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The Great Gatsby - Critical Essay Help

Hi everyone.
I am doing The Great Gatsby for my critical essay and I am finding it really difficult to get my head around and find quotes that could be answered in a number of questions :frown:. Can anyone recommend a website or could send me some notes :frown:. Thank you

Good luck on the 1st x
The quote to do with the green light at the end of chapter 1 can be used in a lot of essays to do with Gatsby following his dream and how this represents the corrupt American dream etc.

You'll get a lot of good quotes from the turning point in chapter 7 as well if you have a quick look through it.
Reply 2
Absolutly fantastic!! Thank you so so much, by far the most helpful comment I've seen in any of the forums! What did you get in English? Good luck with any exams you have this year! Xx


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Original post by -Neuro-
x


I recognise that essay from the sqa exemplar :wink:
Original post by -Neuro-
Gatsby is a great book to study :awesome: See what I did there.....

There's a good selection of quotes on spark, snoop and cliff!

The best way to study Gatsby though is to have made notes and a list of quotes (with lots of the not so famous quotes) throughout the year for each chapter :redface: I highlighted and annotated my copy of the book as well! Fitzgerald's writing style is sometimes more like poetry than prose, there's a lot of style and rhythm to create a poetic prose and so there's often too much to write about :colondollar: This results in so many vivid an arresting images. He was inspired by romantic poets in particular Keats and he alludes to the poem "Ode to a Nightingale" in Gatsby! I'm going off topic :tongue:

What's good with prose is to have is to memorise the famous big quotes then have loads of single words and short phrases to show the marker you know the text intimately.

I've would have scanned up my notes for you but my friend has a conditional offer and needs to get at least a B and she had the same (terrible :tongue:) teacher as me last year so I gave them to her! :redface: There's plenty of stuff online though and two films! I'll have a look for any essays I have lying about if you want? :biggrin:

Fooooond an essay! :gah:

Hope this helps and the VERY best of luck for your English exam! It was definitely the one I was most nervous for! :hugs:


My teacher showed me some of that essay online today at our extra Easter study school!!! It's sooo helpful! I absolutely loved the book but I'm not great at writing about it unfortunately. Didn't do it for the prelim but I intend on doing Gatsby for the final exam. I struggle to write about Gatsby as a character for some reason, so I've been advised to lean towards questions to do with themes and settings etc. :smile:
Reply 5
I may be missing the point, but would anyone like to explain why this exemplar essay is so good. Unfortunately just because it is an exemplar, does not mean it is good.

The marker informs us that paragraph 1 is a "strong opening." However the writer contradicts himself in this first paragraph. On line 2 he says it is a simple text, then on the fourth last line says it is a complex novel. Although I assume the question is about the impact of setting on the novel, this opening paragraph which we are informed is "strong" is full of generalisations that could apply to other Fitzgerald novels. Not seeing the question, it is not clear the writer has properly addresses the question.

Paragraph 2's topic sentence informs us that one contribution of the setting is to portray the excitement and hysteria of the 1920's. Now, from what I can see this paragraph is a listing of eight quotations linked by narrative. Not linked by analysis and not linked by evaluation. And this is his general technique throughout the essay.

Paragraph 3 goes on to explain that these parties also reveal the decadence of the 1920's. Decadence, I assume, is defined by sentence 2 which is about these people being driven by materialism and superficial values and are only concerned for themselves and their money. From what I can see, having made this statement the point is left hanging. It is certainly not elaborated on. In paragraph 2 there appear to be thirteen quotes which probably take up just under half the wordage of the paragraph. The one tick in that paragraph is not for the writers analysis ( of which there little if not none ) but for using a quote. At the end of this paragraph the writer comments that the upper classes are out of control and there is no sign of them calming down. There is a comment by the marker about the extravagant life styles of the well to do. There is no criticism about that final sentence which is quite outrageous and for which there is no support or explanation.

Paragraph 4 opens with a sentence that makes no sense. "In addition to this ( which probably has something to do with the topic of paragraph 3 ) Fitzgerald reveals characters through setting, invariably providing us with a greater understanding of the characters." Characters through setting that provide better understanding of characters. That sounds interesting. Unlike the first three paragraphs the first half of this paragraph does attempt to analyse and delineate the two styles of East and West Egg and what that tells us about the characters. Although the writer returns to generalising towards the end it is a reasonable paragraph that has the potential to be quite a good paragraph.

Paragraph 5 topic sentence informs us that the greatest significance of the setting is to portray the theme of moral degeneration by displaying the sterility of society. It is an interesting topic sentence and I am not sure what it means or how one can find evidence within the novel to support it. It is interesting how this student believes he is analysing and arguing. Here is sentence 2. The "Valley of ashes" is a "solemn dumping ground," a symbol of the upper classes destruction of the way that they abuse the "ash grey men" of this "desolate area of land." All this pupil has done is link a series of quotations. And the marker actually ticked this.This linking quotation through narrative is continued through the remainder of this paragraph.

