The AP English Language and Composition course is designed to enable students to become skilled readers and writers in diverse genres and modes of composition. As stated in the Advanced Placement Course Description, the purpose of the Language and Composition course is “to enable students to read complex texts with understanding and to write papers of sufficient richness and complexity to communicate effectively with mature readers” (The College Board, May 2007, May 2008, p.6).
Look back at the discussion questions for "A Good Man is Hard to Find"
In the last 15 minutes of class, write the opening paragraphfor the following critical lens using this short story and a novel you have read this year as a focus:
CRITICAL LENS.
J. K. Rowling
"There is no good or evil, there is only power ..."
Agree or disagree with this quote.
Gamzon's RULES:
1. Open your intro with a good "hook" sentence that shows you understand the meaning of the quote (and essentially by doing that, you will agree or disagree with it--that's implied with your "hook" sentence or sentences). Make the reader want to read what you have to say!
2. Select the works you will focus on to answer the question. How do they support (exemplify, illustrate) or argue against the quote. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO USE THE WORDS "AGREE" OR "DISAGREE"!
3. BE SPECIFIC. What characters, themes, or plot moments provide support for your critical argument? What will you be developing in the body paragraphs?
4. Find an appropriate place to refer to J. K. Rowling's quote (what she "WROTE," not "SAID"). Even if it was part of a speech, it was first written!
HOMEWORK: Read the Hemingway short short story and Eudora Welty's " A Worn Path" on the other posts.
Excerpt:
In general, the elusiveness of O'Connor's best stories makes them eminently teachable--pushing students to sustain ambiguity, to withhold final judgments. It also pushes me to teach better--to empower students more effectively, since I don't have all the answers at my fingertips. My responses to O'Connor are always tentative, exploratory. I start, as do most of my students, with a gut response that is negative. For O'Connor defies my humanistic values--she distances the characters and thwarts compassion. Above all, O'Connor's work raises tantalizing questions. Is she, as John Hawkes suggests, "happily on the side of the devil"? Or, on the contrary, does the diabolical Misfit function, paradoxically, as an agent of grace? We know what O'Connor wants us to believe. But should we?
Major Themes, Historical Perspectives, and Personal Issues
One important context that I need to provide for my students is background on O'Connor's Christianity. The most useful source here is O'Connor's own essays and lectures, which often explain how to read her works as she would have them read. Certainly O'Connor's pronouncements have guided much of the criticism of her work. I'll summarize some of her main points:
She states that the subject of her work is "the action of grace in territory held largely by the devil" (Mystery and Manners 118). She tries to portray in each story "an action that is totally unexpected, yet totally believable" (118), often an act of violence, violence being "the extreme situation that best reveals what we are essentially" (113). Through violence she wants to evoke Christian mystery, though she doesn't exclude other approaches to her fiction: she states that she could not have written "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" in any other way but "there are perhaps other ways than my own in which this story could be read" (109).
In general O'Connor explains that she is not so much a realist of the social fabric as a "realist of distances" (44), portraying both concrete everyday manners and something more, something beyond the ordinary: "It is the business of fiction to embody mystery through manners . . ." (124). She admits too that her fiction might be called grotesque, though she cautions that "anything that comes out of the South is going to be called grotesque by the northern reader, unless it is grotesque, in which case it is going to be called realistic" (40). And she connects her religious concerns with being southern, for, she says, "while the South is hardly Christ-centered, it is most certainly Christ-haunted" (44).
I also find it important to address the question of racism in the story. Is the story racist? I ask. Is the grandmother racist, in her comments on cute little pickaninnies and her use of "nigger"? Does the narrator endorse the grandmother's attitude? And what do we make of her naming a cat Pitty Sing--a pseudo-Japanese name that sounds less like Japanese than like a babytalk version of "pretty thing"? Is O'Connor simply presenting characteristically racist attitudes of not particularly admirable characters? I find Alice Walker's comments helpful here, on O'Connor's respectful reluctance to enter the minds of black characters and pretend to know what they're thinking.
