Post 1- Daiana Ascanio

1)Answering the first question, I would say that my predictions were not confirmed so far. At least at the beginning is like a description of Nike´s life and Gatsby was just mentioned as his neighbor. Also in this first chapter, it is said that  Daisy is Tom´s wife and she doesn´t even know Gatsby. 

2)A quotation that called my attention was at the very beginning: 

 "In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I´ve been turning over in my mind ever since.´Whenever you feel like criticising anyone,´ he told me, ´just remember that all the people in this world haven´t had the advantages that you´ve had". 

I have chosen it because I believe it is a reflective and thinking phrase that Nike´s father gave him. If you analise that, you would realise that it is a belief that snobs or elitist people have, thinking that they ar "better" than poor people, or may be that they have a kind of "morals". However in my opinion it is on the contrary. Despite having money is an advantage, that don´t make you a good or better person.

3) Main characteristics of the characters:

Nick Carraway : First of all I have to mentioned that he is the novel´s narrator. He works in finance. He seem to be honest and tries to reserve judgements.

Daisy Buchanan -  She is Nick’s cousin. and Tom´s wife. (at least is what is said in the first chapter)

Jay Gatsby -  He is the protagonist of the novel. Gatsby is a fabulously wealthy young man living in a Gothic mansion in West Egg.

Tom Buchanan -  Daisy’s wealthy husband, once a member of Nick’s social club at Yale. Tom seem to be an arrogant and  bully.

Jordan Baker -  Daisy’s friend, a competitive golfer, whom Nick seem to become romantically involved.

4) I guess or maybe I hope  that Gatsby would be better described in the following chapters. Maybe Daisy will meet him somewhere in West Egg and the story will become even more interesting.

POST 1- Valentina Zanor

I  must admit that my predictions were very poor, I didn't take any risk at all! But, as far as I read the setting I provided was correct.
The quotation that I selected is:
“I hope she'll be a fool - that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” 
I chose it because of two main reasons:

•  It shows how frank Daisy is with Nick and with herself.  
• And mainly, we can see clearly the role of women in those years. What Daisy wants to say is that if her daughter is a fool, then she'll never get hurt. She'll never realize that she married for money and social status instead of real love, that her husband is having an affair right under her nose, that everyone sees her as silly, stupid, naive, and pitiful. If she's a fool, she'll never have an opinion that can be dismissed by a men in her life, and she'll never care about anything except dresses and flowers and all the pretty things in life. She'll be pretty enough to find a husband who can support her financially, and dumb enough never to realize how tragic her life actually is. She will suit her place: a bauble, an accessory to men.

Characters: 

• Nick Caraway: To begin with, he's the narrator. He comes from a prominent, well-to-do family and besides he is honest, tolerant, and inclined to reserve judgement. He goes to New York City to learn the bond business and there is when he meets Gatsby who is his new neighbour. 
• Daisy Buchanan: is Nick’s second cousin. She seemed to be naive, but she is sophisticated and smart. She has got a daughter and her husband is Tom Buchanan.
• Tom Buchanan: Daisy's disloyal husband. He is racist and authoritarian.
• Jordan Baker: Daisy's friend and a famous golf player.
• Jay Gatsby : The title character and protagonist of the novel, Gatsby is a fabulously wealthy young man living in a mansion in West Egg.
• Myrtle Wilson : Tom’s lover..
• George Wilson : Myrtle’s husband. Unlike Daisy, he doesn't know about the affair between Tom and his wife. 

I think something else should happen in Daisy's life. She my have passionate affair too! I also feel that Nick will fall in love with Jordan.
I don't know if it is likely to happen, but I wish George finds out the real reason why her wife travelled to New York. 

Post 1 - Walter Leonardo Rivas

Post 1: After reading one or two chapters

So here I am, re-reading "The Great Gatsby". Now, don´t get me wrong, I really love the novel and I agree that it is one of the finest novels in American history.

The first character we get to know is Nick Carraway. He is the narrator, but he is not the protagonist of the novel. The story is about Gatsby, who represents everything for which Nick has an unaffected scorn. Nick Carraway comes from a well-to-do family from the Midwest, he is a Yale grad and a WWI vet.

Daisy Buchanan is Nick’s second cousin once removed. She is an alluring woman, and there is something in her voice that men who had cared for her find difficult to forget. In a sense, she is a siren.

Tom Buchanan is Daisy’s unfaithful husband. As Nick, he attended Yale University. He is a contemptible character, a racist and obscenely wealthy.

Jordan Baker, a famous golf player, and Daisy's friend. She is a great gossip, and rather snooty.

Screenshot from The Great Gatsby - Official Trailer (2012)

This is a valley of ashes — a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air.

 This quote made me think about the 1920s boom. Specifically, how the prosperity so obvious in every town and city was not enjoyed by everyone. In fact, the gap between rich and poor was very large: the top 5% of Americans earned one-third of all income.

Post 1 by Mariel

"...we walked back a hundred yards along the road under Doctor Eckleburg's persistent stare". I chose this quatation because this made me think about how this advertisement is used to make the readers feel that "Doctor Eckleburg"-an oculist-is watching what is happenning and what will happen in the story.  This advertisement is  a witness of  the story between the protagonists.
So far, for me,  the characters have something to hide and something to tell. I think,as I have already read the  book, that different and interesting things will happen among Gatsby and Daisy.

Modernism and James Joyce

Some general characteristics of the movement in different fields

Modernism In Literature

View more PowerPoint from Maria Teresa Ciaffaroni



and more specific details regarding literature.

Turning to James Joyce, you can find out about Bloomsday celebrations this year, and about the "Ulysses Meets Twitter" project, of which there is a sample below:

The Great Gatsby: Before reading the novel

Before you start reading a book, it's always a good idea to explore it. Do you know the names of the different parts? Watch this presentation to find out.

The illustration on the front cover should enable you to predict what kind of book you are about to read. Different editions of the same book will have different illustrations.

The Voicethread below includes four different covers of The Great Gatsby (clicking on the picture will enlarge the image).


This blurb can be found in one edition:

"The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald's third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. This exemplary novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted "gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession," it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.
The Great Gatsby is one of the great classics of twentieth-century literature."

From the back cover of A Cornell Edition of The Great Gatsby.

Look at the images, read the blurb and then record your comment: what do you think the novel will be about?  (Note: if you have already read the novel, tell us what the main differences among the covers are in your view) You can also see the covers in greater detail  below. 

Recording a comment on Voicethread is really simple  Register for a free account   Click on Comment   Choose the kind of message you prefer (text, audio or video)   Click on Record   Right click and choose “permitir”   Then choose mike   Speak. After you finish speaking your recording will be played automatically. Click on Save if you are happy with it or Cancel if you are not, and try again.  If in doubt, check this site for instructions.

Deadline: May 22nd          

 

Predictions: Eveline, our next story (optional)

If you go to http://www.wordle.net

you can generate word clouds from text that you provide which give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text.

Look at the Wordle I have created for Joyce's story (click on it or go to http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/3580841/Eveline_by_James_Joyce for a larger version).

What do you expect the story to be about? Who may be the characters? What about the setting?

Tell us in the comments below.

Deadline: May 17th.

Here you can see a static image, in case your computer did not allow you to see the previous one.

Note: This is an optional activity which you can do for extra credits. Particularly suitable for those who started later, missed lessons or failed to do other activities.