Allusions to The Great Gatsby & The Enormous Radio

John Cheever, a cup of coffee, and the Long Island Express

We've talked aplenty about literary allusions in the books, plays, and stories we've read this year; but now that you have the basics of American literature behind you, I think you will find that you'll start noticing (and understanding) more and more literary allusions as you continue to read.

Just last week I was reading through JD Salinger's Franny and Zooey, when I came across this passage, narrated by Buddy Glass:

Somewhere in The Great Gatsby (which was my Tom Sawyer when I was twelve), the youthful narrator remarks that everybody suspects himself of having at least one of the cardinal virtues, and he goes on to say that he thinks his, bless his heart, is honesty. Mine, I think, is that I know the difference between a mystical story and a love story.

Salinger also makes a reference to Gatsby in The Catcher In The Rye when Holden says "Old Gatsby. Old sport. It kills me."

If we hadn't run out of time, our last assignment was going to be to read two stories by John Cheever: "The Swimmer" and "The Enormous Radio." The former is set on Long Island and makes reference to Gatsby; the latter is set in a Manhattan apartment building and is most definitely worth the read. Full text of "The Enormous Radio" is available by clicking on the link above.

May you have a summer blessed with time to read and enjoy many good books!

New York Landmarks in Gatsby

The novel takes place between Long Island, Queens, and Manhattan. The map above shows Long Island. The western end of the island is comprised of Brooklyn to the south and Queens to the north (see map below). It is Queens where Myrtle lives near the "valley of ashes." Manhattan is located across the East River, represented by the star and "New York" above. Long Island Sound is the body of water that separates Long Island, New York from Connecticut to the north. Here's a great trivia question: What are the five boroughs of New York City? Answer: Staten Island, Queens Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx (see map below). East Egg and West Egg were fictionalized versions of the real North Shore villages of Kings Point and Sands Point.

The five boroughs of New York (and Long Island)

Fifth Avenue, known as "America's most expensive street"

Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the center of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The section of Fifth Avenue between 34th Street and 59th Street is one of the premier shopping streets in the world. Fifth Avenue serves as a symbol of wealthy New York and is consistently ranked as one of the most expensive streets in the world.

Penn Station, circa 1920's

Pennsylvania Station—commonly known as Penn Station—is the major intercity rail station and a major commuter rail hub in New York City. It is one of the busiest rail stations in the world, and a hub for inboard and outboard railroad traffic in New York City. The station is located in the underground levels of Pennsylvania Plaza, located between Seventh Avenue and Eighth Avenue and between 31st Street and 33rd Street in Midtown Manhattan. Serving 600,000 passengers a day at a rate of up to a thousand every 90 seconds, it is the busiest passenger transportation facility in the United States and by far the busiest train station in North America.

157th Street subway station

Myrtle's New York City apartment is located on 158th Street in the neighborhood of Washington Heights in the northern reaches of Manhattan. When traveling by train from Penn Station to Washington Heights you woul pass through the heart of Harlem.

The Yale Club on E 44th St. in Manhattan

The Yale Club is a private club in Midtown Manhattan, where Nick Carraway ate lunch and studied during the workweek. Its membership is restricted almost entirely to alumni (like Nick Carraway) and faculty of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. With a clubhouse comprising 22 stories and a worldwide membership of over 11,000, it is the largest clubhouse in the world and continues to be the largest college clubhouse in the world.

Murray Hill Hotel (1884-1947)

The Murray Hill Hotel was built in 1884; as a 600 room hotel just blocks from Grand Central Terminal on a site which previously housed stables for the Madison Ave. stagecoach lines. The enormous red brick building was arranged around two courtyards. The main entrance was a colonnaded portico above which the building rose to a gable. It was demolished in 1947 to make way for an office building at 100 Park Avenue.