Comparisons, Contrasts, Connections
O'Connor is usually compared to writers who are southern or gothic or Catholic or some combination thereof: e.g., William Faulkner, Nathanael West, Graham Greene. Louise Westling (in Sacred Groves and Ravaged Gardens: The Fiction of Eudora Welty, Carson McCullers, and Flannery O'Connor [University of Georgia Press, 1985]) has made fruitful comparisons with Eudora Welty and Carson McCullers, though most critics seem to find it difficult to discover points of comparison with other women writers.
Questions for Reading and Discussion/Approaches to Writing
The following questions can be given to students in advance or used to guide discussion during class:
1. What qualities of the grandmother do you like? What qualities do you dislike? How did you feel when The Misfit killed her? Why?
2. How would you characterize the other members of the family? What is the function of images like the following: the mother's "face was as broad and innocent as a cabbage and was tied around with a green head-kerchief that had two points on the top like a rabbit's ears" and the grandmother's "big black valise looked like the head of a hippopotamus"?
3. How does O'Connor foreshadow the encounter with The Misfit?
4. What does the grandmother mean by a "good man"? Whom does she consider good people? What are other possible meanings of "good"? Why does she tell The Misfit that he's a good man? Is there any sense in which he is?
5. What is the significance of the discussion of Jesus? Was he a good man?
6. What is the significance of the grandmother's saying, "Why you're one of my babies. You're one of my own children"?
7. What is the significance of The Misfit's saying, "She would of been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life"?
There are, of course, no absolute answers to these questions; the story resists easy solutions, violates the reader's expectations.
From shmoop.com:
A Good Man is Hard to Find
In A Nutshell
Some readers think "A Good Man is Hard to Find" is a cynical tale, uncompromising in the way it brings out human pettiness and manipulation. Others think it's a black comedy worthy of a Coen brothers short film, or a twisted cartoon. Or perhaps it's a horror story. Still others think it's an uplifting depiction of the mysterious ways God works through human beings over and above their own wills. Maybe it's even all of these at once?
Since it was first published, "A Good Man is Hard to Find" has been Flannery O'Connor's best-known story. Though she'd written it in1953, the story was published in 1955 as part of a collection with the same name, A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories. Her second published work, the collection established Flannery O'Connor as a major voice in American literature, and particularly Southern literature, until her early death (at the age of 39) in 1964. It also brought her fame as a modern master of the short story (her novels were critically less successful).
Even during O'Connor's lifetime, her works provoked very different reactions in her readers. Many readers and critics found them consistently "grotesque" in their depiction of debased, repulsive (and usually unsympathetic) characters and their at times spectacular displays of violence or cruelty. Some appreciated them as comedies for this reason, while others reacted with disgust. "A Good Man is Hard to Find," as O'Connor's most popular story, frequently stood at the center of discussion. It was also, for that reason, the story about which the author herself spoke most often (she also gave several public readings of it).
O'Connor saw all of her fiction, certainly including this story, as realistic, demandingly unsentimental, but ultimately hopeful. Her inspiration as a writer came from a deeply felt faith in Roman Catholicism, which she claimed informed all of her stories. She wrote, "The stories are hard but they are hard because there is nothing harder or less sentimental than Christian realism" (source: The Habit of Being, p. 90). A recurrent theme throughout her writings was the action of divine grace in the horribly imperfect, often revolting, generally funny world of human beings, a theme very much present in "A Good Man is Hard to Find." This story affords perhaps the best place to start in exploring the work of this rather eccentric, certainly unique literary voice.
Why Should I Care?
Is a good man (or woman) hard to find? So maybe you don't think about the question all that much per se. But it does suggest another question you might have thought about, since it's one of the Big Questions: what makes a good person? In the confrontation of thoroughly average old grandmother with a criminal who appears certifiably "evil" by just about anyone's standards, Flannery O'Connor's surprisingly deep little story opens up that question, and a whole bunch of others:
Is being "good" a matter of being respectable or decent? Having a good upbringing, or good blood? Being religious? Kind and honest? Or is it something more demanding, perhaps even impossible?
