90 Matching Annotations
  1. Dec 2017
    1. "They can bring him out now," he ordered

      159 How does GM want readers to react to CAB's refusal to save General Moncada's life? What is the significance, purpose and effect?

    2. But don't forget that as long as God gives us life we will still be mothers and no matter how revolutionary you may be, we have the right to pull down your pants and give you a whipping at the fir.st sign of disrespect."

      Consider this confrontation between the power of the state with the power of the maternal. What is the significance? Synthesize with Kiss of the Spider Woman. Does this tell us something about Latin America that differs from the U.S.? Why is such a confrontation or equivalence unimaginable in the U.S.?

    3. COLONEL GERINELDO MARQUEZ was the first to perceive the emptiness of the war. In his position as civil and military leader of Macondo he would have telegraphic conversations twice a week with Colonel Aureliano Buendia. At first those exchanges would determine the course of a fiesh-and-blood war, the perfectly defined outlines of which told them at any moment the exact spot where it was and the prediction of its future direction. Although he never let himself be pulled into the. area of confidences, no.t even by his closest friends, Colonel Aureliano Buendia still had at that time the familiar tone that made it possible to identifY him at the other end of the wire. Many times he would prolong the talks beyond the expected limit and let them drift into comments of a domestic nature. Little by little, how-ever, and as the war became more intense and widespread, his image was fading away into a universe of u.nreality. The characteristics of his speech were more and more uncertain, and they came together and combined to form words that were gradually losing all mean-ing. Colonel Gerineldo Marquez limited himself then to just listen-ing, burdened by the impression that he was in telegraphic contact with a stranger from another world

      161 What is the purpose, significance and effect of this detail about CGM and CAB communicating via telegraph throughout the war?

    4. At the end, Colonel Gerineldo Marquez looked at the desolate streets, the crystal water on the almond trees, and he found himself lost in solitude.

      163 What is the function of CGM? Why is he pulled into the Buendías' solitude? Why and how has he become a Buendía?

    5. as then that he decided that no human being, not even Ursula, could come closer to him than ten feet. In the center· of the chalk circle that his aides would draw wherever he stopped, and which only he could enter, he would decide with brief orders that had no appeal the fate of the world.

      165 Passage begins with "It . . ." on previous page. Analyze this moment. What is the purpose, significance and effect of solitude suddenly becoming literalized in space?

    6. An inner coldness which shattered his bones and tortured him even in the heat of the sun would not let him sleep for several months, until it became a habit.

      166 What is the significance of this coldness? Synthesize it with his experience of touching the ice as a child.

    7. Alone, abandoned by his premonitions, fleeing the chill that was to accompany him until death, he sought a last refuge in Macondo in the warmth of his oldest memories

      167 What drives CAB back to Macondo? What does this fact tell us about war? About Macondo? About solitude?

    1. ABOUT THIS TIME an ambitious young reporter from New York arrived one morning at Gatsby's door and asked him if he had anything to say. , 'Mything to say about what?". inquired Gatsby politely. "Why-any statement to give out." It transpired after a confused five minutes that the man had heard Gatsby's name around his office in a connection which he either wouldn't reveal or didn't fully understand. This was his day off and with laudable initiative he had hur-ried out "to see."

      97 Why does the chapter begin this way? What is the purpose, significance and effect?

    2. "My God, 1 believe the man's coming," said Tom. "Doesn't he know she doesn't want him?" "She says she does want him." "She has a big dinner party and he won't know a soul there." He frowned. "1 wonder where in the devil he met Daisy. By God, 1 may be old-fashioned in my ideas, but women run around too much these days to suit me. They meet all kinds of crazy fish." Suddenly Mr. Sloane and the lady walked down the steps and mounted their horses. "C "'d M Sl 'T'''' 1 "\Vl ' ome on, Sal r. oane to .lom, were ate. weve got to go." And then to me: "Tell him we couldn't wait, will you?

      103 What is the purpose, significance and effect of this scene? Why does Fitzgerald include it?

    3. "These things excite me so)" she whispered. "If you want to kiss me any time during the evening, Nick, just let me know and I'll be glad to arrange it for you. Just mention my name. Or present a green card. I'm giving out green--"

      104 Synthesize this piece of dialogue with other things Daisy has said to Nick. What pattern do you see? What is she up to? What is the purpose, significance and effect and how does it characterize her?

    4. We were at a particularly tipsy table. That was my fault-Gatsby had been called to the phone, and I'd enjoyed these same people only two weeks before. But what had amused me then turned septic on the air now. "How do you feel, Miss Baedeker?" The girl addressed was trying, unsuccessfully, to slump against my shoulder. At this inquiry she sat up and opened her eyes. "Wha'?" A massive and lethargic woman, who had been urging Daisy to play golf with her at the local dub to-morrow, spoke in Miss Baedeker's defence: "Oh, she's all right now. When she's had five or six cock-tails she always starts screaming like that. I tell her she ought to leave it alone." "I do leave it alone," affirmed the accused hollowly. "We heard you yelling, so I said to Doc Civet here: 'There's somebody that needs your help, Doc.'" "She's much obliged, I'm sure," said another friend, with-out gratitude, "but you got her dress all wet when you stuck her head in the pool." ''Anything I hate is to get my head stuck in a pool," mumbled Miss Baedeker. "They almost drowned me once over in New Jersey." "Then you ought to leave it alone," countered Doctor Civet. "Speak for yourself!" cried Miss Baedeker violently. "Your hand shakes. I wouldn't let you operate on me!"

