George Gray’s? How do you interepret the last line of the poem?

Lucinda Matlock achieved and fulfilled a great life. She took chances, got married, raised children, and upheld her household. She had a drive in her life, even though it wasn’t the best. She lost 2/3 of her children before she reached the age of 60, but she wasn’t afraid to live her life to its fullest and keep pushing up. She accomplished many great things, and didn’t let the bad things get her down. She lived to be 96 and had a great life.

3. How are “George Gray” and “Lucinda Matlock” examples of realism?

George Gray and Luncinda Matlock are examples of realism because they are very realalistic characters. There are people in the world like Geoge Gray who truly have no drive in their lives. On the other hand, there are people in the world who are very successful and positive, and never let the bad things get them down. Both people are very realistic.

Journal 12 - Young Goodman Brown

1. “Young Goodman Brown” is an allegory (symbolic narrative). What do the following represent?

Young Goodman Brown – He represents innocence, a good man who doesn’t fully understand the world and its evils. He is going from innocence to experience through his travel in the woods.


Faith – Faith is Goodman Brown’s wife. He represents his religious faith and love for God. She also represents his faith in humanity and the world.


The Elderly Traveller/Fellow-Traveller – The Elderly Traveller represents the devil or dark and evil influences. He is tempting Goodman Brown to take the evil journey through the woods.


Goody Cloyse – Goody Cloyse represents his past faith. He taught Goodman Brown about religion when he was younger, she represents the corruption and hypocrisy of the situation. She appears to be good and holy, but is actually evil and corrupted just like the Fellow Traveller.


The Ceremony – The Ceremony represents a test or revelation. It is a religious ceremony where Goodman Brown officially loses his faith. It has symbolic significance (initiation/confirmation).


The Pink Ribbon – The Pink Ribbon represents Goodman Brown’s loosing of his faith. When it falls, he says “My faith is gone” referring to both his wife and his religious faith.


Young Goodman Brown’s Journey – His Journey represents life and the changes that one goes through during life. It represents the journey from childish innocence to the adulthood of experience.



2. Identify the following for “Young Goodman Brown”:
Theme: Sin/Human Weakness
Message of the Theme: Sin and temptations draw human’s away from God and the good things in life. We are weak and often give into the evils of the world.
Element Used: Symbols/Characterization




In addition, provide three direct quotes from the story that address your theme.
1. “Faith kept me back awhile.”
2. ``My Faith is gone!'' cried he, after one stupefied moment. ``There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil; for to thee is this world given.''
3. `There,'' resumed the sable form, ``are all whom ye have reverenced from youth. Ye deemed them holier than yourselves, and shrank from your own sin, contrasting it with their lives of righteousness and prayerful aspirations heavenward.’

Journal 11 - Walden

“Where I Lived and What I Lived For” (232)

One is more in touch with who they really are and should be when they are disconnected from the fundamentals and the essentials. Nature can help a person to find themselves and their deeper existence simply by sepending time being and “outcast” and spending time alone without distractions. One must be connected with their instinct and intuitions in order to have a pure and richer soul. Denying oneself from luxury and distractions will help to purify and deeper your faith and life in general.

Quote: “I went to the woods to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life…and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”

“Sounds” (234)

Walden is describing his days at the pond. He simply sat there and embraced nature to it’s fullest extent. He would take in the beauty of nature and the amazing life going on around him. He could spend hours observing the trees, sounds, and birds.

Quote: last sentence of passage

“Brute Neighbors” (235)

Hyperbole was used to exaggerate the ants, while at the same time explaining the pettiness of humans. He is watching in close detail the activities of nature and realizes that even the smallest and most insignificant creatures have some effect on our life. Their aspect on nature is somewhat negative; they commit horrible acts to each other simply for dominance.

Quote: “I was myself excited somewhat wvwn ask if they had been men. The more you think of it, the less the difference.” 235

“The Pond in Winter” (237)

Nature is a never-ending giver, even when we can’t see it’s bounty. Even in the winter humans can fish in a frozen pond if we work with nature in healthy and plesant way. Nature is God’s creation and is therefore a little pience of heaven. It is beautiful during all the seasons, even though most do not fully appreciate it’s beauty during the winter months. Even the snow is a beautiful creation. Although most plants die and the grass turns brown in the winter, it is amazing how animals can survive the cold winter months. Humans are still able to hunt, fish, and be compatible with nature even when the weather is inconvenient. If we are successful with a positive relationship with nature, great things are possible throughout the entire year. Nature is always there, even when we can’t nessecarily see and feel it.

Quote: “Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads..” Page 237

“Spring” (238)

Spring is the season of rebirth. Winter is harsh, cold, and long and when springtime comes back around everything becomes beautiful and peaceful again. Spring is almost a representation of the creation of the universe all over again.

Quote: “as every season seems best to us in its turn, so the coming in of spring is like the creation of Cosmos out of Chaos and the realization of the Golden Age.” Page 239

Journal 10 - Othello's Insight

Othello’s Insight

Write a one paragraph response to the following question:

Often at the end of a play, Shakespeare’s tragic heroes often have a moment of insight. What is Othello’s insight? Look closely at Othello’s last speech before answering this question.

In Othello’s last speech, he tells his close friends that when they write their letters once Othello is dead, he wants them to tell the whole truth about him. He doesn’t want them to hold back and write only good things about him. Othello wants them to write the bad stuff and the good stuff, he wants the people to understand who he really was. He tells them to write that he loved to much but was not smart about the way and the extent that he loved, that he is not easily made jealous but was tricked and manipulated by his own friends. He tells them that he drove himself crazy with jealousy and was a fool who threw away a precious pearl with his very own hands. He acted like a sill Indian who didn’t understand the worth of the pearl. Lastly, he tells his friends to write that he was not an emotional man, but then cried a lot. Othello’s main point of the speech is to show his acquaintances that he doesn’t want people to think that he was perfect, he wants them to know the truth.