How does genuine goodness square with the way human beings actually are – with their pettiness, their selfishness, their annoying little quirks and vanities?
What does it mean not to be good, and what does it mean to be evil?
And – a particularly important question in the story – do we need religion to answer any, or all, of these questions?
"A Good Man is Hard to Find" also makes us think about the possibility of dramatic transformation in a person. Having just lost all of her family and threatened with death herself, the old grandmother appears to undergo a sudden and miraculous change of heart: she reaches out lovingly to the very person who has killed those she loves and is about to kill her. Can we understand an action like that? Can it only be understood religiously, as O'Connor would argue herself? What might the extreme situation have to do with bringing about such a moment? Can such a sudden transformation really happen at all, or should we disbelieve it? Perhaps at some point in your life you or someone you know will experience a "transformative moment." Or claim to have experienced it. And on that issue too, you'll find plenty of food for thought in this little story.
Then of course there are other less philosophical – but still good – reasons to read the story. It's just a great read, with a strange but effective mix of foreboding, page-turning suspense and laugh-out-loud humor. It's about one of those iconic experiences in all of our lives: the family vacation from hell! Rotten little sisters, irritatingly insistent grandmothers, car accidents, coincidental (or is it fate?) run-ins with serial killers…think of it as Coen brothers meets National Lampoon. Add to that all of those deep thoughts on the nature of good and evil, and you've got a short but intense story well worth the read.
Ragtime is famous for the number of its characters. Doctorow has borrowed a score of names from history, and added several more figures from his own imagination. The fictional characters belong to three different families who interact and ultimately become one family in the novel. At the beginning the parents of the narrator are only identified as Father and Mother. This family is a stereotype of self-satisfaction and patriotism in early twentieth-century America. Immigrants and minorities are beyond its field of vision. The second family is Tateh, Mameh, and their little girl: impoverished Jews who have recently come from Latvia to the tenements of New York City. Tateh is a man of fierce pride, integrity, and talent. The third family includes a black ragtime pianist, Coalhouse Walker, the woman he is never able to marry, and their illegitimate son. Coalhouse Walker becomes the dominant character in the second half of the novel when he threatens to destroy the Morgan Library in New York in order to protest racial injustice.
The characters with names like Henry Ford and J, P. Morgan are caricatures of history. Doctorow trades on the familiarity of their names, and connects them with the world of his fiction. Most of the historical figures only make cameo appearances in the novel, but a few like Emma Goldman and Houdini have important roles. Emma Goldman is agitating for a new kind of political and economic freedom, especially for women, and Houdini represents a tour de force of magic and illusion. Neither feels successful in the novel, but the narrator's mother does learn by reading a work, by Emma Goldman, and the narrator himself does meet and appreciate the great Houdini.
1)When the story opens, the narrator describes life in the early 1900s, noting that “There were no negroes. There were no immigrants.” Is this description accurate? What might this statement propose about the accuracy of historical accounts?
2)Why might the author have chosen to name the characters as he did? Why do some of the characters have general names such as Mother’s Younger Brother while others have proper names like Coalhouse Walker, Jr.? Does this affect the way we relate to them?
3)Describe the narrator of the story. Can we be certain of who it is, or does the point of view shift throughout the story? How does Doctorow’s method of narration relate to historical texts?
4)Why did the author choose the title Ragtime for this novel? What is ragtime music? What are its origins and how does it relate to other genres of music? What does it reveal about the society in which it was created? What literary devices does the author use to reference or re-interpret ragtime?
5)Why might the author have chosen not to use quotation marks? Does this affect the rhythm of the story?
6)Describe the setting of Ragtime. When and where does the story take place? Why might an author have chosen to write about this time period and these places and events?
7)When was Ragtime written? What was happening at the time? How might readers then have related to the story? How do we relate to it today? Is it simply a historical narrative or does it reveal things about contemporary society?
8)Why do you think that Mother’s Younger Brother chose to help Coalhouse Walker, Jr.?
9)Doctorow chooses to incorporate historical figures in a fictional context. Who does he include? Why might he have chosen to include these people? Does his portrayal of them match historical accounts?
