Gatsby revision Chapter 4

(no ShowMe analyses from this Chapter: the next one will be from Chapter 5, ‘Daisy and Gatsby meet again’ - http://www.sccenglish.ie/2012/02/great-gatsby-7-gatsby-daisy-meet-again.html  )

• What are Nick’s reactions to the stories Gatsby tells him about his past? [pp 57-59, Heinemann]
• Three useful quotations from those pages (above).
• Significant details about Meyer Wolfsheim.
• What is the significance of the references to the World Series fixing of 1919?
• What do we (and Nick) learn from Jordan Baker about the origins of Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship?
• If you had to choose one short passage (c.20 lines) as the key one in this chapter, what would it be? Why? Key quotations?

Gatsby revision Chapter 3

Watch ShowMe analyses of

a)    Gatsby’s parties –
http://www.sccenglish.ie/2012/02/great-gatsby-5-gatsbys-parties.html
b)    Nick’s first meeting with Gatsby –
http://www.sccenglish.ie/2012/02/great-gatsby-6-nicks-first-meeting-with.html   

• List examples of Gatsby’s extravagance.
• Nick’s impressions of Jordan Baker, and then his feelings about her.
• Three short quotations on the nature of the people who go to Gatsby’s parties.
• The significance of cars and driving in the novel? Where in this chapter, and where else?
• If you had to choose one short passage (c.20 lines) as the key one in this chapter, what would it be? Why? Key quotations?
• Three more important short quotations from the chapter (not used earlier).

Gatsby revision Chapter 2

Watch ShowMe analyses of -
a)    Valley of Ashes –
http://www.sccenglish.ie/2012/02/great-gatsby-3-valley-of-ashes.html
b)    Myrtle Wilson’s apartment –
http://www.sccenglish.ie/2012/02/great-gatsby-4-myrtle-wilsons-apartment.html

• pp23-24: key words on the Valley of Ashes? Quote snippets/single words.
• What is the significance of the Dr T.J. Eckleburg billboard (refer to rest of novel too?)
• Three short quotations about Myrtle Wilson:
• Nick’s feelings when he is at the drinking session in Myrtle’s apartment?
• If you had to choose one short passage (c.20 lines) as the key one in this chapter, what would it be? Why? Key quotations?
• Three more important short quotations from the chapter (not used earlier).

Gatsby Revision Chapter 1

Watch ShowMe analyses of: 

a) Gatsby’s mansion: 
http://www.sccenglish.ie/2012/02/great-gatsby-1-gatsbys-mansion.html 

b) The Buchanans’ mansion 
http://www.sccenglish.ie/2012/02/great-gatsby-2-buchanan-mansion.html 

1. Notes on Nick Carraway’s background.  
2. Three short quotations encapsulating important things about Nick.  
3. Three short quotations on aspects of Daisy’s character.  
4. Nick’s feelings about the Buchanans after this first meeting?  
5. If you had to choose one short passage (c.20 lines) as the key one in this chapter, what would it be? Why? Key quotations?  
6. Three more important short quotations from the chapter (not used earlier).

TY Extended Essay on Racism

The first Transition Year Extended Essay we are posting from this year's work is by Seyilogo Braithwaite (for which she received a Distinction) and is on the subject of racism in three novels - Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman and The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

Seyilogo writes:
The topic for my extended essay is racism. What led me to this topic is the trivial amount of racism I have encountered while abroad. I remember reading these books and thinking to myself how far society has progressed since the times these books were set. As a young black woman in a white country, I have only experienced racism twice which upset me at the time but reading these books has made me realise that my experiences are nothing compared to those of coloured people in the past. The theme I have chosen shows how three different authors portray the common theme of racism which I found very fascinating. 

Read her full essay here.