Ain't MIsbehavin' at the Playhouse

Speaking of the Jazz Age: By beautiful coincidence, this past weekend Ain't Misbehavin': The Fats Waller Musical Show opened at Cincinnati's Playhouse in the Park. Here's how the Playhouse describes the show:

A supercharged sizzle of song and dance, the joint will be jumping for this fun-filled, joyous revue showcasing the irresistible music of jazz great Fats Waller. From the comedy of "Your Feet's Too Big" to "Honeysuckle Rose" and "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now," this Tony Award-winning Broadway favorite features more than 30 toe-tapping songs and promises an evening of high-energy, crowd-pleasing entertainment.

Ticket prices at the Playhouse tend to be exorbitant. However, if anyone can figure out how to get a price break there, do let us all know. I imagine this show would be a splendid tribute to the Jazz Age.

Who is Fats Waller? Well, check it out:

The Great Gatsby -- Assignment Schedule

I've been told that, due to the CAT testing, we will likely have a shortened period on Monday (May 3) and no class on Tuesday (May 4). Assuming that's accurate, I have drawn up the assignment schedule for our unit on The Great Gatsby. I will hand out a hardcopy of the assignment sheet on Monday, along with blank data sheets. I've also posted the assignment sheet online so you can take a look at what's ahead. The introductory material is also now available online.

In brief, you should have the book read in its entirety (180 pages) by Thursday, May 6. That is the day of our first discussion. We'll cover Chapters I-III that day.

Ideally, you will read quickly through the novel by Thursday, and then go back and read more carefully, annotating with a pen, in preparation for the discussion days. This will be the last unit and the last reading of the year. Finish strong!

How to Title a Research Paper

Before you break out the Fresca tonight in celebration of finishing your term paper, here are a few tips on the final aspect of your project: giving the research paper a splendid title.

A good title has several characteristics. It:

1. Creates a positive impression and stimulates reader interest
2. Is limited to 15 to 20 substantive words
3. Does not include "study of," "analysis of" or similar constructions
4. Indicates your topic in a clear and precise way, not just repeating the title of the literature.
5. Indicates the proper scope of the research; not too general or too vague
6. Does not take the form of a question (e.g., "What Is It with Huck Finn?")

The Subtitle
You may use a subtitle to explain or provide context. This is especially important if the main title is literary, provocative, or imaginative, i.e. "Rusty Rails in the Sunset: Railroad images in 15 special collections in Tennessee academic libraries."

25th annual Gatsby Summer Afternoon

Here's an excellent little blog posting from Dandyism.net. The photos give you an excellent idea of what the Gatsby set looked like -- the way they dressed, the way the men wore their facial hair -- for example, with the pencil-thin military mustache or the handlebar mustache -- and the way they sat around looking cool even while wearing striped socks. Check out the yellow car in one of the photos, a replica of Gatsby's wheels.

In case you're wondering what a "dandy" is, take a look at "Anatomy of a Dandy." Here's an excerpt:

The magic of dandyism resides in the interplay between the dandy’s temperament and his appearance. Yet it is not a question of simple harmony, for one dandy may combine severe dress with a jocular demeanor, while another meshes cold aloofness with colorful and audacious dress. Nevertheless, what follows is an attempt to describe the indescribable, to unravel the formula of dandyism’s certain something. A dandy exhibits the following characteristics:

1. Physical distinction: Dandyism can only be painted on a suitable canvas. It is impossible to cut a dandy figure without being tall, slender and handsome, or having at least one of those characteristics to a high degree while remaining at least average in the other two. Fred Astaire was neither tall nor handsome, but he was “so thin you could spit through him.”

2. Elegance: Elegance, of course, as defined by the standards of a dandy’s particular era.Dandies must love contemporary costume, says Beerbohm, and their dress should be “free from folly or affectation.”

3. Self-mastery: Barbey speaks of the dandy’s staunch determination to remain unmoved, while Baudelaire says that should a dandy suffer pain, he will “keep smiling.”

4. Aplomb: While self-mastery is the internal practice of keeping emotions in check, aplomb is how it is expressed to the dandy’s audience.

5. Independence: Ideally financial independence, but if the dandy is forced to work, a spirit of independence will be expressed through his work, as with Tom Wolfe. Independence — often to the point of aloofness — will also characterize the dandy’s dealings with the world.

