[Exam Jam] English Quotes Revision Game

Quite possibly a very basic understanding, but this seems to imply that it is impossible to escape our pasts:


Like I said, a very basic understanding and I may be missing some greater symbolism as It has been a few years since I read the book. What do you think?

lol I had to analyse this for homework:

A sense of collective perseverance is established with pronoun ‘so we’ as it demonstrates the conflicted tie between those living in the American society; the American dream is a universal ambition and yet a universal failure. It is the visual imagery of a united American nation all sailing towards a common goal, despite sociological differences, that truly causes the words to penetrate beneath appearances. The irony however is that the only thread that ties the American society together is ultimately a purposeless drift towards artificial happiness. After all, how does one know when true happiness has been achieved when the lines between happiness and materialism have been so heavily blurred?

The potentially futile pursuit of ‘beat[ing] on’ and rowing forwards against a tide that takes them backwards may yet be considered admirable. The quest is still celebrated despite the fact that history renders such ideals as inaccessible. This is such a poignant metaphor for the realist novel, where a character heroically struggles against the historical forces of plot. Perhaps on a critical level, Fitzgerald is hinting at the struggle between philosophical and historical truth, the struggle between the ‘boats’ and the ‘current’, the struggle between transcendentalism and nature.

The reference earlier in the novel to the ‘boat that looked like a house’ in which Gatsby lived in alludes to a sense of predestination. There is a cyclical tie between the ‘boat’ earlier in the novel and the ‘boat’ at the end. Gatsby still remains in a ‘boat’, a simple object lacking the extravagance or sophistication of a ship or yacht. Even though he has denied his identity, in essence he still remains the same -- he’s still wandering purposelessly in the waters till the very end echoing the driftless nature of the lost generation. Despite the illusions of grandeur he upholds, he hasn’t transformed and ultimately remains ‘shiftless’. Fitzgerald could indeed be indicting the American Dream in failing to provide realistic mechanisms for social mobility. This then pushes the American society into a corner with only their imagination to help them escape.

On the surface, the verb ‘borne’ demonstrates the action of all efforts being adrift. However, from a deeper level, it could allude to the ‘heavy burden’ of the past that incessantly lingers despite all efforts to move forwards. In this case, life is only an illusion of forward progress. This is because as we move into the future, everything that is done instantly turns into our past. Fitzgerald therefore hints that when the desire to recapture an idealized past, to freeze and preserve a perfect moment or memory, becomes your sole ambition, it leads to ruin. Extending upon the idea of burdens, there are subtle biblical parallels between Gatsby and Jesus. Parallel to Jesus, Gatsby dies for the sins of the people he loved so that they could have the potential to lead the lives they craved. This evolution into martyrdom climaxes when Nick asks Gatsby, “Was Daisy driving” and Gatsby selflessly answers, “Yes…but of course I’ll say I was”. In this moment, Gatsby takes responsibility for a crime he did not commit, Myrtle’s murder, and pays for this feigned, sinful confession with a sensory death.

lol I had to analyse this for homework:

A sense of collective perseverance is established with pronoun ‘so we’ as it demonstrates the conflicted tie between those living in the American society; the American dream is a universal ambition and yet a universal failure. It is the visual imagery of a united American nation all sailing towards a common goal, despite sociological differences, that truly causes the words to penetrate beneath appearances. The irony however is that the only thread that ties the American society together is ultimately a purposeless drift towards artificial happiness. After all, how does one know when true happiness has been achieved when the lines between happiness and materialism have been so heavily blurred?

The potentially futile pursuit of ‘beat[ing] on’ and rowing forwards against a tide that takes them backwards may yet be considered admirable. The quest is still celebrated despite the fact that history renders such ideals as inaccessible. This is such a poignant metaphor for the realist novel, where a character heroically struggles against the historical forces of plot. Perhaps on a critical level, Fitzgerald is hinting at the struggle between philosophical and historical truth, the struggle between the ‘boats’ and the ‘current’, the struggle between transcendentalism and nature.

The reference earlier in the novel to the ‘boat that looked like a house’ in which Gatsby lived in alludes to a sense of predestination. There is a cyclical tie between the ‘boat’ earlier in the novel and the ‘boat’ at the end. Gatsby still remains in a ‘boat’, a simple object lacking the extravagance or sophistication of a ship or yacht. Even though he has denied his identity, in essence he still remains the same -- he’s still wandering purposelessly in the waters till the very end echoing the driftless nature of the lost generation. Despite the illusions of grandeur he upholds, he hasn’t transformed and ultimately remains ‘shiftless’. Fitzgerald could indeed be indicting the American Dream in failing to provide realistic mechanisms for social mobility. This then pushes the American society into a corner with only their imagination to help them escape.

On the surface, the verb ‘borne’ demonstrates the action of all efforts being adrift. However, from a deeper level, it could allude to the ‘heavy burden’ of the past that incessantly lingers despite all efforts to move forwards. In this case, life is only an illusion of forward progress. This is because as we move into the future, everything that is done instantly turns into our past. Fitzgerald therefore hints that when the desire to recapture an idealized past, to freeze and preserve a perfect moment or memory, becomes your sole ambition, it leads to ruin. Extending upon the idea of burdens, there are subtle biblical parallels between Gatsby and Jesus. Parallel to Jesus, Gatsby dies for the sins of the people he loved so that they could have the potential to lead the lives they craved. This evolution into martyrdom climaxes when Nick asks Gatsby, “Was Daisy driving” and Gatsby selflessly answers, “Yes…but of course I’ll say I was”. In this moment, Gatsby takes responsibility for a crime he did not commit, Myrtle’s murder, and pays for this feigned, sinful confession with a sensory death.

Seriously impressive analysis...!

Ah thank you

"Her delicate beauty must avoid a strong light. There is something about her uncertain manner, as well as her white clothes, that suggests a moth."
- A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams

GERTRUDE: Oh Hamlet, thou has cleft my heart in twain.
HAMLET: Oh throw away the worser part of it/ And live the purer with the other half

I don't need any literature quotes because my exams are over for gcse literature.

OK, so I have never studied Hamlet or seen it but I believe Gertrude here is saying that Hamlet has broken her heart in two?

Is Hamlet saying that she must let go of what has happened? The "worser part" and build new beginnings from the purer half?

What exams do you have after half term?

Yeah, looking back, it was kind of a random quote to choose. You basically got it. Gertrude has just been confronted by Hamlet who believes she has acted licentiously by marrying Claudius so soon after his father died. She's realised what she's done wrong and Hamlet is saying to throw away the "worser part" which is filled with sin and instead build a purer life. I would speak about morality and stuff. Maybe also about how imagery is being used to express emotion and the tone.

English language and maths and science and etc