THE GREAT GATSBY- F. SCOTT FITZGERALD

biographical info.- his 1st published was a detective story in the paper when he was 13. He continued writing and fell in love with Zelda. She said that she would not marry Scott until he had money. After his book was published they married and had a daughter... Frances Scott Fitzgerald. Their marriage was very complex after that and Zelda and Scott had gotten a divorce. They both later died. Scott in his girlfriend's home and Zelda in the asylum.
" an author ought to write for the youth of his generation, the critics of the next and the schoolmasters of ever afterward"-  when he says this, it says that every book written should be important and entertaining for the children, the critics, and any that enjoy reading , but he also thinks it should be one to teach of.
important 1920s historical events- prohibition, teapot scandal, stock market crash
"Exegit monumentum aere perennius"- translation... i have errected a monument more lasting than bronze.

Thesis

Henry has an excuse for EVERYTHING.

• 1.His excuse for losing the battles. (chapter 17)-
• He blames the general for the loss of battles rather than taking it upon himself to defeat and be bigger than that… to try. "Good Gawd," the youth grumbled, "we're always being chased around like rats! It makes me sick. Nobody seems to know where we go or why we go. We just get fired around from pillar to post and get licked here and get licked there, and nobody knows what it's done for. It makes a man feel like a damn' kitten in a bag. Now, I'd like to know what the eternal thunders we was marched into these woods for anyhow, unless it was to give the rebs a regular pot shot at us. We came in here and got our legs all tangled up in these cussed briers, and then we begin to fight and the rebs had an easy time of it. Don't tell me it's just luck! I know better. It's this derned old--" ( Crane16.30)… Henry feels that rather than taking matters into his own hands, he has to make excuses for himself.
• 2. His excuse for hiding from his regiment and the lies he will provide for them.-
- Rather than being a man and facing his regiment again after being lost, he hides because he’s afraid they’ll make fun of him for running. They find him anyway, but he tries to hide from them. He searched about in his mind for an adequate malediction for the indefinite cause, the thing upon which men turn the words of final blame. It--whatever it was--was responsible for him, he said. There lay the fault. The haste of the column to reach the battle seemed to the forlorn young man to be something much finer than stout fighting. Heroes, he thought, could find excuses in that long seething lane. They could retire with perfect self-respect and make excuses to the stars. (Crane 11.7-8)
• 3. His excuse for running away.-
- Throughout the story Henry thinks he has to prove himself to everyone and explain to himself why he did it and if he was right in doing it. He had fled, he told himself, because annihilation approached. He had done a good part in saving himself, who was a little piece of the army. He had considered the time, he said, to be one in which it was the duty of every little piece to rescue itself if possible (Crane 7.4). Then when he came about the squirrel, he felt that putting something else in danger would prove that what he did was right. Feeling that it was okay to do wrong to someone else just to prove himself. The youth felt triumphant at this exhibition. There was the law, he said. Nature had given him a sign. The squirrel, immediately upon recognizing danger, had taken to his legs without ado. He did not stand stolidly baring his furry belly to the missle, and die with an upward glance at the sympathetic heavens. On the contrary, he had fled as fast as his legs could carry him; and he was but an ordinary squirrel, too--doubtless no philosopher of his race. The youth wended, feeling that Nature was of his mind. She re-enforced his argument with proofs that lived where the sun shone (Crane 7.15). He showed that his childish ways were nowhere near gone, when doing wrong to something else just to show he was right. Grrr.

Saving Private Ryan

Themes: an idea that recurs in or pervades a work

Courage- In this movie courage was shown by all the soldiers who fought especially when it came to their order of getting Private Ryan and they stayed until they knew that he could be brought home safely.

Manhood- The men showed a lot of manhood except for the translator because he went to basic and hadn't done anything with it since then. The men had a bravery that most men before going into battle would not. In the end, even the translator had killed his first and helped with controlling the surrender.