      106 What is the purpose, significance and effect of this dialogue? Why does Fitzgerald include it here?

    5. "1 wouldn't ask too much of her," 1 ventured. "You can't repeat the past." "Can't repeat the past?" he cried incredulously. "Why of course you can!" He looked around him wildly, as if the past were lurking here in the shadow of his house, just out of reach of his hand. ''I'm going to fIx everything just the way it was before," he said, nodding determinedly. "She'll see." He talked a lot about the past, and 1 gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy. His life had been confused and disordered since then, but ifhe could once return to a cer-tain starting place and go over it all slowly, he could fInd out what that thing was ....

      110 What does this passage have to say about time and history? Start with what Gatsby and Nick are saying about it and then try to arrive at what you think Fitzgerald is saying.

    1. I pray to God that you won't have Aureliano in the house tonight," he said. "If it does happen that way, give him an embrace for me, because I don't expect ever to see him again."

      155 What has been the purpose, significance and effect of General Moncada (whose name is very nearly an anagram for Macondo) thus far in the novel? Recall that he is a Conservative while CAB is a Liberal.

    2. She never charged for the service. She never refused the favor, just as she never refused the coundess men who sought her out, even in the twilight of her maturity, without giving her money or love and only occasionally pleasure.

      152 Discuss the arc of Pilar Ternera's character over the course of the novel.

    3. His pas-sion for Amaranta had been extin~ished without leaving any scars.

      151 Aside from alienating the reader and her expectations, why else might GM have Aureliano José's desire for Amaranta disappear, just like that?

    4. Aureliano and the last name. of the mother all the sons that the colonel had implanted up and down his theater of war: seven-teen

      151 What is the significance of CAB littering the country with his progeny and what is the significance of the Buendía family giving all of his offspring the name Aureliano?

    5. He had fled from her in an attempt to wipe out her memory, not only through distance but by means of a muddled fury that his companions at arms took to be boldness, but the more her image wallowed in the dunghill of the war, the more the war resembled Amaranta

      148 Compare and contrast Aureliano fleeing Macondo into the arms of war to the same action by older Buendías.

    6. Ten days after a joint communique by the government and the opposition announced the end of the war, there was news of the first armed uprising of Colonel Aureliano Buendia on the western bor-der. His small and poorly armed force was scattered in less than a week. But during that year, while Liberals and Conservatives tried to make the country believe in reconciliation, he attempted seven other revolts.

      144 What might be the possible significance of CAB refusing to allow the Liberals and Conservatives achieve reconciliation?

    7. Early one morning during the time when she refused Colonel Gerineldo Marquez, AurelianoJose awoke with the feeling that he could not breathe. He felt Amaranta's fingers search-ing across his stomach like warm and anxious little caterpillars. Pre-tending to sleep, he changed his position to make it easier, and then he felt the hand without the black bandage diving like a blind shell-fish into the algae of his anxiety. Although they seemed to ignore what both of them knew and what each one knew that the other knew, from that night on they were yoked together in an inviolable complicity.

      142 Here we get yet another instance of incest. What is the purpose, significance and effect of this instance?

    8. When he was alone, Jose Arca-dio Buendia consoled himself with the dream of the infinite rooms. He dreamed that he was getting out of bed, opening the door, and going into an identical room with the same bed with a wrought-iron head, the same wicker chair, and the same small picture of the Virgin of Help on the back wall. From that room he would go into another that was just the same, the door of which would open into another that was just the same, the door of which would open into another one just the same, and then into another exactly alike, and so on to infinity. He liked to go from room to room, as in a gallery of parallel mir-rors, until Prudencio Aguilar would touch him on the shoulder. Then he would go back from room to room, walking in reverse, going back over his trail, and he would find Prudencio Aguilar in the room o

      139 Passage ends on the next page with the word "reality." What is the purpose, significance and effect of this description of JAB's dream?

    9. I'm not going to marry anyone," she told him, "much less you. You love Aureliano so much that you want to marry me because you can't marry him."

      138 Similar to when she tells Pietro Crespi that she will not marry him, this moment characterizes Amaranta as different from the other Buendías in that she seems to stop seemingly inevitable developments in the plot. What is the significance of this?

    10. n the haze of convalescence, surrounded by Remedios' dusty dolls, Colonel Aureliano Buendia brought back the decisive periods of his existence by reading his poetry. He started writing again. For many hours, balancing on the edge of the surprises of a war with no future, in rhymed verse he resolved his experience on the shores of death. Then his thoughts became so clear that he was able to examine them forward and backward.