He ends his essay by saying "Through this combination of ideas, joined together by setting, a well-crafted, thought-provoking novel is born." This inflated use of expression is, my view, appalling. And the marker comments "This is excellent."

If this is an excellent essay, could someone explain to me why. I would fail this essay, so I am interested where I am going wrong.
Original post by jamesg2
I may be missing the point, but would anyone like to explain why this exemplar essay is so good. Unfortunately just because it is an exemplar, does not mean it is good.

The marker informs us that paragraph 1 is a "strong opening." However the writer contradicts himself in this first paragraph. On line 2 he says it is a simple text, then on the fourth last line says it is a complex novel. Although I assume the question is about the impact of setting on the novel, this opening paragraph which we are informed is "strong" is full of generalisations that could apply to other Fitzgerald novels. Not seeing the question, it is not clear the writer has properly addresses the question.

Paragraph 2's topic sentence informs us that one contribution of the setting is to portray the excitement and hysteria of the 1920's. Now, from what I can see this paragraph is a listing of eight quotations linked by narrative. Not linked by analysis and not linked by evaluation. And this is his general technique throughout the essay.

Paragraph 3 goes on to explain that these parties also reveal the decadence of the 1920's. Decadence, I assume, is defined by sentence 2 which is about these people being driven by materialism and superficial values and are only concerned for themselves and their money. From what I can see, having made this statement the point is left hanging. It is certainly not elaborated on. In paragraph 2 there appear to be thirteen quotes which probably take up just under half the wordage of the paragraph. The one tick in that paragraph is not for the writers analysis ( of which there little if not none ) but for using a quote. At the end of this paragraph the writer comments that the upper classes are out of control and there is no sign of them calming down. There is a comment by the marker about the extravagant life styles of the well to do. There is no criticism about that final sentence which is quite outrageous and for which there is no support or explanation.

Paragraph 4 opens with a sentence that makes no sense. "In addition to this ( which probably has something to do with the topic of paragraph 3 ) Fitzgerald reveals characters through setting, invariably providing us with a greater understanding of the characters." Characters through setting that provide better understanding of characters. That sounds interesting. Unlike the first three paragraphs the first half of this paragraph does attempt to analyse and delineate the two styles of East and West Egg and what that tells us about the characters. Although the writer returns to generalising towards the end it is a reasonable paragraph that has the potential to be quite a good paragraph.

Paragraph 5 topic sentence informs us that the greatest significance of the setting is to portray the theme of moral degeneration by displaying the sterility of society. It is an interesting topic sentence and I am not sure what it means or how one can find evidence within the novel to support it. It is interesting how this student believes he is analysing and arguing. Here is sentence 2. The "Valley of ashes" is a "solemn dumping ground," a symbol of the upper classes destruction of the way that they abuse the "ash grey men" of this "desolate area of land." All this pupil has done is link a series of quotations. And the marker actually ticked this.This linking quotation through narrative is continued through the remainder of this paragraph.

He ends his essay by saying "Through this combination of ideas, joined together by setting, a well-crafted, thought-provoking novel is born." This inflated use of expression is, my view, appalling. And the marker comments "This is excellent."

If this is an excellent essay, could someone explain to me why. I would fail this essay, so I am interested where I am going wrong.


This essay got 25/25 and the marker comments state that it was 'outstanding'. I do see where you are coming from though, it doesnt look like it has loads of analysis.
Here they are if you want to take a look: http://www.understandingstandards.org.uk/markers_ccc/files/Q4_Eng_H_CE_04_MR.pdf



(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by jamesg2
I may be missing the point, but would anyone like to explain why this exemplar essay is so good. Unfortunately just because it is an exemplar, does not mean it is good.

The marker informs us that paragraph 1 is a "strong opening." However the writer contradicts himself in this first paragraph. On line 2 he says it is a simple text, then on the fourth last line says it is a complex novel. Although I assume the question is about the impact of setting on the novel, this opening paragraph which we are informed is "strong" is full of generalisations that could apply to other Fitzgerald novels. Not seeing the question, it is not clear the writer has properly addresses the question.

Paragraph 2's topic sentence informs us that one contribution of the setting is to portray the excitement and hysteria of the 1920's. Now, from what I can see this paragraph is a listing of eight quotations linked by narrative. Not linked by analysis and not linked by evaluation. And this is his general technique throughout the essay.

