Journal 21 - Some Like It Hot and The Great Gatsby Comparison/Contrast

Some Like It Hot and The Great Gatsby both focus on the culture of affluence. The underlying theme of both works is money and indulgence. Both have character that drink and smoke. Characters are also having affairs in The Great Gatsby and are getting married and divorced multiple times in Some Like It Hot. In Some Like It Hot, girls are attracted to wealthy millionaires. Sugar fell in love with Joe because she thought he was a wealthy oil tycoon. In Gatsby, Daisy fell for Tom because of his wealth. Both works also address conflict with the law during prohibition. Gatsby was selling alcohol in his drug store under the counter and the gangsters were running liquor illegally. Both works include woman that are flappers and who drink. Gatsby has lavish parties with the music of the day and Joe and Jerry are musician in speak easies. The characters are also characterized as shallow; however, more so in Gatsby. They are only after trivial things in life. The characters are also struggling to find love in both of the works. The works are different in that both characters find love in Some Like It Hot and Gatsby looses his love. Some Like It Hot is also far more comical than Gatsby and has a more jubilant ending. Asgood is like Tom because they both are born into wealth. The criminals in both works, Gatsby and Spats, are killed in the end. 

Journal 20 – The Great Gatsby Conclusion

Nick uses the imagery of Gatsby’s parties and talks about how they will never again fill his house. The party is finally over for Gatsby and everyone has left. Nick headed into a new world with the shore melting away around him. The green light is a visual symbol of hope for Gatsby and is similar to the green land that the Dutch sailors first came across. In the end, the green beacon’s light was as intangible as Gatsby's dream. The green light was as bright and enthralling as Long island was when the Dutch sailors found it. The continent enchanted the Dutch explorers and was filled with their hopes and dreams just like the green light enchanted Gatsby. Gatsby reached as far as he could, but like the sailors, his dream eluded him and remained out of reach. We push forward towards our dreams but are only dragged back into the past.  

Journal #19

Nick Carraway Adjective __open-minded___

Nick is a young man from the mid-west. He doesn’t specifically describe his physical appearance. He is tolerant and tries not to judge those around him. He is also quiet, overly polite, and reserved. He had just moved to west egg to work in the bond business. He meets up with his cousin and her husband and has dinner with them. He tries to reserve his judgment on Gatsby.

Characterization in Chapter 1 of The Great Gatsby

Tom Buchanan Adjective _____arrogant_____

Tom is well built and highly muscled. He has a gruff voice and his body language seems aggressive. He talks about a book called The Rise of the Colored Empires and raves about how black and white blood lines need to be kept separate. He openly endorses racism and even leaves dinner for a phone call with his supposed lover.

Daisy Buchanan Adjective ___charming__

Daisy is lounging on the couch with Jordan and they are both wearing dresses. She has a charming laugh and seems happy to see Tom. She had dinner with Nick and and wants him to date Jordan. She fell in love with wealth and seems shallow and easily bored.

Jordan Baker Adjective ___self-centered____

She is a slim attractive girl with an erect carriage. She plays in golf tournaments frequently. She is polite but seems distant. She is in the midst of trying to balance something when Nick meets her and only vaguely acknowledges him.

Jay Gatsby Adjective ___fixated_____

Gatsby is everything that Nick scorns. He is wealthy and flamboyant. He is only briefly described in the first chapter when he is staring at the light on Daisy dock. He has dedicated his life to win her back and she became his goal for becoming wealthy.

Journal #18

“In Another Country”

1. What is the significance of the story’s title?
The narrator is an injured American WWII survivor who is getting therapy in Italy. He is literally in another country and he is alienated because he is not Italian. The officers are in another country because they are alienated in the communist quarter even though they are Italian. The bond between all these men was because they were injured and are isolated. The narrator was injured accidentally and his accommodation wasn’t as sincere as the others who showed bravery in order to get their medals.

2. Which character do you think best represents the “Hemingway hero”? Why?
The Hemingway hero is characterized with stoicism and is someone who suffers with grace and dignity. The major is the Hemmingway hero because he is suffering the personal loss of his wife along with his hand injury. The major’s physical injury will keep him from ever fencing again. The major was a lot fencer and his hand will keep him from doing that. The major is the character who is suffering the most. The major feels like the machines will not make a difference. He understood that defeat is inevitable that that you need to hold onto things that are permanent.


3. What can you infer about the photographs the doctor hangs up? What is the significance of the major’s reaction?
The photos can be inferred to be fake because the soldiers are the 1st ones to use the machines. They are more of a motivational ploy for the soldiers. The major refused to look at them and stared out the window. He later gave up on the machines and walked out.

