I have an idea that Gatsby himself didn't believe it would come and perhaps he no longer cared. If that was true he must have felt that he had lost the old warm world, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream. He must have looked up at an unfamiliar sky through frightening leaves and shivered as he found what a grotesque thing a rose is and how raw the sunlight was upon the scarcely created grass. A new world, material without being real, where poor ghosts, breathing dreams like air, drifted fortuitiously about... like that ashen, fantastic figure gliding toward him through the amorphous trees. pg. 169 paragraph 2

This passage is the epiphany that Gatsby has of his illusive life. The reason why Gatsby no longer cared about Daisy returning his phone call, is because the dream of Daisy calling back was some kind of abstraction that would ultimately never come true. Gatsby also has the realization that he has been wasting his time with catching Daisy, and because he has wasted this time in an ilusive world, the reality of life is extremely frightening. Fitzgerald's description of the "unfamiliar sky" through the "frightening leaves" shows that the natural world is something terrifying to Gatsby. Fitzgerald describes the rose as "grotesque" as well. The reason why the rose is grotesque is because the rose is a symbol for the his love for Daisy, something that appeared beautful at first but in reality was something that led to disgust. The grass is a symbol for Gatsby, and the "raw sunlight" upon him represents Gatsby's utimate vulnerability to damage. This vulnerability to damage ultimately foreshadows George Wilson killing Gatsby very soon. Fitzgerald next describes people who are living in this illusive world as "poor ghosts" who breathe in dreams like air; people taking things in but eventually getting rid of it and going nowhere, much like the life of the "fantastic" figure coming toward him. George Wilson is the ashen figure approaching Gatsby and is the hero who ends the terribly abstracted lives of them both.

Once more it was pouring and my irregular lawn, well-shaved by Gatsby's gardener, abounded in small muddy swamps and prehistoric marshes. There was nothing to look at from under the tree except gatsby's enormous house so I stared at it, like Kant at his church steeple, for half an hour. A brewer had built it early in the "period" craze, a decade before, and there was a story the he'd agree to pay five years' taxes on all the neighboring cottages if the owners would have their roofs thatches with straw. Perhaps their refusal took the heart out of his plan to Found a Family-he went into an immediate decline. His children sold his house with the black wreath still on the door. Americans, while occasionally willng to be serfs, have always been obstinate about being peasantry. Pg. 93, paragraph 2.

This passage shows Nick's fascination with the American Dream through Gatsby's house and also foreshadows bad luck coming to Gatsby. Nick's property seems il-legitimate to Gatsby's because the lawn is irregular, muddy, and prehistoric. The only thing Nick is focused on is Gatsby's house. Nick has some desire to be part of Gatsby's life, the American Dream of the roaring 20's. The Allusion of Kant and the church steeple makes the reader feel as if he is analyzing the house, just as Kant would analyze church steeples. Attention to detail is important in accomplishing this American Dream, and analyzation is key, much like Ben Franklin's analyzation of his flaws. Next, the story of the brewer foreshadows what will happen to Gatsby. The single reason the brewer wanted the other houses to be thatched with straw, was so his house could stick out. Even though a person appears to be very succesful, their are alterior motives of selfishness to make oneself appear more prominent. Once the people refused, the heart was taken out of his plan to Found a Family and he went into an immediate decline, saying that because the brewer was not noticed, he did a poor job with his family relations, and eventually died. The black wreath was also still on the door, symbolizing bad luck to come to Gatsby. The last quote about Americans willing to be serfs and not peasants, solitifies this distorted American Dream because humans always want to have some superiority in the class system no matter how low they really are.

Response to Passing Post

A re-occuring image that I noticed was the contrast between hot and cold. The first placed I noticed it was in chapter 2, when Irene is about to encounter Clare. On page146, Irene says that their is a, "dancing blaze," and that the breaze is like a breath of a flame fanned by slow bellows."Yes! The day that Clare and Irene "meet" is full of this imagery--remember Irene goes into the Drayton to escape the oppressive heat. The next place I noticed this imagery was on page 164, when Irene is meeting Clare once more. She describes the weather as, "parched," and, "stifling." This is in contrast with the cooling, "rain," that did not fall. The speaker also refers to the, "October sunlight streaming in upon her," when she is opening Claire's letter. This imagery cannot be looked over because it sets the mood for the relationship between Claire and Irene. Nella Larson uses this heat imagery at the beginning of each chapter intentionally, to allow the reader to feel Irene's stress and anxiety she is feeling inside. The imagery is also used right before she is encountering Claire for the first few times. This is important because they are not yet completely comfortable with one another. Nella Larson uses the cool imagery as a method of relaxing the stress. Whenever Irene is cooled down she is comfortable with her relationship with Claire and confident that everything is working out.
I underlined the passive voice because you want to get out of that mode for analytical writing. Not a big deal here, but just want you to be aware of it.
Anyway, what we've got here needs a stronger bite. Larsen uses this imagery to establish tension and to relax it, but why? What's going on with this relationship? Is heat/fire symbolic of the passion that is dangerous? Is it reflective of some psychological force that Irene is trying to control/repress? Is it emblematic of desire, like the desire between these two women? Is it setting up Irene's repressed anger? Is it symbolizing Clare's passionate nature, that Irene wants to extinguish, much as one puts out a cigarette. Just before she kills/bumps/doesn't touch Clare, "Irene finished her cigarette and threw it out, watching the tiny sparks drop slowly down to the white ground below" (238). I love that.
So here's what I'd do: make a list of your evidence, or highlight it all. Then, decide what pattern makes the most sense to get you to a snappier so what.

