Journal #21

Journal 21 - Some Like It Hot and The Great Gatsby Comparison/Contrast Although Some Like It Hot is a comedy and The Great Gatsby is a tragedy, both works use popular culture to portray life in 1920s America. Focusing on the following elements (characterization, conflict, and theme), discuss how the two works are similar and different and what each is saying about American life. In Some Like It Hot, the main characters are more free and fun-loving, since it is a comedy. Unlike The Great Gatsby, they have more carefree traits. Although, the characters aren’t as different as they may seem. Gatsby characters are known to be ostentatious and have a romantic outlook on life. Like Daisy, Sugar is influenced by money and material possessions. She ultimately falls in love with Joe because he has money. She is also like Daisy because she is very idealistic and acts on emotions. Joe lies in order to impress Sugar, like Gatsby had done with Daisy. In The Great Gatsby, the main conflict is that Gatsby is in love with Daisy, but has to get her away from Tom. The conflict of Some Like It Hot, is that Joe has to lie to Sugar in order for her to have the same feelings for him that he has for her. Both have confusing love triangles. In Gatsby, Gatsby is in love with Daisy, who is married to Tom, but in the end loves Gatsby as well. The same goes for Tom and Myrtle’s relationship. In Some Like It Hot, Joe, dressed as “Josephine”, loves Sugar, who doesn’t know that “Josephine” is really Joe. Meanwhile, Jerry, who is dressed as a woman, also loves Sugar. The Great Gatsby and Some Like it Hot differ in that Gatsby doesn’t end up with his true love, whereas Sugar and Joe get married. The Great Gatsby and Some Like It Hot both illustrate that American life is very ostentatious and that Americans are influenced by money. Gatsby tries to woo Daisy with his parties and lies. Joe tries to impress Sugar with his fake life and fake money. Gatsby shows that, in the end, money and lies don’t always help obtain a happy ending. Some Like It Hot shows that money and lying will make everything go swimmingly in the end.

Journal #20

Journal 20 – The Great Gatsby Conclusion Read the novel’s last passage (beginning with, “Gatsby’s house was still empty when I left”) and discuss the use of imagery and symbolism that is being employed by Fitzgerald. In your response, specifically address what Nick is saying about the green light and the connection that he is making between Gatsby and the Dutch sailors who “discovered” Long Island. Fitzgerald uses a great amount of symbolism in the last passage. He describes the last visitor to Gatsby’s house, not knowing that the “party” was over. This was similar to Gatsby’s life. Gatsby, like the guest, did not know that the past, or party, had ended. Nick reminisces about Gatsby’s old parties. He continues to look over at Gatsby’s house, remembering everything he knew about his time in West Egg. He began to realize that there was less commotion than there had been before. Like Gatsby, Nick, started to picture the past as some grandiose dream from long ago. Unlike Gatsby, Nick looked at not the past, nor the future, but at the present. This is a contrast from how Gatsby thought about life. He was never in the moment. Gatsby was like the Dutch sailors that sought the fertile green land, much like how he sought the green light of Daisy’s dock. The sailors were always thinking about the future, and they came close to achieving their goal. Both of their goals were memories of the past. In the end, their dreamer-like ambition both influenced their actions and desire to achieve their final goal.

Journal #19

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: Reserved Nick Carraway is a handsome 30-year-old man. He is very educated. He tends to keep to himself and doesn’t judge people harshly. People are drawn to him and confide secrets in him. This leads us to believe that he is also seen as very trustworthy. Tom Buchanan Adjective: Brutish Tom is the typical macho, tough guy. He is very bigoted and has strong opinions on everything. He acts like a chauvinistic pig throughout the entire book. He is described as being carless and cowardly. Daisy Buchanan Adjective: Naïve Daisy is a pretty young woman. She has a sing-song like voice. Daisy is very foolish in her rash decisions. She acts as if her money can shield her from everything. She has a dreamer-like personality. She is a romantic that only acts on her emotions. Jordan Baker Adjective: Independent Jordan is a beautiful and determined young woman. She seems to be a neutral character when it comes to Daisy’s relationships. She’s more of a source of information. She can also be described as being a bit stuck-up, because she wouldn’t have a long term relationship with Nick because he wasn’t high-class. Jay Gatsby Adjective: Idealistic Gatsby is a handsome man who dresses in fine clothes, mainly his pink suit. He, like Daisy, acts on emotions. He is deceptive with his past life. He is a dreamer that constantly searches for what he wants next.

Jourmal #18 - Hemingway

“In Another Country”



1. What is the significance of the story’s title?
Everyone is dealing with suffering, which makes it seems like foreign territory. They feel isolated and different, which makes them feel like outsiders.




