THE GREAT GATSBY
In-CLASS ESSAY – PERIOD 2
Prompt
In literature, authors often establish two or more characters, settings,
or events as strong opposites. However, apparent differences often
dissolve as the story progresses or upon closer consideration. Using
The Great Gatsby, write a well-organized essay in which you identify
and discuss examples of this idea of “dissolution of differences” and
explain how it contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
General Feedback
1. Which is/are correct:
a) The Great Gatsby
b) “The Great Gatsby”
c) The Great Gatsby
d) The Great Gatsby
2. Which is correct:
a) In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the narrator is
Nick Carraway.
b) In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, the narrator is
Nick Carraway.
Correct the grammar in the following sentences:
3. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, it uses dissolution of
differences as a literary technique.
4. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is about a man
who had given a lot to impress a lady he loves.
Samples and Feedback on Introduction:
The Great Gatsby is a novel narrated by a man named Nick who
moves to New York from the mid-west. He is a relative of Daisy
Buchanan’s. Nick is also neighbors with a man named Jay Gatsby who
is mysterious about his past. Throughout the story, Nick learns more
about Jay Gatsby and begins to understand him. He also learns how
the American Dream is just an allusion.
The Great Gatsby was a novel that used many literary techniques and
literary ideas. Fitzgerald uses a literary idea called “dissolution of
differences”. He uses this technique to show how two characters who
seem so different are just alike. He does this with all his characters.
In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald establishes two
different characters, in this case, Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby, as
strong opposites. However, throughout the book, strong similarities
between the two appear.
In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, many strong opposites are
established in the novel. Many characters are portrayed as opposites
as well as settings and events. What is also established in this novel is
a dissolution of differences. As the story continues, these characters,
settings, and events grow similarities. This contributes to the work as a
whole because…
The Great Gatsby takes place during the 1920’s, when wealth was
everything. The lives of those in the 1920s was depicted through
Fitzgerald’s characters, particularly through Gatsby and the
Buchanans. Both characters were extremely wealth. However, the
Buchanans came from a wealthy background while Gatsby built up his
own wealth. On the surface, there is a difference between new money,
which in this case is Gatsby, and old money, which refers to the
Buchanans. However, this difference dissolves as the characters are
revealed.
In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author uses the
dissolution of differences as a literary technique. One apparent
example of this is between Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby. Set in the
1920’s, Tom and Gatsby at first seem very different in character, but as
time passes, they become far more similar in character. This
dissolution of their difference contributes to one of the themes of the
book by showing how even those with ambition during the 1920’s who
worked to get somewhere are still the same as those who appear
superficial and substance-less.