# Teaching > General Teaching >  Calling All Teachers!!part 1

## JamesHoward

Please excuse the sensational topic title! I have just finished my A level in english literature, receiving a B grade. Don't get me wrong, I'm really pleased with this, it's just my coursework did pretty badly. So what, you ask? Well I was told by my teacher it was of a high standard, definitely above the 68/120 it was given. Now, you guys know about this sort of thing, and if any of you nice, nice people would be so kind as to have a little read-through, it would be immensely appreciated. I would like an honest teacher's opinion on it (I have emailed my teacher, but have received no response), and whether I should ask for it re-marked etc. It might just of been rubbish (reading back on it I notice a lot of grammatical errors) and if so please tell me.It's a little bit long so I've had to put it in 2 posts. Thank you so much to anyone who makes the effort to read and comment.

James

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As 5) the novel presents a world of superficial materialism in a moral vacuum (Tony Tanner) How far does this view accurately capture Fitzgeralds presentation of American society in the Great Gatsby?


The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgeralds quintessential critique of American society (and humanity itself) tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a sensitive young man trying to win the heart of socialite Daisy Buchanan. Fitzgerald wrote critically of America, and despite being an avid participant in the Roaring Twenties he reads as being highly cynical of both the era and the American Dream. I would be inclined to agree with Tony Tanner; ultimately the novel is didactic, and the point Fitzgerald is communicating is that, in American society, ethical structure has been substituted for superficial materialism.

Nick Carraway is the narrator of the story, and although his prose may present strong objective judgements it is important to remember throughout that the novel is told from a subjective viewpoint. However, it could be argued that this strengthens the credibility of Nicks observations, and Fitzgerald uses his perspective to evoke a sense of humanity, and to evoke pathos. Tony Tanner suggested that Nick is the true moral centre of the novel, and I would subscribe to this viewpoint. In the first chapter, Nick makes a number of significant comments: Reserving judgement is a matter of infinite hope and When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart. Here it could be said that Nicks apparent disillusionment with the superficial society portrayed is symbolic of Fitzgeralds own critical judgements not just of the Jazz Age, but also of humanitys shortcomings, and the novel reads with a startling impact when these points are kept in mind.

Tom Buchanan, with his cruel body and arrogant eyes, is the antagonist of the novel and I would argue that his lack of morality is, to an extent, a leading cause of the tragic events that take place. Myrtle Wilson is a victim of Tom Buchanan, and this is apparent throughout the novel. For example, in chapter 2, she shouts Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!, and in response, making a short deft movement, Tom breaks her nose. This event is vital to understanding both characters for a number of reasons: Firstly, Myrtles cries of Daisy! represents her longing to break free from the constraints of her poor, destitute life with her husband George (Who said I was crazy about him?). Secondly, it shows the fate reserved for anyone trying to escape the moral vacuum; Myrtles aspirations of emancipating herself from her situation, as soon as they are expressed, are instantaneously destroyed. Is Myrtle a victim of class divide? Or perhaps her downfall could be interpreted as a product of her own materialistic desires? 

Tom Buchanan is hard to sympathise with: Buchanan fills his moral void with status, power and wealth, and is a reckless character, and the events of chapter 2 exemplify this. I would suggest that Toms violence represents his lack of moral accountability, and demonstrates his knee-jerk reaction to accusations of responsibility. However it could be argued that this is just Toms nature manifesting itself; perhaps his aggression is a symbol of his masculinity, an inherent need for domination akin to Stanley, the bestial male of Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire.

Tom remains oblivious to his moral responsibility until the end of the novel. After Gatsby is killed by George Wilson, Nick and Tom chance upon each other in the street, and the conversation they have serves to contrast the strong moral grounding of Nick with Toms attitude: What did you say to Wilson that afternoon? Tom replies that he told him the truth. Of course, we know Tom is being deceitful, however it is a line that comes next that really demonstrates what Fitzgerald is communicating to the reader: He was crazy enough to kill me if I hadnt told him who owned the carThat fellow had it coming to him (Gatsby). He threw dust into your eyes jus like he did in Daisys, but he was a tough one. This quote demonstrates not only the selfish, self-seeking attitude of Tom Buchanan, but is a reiteration of the fate held for anyone trying to break free from this superficial, materialistic society. Gatsby and Myrtle share something in common; they were both killed by their dreams.