Journal 17

“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

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

The epigraph is from Dante’s Inferno. Dante is saying that he is unafraid to tell his story because no one has ever come back from hell. No one can say that he is wrong or can disgrace him. The epigraph relates to Prufrock because his story includes his private thoughts. Prufrock’s story is not meant for a wide audience because he is so self-conscious. There is a certain level of privacy like in Dante’s Inferno because both works are not meant to be judged by the public. No one else had insight into their particular work.

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

He asks: What is it? Do I dare? So how should I presume? Should I, after tea and cakes and ices, have the strength to force the moment to its crisis? Shall I part my hair behind? The questions are not random and all show Prufrock’s hesitation. His questioning shows a theme of uncertainty and fear. Prufrock is very self–conscience and that shows up in all of his questions as well. He is not sure if he should do one thing or another and even trivial worries eat away at him. There is also a pattern of repetition in many of his questions. This repetition shows his anxiety about what is to come later in his life.

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

His main flaw is his character because he is constantly worrying. He is uncertain about himself and his decisions. He is incredibly self-conscience and doesn’t want to be judged by others. He is a minor character in his world and does nothing of great importance. He also never experiences love in his life and is preoccupied with his worries.

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

The story is called a love song even though it is about the absence of love. This title is completely ironic because there isn’t love in it at all. You have a feeling of pathos for the character because he doesn’t have love in his life. This is not a love song but more of a song of sadness that is following the flow of Prufrock’s thoughts and worries.

Journal #16

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

In Crane’s “The Blue Hotel”, the Swede proves that a combination of character and social conditions can lead to a predetermined ending. The Swede thinks that he is in the Wild West when he enters the hotel because he was influenced by too many dime novels. He is mentally unstable and declares that he will die in this hotel like so many other people have, although no one has died in that hotel. The inn keeper gives that man something to drink in order to calm him down. The Swede became belligerent and was unable to handle alcohol well. This character trait was the determining factor that leads to his death. Because the Swede was unstable, he gets into a fight with Johnny and is convinced that everyone is siding against him. The social environment, were the Swede thinks he is, adds to his hysteria. After beating Johnny, the Swede becomes even more quarrelsome and berates a stranger who enters. The Swede was stabbed and died just as fate had predicted. This is a perfect example of a self-fulfilling prophesy which takes his free will out of the equation.

In London’s “To Build a Fire”, the man is a victim of fate and the environment. He is determined to get back to his boys and ignores all the advice from the old timer. The old timer told him not to go out when it is 50 below or colder. The man’s character leads him to risk his life in order to get back to his camp. The dog’s instincts tell it that extreme cold is dangerous but the man’s doesn’t. The man is ignorant to this environment and that leads to his death. He ignores the dangers around him and becomes too numb to even start a fire. His free will was only an illusion. After entering into that environment woefully unprepared, his death was inevitable. The man was unable to exercise any pull over his destiny because fate had already determined his path.

Journal #15

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 message is that living in the ideal instead of the real world, like Editha does, can be a dangerous thing.

“It isn’t this war alone; though this seems peculiarly wanton and needless; but it’s every war –so stupid; it makes me sick. Why shouldn’t this thing have been settled reasonably?”

“He told me he had asked you to come if he got killed. You didn’t expect that, I suppose, when you sent him.”

“You thought it would be all right for my George, your George, to kill the sons of those miserable mothers and husbands of those girls that you would never see that faces of

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

Editha tries to argue with George and she makes it known that her opinion is the right one. She tells him that it is a holy war ordained by providence. She makes George doubts himself and writes him a letter with her engagement ring enclosed. She was pushing, threatening, and compelling him to go to war. She writes that there is no honor greater than serving America and that they need to agree in everything in order to be together. She tells George that he needs to think it over and come back to her if he decides to go to war. Her persuasion works in the end and he is compelled to join with the town and go to war.

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

Editha has a slight understanding of what she was done after she finds out that George has died. She mourns his loss and visits George’s mother like he asked. Editha is scorned for sending him to war. Mrs. Gearson said that Editha didn’t expect him to die when she sent him, but it is still her fault. She doesn’t truly understand her actions. She has an epiphany at the end that brings her back into her ideal world. The lady, who Editha was telling her story to, agreed that Mrs. Gearson was vulgar for saying those things. Editha rose out of self-pity and began to live in the ideal again.

Journal #14

“Richard Cory“ (497)

Richard is viewed by the people in town as a perfect man. He was a gentleman who all the people looked up to and admired. He was schooled in every grace and very rich as well. It is ironic because he seemed to have a perfect life but kills himself in the end. His life isn’t really that perfect because he shoots himself in the head. He has some major problems which can’t be seem from the outside. A major theme is that you can’t judge people by their appearance. Also, money can’t buy you happiness. His name sounds like rich core. This is contrasting his real life to his ideal life which seems perfect. He is really rich on the outside but poor on the inside.