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

The major represents the Hemingway hero. He has stoicism and is indifferent to his suffering. Even though he has suffered, he gets back up with integrity.





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

The photographs are supposed to represent the healing of wounds through the machines. The major’s reaction shows that not all wounds can be healed through machines and technology.

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?

It is significant and relates to Prufrock because it describes how his story would never be told and he tells his tale without fearing it because no one would ever hear it, like Prufrock’s tale. He would never reveal his deeper thoughts.






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

1. What is it?
2. Do I dare?
3. Do I dare disturb the universe?
4. So how should I presume?
5. To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways?
6. Is it perfume from a dress that makes me so digress?
7. And how should I begin?
8. Shall I say, I have gone through narrow streets and watched the smoke that rises from the pipes of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows?
9. Should I, after teas and cakes and ices, have the strength to force the moment to its crisis?
10. Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?

They all start with “shall I” or “do I” or “should I.”









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

Prufrock’s main flaw is that he doubts himself and is indecisive. He worries about everything and won’t reveal his true feelings. He is very self conscience and insecure.






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


It’s called a love song because it’s ironic. It’s not about love at all, it’s about loneliness. He is left out of love.

Journal #16 - Crane and London

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.“


The Swede in “The Blue Hotel” is affected by his genetics. He was given alcohol to drink, which he couldn’t handle, and ultimately got drunk. In his drunken state, he annoyed everyone, had angry outbursts, and started fights. He was not in control of himself – his genetics were. Because his body wasn’t used to the effects of alcohol, he was affected even more. The environment around him also affected his outcome. He was new to the west and believed that everyone ran around shooting everything in sight. This ideal of the Old West caused him to be fearful and instinctive in his actions. In an attempt to calm him, the hotel owner was the one who unknowingly got him drunk. He picked a fight with Johnny because he believed that he was cheating at cards. The other men in the hotel egged on Johnny to kill the Swede, which lead the Swede to feel alienated and even more agitated. In the end, since he felt unwanted and untrusted, the Swede decided to leave. Instead, he picked another fight while not being in control of his actions and was killed. Mr. Blanc even said that everyone played a part in the Swede’s death. He said that he saw Johnny cheat, and if he said something, the Swede would still be alive. The cowboy told Johnny to kill the Swede, which lead to his alienation. If his environment hadn’t been the way that it was, the Swede might still be alive.

The man in “To Build a Fire” is greatly affected by determinism. Mainly, his environment plays the largest part of his demise. He is out in the Alaskan wilderness trying to get back to the camp. The below freezing temperature caused his face, hands, and feet to become completely numb. In order to heat and dry his wet and frozen legs, he needed to build a fire. The problem is that his hands are too numb to even light the fire. He can barely grasp a match or find wood to burn. He decides that he should run to the camp as quickly as he can. He runs, but the bone-chilling temperature causes him to give up and die in the snow. His death was inevitable because he wouldn’t listen to what people were telling him and wasn’t prepared to face that extreme environment.

The Swede and the man are both quite similar, but also different. The Swede met his demise because of the environmental factors. He was alienated and drunk. Those two factors can determine someone’s rate of survival. The man in Alaska dies because of the extreme environmental factors, as well. The difference between the two men is that the Swede knew what was going to happen to him, but he was involuntarily relieved of his prophecy. The man is Alaska was told that he wouldn’t survive, but went out voluntarily, and didn’t listen to what he was being told.

Journal #15 - 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 overall message of the story is that war isn’t noble— it’s just mindless killing.

"But war! Is it
glorious to break the peace of the world?"

"You just expected him to kill
some one else, some of those foreigners, that weren't
there because they had any say about it, but because
they had to be there, poor wretches--conscripts, or
whatever they call 'em. You thought it would be all
right for my George, your George, to kill the sons of
those miserable mothers and the husbands of those
girls that you would never see the faces of."

"I thank my God he didn't live to do it! I thank my
God they killed him first, and that he ain't livin' with
their blood on his hands!"



2. What tactics does Editha use to make George believe as she does about the war?
She used her love to make him believe in the war. Editha knew that he would do anything for her, so she exploited his affection. She basically told him in the letter that if he didn’t have faith in war, she wouldn’t marry him.





3. Is there ever a time in which Editha truly understands what she has done? Does she ever experience an epiphany?
During the end, when she has the conversation with George’s mother, she understands what she had done. The last paragraph states that, “The mystery that had bewildered her was solved by the word; and from that moment she rose from grovelling in shame and self-pity, and
began to live again in the ideal.” This was when she had her epiphany and finally understood her actions and the truth about war.