Dialectical Journal Assignment

The Great Gatsby [Chapter Two]

Complete the following on a separate sheet of paper.

Part I:

1.  On a literal level, what is the valley of ashes? What might it represent on a symbolic level?

2.  What overlooks the valley of ashes? What might they symbolize?

3.  Contrast Daisy with Myrtle, Tom’s mistress.

4.  Analyze Nick’s statement, “I think he’d tanked up a good deal a luncheon, and his determination to have my company bordered on violence.”

5.  Myrtle says of her sister, “She’s said to be very beautiful by people who ought to know.” What does this statement say about society?

6.  Compare and contrast the party in the apartment with the dinner at the Buchanans’ in Chapter One.

7.  Explain the rumor that Nick hears about Gatsby.

8.  Although Catherine comments that Tom and Myrtle cannot stand one another, how does the reader know that that isn’t true?

9.  What seems to be the attitude towards divorce in the 1920s?

Part II:

Choose TWO quotations from Chapter Two that you find particularly significant. Write down the quotation and page number, interpret its meaning and discuss why you believe it is important to the novel.

Dialectical Journal Assignment

The Great Gatsby [Chapter Two]

Complete the following on a separate sheet of paper.

Part I:

1.  On a literal level, what is the valley of ashes? What might it represent on a symbolic level?

2.  What overlooks the valley of ashes? What might they symbolize?

3.  Contrast Daisy with Myrtle, Tom’s mistress.

4.  Analyze Nick’s statement, “I think he’d tanked up a good deal a luncheon, and his determination to have my company bordered on violence.”

5.  Myrtle says of her sister, “She’s said to be very beautiful by people who ought to know.” What does this statement say about society?

6.  Compare and contrast the party in the apartment with the dinner at the Buchanans’ in Chapter One.

7.  Explain the rumor that Nick hears about Gatsby.

8.  Although Catherine comments that Tom and Myrtle cannot stand one another, how does the reader know that that isn’t true?

9.  What seems to be the attitude towards divorce in the 1920s?

Part II:

Choose TWO quotations from Chapter Two that you find particularly significant. Write down the quotation and page number, interpret its meaning and discuss why you believe it is important to the novel.