10)The story takes place during a time of technological progress and industrialization. What are some of the innovations represented in the book? How does their presence affect the characters? Is the impact good or bad? Explain.
11)The quest for freedom and peace is a key theme of Ragtime. How does the author use Harry Houdini to illuminate the complexity of this quest?
12)While the characters represent different classes and races, they share much in common. Discuss some of these commonalities. How are the characters different?
13)What imagery does the author use in the first chapter to set the scene? What does it tell us about life in the early 1900s? What might the purpose be in revealing the murder of the architect Stanford White? Does it change our initial impression of American life during this time?
14)When Evelyn Nesbit meets The Little Girl in the Pinafore, she is tied with rope to her father’s wrist so she won’t be stolen. How does the author make connections between Evelyn, The Little Girl, and Mameh? Why is Evelyn drawn to Tateh and The Little Girl?
15)When Father returns to New Rochelle, the mirror “gave back the gaunt, bearded face of a derelict, a man who lacked a home.” What does this mean? What has changed since Father left home? How does he adapt to these changes?
16)Why might J.P. Morgan be so fascinated with Egyptology? Do his fortune and his collection of valuable objects bring him peace? Why do you think he invites Henry Ford to meet with him?
17)The notion of value is prominent in the book. What do each of the characters value? What consequences does this have for them?
18)Does Coalhouse Walker, Jr. obtain justice? What does he sacrifice in the process? How do his actions affect those around him? How does this scenario relate to the justice system and civil rights struggles in today’s society?
19)Why does Tateh reinvent himself as a baron? What does it mean for his identity? How does the style and imagery of the novel relate to the advent of cinema? How does this invention change our perception of history?
20)Many of the characters struggle for what they believe is right. Are they successful? How are these struggles tied in to the notion of identity or societal definitions of identity?
21)The author uses his characters allegorically. What groups are represented? Do you feel the portrayals are accurate? Why or why not?
22)The author presents many representations of family and relationships. Describe some. Which are most successful? Why do you think this is?
23)Why do you think that Mother and Tateh end up together? What draws them together? How would this relationship have been viewed in the early 1900s? How would it be viewed today?
24)Why do you think that the author chose the quotation by Scott Joplin as the novel’s epigraph? What does it signify?
Today we will be reviewing any questions that you have in regards to your AP Packet. We will also be returning to the ending of The Great Gatsby. We want to cover it in greater depth given the issues from last class. This will help you to prepare for a replacement assessment that will take place in class on Tuesday (Whoever completed the original quiz with some depth will receive extra credit points. (To prepare for this, you had best make sure to make time to consider the last couple of questions from this guide in particular). While you are working on this, I will come around and have you sign up for a time slot in which to present your projects. I will also collect your storyboards/draft scripts.
Agenda for the rest of this week:
Tuesday: Continue Reading Guide Questions in your pairs
Replacement Assessment
HW: Read Fitzgerald's short story
Wednesday:
In-class, group literary analysis on the short story
HW: Complete your projects for Thursday (you need your final presentation as well as your 2-3pp. paper explaining what you are trying to accomplish through your video--if you have questions about this, refer to the project handout).
Thursday:
Presentations
Friday:
Presentations
Study Questions for The Great Gatsby
Chapters 7-9
What is different about Gatsby’s house at the beginning of the chapter?
Why did Gatsby fire all of his servants?
What is the relationship like between Daisy and her daughter? How does Daisy treat her daughter?
What does Daisy suggest that everyone does for the remainder of the day?
What does Daisy tell Gatsby that is astonishing to Tom?
What does Gatsby say Daisy’s voice is full of? What does this mean?
What does Tom decide to do that is “distasteful” to Gatsby?
How does Tom act when he is in the car with Jordon and Nick? What are some things he says about Gatsby? How does Jordan react to Tom’s comments?
What’s wrong with Mr. Wilson? What does Tom offer to do with Gatsby’s car?
Why does Wilson want to make some money?
What occurs to Nick on page 131? What does this realization mean?
When Myrtle is peering through the window, who does she mistake Jordan for?