Moral accountability-or lack of it- is a theme that runs continuously throughout the book, and one of the most powerful symbols Fitzgerald creates is the Valley of Ashes. The Valley of Ashes is reminiscent of T.S. Elliots The Wasteland; both are sights in which happiness and inner peace are unrealisable, and Fitzgerald uses the place to communicate his view of societies ethical desertedness. The Valley of Ashes is a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat 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 powdery air, and it is open to a couple of interpretations: For example, it is apparent from the way Tom Buchanan (who represents the rich) treats George Wilson (the poor) that the upper class of the novels demographic views the area as a generic wasteland of people without status: Terrible, isnt it? says Tom. However, I would argue that the Valley of Ashes is a metaphor, and the purpose it serves is that of highlighting the moral vacuum that Fitzgerald perceived. Although the Valley of Ashes is a distinct juxtaposition with the West and East Eggs, it is however an industrial dumping ground, and is therefore a by-product of capitalism. Acknowledging this point, I think it is plausible to argue that Fitzgerald uses the Valley of Ashes to additionally hint at an underlying, subtler form of ugliness hidden amongst the upper class society.

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## JamesHoward

The Eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg are another important symbol of The Great Gatsby and are fundamental to the themes of morality, accountability and judgement throughout the novel. The eyes of Doctor. T. J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic-their retinas are one yard high creates connotations of an omniscient observer and it could be argued that they represent the eyes of God. For example, we learn from a grief-stricken George Wilson that just before his wife Myrtle was killed he had led her to the window and told her God knows what youve been doing, everything youve been doing. You may fool me but you cant fool God! God sees everything. It appears here that the eyes represent solace for George Wilson, an impending justice that will bring moral accountability and responsibility. This is a fair interpretation, however I would be inclined to disagree; personally, I think the eyes represent an absence of God. Their appearance is tainted: they are dimmed a little by many paintless days and, somewhat ironically, they were put there by some wild wag of an oculistto fatten his practice in the borough of Queens. Spectacles imply an impaired vision, and contrary to Wilsons hopes, seem to suggest a lack of judgement, a lack of ethical structure: a moral vacuum. It is also worth noting that they were installed as an advertisement and are therefore another symbol of capitalism and modernism.

Many aspects about Jay Gatsby pose questions of morality: given his phone calls from Chicago (an important city for bootleg alcohol in the Roaring Twenties) Gatsby himself could be said to lack morals, but I would suggest this is a tenuous claim. I would argue that Gatsby represents a moral light in the dark abyss of this society, and Nick Carraway seems to share this viewpoint: he shouts to Gatsby Your worth the whole damn bunch of them! But Gatsby also possesses compassion, charisma, and selflessness in a world devoid of these characteristics and Nick chronicles this in the 1st page: If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life, as if he were related to one of those intricate machines that register earthquakes ten thousand miles away. 

Gatsby also represents dreams and aspirations, aptly demonstrated by the green light, a continuous metaphor throughout the novel. Nick introduces us to this symbol in the first chapter: Involuntarily I glanced seaward  and distinguished nothing except a single green light and far away, that might have been at the end of the dock. When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished, and I was alone again in the unquiet darkness. At this moment, the green light represents Gatsbys ultimate aspiration: to win Daisys heart. Upon his reunion with Daisy, he tells her If it wasnt for the mist we could see your home across the bayYou always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock. This quote professes Gatsbys all-encompassing strive for love, but the mist suggest opaqueness. Perhaps Gatsby cannot see past his abstract conception of Daisy? Or alternatively the mist could represent a lack of moral clarity; perhaps there is no room for aspirations of love in this society? I would fathom that the previous interpretation is most convincing, based on Nicks observations of Gatsby that follow: Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had vanished forever. Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her. It had seemed as close as a star to the moon. Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one. I would argue that Gatsby, in his time spent apart from Daisy, has intensified his mental image of her so much that his recollection of her has become an abstract, almost Platonic innate idea that the reality could never begin to equal. The sudden disenchantment of the green light here could be said represents Gatsbys realisation that he must face the reality of Daisy, rather than the ideal he has created for her. 