Self-preservation- When assigned to find private Ryan, all of the men that were fighting in combat saw it as an excuse to get him out of war.Most of them felt that they should be fighting for themselves instead of putting their lives on the line for one man. In the end, they realized what good it did for them to save him when they would stop and put themselves in his and his mother's position. For the loss of his brothers.

Disregard for Human Life- near the end of the movie, the German soldier killed the U.S. soldier by stabbing him in the heart and handled it carelessly. He then walked away acting as if his life was worth more than any other soldier and his purpose was more.

Motifs: distinctive feature or dominant idea

Noise and Silence- The few times when the captain got shell-shock. It went from in the battle to kind of observing the battle.

Light and Dark- During the day, the soldiers would fight, but @ night they would finally be @ rest and preparing themselves for another fight.

Clean and Dirty- all of the battles were dirty with the blood and explosions, etc.

Youth and Maturity- The translator matured from the beginning to the end by showing a little more courage and bravery, but when his friends were killed by the soldier, he stood there and acted pitiful. He found a fear within him.

Symbols: objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas

The Dead Soldier- When the captain died it had an impact through private Ryan's life till he died, knowing that he had died to save him and bring him home to the people he loved and to save another life.

The Flag- The flag is a symbol of freedom to every soldier and what they're fighting for when they enlist and what other men before them have died for for their country.
The Note- Every man that died in the movie had a note in their pocket to pass on to their loved ones.

themes, motifs, and symbols

Themes: an idea that recurs in or pervades a work

• Courage- Henry showed his courage in battle not until later in the story and i believe it was a major theme in the story because it showed the men's growth from when they left home to when they had to fight or their country and lives as many do today still.

• Manhood- When the men start depending on themselves and each other instead of their mothers they show their manhood.. It is relevant in this story because they all had so far to grow to get through battle.. Henry also feels that he became a man by the end of the story. :)

• Self-preservation- Henry in the beginning was a mama's boy and he doubted himself while in the regiment, and as the time went on, he made excuses for himself and saw that he was different than the other men... the way they thought, acted, and anything else he could think of, but when he changed he saw that he really was like them and he became braver, bolder, more confident, and he felt that he became a man over the time he was gone from home and was @ ease with himself to live his own life.
  

• Disregard for Human Life- In the beginning the men take no concern for the lives of others and as the story progresses they realize what a life is worth and value each others' as friends. Henry defending the tattered soldier(in his mind) @ the end of the story, shows that he knows this and he also wanted to die on the battle field rather that run away again because he knew what he was fighting for. He was more of a man than before and believed many things that he didn't when he arrived.
  

Motifs: distinctive feature or dominant idea

• Noise and Silence- Noise and silence were things in the story that were primarily in battle or in a soldier's mind. Some from war trauma, but mainly from battles the man fought and by the sounds coming from different directions, it was easy to tell who was winning or losing.
  

• Light and Dark- Light and dark were shown by colors of uniforms or blood, or even night and day... telling when they fought and when they marched, or when they slept.
  

• Clean and Dirty- After battles or when someone was hurt they would describe them as dirty, but when the men first put their uniforms on, it was a clean feel.. i think when they describe a bright new day it makes me think of clean, but when they spoke of grey sky and the colors within it, it seemed very dirty to me.
  

• Youth and Maturity- You can tell who's in charge or been there longer by the respect level the soldiers have for them. Henry was called the youth throughout the entire story, but he as the story progressed, started being notified as Henry which tells me that he no longer is the youth, bu he is a man... The mature.
  

Symbols: objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas

• The Dead Soldier- The dead soldier was a symbol to Henry of what could be of him if he continued to do what he was doing and that he needed to grow to be a man and he would no longer fear what he was entitled to die for and to appreciate the life he was given.
  

• The Flag- In the last battle, Hery was a flag bearer and the flag stood as their sign that they were still going and weren't going to stop... not till the last man down.