Explain why Tom feels a wave of panic?
What does everyone end up doing in the city?
What are some things that Tom confronts Gatsby about while in the hotel?
What does Gatsby tell Tom in response to Tom’s quesitons?
What are Tom’s remarks about Daisy on the bottom of page 138? How does he rationalize his affairs?
On page 141, what does Tom reveal about Gatsby?
What does Nick realize about the day in the city?
What did Wilson do to his wife? Why do you think he did this?
What happens to Myrtle? Who does Tom think did it?
Why doesn’t Nick want to go into the Buchanan’s house?
A sickened Nick leaves Tom and Jordan at the Buchanan’s house. How do Nick’s feelings change toward Gatsby and Jordan?
Do you think the death of Myrtle was an accident or deliberate?
In chapter 8, what does Nick suggest Gatsby do? What is Gatsby’s reaction to this?
How did Daisy’s wealth make Gatsby feel when he reminisces about their first meeting?
What was the only compliment that Nick ever gave Gatsby? Why do you think he said it?
What is Wilson looking at when he says “You may fool me but you can’t fool God”?
Our protagonist, Jay Gatsby, has put aside his personal ambitions for glory and Daisy. Do any of the other characters put aside their personal ambitions for love? Do they have ambitions?
Why is it ironic that Gatsby dies in his pool?
Nick’s relationship with Jordan deteriorates. How does his choice of words in his describing her tell us this?
You could say that we have seen to different sides to Gatsby. What do you think those two sides are and what do you think this tells us about his character?
Why did Nick feel responsible for Gatsby?
Is it typical of Daisy and Tom to leave New York? Why do you think they left?
Summarize Meyer Wolfshiem’s response to Nick’s letter.
Who does Nick meet in the last chapter? How is this person?
How did the man feel about Gatsby’s place?
Why was Klipspringer calling Gatsby’s house? What does his request say about his relationship with Gatsby?
How did Gatsby and Wolfshiem first meet? What was Gatsby’s situation?
What does Gatsby’s schedule say about his work ethic?
Who is Nick surprised to see at Gatsby’s funeral?
How does Nick feel about the East after Gatsby’s death?
What is the last thing that Nick does before he leaved the East?
Who does Nick run into and what information does this person reveal to him?
Explain the following quote said by Nick: “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made…” (187-188)
Below is a list of several themes and symbols that run throughout the novel. Explain how these things are present within the novel, who they might relate to, and what they mean?
-Rags to Riches
-Lost innocence
-Wanting what you can’t have
-The eyes of Dr. T.J. Ekleberg
-East Egg vs. West Egg
-The green light
How does Nick feel about New York at the end of the novel?
What type of mood is left with the reader at the very end of the novel: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back carelessly into the past.”
Discussion Questions for The Great Gatsby Chapter 4
List all of the rumors told about Gatsby.
Why does Fitzgerald list all of Gatsby's party guests?
Why does Gatsby tell Nick about his life? Do you believe Gatsby? Does Nick?
What role does Meyer Wolfsheim play in the novel? Why is there so much focus on his nose and what does this tell you about Fitzgerald's politics?
What does Jordan's story of Daisy's marriage reveal about Daisy?
Why did Gatsby want Daisy to see his house?
Nick says, "There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired." What does Nick mean? How does each character in the novel fit into this schema?
Homework:
*Read Ch 5 & 6
*AP Packet for Friday
*Work on your projects
Understand the critical lens quote. This quote is an assigned sentence from a literary reference that causes controversy and division of opinion. Read and reread the quote to get the full meaning or any hidden implication. Try to be as original as possible in your analysis when you form an opinion about the quote. Decide whether you agree or disagree.
2 Write the INTRODUCTORY SENTENCE/S (HOOK)
Rewrite the critical lens quote in YOUR OWN WORDS. This is usually required after writing the quote word-for-word in the first paragraph of the essay, but it also provides a clear understanding and breakdown of what the quote is trying to communicate, according to your perspective. Express the meaning of the quote and your thesis first! Then refer to the actual quote.
Add two works to the intro and tell why they support or refute the quote.