“Miniver Cheevy” (497)

Miniver wishes that he was born in another time. He is a fan of romance stories and knights. He loved the days when people had swords and rode horses. He wanted an ideal life but he got what was real so he became a drunk. He wanted his life to be like the lives in adventure stories. He cursed his life and missed what was in front of him. His life is empty and he escapes into these stories His name sounds like minimal achiever.

“Mr. Flood’s Party” (498)

Flood is having a part by himself which is not what a party is meant to be. He is old and all his friends are gone. He drinks so that he can have friends in himself. When he is drunk, he can talk to himself and have a party with himself. He drinks for times gone by and he is living in his past. He is trying to live his ideal life through drinking and remembering the past. The reality is that he is just a lonely drunk.

Journal #13

Edgar Lee Masters Epitaphs

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

Gray’s life is symbolized by a boat with a furled sail resting in a harbor. This is similar to Gray’s life because he dreaded taking chances. He wanted to try and find meaning to life but never did anything about it. He is like a boat that wants to go out into the sea but is afraid. The boat with a furled sail is unable to leave the harbor just like Gray is unable to follow his ambitions. Gray should not have let sorrow and fears control and tournament him. This was all about how he lived his life in fear.

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

Matlock’s life is filled with excitement and love unlike Gray’s life. Gray was scared to go out and live life and was tormented by his ambition. Matlock lived a long and full life with her husband and children. She celebrated life but lost many of her children. She did all that she wanted to do and didn’t let the bad parts bother her. Gray never married, never had kids, and didn’t build relationships with friends. Gray regretted that he never lived but Matlock got a lot out of life because she invested more into it. In the last line of the poem, Matlock decided that it takes life in order to love Life. You need to experience the good and the bad in order to enjoy Life.

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

The epitaphs are about Middle class people’s lives. They aren’t about heroic people but just about how ordinary people live and the everyday things that they did. Both of them are detailed and in depth but lacking emotion.

Journal #12

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

Young Goodman Brown – transition from good to evil as a result of experience in the woods and the loss of faith

Faith – faith in God and others

The Elderly Traveller/Fellow-Traveller – the devil and evil

Goody Cloyse – corruption; a seemingly virtuous person who is actually in league with the devil

The Ceremony – sinful nature of people

The Pink Ribbon – the loss of faith and visual proof of a world filled with sin

Young Goodman Brown’s Journey – seeing the world as it truly is and the transition from innocence to experience of good and evil

2. Identify the following for “Young Goodman Brown”:

Theme Message of Theme Element Used to Establish

Theme: Sin/ evil

Message: The world is influenced and controlled by sin; everyone is tempted by sin and will eventually give into it.

Element: Characterization

In addition, provide three direct quotes from the story that address your theme.

“What if a wretched old woman do choose to go to the devil when I thought she was going to heaven:”

“There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil; for to thee is this world given.”

“Evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be your only happiness.”

Journal 11

Selections from Walden

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

It is about a man who lives in the woods and finds out that the best way to live is to live simply. He builds a cabin and lives by a pond for water. The main point is to live life only with the essentials needed. He was trying to live out the transcendentalist ideas of Emerson.

Quote: “to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms.”

“Sounds” (234)

The narrorator simply sits and listens to the sounds all around him. He talks about how people go to the movies and do other things for their amusement and to distract themselves. He sits outside his cabin and listens to the noises all day. He is amused by the sounds in nature and doesn’t need anything else to entertain himself.

Quote: “I had this advantage, at least in my mode of life, over those who were obligated to look abroad for amusement, to society and the theater, that my life itself has become my amusement and never ceased to be novel”

“Brute Neighbors” (235)

There is a war between the larger black ants and the more numerous red ants. The ants are fighting with the ferocity of humans and the tenacity of a bulldog. The ants are being compared to Greek epic heroes in the midst of an all-out war. The carnage of this battle is similar to the losses of battles in the American Revolution. Ants experience just as much hardship as human and celebrate just like we do.

Quote: “I was surprised to find that the chips were covered with such combatants that is was not a duellum, but a bellum, a war between two races of ants, the red always pitted against the black, and frequently two red ones to one black.”

“The Pond in Winter” (237)

The speaker wakes up from a dream and wonders what life is all about. He watches all the fishermen in winter and how they live simply. The fishermen have a close connection to the land and are in touch with nature. The main point is that nature is simple; we need to go out and live simple as well.

Quote: “But there was dawning Nature, in whom all creatures live, looking in at my broad windows with serene and satisfied face, and no question on her lips.”

“Spring” (238)

With the beginning of spring, everything is starting to move and change. Nature is starting to renew himself. He talks of an old wise man whose knowledge, the narrator will never match. In this wonderful time death cannot take its toll.

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.”