6. Wit: Especially a paradoxical way of talking lightly of the serious and seriously of the light that carries philosophical implications.

7. Blasé: A skeptical, world-weary, sophisticated, bored or blasé demeanor

8. Egotism: A self-mocking and ultimately endearing egotism

9. Dignity/Reserve

10. Discriminating taste

11. A renaissance man: A complete gentleman, who, according to Sir Fopling, ought to dress well, dance well, fence well, have a genius for love letters, and an agreeable voice for a chamber.

12. Caprice: Because dandies are an enigma wrapped in a labyrinth, and because dandyism makes its own rules, the final quality is the ability to negate all the others.

Gents, if you think you might be a dandy, take the "How dandy are you?" quiz.

Flapper Culture of the Roaring Twenties

Flapper culture of the 1920's



Roaring Twenties Dance Craze

Wanna Listen to Some Jazz?

Our local stations in Cincinnati have a pretty decent selection of programs to choose from if you want to sample some of the various forms of jazz:

Warm 98 (ugh) actually has a pretty decent jazz program on Saturday nights. It's called Cool Jazz Saturday Night and is available to listen to all week through their website. They play a range, but it's mainly cool jazz.

89.3 WMKV (a great but relatively unknown station located in warm and cheerful Reading) has a number of excellent swing, big band and other jazz programs through the week. Check their website for schedules. Particularly recommended is When Swing Was King -- that would be in the 20's, the Jazz Age.

91.7 WVXU has a piano jazz program on Sunday nights at 11:00 pm preceded by Jazz with OT at 9:00 pm -- highly recommended.

I also recommend BBC3's Jazz programs, which you can listen to using the BBC iPlayer.

It's Friday--Praise God!

Someone had to do it first. I'm making a post yes, as a student. Bartleby's monopoly on posts has at last met a challenge, but alas, it shan't stay long.

My reason for posting is to confirm that Bartleby has indeed moved the due date of our beloved three-book-project from Thursday, April 29th, to Friday, April 30th. So there you are, I confirm it. In the words of The Crucible: "Praise God!"

I wish everyone good luck and God's assistance in the completion of your projects in the coming days. See you in class.

The Jazz Age & the Roaring Twenties

As we continue on in our study of the American dream in literature, we'll also be introduced to the Jazz Age in literature. One of the most representative literary works of the Jazz Age is American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby (1925), which highlighted what some describe as the corruption of the post-WW I age as well as the growth of individualism. It is also the finest literary example of the corruption of the original American dream.

Fitzgerald is typically credited with coining the term "Jazz Age," which he used in such books as his short story collection Tales of the Jazz Age. His second novel, The Beautiful and Damned (1922), also deals with the era and its effect on a young married couple.

So, what's the Jazz Age? Here are some instructive Jazz Age links:

JazzAge1920s.com
This website is dedicated to the Jazz Age music of the 1920's and to the artists who performed the music. These Jazz Age pages feature accurately researched bios of some of the lesser known personalities of the era. Mp3s are sprinkled throughout to give a flavor of the recordings of the performer and to perpetuate these wonderful tunes that have stood the test of time.

The Jazz Age: Roaring Twenties -- Digital History
The popular image of the 1920s, as a decade of prosperity and riotous living and of bootleggers and gangsters, flappers and hot jazz, flagpole sitters, and marathon dancers, is indelibly etched in the American psyche. But this image is also profoundly misleading. The 1920s was a decade of deep cultural conflict.

The Jazz Age: Music & Dancing
The musical forms that most impacted the 1910s and 20s – ragtime, blues and jazz – rose from the African-American community and are recognized as distinctly original American art forms. Originally played in saloons and bawdy houses, ragtime was a worldwide craze for years.

Prohibition in the 1920's -- Digital History
At midnight, January 16, 1920, the United States went dry; breweries, distilleries, and saloons were forced to close their doors. Led by the Anti-Saloon League and the Women's Christian Temperance Union, the dry forces had triumphed by linking Prohibition to a variety of Progressive era social causes.