Pick two works of classic literature that will build a strong foundation and support your opinion. These should be works that you have read and are extremely familiar with. Essentially, these books will make your point valid by extracting relevant quotes and scenarios. By choosing the two works of literature, you are essentially supporting or disagreeing with the quote and do not have to spell it out (remember: quotes are not "agreeable"; people can be at times).
Be sure to show how these works support or refute the quote by making a concise statement about how they specifically relate to the quote.
3 BODY PARAGRAPHS
Write each paragraph with the "point + support" formula. Give your opinion or point followed by quotes from one of the two works of literature. Each paragraph should be written to persuade the reader to agreeing with your point of view; to accomplish this, readers will have to have concrete evidence the two works of literature will provide. DO NOT RELY ON PLOT SUMMARY. USE LITERARY TERMS TO SUPPORT YOUR DISCUSSION OF THE CRITICAL LENS, NOT AS THE MAIN FOCUS!
4 CONCLUSION
End by summarizing your argument and restating the critical lens quote. Giving the most substantial evidence in the last paragraph will leave the reader with something to think about.
-->Background information
*Life between the wars
*T. S. Eliot's history
*Some background to Modernism and the poem itself
-->Group Discussions
You will be put into groups and assigned one of the following sections:
1. A Game of Chess
2. The Fire Sermon (the first three pages)
3. The Fire Sermon (the last two pages) and Death by Water
4. What the Thunder Said
-->Questions to Answer:
1. What happens in your assigned section?
2. Which characters are present?
3. What is the tone of your section? Defend this with examples of literary elements.
4. What elements of modernism do you see in your section?
5. Does this section depict disillusionment or destruction and rebirth? How?
6. One of the themes that the whole poem explores is the loss of a unifying mythic consciousness and a loss of cultural vigor. How does your section deal with this?
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great
Gatsby clearly has become a mainstay of the American canon.One way in which this is evident is how
widely it is read—particularly in high schools across America.The reason why the novel has become
such an important part of the American tradition—as with any other classic—is
because of the history that it portrays as well as the timeless human emotions
into which it taps.Nonetheless, The Great Gatsby is one of the novels to
which people have the hardest time relating.They have a hard time understanding the characters’ actions
or the motivation behind them.
Task:For
this assignment your job will be explicate the meaning in The Great Gatsby.In
order to do this, you are being asked to adapt The Great Gatsby to another setting or time period and to depict
this adaptation through a video that is approximately five minutes in length.
Some
adaptations you might consider include the following:
Acting
out a short skit that depicts the characters of The Great Gatsby and where they
would be positioned in
relation to
1.Occupy
Wall Street
2.A
reality show (such as The Real Housewives,
Joe Millionaire, etc.)
3.Post-Great-Depression
America (something that the video clips showed us that Fitzgerald tended to
overlook even in his later novels).
4.A
topic of your choosing
This is a
group project.Groups should be of
no more than 5 students.Each
student will be expected to contribute something (thus, groups with more
students will be expected to complete more refined projects).You can choose to work alone, but you
will still be expected to complete all of the components of the project.
Due Date Timeline:
*Friday,
December 2nd—Groups and Topics Due
*Monday,
December 5th—Sources (two per group member that will inform your
adaptation)
*Monday,
December 12th—Completed Script and/or Storyboard
*Thursday,
December 15th—Final, Completed Project Due
(Includes: Video, Paper
Describing what your group was trying toaccomplish with the video, and individual contribution
paper)
Requirements:
*Timely
Submission of all Materials listed above
*Groups and Topics
-A
short paragraph explaining who is in your group and what you plan on doing for
the
project
-If
doing a topic of choice, ready to get approval for that topic no later than
Dec. 2nd
*Sources
-You are expected to
create an informed adaptation.This means that you will need to do some research in order to help your
group.Each person should submit
no less than two sources and a half-page report of their argument to their
group and to me for a grade by the deadline.
-These sources should be
scholarly, so you are being asked to look beyond Wikipedia.You can use
other websites, but it should be evident that these articles come from a
reliable source.
