Great Gatsby Essay
from "Getting an A on an English Paper" by Jack Lynch, Rutgers University – Newark
Close Reading
An English teacher's heart will go pitter-pat whenever he or she sees close engagement with the language of the text.
That means reading every word: it's not enough to have a vague sense of the plot. Maybe that sounds obvious, but few people pay serious attention to the words that make up every work of literature.Remember, English papers aren't about the real world; they're about representations of the world in language.
Words are all we have to work with, and you have to pay attention to them.
Gatsby Essay Starter Kit (choose one from each column)
(Yes, some of these interpretations are more of a "stretch" than others.)
(Yes, this is tongue-in-cheek. Sort of. But if nothing else is working to get you started...)
Lit Feature |
Lit Feature (close reading) |
Interpretation (meanings and themes) |
|---|---|---|
Character |
Imagery |
The Illusion of the American Dream |