Fashion History of the 1920's -- The Flapper Era
Flapper fashion embraced all things and styles modern. A fashionable flapper had short sleek hair, a shorter than average shapeless shift dress, a chest as flat as a board, wore make up and applied it in public, smoked with a long cigarette holder, exposed her limbs and epitomized the spirit of a reckless rebel who danced the nights away in the Jazz Age.

More forthcoming in future posts!

John Winthrop Defines the "American Dream"

John Winthrop, governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, is credited with defining what has become known as the "American dream" -- unadulterated. He set forth his idea of a religious paradise in American in his "City on a Hill" sermon, written down aboard the Arbella on his ocean voyage in 1630 under the title of "A Model of Christian Charity." Here is a link to the full text of his tract, along with the following introduction by John Beardsley:

This is Winthrop’s most famous thesis, written on board the Arbella, 1630. We love to imagine the occasion when he personally spoke this oration to some large portion of the Winthrop fleet passengers during or just before their passage.

In an age not long past, when the Puritan founders were still respected by the educational establishment, this was required reading in many courses of American history and literature. However, it was often abridged to just the first and last few paragraphs. This left the overture of the piece sounding unkind and fatalistic, and the finale rather sternly zealous. A common misrepresentation of the Puritan character.

Winthrop’s genius was logical reasoning combined with a sympathetic nature. To remove this work’s central arguments about love and relationships is to completely lose the sense of the whole. Therefore we present it here in its well-balanced entirety. The biblical quotations are as Winthrop wrote them, and remain sometimes at slight variance from the King James version. This editor has corrected the chapter and verse citations to correspond to the King James text, assuming that the modern reader will wish to conveniently refer to that most popular English version of the Bible, as the Governor lays out his argument for charity and decent human behavior in the community.

Winthrop’s intent was to prepare the people for planting a new society in a perilous environment, but his practical wisdom is timeless.

Read the whole text...

"Weird Al" Yankovic - grammar lesson

It looks like Weird Al may have joined SPOGG. So what does Grammar Girl have to say about less vs. fewer?

Less and fewer are easy to mix up. They mean the same thing—the opposite of more—but you use them in different circumstances (1). The basic rule is that you use less with mass nouns and fewer with count nouns.

Count Nouns Versus Mass Nouns

Now I'm worried that I've scared you off, but it's easy to remember the difference between mass nouns and count nouns.

A count noun is just something you can count. I'm looking at my desk and I see books, pens, and M&M's. I can count all those things, so they are count nouns and the right word to use is fewer. I should eat fewer M&M's.

Mass nouns are just things that you can't count individually. Again, on my desk I see tape and clutter. These things can't be counted individually, so the right word to use is less. If I had less clutter, my desk would be cleaner. Another clue is that you don't make mass nouns plural: I would never say I have clutters on my desk or that I need more tapes to hold my book covers together.

So, those signs over the express lane at Kroger's ought to read "15 items or fewer" rather than the popular but grammatically incorrect "15 items or less."

Four Main Components for an Effective Outline

This resource from Purdue's Writing Resource Center describes why outlines are useful, what types of outlines exist, suggestions for developing effective outlines, and how outlines can be used as an invention strategy for writing.

Ideally, you should follow these four suggestions to create an effective outline. The examples are taken from the Sample Outline handout.

Parallelism - How do I accomplish this?
Each heading and subheading should preserve parallel structure. If the first heading is a verb, the second heading should be a verb. Example:

I. Choose Desired Colleges
II. Prepare Application

("Choose" and "Prepare" are both verbs. The present tense of the verb is usually the preferred form for an outline)

Coordination - How do I accomplish this?
All the information contained in Heading 1 should have the same significance as the information contained in Heading 2. The same goes for the subheadings (which should be less significant than the headings). Example:

I. Visit and evaluate college campuses
II. Visit and evaluate college websites

A. Note important statistics
B. Look for interesting classes

(Campus and websites visits are equally significant. They are part of the main tasks you would need to do. Finding statistics and classes found on college websites are parts of the process involved in carrying out the main heading topics.)