"Passing" Post

A re-occuring image that I noticed was the contrast between hot and cold. The first placed I noticed it was in chapter 2, when Irene is about to encounter Clare. On page146, Irene says that their is a, "dancing blaze," and that the breaze is like a breath of a flame fanned by slow bellows." The next place I noticed this imagery was on page 164, when Irene is meeting Clare once more. She describes the weather as, "parched," and, "stifling." This is in contrast with the cooling, "rain," that did not fall. The speaker also refers to the, "October sunlight streaming in upon her," when she is opening Claire's letter. This imagery cannot be looked over because it sets the mood for the relationship between Claire and Irene. Nella Larson uses this heat imagery at the beginning of each chapter intentionally, to allow the reader to feel Irene's stress and anxiety she is feeling inside. The imagery is also used right before she is encountering Claire for the first few times. This is important because they are not yet completely comfortable with one another. Nella Larson uses the cool imagery as a method of relaxing the stress. Whenever Irene is cooled down she is comfortable with her relationship with Claire and confident that everything is working out.

Response to Thoreau Post

Wow--tough passage to parse! The first thing I noticed in this passage was his pathos remember--we generally talk ethos, pathos, and logos when we are looking at persuasive texts. They're the three main types of appeals in persuasive rhetoric. when discussing his spiritual connection to the universe. I also noticed the hyperbole when he explains his solitude as, "a region viewed nightly by astraunomers." Is that really hyperbole? He truly sees his home as the dominion of astronomers. These two things create a mood of mysticism proving the point that conformity is the enemy of creativity. I'm not quite with you here. How does mysticism prove conformity thwarts creativity? The next thing i noticed was his diction when placing, "celestial corner," and, "the system," directly after on another. This contrasting technique reinforces the idea that society is very mechanical and systematically makes people do things. Interesting reading. The, "celestial corner," reinforces the peace of mind from staying away from society. The next thing I noticed was his ethos when discussing the different stars and constellation showing his, "genius." The way you use "genius" here sounds like factual knowledge, not spiritual connection with the universe. Next, I noticed when he said the, "new and unprofaned universe." This contributed to Oneness, and showed that the over spirit is in nature. The Metaphor of him being a star showed the idea of improving oneself to be unique. Interesting reading of this metaphor--good. He states that he would be, "as fine a ray," in a, "moonless night." Finally, he says, "Such was that part of creation where i had squatted." This humoressly shows the important idea of happiness in romanticism.

Response to Douglass Post

You chose a great passage. It's an ideal length to read closely, and you've got a lot of elements in there to work with. The first thing i notice about this passage is the repetion Douglas uses with, "Work, work, work". This repetion shows the demanding attitude many whites had toward slaves. Yes, goodThe second thing i notice is how he interchanges the words, "long," and, "short." Interchanging these words shows that no matter what the slaves did, reward was never the outcome. By "interchanging" these words, I think you mean that he sets up parallel sentences; this certainly shows the futility of their efforts, yes. These attitudes masters had compliment each other in the first and second sentences. The next thing I notice is the personification when he uses the word, "Tamed." This is used to show how the masters treated the slaves like animals and not like equals. Nice point The Metaphor of, "breaking me," is using pathos to invoke sorrow in the reader. The Age of Reason now comes into play with the broken, "body, soul, and spirit." The, "body," shows the diminishing of the physicality and strength of manhood, the ,"soul," Remember--the ideal man is strong and sensitive shows the lessening of education, and the, "spirit," shows the dampening of religion. The Contrasting imagery of the, "spark that lingered about my eye," and the, "night of slavery," gives readers the chance to see the contrast between happiness and the life of a slave. This is also persuasion through pathos. Finally, ending with, "transformed into a brute," shows a turning point in his life of hope to a life of unhappiness. It's interesting to me, too, that he uses "brute," because he does use the word "tamed." It's clear he's resisting taking the animal comparison too far. Excellent job with this one, Michael.

p. 563, "Where I Lived and What I Lived For"

"Both place and time were changed, and I dwelt nearer to those part of the universe and to those eras in history which had most attracted me. Where I lived was as far off as many a region viewed nightly by astronomers. We are wont to imagine rare and delectable places in some remote and more celestial corner of the system, behind the constellation of Cassiopeia's Chair, far from noise and disturbance. I discovered that my house actually had its site in such a withdrawn, but forever new and unprofaned, part of the universe. If it were worth the while to settle in those parts near to the Pleiades or the Hyades, to the Aldebaran or Altair, then I was really there, or at an equal remoteness from the life which I had left behind, divided and twinkling as fine a ray to my nearest neighbor, and to be seen in only in moonless nights by him. Such was that part of creation where i had squattted;-"

The first thing I noticed in this passage was his pathos when discussing his spiritual connection to the universe. I also noticed the hyperbole when he explains his solitude as, "a region viewed nightly by astraunomers." These two things create a mood of mysticism proving the point that conformity is the enemy of creativity. The next thing i noticed was his diction when placing, "celestial corner," and, "the system," directly after on another. This contrasting technique reinforces the idea that society is very mechanical and systematically makes people do things. The, "celestial corner," reinforces the peace of mind from staying away from society. The next thing I noticed was his ethos when discussing the different stars and constellation showing his, "genius." Next, I noticed when he said the, "new and unprofaned universe." This contributed to Oneness, and showed that the over spirit is in nature. The Metaphor of him being a star showed the idea of improving oneself to be unique. He states that he would be, "as fine a ray," in a, "moonless night." Finally, he says, "Such was that part of creation where i had squatted." This humoressly shows the important idea of happiness in romanticism.