SOPHS BLUE Extra Credit--Gatsby 2010
Most be posted before Tuesday, May 4.
"So one of the greatest American novels ever written is about the rich and wanna-be rich and famous of the 1920s?" asks the Unknown Student.
Yup, answers your English teacher.
"It's so outdated, isn't it? I mean, these characters and what they want in their lives. They're from another time period. They couldn't possibly teach me anything, anything that's relevant today, anyway, " the Unknown Student again remarks.
That's where you're mistaken. Gatsby still speaks to the modern American about important themes like honesty and greed and working hard to achieve your dreams, the English teacher explains.
"How so?" the Unknown Student retorts.
Let's end this conversation now, of course, with an assignment, that might support your English teacher's opinion and answer the Unknown Student.
Choose one of these prompts, and respond HERE at Schoolsville in a minimum of 25 blog lines or 200 words for 3 pts. EXTRA CREDIT.
1. Write about a modern athlete who was accused of "cheating" at his or her sport and who, like Jordan Baker, was able to escape the law or punishment of any type.
2. Write about a modern tycoon or gambler, someone who was caught and accused of a crime (like Meyer Wolfsheim), but who was able to escape the law or punishment of any type.
3. Tell me about some modern Honest John (it's an old expression for a "real" honest person) who was deceived and destroyed by someone who was dishonest. You know, someone who is like a modern George Wilson.
4. Wanna get personal? Tell me a personal story in which you found out that something you dreamed about, had high hopes about, really wanted to see or experience, wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. In other words, the reality didn't match the dream. Daisy became Gatsby's dream. He spent five years trying to get enough money in order to get her. Then he found out that she wasn't in love with him as much as he was in love with her. She wasn't "all that...."
5. Come up with an updated version, 2010 style, of The Great Gatsby. It can't be set in the 1920s with the exact same characters. Who are the new characters? Where is the story set? Change the plot a little bit to give it a 20th century flare. Have some fun. Wouldn't Leonardo DiCaprio make a "great" Gatsby?
posted by JTF @ 10:58 AM
9 comments
9 Comments:
If The Great Gatsby were to be fully revamped, with a whole new setting, characters, and slightly adjusted plot to accompany the 21st century it would still be focused on the lives of the rich and famous. New York is without a doubt still the best location for The Great Gatsby, especially with modern transportation and how easy it is to travel around the world from New York. However West Egg and East Egg would not be the location for the new novel. Either a rich part of Manhattan or the Hamptons for a location would be ideal as they are rich and secluded with different sections like West Egg and East Egg.
With Leonardo DiCaprio being mention as Jay Gatsby it’s obvious he would be great for the role. Like the original Gatsby he would come from a poor family or maybe even an orphanage with no money but build himself up like Gatsby did. Unlike being involved in a war and later organized crime like the original Gatsby was, the new Gatsby could possibly be involved with computer hackings and counterfeiting. Both careers would be able to explain his sudden wealth. Gatsby and Daisy meeting each other with Gatsby first creating his new identity and becomes somewhat of an internet celebrity; the story then progressing from there with the role of Daisy being played by a famous and beautiful blonde actress. The cars, houses, boats, and clothes would be updated accordingly so that they mesh with the current rich lifestyle. Instead of being stuck in one location for parties, the story could easily move around cities in a plane.
Alex Rodriguez admitted to using steroids while with the Texas Rangers, saying he did it because of the pressure to live up to his multimillion dollar contract with the Texas Rangers before the 2001 season. Alex Rodriguez admits to taking performance-enhancing drugs, yet he received no punishment. He was not required to forfeit his 2003 Most Valuable Player award, and his stats for those years are the same. Alex Rodriguez was not penalized for cheating. Although Alex Rodriguez said he did not know what drugs he was taking, he did admit to taking the drugs in all three of his seasons with the Texas Rangers. Alex Rodriguez is still considered to be the active player to break many baseball’s all time home run records. Alex Rodriguez said that he was young and stupid at the time and wanted to prove that he was one of the greatest baseball players around. Alex Rodriguez was one of a hundred plus players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003. The player’s tests results were not going to result in punishment and were supposed to remain anonymous. Alex Rodriguez was never punished for testing positive and continues to play baseball for the New York Yankees.
Tiger Woods is inarguably the most world renowned golfer of our time. His incredible game made him an inspiration to all golf lovers, and his respectful personality made him an ideal person to look up to. He was considered a role model to not only aspiring golfers but to everyday people. That all changed as soon as he started cheating. He didn’t start cheating in the sense of his golf game, but on his wife. Much like in the Great Gatsby there was a long line of unexpected cheating going on that was kind of exposed all at once. Once his secret was revealed to the public, views of him started to change. People that once admired him for his amazing scores and respectable attitude now look at him in disgust. A similar situation occurred in the Great Gatsby. There was no problem with Gatsby until it was revealed that he was still in love with Daisy, Tom’s wife. This secret adoration caused huge controversies that evidently lead to Gatsby’s murder. Tiger Woods tried to hide something that he knew would ruin his career, and in the end it hurt him drastically. It goes to show that what goes around comes around, and karma will always come back for you. Things that should not be kept secret probably won’t, and in the end you can hurt more people than you know.