Paragraph 3 goes on to explain that these parties also reveal the decadence of the 1920's. Decadence, I assume, is defined by sentence 2 which is about these people being driven by materialism and superficial values and are only concerned for themselves and their money. From what I can see, having made this statement the point is left hanging. It is certainly not elaborated on. In paragraph 2 there appear to be thirteen quotes which probably take up just under half the wordage of the paragraph. The one tick in that paragraph is not for the writers analysis ( of which there little if not none ) but for using a quote. At the end of this paragraph the writer comments that the upper classes are out of control and there is no sign of them calming down. There is a comment by the marker about the extravagant life styles of the well to do. There is no criticism about that final sentence which is quite outrageous and for which there is no support or explanation.

Paragraph 4 opens with a sentence that makes no sense. "In addition to this ( which probably has something to do with the topic of paragraph 3 ) Fitzgerald reveals characters through setting, invariably providing us with a greater understanding of the characters." Characters through setting that provide better understanding of characters. That sounds interesting. Unlike the first three paragraphs the first half of this paragraph does attempt to analyse and delineate the two styles of East and West Egg and what that tells us about the characters. Although the writer returns to generalising towards the end it is a reasonable paragraph that has the potential to be quite a good paragraph.

Paragraph 5 topic sentence informs us that the greatest significance of the setting is to portray the theme of moral degeneration by displaying the sterility of society. It is an interesting topic sentence and I am not sure what it means or how one can find evidence within the novel to support it. It is interesting how this student believes he is analysing and arguing. Here is sentence 2. The "Valley of ashes" is a "solemn dumping ground," a symbol of the upper classes destruction of the way that they abuse the "ash grey men" of this "desolate area of land." All this pupil has done is link a series of quotations. And the marker actually ticked this.This linking quotation through narrative is continued through the remainder of this paragraph.

He ends his essay by saying "Through this combination of ideas, joined together by setting, a well-crafted, thought-provoking novel is born." This inflated use of expression is, my view, appalling. And the marker comments "This is excellent."

If this is an excellent essay, could someone explain to me why. I would fail this essay, so I am interested where I am going wrong.


25/25 is defined is "outstanding in almost every respect." It's a great essay.
does anyone have the question for this essay?
Original post by andreadance
does anyone have the question for this essay?


I'm assuming it's from the 2013 paper so:
6. Choose a novel in which a character is influenced by a particular location or setting. Explain how the character is influenced by the location or setting and discuss how this enhances your understanding of the text as a whole.
Original post by andreadance
does anyone have the question for this essay?


Original post by greenladybird
I'm assuming it's from the 2013 paper so:
6. Choose a novel in which a character is influenced by a particular location or setting. Explain how the character is influenced by the location or setting and discuss how this enhances your understanding of the text as a whole.


The question is: (from the understanding standards)
Choose a novel in which the writers use of setting in time and/or place has a significant part to play in your appreciation of the novel as a whole.
Give the relevant details of the setting then discuss fully why it has such significance.
Original post by Pennyarcade
The question is: (from the understanding standards)
Choose a novel in which the writers use of setting in time and/or place has a significant part to play in your appreciation of the novel as a whole.
Give the relevant details of the setting then discuss fully why it has such significance.


Would a formal question be as wooly as that? I am asking, not criticising. greenladybird's suggestion of what the question might be, suggests that whatever the question might be, it would have a stricter form than your suggestion of the question's composition.
Original post by jamesg2
Would a formal question be as wooly as that? I am asking, not criticising. greenladybird's suggestion of what the question might be, suggests that whatever the question might be, it would have a stricter form than your suggestion of the question's composition.


I see what you mean, but its straight from the 04 paper


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I believe the same question also cropped up in 2009 Higher also
Original post by jackamakka
I believe the same question also cropped up in 2009 Higher also


Sorry to contradict you but the 2004 and 2009 questions, though similar, are actually different.

2004:-
Choose a novel or short story in which the writer’s use of setting in time and/or place has a significant part to play in your appreciation of the text as a whole.
Give the relevant details of the setting and then discuss fully why it has such significance.

2009:-
Choose a novel in which the setting in time and/or place is a significant feature.
Show how the writer’s use of setting contributes to your understanding of character and theme.

2004 Complete Exemplar Essay:-
When I first commented on this essay, I did so from the YouTube version. The answer actually appeared shorter in that version. Seeing the complete answer in a text form creates a different impression. In 2004 the marking criteria was different. Category 1 was marked from 20 25. I may still be reluctant to award 25 but 23-24 I would not argue with. Because of the change in marking criteria since 2004, under todays criteria the essay may not get 25 but still it might because the marker has bear in mind that the response was written under exam conditions. The candidate has answered part 2 why does the setting have such a significance but it is included within the various sections. Evaluation is also there, though sometimes implied. Unlike the examiner I am not happy with blending of quotation and narrative analysis. However seeing the answer in this form it is possible to understand why another marker was more impressed with it.