Subordination - How do I accomplish this?
The information in the headings should be more general, while the information in the subheadings should be more specific. Example:

I. Describe an influential person in your life

A. Favorite high school teacher
B. Grandparent

(A favorite teacher and grandparent are specific examples from the generalized category of influential people in your life.)

Division - How do I accomplish this?
Each heading should be divided into 2 or more parts. Example:

I. Compile resume

A. List relevant coursework
B. List work experience
C. List volunteer experience

(The heading "Compile resume" is divided into 3 parts.)

Technically, there is no limit to the number of subdivisions for your headings; however, if you seem to have a lot, it may be useful to see if some of the parts can be combined.

Introducing Willa Cather & Neighbour Rosicky

You've got an introductory packet now on Willa Cather and the theme of the American dream (available here online, too), but here's an excellent website devoted to Cather and her works.

The Willa Cather Foundation

The assignment sheet is also available online in PDF format if you should need another copy. For now, consider some more quotations from Willa:

"The feeling of the rain on you is sweet. It seems to bring feelings you had when you were a baby. It carries you back into the dark, before you were born." - O Pioneers!

"Men travel faster now, but I do not know if they go to better things." - Death Comes for the Archbishop

"We come and go, but the land is always here. And the people who love it and understand it are the people who own it for a little while." - O Pioneers!

Preview: The American Dream

For those of you who might want to get a head start on the semester's remaining work, here's a preview of what's ahead, aside from the term paper. We'll be working with the general theme of the so-called "American dream" in works of Willa Cather, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and John Cheever.

As an introduction you will be required to read "American Dream: Myth or Reality" by James Nagel. It is available online at the PBS American Masters Website. Yes, you will be responsible for the material presented therein.

On Monday when you return you will receive a hardcopy of this essay as well as a copy of Willa Cather's "Neighbour Rosicky." If you are tired of hours of Easter break Facebooking, you can find a copy of the story online here.

N.B. Your term paper note cards are due on Thursday, April 15. I will not be giving an extension. Please bring blank note cards and your secondary sources to school every day next week. I will be giving you in-class work time. Be prepared!

The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar

Why not become a member of SPOGG, "The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar"? Membership is free! In fact, if you join, print out the membership card, laminate it, and carry it with you daily, I will give you 100 extra credit points for 4th quarter. Not bad, eh? And remember, you are all charter members of the Cincinnati chapter of the Apostrophe Protection Society. From the SPOGG website:

There are huge problems in this world, and then there are problems that can be solved by everyday people with red pens and a little moxie.

The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar is for pen-toters appalled by wanton displays of Bad English. (And we're not talking about Bad English, the band, although their song "Heaven is a 4 letter word" needs a hyphen.)

SPOGG is for people who crave good, clean English — sentences cast well and punctuated correctly. It's about clarity. And who knows how many of the world's huge problems could be solved if we had a little more of that?

SPOGG is the proud founder of National Grammar Day, which happens every year on March 4.

Visit the SPOGG blog. If you are really cyber-hip, you can also join on Facebook.

Word of the Day: Longanimity & Longanimous

Longanimity (n) - good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence; calmness in the face of suffering and adversity; forbearance.

longanimous (adj.) - showing patient and unruffled self-control and restraint under adversity; slow to retaliate or express resentment

How many of these other long- prefix words do you know?

long-wooled, longanberry, longar palm, Longbeak, longbeard, Longbenton, longboat, longbow, long-tongued, long-waisted, long-staple, longcloth, longe, longeron, longheaded, longhorn, longhouse, longicorn, longilateral, longiloquence,longimetry, longinquity, longipalp, longipennate, longipennes, longiroster, longirostral, longirostres, longueuil, longueur, longulite, longus

Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband

I just received a mailer today announcing that the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company's next production will be Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband. Though not American literature, I know many of you enjoyed reading and performing Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest last year. An Ideal Husband is slightly similar.