It does make sense to categorise Daisys character together with Toms: extravagant and wealthy, the two possess a careless and confused attitude to life; they lack ethical structure. The attitude of the Buchanans is best summarised by Nick Carraway towards the end of the novel: They were careless people, Tom and Daisy  they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they made I would however make a distinction between the two characters: Rather than being a symbol of moral recklessness, I would argue Daisy is a symbol of moral weakness. We are shown that she does possess a slither of awareness with regards to this society, and this is shown when she discusses her daughter in the first party scene: Im glad its a girl. And I hope shell be a fool- thats the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool. This quote seems to show an element of disillusionment with her life, however, she proves to weak to embrace this and, when presented with a chance to break free she recedes back into her superficial, foolish lifestyle. Gatsby presented Daisy with a dream, a benevolence that ultimately she cannot affiliate with this intensity of emotion: Oh, you want too much! I love you now  isnt that enough? I cant help whats past. This idea of a deficiency of moral conviction is further reinforced by the events that follow. Daisy kills Myrtle, symbolising the victory of superficial materialism over dreams and aspirations, and of rich over poor. However, Daisy also kills Gatsby: it is the Buchanans lack of morality that leads them to conspire to cover up Myrtles death, and Gatsby is shot by George as a result of this. This is possibly the most fundamental symbol of Tony Tanners moral vacuum: regardless of materialistic abundance and exuberance (Gatsby), dreams of transcendence, aspirations of love and hopes of moral victory are always  tragically- destroyed. 

Finally, the poetic symbolism of The Great Gatsby is one that works on countless levels, and it is vital to contextualise the novel with its true metaphoric nature. On the surface the book reads as a tragic tale of ultimately unrequited love; a story of injustice, and lack of moral responsibility. There is however a deeper criticism that Fitzgerald is communicating throughout and that is the failure of American society to embrace, and to genuinely herald the American Dream. This is made most apparent in the last page of the book: I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors eyes  a fresh, green breast of the new world. Its vanished trees , the trees that had made way for Gatsbys human dreams; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder. It is paramount to quote this in its entirety as this conclusion of Nicks truly highlights mankinds ignorant sensibility; this bleak, Buchanan-esque lack of self-awareness; this lack of moral responsibility; the ceaseless mutation of Mother Natures green breast. The last time in history that man had such a glorious opportunity to conquer his destructive  ultimately self-destructive  personality. This dream has been abruptly destroyed, demonstrated by Fitzgeralds telling use of punctuation: And one fine morning 
Additionally the image of our boats against the currents reiterates this feeling of helplessness and hopelessness. Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. Consumed by a world of superficial materialism in a moral vacuum, Gatsby-our dream- is dead.


By James Howard


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Bibliography

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, with Introduction and Notes by Guy Reynolds.

www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby

www.novelguide.com/thegreatgatsby

www.homeworkonline.com/tgg/index.asp

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## fitzgolden

Hi James
I regard myself as an "honest teacher" and have taught at the level you are at for a number of years. I regularly teach The Great Gatsby, and have done so this year.
I enjoyed reading your essay, but I wouldn't disagree with the mark you were given, for quite a few reasons:

you make a huge number of generalisationsI feel that you never really engage with the question properlyThe essay gives the impression that you've tried to include everything you know and have ever read about GGyou present no strikingly perceptive, original or insightful thoughts about the book, which are what you would need for a good mark

I have been an A level marker several times, and I too would have given this a middling mark.

Cheers  :Tongue:

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## JamesHoward

Ok, thank you very much for reading and commenting  :Smile: .



James

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## wrestlingtaker

Maybe your essay was too long.

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## Niamh

> Maybe your essay was too long.


 :Rolleyes:  No his essay is a perfectly good size. anything smaller wouldnt contain the information needed to portray his point on the subject matter.

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## mrpopular

i'm courseworking for AS atm, and if your mark scheme is anything like mine you need a good deal more by way of historical context and external analysis i.e. critics' viewpoints. With my exam board (AQA i think) those criteria make up two thirds of the marks for the thematic piece.

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