When I was 10 I had just gotten the chance of a lifetime to go sing with Kelly Clarkson. It seemed as though nothing could ruin the dream I was having, I thought that she would like me so much that I would be her back-up for a tour or something. Yet on that summer day when I walked backstage and saw what it was like I couldn’t believe it. Everyone was yelling, screaming and so angry as though they hated the idea of being there. But I just said maybe they are having a crisis nothing from the ordinary, then I met her, the girl who gave me hope that one day I would be great, the girl that made the idea that dreams do come true possible it was Kelly Clarkson. She walked up to me and my best friend Summers and said, “Sorry that this is so overwhelming but this is exactly what it is like all the time.” I never forgot those words from that moment on I regretted the idea of ever wanting to be anything like her; I didn’t want the fans or anything. It was truly a very disappointing day for me when we had finished singing and left the concert I knew that, that is never what she wanted. I knew that what I saw was what the really world was like cruel and harsh, no one ever gave you a break you had to work for what was there. I woke up from my dream and made a promise to myself saying that if I ever did anything like that I should smack myself with a frying pan for being so stupid.
Today we hear about a lot of business CEOs swindling people out of their money just as Meyer Wolfsheim did in The Great Gatsby. The chairmen of such companies as Goldman-Sachs and Lehman Brothers come to mind immediately because they have spent the government’s money on frivolous luxuries such as expensive meals and vacations. But what I remembered most was the people involved with Enron a few years ago. They hid billions of dollars in debt to increase stock prices and keep the company from going into bankruptcy. By putting on a false front of success the company drove up their stock prices to $90 per share in 2000 and less than $1 after its fall in late 2001. What they did ultimately cost millions of Americans around $11 billion. One of the key people involved in this scheme was Kenneth Lay the founder and CEO of Enron who knowingly deceived stockholders in order to achieve high stock prices and a seemingly successful business. Lay was convicted of several charges relating to his involvement but he never served any prison time. In our age of excessive media and improved government forces there are not many people who can commit a crime, be accused, and escape unscathed. Though it is rarely heard of anymore it was probably much easier for the tycoons or gamblers of the 1920s to commit crimes because of the lack of law enforcement and extreme difference in the media.
Blue Class
Something is going crazy at Schoolsville. I got your posts, gave you your extra credit on PowerSchool, but the posts have disappeared.
I read some good comments, so I hope I get them back from wherever they are in the Internet so I can post again.
In 2010 all sorts of wealthy socialites live in different parts of New York City, wandering from party to party and from rumor to rumor. The people who are very rich, extravagant and almost famous live in Manhattan in New York; this is where all the parties happen and where all the excitement is. Brooklyn New York is where the more artsy new city dwellers live. Nick Carraway moved to Brooklyn to be close to the city to work on his bond business. Next door he lives to the mysterious Jay Gatsby, he is always throwing huge parties and the most rumors are made up about him because no one truly knows him. If you cross over the Brooklyn Bridge you will be in New York City where the already established people live. Directly across the city from Gatsby lives Daisy and Tom Buchanan. Tom has a mistress right outside of the city that people love to talk about her name is Myrtle. Daisy and Gatsby used to be in love and they secretly have been spending time together over at Gatsby’s house in Brooklyn. He had to fire a lot of the staff to keep the talk down. Daisy’s best friend is Jordan she is a very good golf player and has an amazing penthouse on the Upper East Side, but she is over at Daisy’s most of her time.
When i was 12 i really wanted to go to Six Flags Great Adventure. I saved up the coke cans and even did a school fund raiser to get tickets. Finally one weekend in the summer i got to go with my friend. It was very hot almost too hot to be outside but we stood in line to get in for about an hour. When we actually got into the park we had to wait again for my friends dad to get something i cant even remember what. So about two hours of waiting and we finally started for the rides, only one problem, the lines. Since we had a late start the seemingly millions of guest there had filled up every roller coaster line in the park. The first roller coaster we got in line for was a new wooden roller called "El Toro" i was supposed to go 70 mph. I was really fun actually, what was fun was the three whole hours that we waited in the 9o degree sun. By the time we got off we only had an hour left before we had to leave. That was only enough time get on one other ride. I remember being really let down by six flags so i never have gone back and don't plan on going there again.
Being the sister and the best friend of two huge Yankees fans, of course I know about Alex Rodriguez and his steroid use. As a Texas Rangers player, he started in 2001 and continued until he was caught in 2003 when he tested positive for two illegal drugs. He denied his use for a period of time but finally came clean in an interview later on. You would think he wouldn’t need performance-enhancing drugs with a $225 million dollar contract, but he blames it on the pressure he was under and the Texas heat. Straight from the interview with Peter Gammons on ESPN, A-Rod claimed he was young, stupid, and naive. He wanted to prove to everyone he was worth being one of the greatest players of all time. Rodriguez earned the name “A-Roid” to baseball fans all over the country, including me. Whenever my brother compliments Rodriguez, I quickly reply with a comeback about steroids like he still injects them to this day. Although he’s been clean since he’s played for the Yankees, I feel like he will always be a cheater because he was never penalized. His contract payment was not reduced, and his AL MVP award remained in his possession. I think he deserved the public humiliation and being singled out among other substance abusers, but it wasn’t enough. It’s not fair to other players so he definitely should have gotten a greater punishment.
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