Here is the brief synopsis provided on their website:

To aristocrat Sir Robert Chiltern, the past is better kept in the past. But when an old acquaintance threatens to reveal the nefarious nature of his rise to wealth, Sir Robert’s well-kept life is at risk. Will he do whatever it takes to remain the “ideal husband” in the eyes of his adoring wife and fawning friends, or will he accept the truth and confront his undoing? With a lively cast of supporting characters, Oscar Wilde’s popular play An Ideal Husband takes the stage for a truly theatrical experience that’s not to be missed.

If there's enough interest, I'll certainly consider another high school night out. So, if you are interested in attending a performance I can arrange for student tickets at a group rate. Do let me know. The play runs from April 16 to May 16.

Notes on Note-Taking: Source Cards

As you will know by now, you'll be taking your research notes using the 3x5 card method. The first type of note card is the "source card." Consult your research paper packet for a full definition of what this is. You will need to consult your MLA Handbook in order to know how the source information needs to be recorded on your note card. Below, I am giving you examples of the three most common types of sources: a single book, an article from a periodical, and a document from the internet.

1. Single book source (see MLA, pg 147)
Tatar, Maria. Off With Their Heads! Fairy Tales and the Culture of Childhood. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992.

2. An article in a periodical journal (see MLA, pg 180)
Mills, Jonathan. "The Moral Center in Ethan Frome," Edith Wharton Quarterly, 34 (1999): 205-215.

3. A document from the internet (see MLA, pg. 207)
Dane, Gabriel. 'Reading Ophelia's Madness," Exemplaria 10.2 (1998). 22 June 2002

Obviously, there are many variations on these three typical types of sources. You will likely need to repeatedly consult your MLA Handbook. Again, see Chapter 5.

Approved Working Thesis Statements

N.B. Although the following statements are "approved" this does not mean they can't be changed or improved upon.

Joseph B
Johnny got His Gun, Slaughterhouse Five, and The Red Badge of Courage all convey anti-war sentiments by showing how war can affect a man by mutilating him, causing him psychological stress, and giving him a false sense of courage.

Julianna
Dick, Asimov, and Finney all show that acting out of selfishness, especially when given the unique power of time travel, ultimately results in negative effects on the society around them and/or on the time traveler himself.

Elizabeth
Uncle Tom's Cabin, Pudd'nhead Wilson, and Contending Forces show the equality of blacks and whites through stories which raise the unjustly low social status of blacks while loweing the unreasonably elevated status of whites.

Ashley
Catch 22, Slaughterhouse Five, and The Naked and the Dead convey an anti-war mentality by showing the effect of the imminence of death on the soldiers fighting in WWII through the use of realism, satire, and black humor.

Marcella
In O Pioneers!, My Antonia, and A Lost Lady, Willa Cather uses symbolism and characterization to express man's ideal relationship to the land that benefits themselves and their community.

Jennifer
Through their novels, Edith Wharton, Pearl S. Buck, and Louisa May Alcott depict the internal struggle between duty and desire that each man experiences through the normal course of life despite their social circumstances.

Annmarie
Through their portrayal of romantic relationships in post-Reconstruction black communities, the authors of Contending Forces, The Outsider, and Not Without Laughter present divergent views of the black man's quest for happiness in the midst of racial oppression.

Gabriela
Through their depictions of self-righteous ways of life, To Kill Black Boy, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and To Kill a Mockingbird illustrate that some aspects of organized religion were actually contrary to natural law.

Larry
Through his use of satire in The Celebrated Jumping Frog, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and The Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Mark Twain provides a harsh critique of the immaturity of the American people in the mid-19th century.

Peter
In The Long Valley, Travels With Charlie, and The Short Reign of Pippin the IV, John Steinbeck shows that making choices based solely on human selfishness can be harmful to others and lead to ill effects on society.

Naomi
Through the use of immature male protagonists, the authors of A Separate Peace, Catcher in the Rye, and The Outsiders depict the struggles of coming of age in mid-20th century America.

Sean
In his novels, Chaim Potok explores the conflict between tradition and modernity through the intrareligious differences of his characters and how they overcome these differences while still maintaining their faith without compromise.

Olivia
Ellison, Gaines, and Lee each treat the subject of racial injustice by depicting the search for individuality in an oppressive environment.