2004 Qn 6
Choose a novel or short story in which the writer’s use of setting in time and/or place has a significant part to play in your appreciation of the text as a whole.
Give the relevant details of the setting and then discuss fully why it has such significance.

Exemplar essay:-

“The Great Gatsby” by F, Scott Fitzgerald is an intricately patterned, yet simple novel set on the East coast of America during the roaring twenties. Fitzgerald very effectively uses setting to portray the excitement and hysteria of the 1920s, the decadence of the upper classes, characters in the novel and the sterility of society. The setting in this complex novel plays a significant part in the reader’s appreciation of the novel, as it develops and highlights issues throughout the text as a whole.

Firstly, setting is used to portray the excitement and hysteria of the 1920s. Through Gatsby’s parties we are shown the glitz and the glamour of this period. It is a “many-coloured, many keyed commotion”. His parties are likened to a “menagerie”, where fun is had by all and anything goes. Here, they “conduct themselves according to the rules of behaviour associated with amusement parks”. The war is over and they are experiencing a period of unprecedented wealth and investment in America. This decade of “crazy Sundays”, an issue in the novel, can be far greater appreciated by its being set in context at Gatsby’s parties, where there are excited “whisperings”, “champagne and stars”. It is a tempting image in beautiful “blue gardens” and the romance and excitement of their situation resonates throughout the book.

However, there is a dark side to all the partying at Gatsby’s parties, where the setting reveals the decadence of the upper classes. They are driven by materialism and superficial values, concerned only by themselves and their money. After the parties, servants are left to “repair the ravages of the night before”, as the upper classes have created a trail of destruction. While some cannot afford their lifestyles they ship in “five crates of oranges and lemons from a fruiterer in New York” exotic extravagance in the extreme. The next day they leave as “pulpless halves” a symbol of their superficial, empty lives, decay and destruction. It is a grotesque image, which contributes to our appreciation of the gravity of their actions. This decadence is something beyond excitement and beauty it is dangerous. They are “careless people”, concerned only by their “white palaces” that “glitter” and “excitement”. Even the music which sets the scene (traditionally music is associated with culture and soul), is “yellow cocktail music” yet another symbol of their lust for “gold”. They are depicted “weeping”, “having fights” and roaring drunk”. It is a setting of “violent confusion”. The upper classes are out of control and there is no sign of them calming down.

In addition to this, Fitzgerald reveals characters through setting, inevitably providing us with a greater understanding of the characters and as a result the text as a whole. The “great” Gatsby, in fact is not “Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island”, but “James Gatz of North Dakota”. This is highlightedby his house, which is a “factual imitation of some Hôtel de Ville in Normandy” and “spanking new” like both his money and his persona. The Buchanans, on the other hand, dwell in the very “fashionable” East Egg, a microcosm of East America in contrast with West Egg and West America. Their house is “red and white” red “like new money from the mint” and “white” symbolising the white supremacy that Tom, from the self-proclaimed “dominant race” stands for. It is a “Georgian Colonial mansion” showing that unlike Gatsby, their money is not “new” and they come from a family with a great, long history. Above all, setting is used to reveal character in that it separates Nick, the narrated who is blessed with “fundamental decencies”, and the “gorgeous” Gatsby who both live in West Egg from the values and inhabitants of East Egg the Buchanans, who “smashed up things and creatures”. By physically separating them, the author significantly affects out appreciation of the text as a whole by emphasising their separation on a moral scale. As a result out sympathy inevitably lies with the inhabitants of West Egg and we are encouraged to criticise the decadence of East Egg.

Perhaps the greatest significance of the setting is to portray the theme of moral degeneration, by displaying the sterility of society. The “Valley of Ashes” is a “solemn dumping ground”, a symbol of the upperclasses destruction and the way that they abuse the “ash-grey men” of this “desolate area of land”. People like the Buchanans expect others to “Clean up their mess” and as result of their materialism, decadence and moral ambiguity, they are creating a sterile, soulless society. The “Valley of Ashes” is an even more disturbing symbol of moral degeneration, as it is described in terms of “farms” and “grotesque gardens”. These twisted metaphors help us to appreciate that the problem is “growing” “civilisation’s going to pieces” and the sterile society is expanding. The view is bleak.

The use of setting in “The Great Gatsby” is essential to the success of such a subtle novel. Fitzgerald employs setting to help us better appreciate the significance of the mood in the 1920s, they key issues of the decadence of the upper classes, the depth and symbolism of the main characters and the main theme moral degeneration. Through this combination of ideas, joined together by setting, a well-crafted, thought-provoking novel is born.

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