*Completed Script and/or Storyboard
-As
with any other media, films go through drafts.Thus, you will be expected to create a
draft
for this project.
-You can choose to
create either a script or a storyboard.Use whichever will be most helpful for you, but make sure that you put
some thought into your product. You can find examples of each through a quick
Google search:
Use in Gatsby: “His speaking voice, a gruff husky tenor,
added to the impression of fractiousness he conveyed.”
2.
Incredulously—adverb
1.
skeptically; unbelievingly
Use in
Gatsby: “Her host looked at her incredulously” (10).
3.Wan— adjective
1. of an unnatural or sickly pallor; pallid; lacking color: His wan face suddenly flushed.
2. showing or suggesting ill health, fatigue, unhappiness, etc.: a wan look; a wan smile.
3. lacking in forcefulness, competence, or effectiveness: their wan attempts to organize the alumni.
4. Archaic .
a. dark or gloomy.
b. pale in color or hue.
verb (used without object), verb (used
with object)
5. to become or make wan.
Use in Gatsby: “Her gray sun-strained eyes looked back at me
with polite reciprocal curiosity out of a wan, charming, discontented face”
(11).
4. Unobtrusively—adverb
1.Not
obtrusively
2.Inconspicuously
Use in Gatsby: “Sometimes she and Miss Baker talked at once,
unobtrusively and with a bantering inconsequence that was never quite chatter…”
(12).
5.
Rotogravure--noun
1. a photomechanical process by which pictures,
typeset matter, etc., are printed from an intaglio copper cylinder.
2. a print made by this process.
3. a section of a newspaper consisting of pages printed by the
rotogravure process; magazine section.
Use in Gatsby: “I knew now why her face was familiar—its
pleasing contemptuous expression had looked out at me from many rotogravure
pictures of sporting life” (18).
6.
Supercilious—adjective
haughtily
disdainful or contemptuous, as a person or a facial expression.
Use in Gatsby: The supercilious assumption was that on
Sunday afternoon I had nothing better to do (24).
7.Pastoral--adjective
1. having the simplicity, charm, serenity, or other characteristics
generally attributed to rural areas: pastoral scenery; the pastoral life.
2. pertaining to the country or to life in the country; rural;
rustic.
3. portraying or suggesting idyllically the life of shepherds or of
the country, as a work of literature, art,
or music: pastoral poetry; a pastoral symphony.
4. of, pertaining to, or consisting of shepherds.
5. of or pertaining to a pastor
or the duties of a pastor: pastoral visits to a hospital.
Use in Gatsby: “We drove over to Fifth Avenue, so warm and
soft, almost pastoral, on the summer Sunday afternoon” (28).
8.
Hauteur—noun
haughty manner or
spirit; arrogance.
Use in Gatsby: “The intense vitality that had been so
remarkable in the garage was converted into impressive hauteur” (30).
9.
Prodigality—noun, plural -ties for 2, 3.
1. the quality or fact of being prodigal;
wasteful extravagance in spending.
2. an instance of it.
3. lavish abundance.
Use in Gatsby: “Laughter is easier minute by minute, spilled
with prodigality, ripped out at a cheerful word” (40).
Use in Gatsby: “A humorous suggestion was made that she sing
the notes on her face, whereupon she threw up her hands, sank into a chair, and
went off into a deep vinous sleep” (51).
14.
caterwauling--nounAlso, cat·er·waul·ing.
4. the cry of a cat in rutting time.
5. any similar sound.
Use
in Gatsby: “The caterwauling horns had reached a crescendo…” (55).
15.
subterfuge—noun
an artifice or
expedient used to evade a rule, escape a consequence, hide something, etc.
Use
in Gatsby: “I suppose she had begun dealing in subterfuges when she was very
young in order to keep that cool, insolent smile turned to the world” (58).
16.
insolent--adjective
1. boldly rude or disrespectful; contemptuously impertinent;
insulting: an insolent reply.
Use
in Gatsby: “I suppose she had begun dealing in subterfuges when she was very
young in order to keep that cool, insolent smile turned to the world” (58).