      135 What is the significance of this intersection of poetry/writing and death? Why does it bring CAB clarity?

    1. Once he nearly toppled down a flight of stairs.

      91 We have rarely seen Gatsby lose control of his posture--what is the purpose, significance and effect of this detail?

    2. A brewer had built it early in the "period" craze a decade before, and there was a story that he'd agreed to pay five years' taxes on all the neighboring cottages if the owners would have their roofs thatched 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 willing to be serfs, have always been obstinate about being peasantry.

      88 Work out exactly what it is Nick is saying here and discuss why he is saying it here, now.

    3. I had them both on their feet with the desperate suggestion that they help me make tea in the kitchen when the demoniac Finn brought it in on a tray.

      87 There have been multiple references to "the help" in the novel as a whole (the Finn, Ferdie the driver). What is their purpose, significance and effect in this chapter?

    4. Gatsby, his hands still in his pockets, was reclining against the mantelpiece in a strained counterfeit of perfect ease, even of boredom. His head leaned back so far that it rested against the face of a defunct mantelpiece clock, and from this position his distraught eyes stared down at Daisy, who was sitting, frightened but graceful, on the edge of a stiff chair. "We've met before," muttered Gatsby. His eyes glanced momentarily at me, and his lips parted with an abortive attempt at a laugh. Luckily the clock took this moment to tilt dangerously at the pressure of his head, whereupon he turned and caught it with trembling fingers and set it back in place. Then he sat down, rigidly, his elbow on the arm of the sofa and his chin in his hand. ''I'm sorry about the clock," he said.

      86 Analyze the symbolic significance of the clock

    5. ... old sport.

      84 "Old sport" is a phrase Gatsby uses with consistency. How and why does he use it? Why does Fitzgerald use it as a method of characterization? What does it allow him to convey? Examine its particular use here as well.

    1. Colonel Gerineldo Marquez.

      It has been said by critics that this character represents Márquez himself. If that is the case, what do we make of this detail?

    2. mation declared him victorious in Villanueva, defeated in Guaca-mayal, devoured by Motil6n Indians, dead in a village in the swamp, and up in arms again in Urumita. The Liberal leaders, who at that moment were negotiating for participation in the congress, branded him an adventurer who did not represent the party.

      What is the significance of Colonel Aureliano Buendía achieving a status of legend, a figure seeming to transcend or be outside the actual political conflict?

    3. "Don't be simple, Crespi." She smiled. "I wouldn't marry you even if I were dead."

      What can you infer are the reasons or motivations behind Amaranta's refusal? Keep in mind that later, when Crespi commits suicide, Amaranta burns her hand and wears a black bandaid for the rest of her life, so her feelings go well beyond what appears to be on the surface.

    4. From the moment in which she entered the room Ursula felt inhibited by the maturity of her son, by his aura of command, by the glow of authority that radiated from his skin

      Purpose, significance and effect?

    5. He looked paler to Ursula than when he had left, a little tailer, and more solitary than ever

      One could argue that Aureliano has been the most solitary Buendía thus far and that his decision to fight in the war reflects a desire to counteract that solitude by leaving Macondo. What are we to learn from the fact that he is "more solitary than ever," despite having left and traveled the country?

    6. HE WAR WAS OVER in May. Two weeks before the gov-ernment made the official announcement in a high-sounding proclamation, which promised merciless punishment for those who had started the rebellion, Colonel Aureliano Buendia fell prisoner just as he was about to reach the western frontier disguised as an Indian witch doctor. Of the twenty-one men who had followed him to war, fourteen fell in combat, six were wounded, and only one accompanied him at the moment of final defeat: Colonel Gerineldo Marquez.

      Throughout the novel, GM gives us many seemingly reassuring details about time, numbers--what is the purpose, significance and effect?

    7. "Bastards!" he shouted. "Long live the Liberal party!"

      Perhaps this is just me, but this is the chapter where I have really lost a firm grip of the various male Buendías. If this has been true for you as well, discuss the purpose, significance and effect.

    8. Ursula was in the doorway waiting, indif-ferent to the cannon shots that had opened up a hole in the front of the house next door. The rain was letting up, but the streets were as slippery and as smooth as melted soap, and one had to guess dis-tances in the darkness. Arcadio left Amaranta with Ursula and made an attempt to face two soldiers who had opened up with heavy firing from the corner. The old pistols that had been kept for many years in the bureau did not work. Protecting Arcadio with her body, Ursula tried to drag him toward the house. "Come along in the name of God," she shouted at him. "There's been enough madness!

      War has come to Macondo and right up to Úrsula's doorstep. Analyze this scene for its symbolic significance, keeping an eye out for what GM is saying about the relationship between war and women.

    9. COLONEL AURELIANO BUENDIA organized thirty-two armed uprisings and he lost them all. He had seventeen male children by seventeen different women and they were exterminated one after the other on a single night before the oldest one had reached the age of thirty-five. He survived fourteen attempts on his life, seventy-three ambushes, and a firing squad. He lived through a dose of strychnine in his coffee that was enough to kill a horse. He refused the Order of Merit, which the President of the Republic awarded him. He rose to be Commander in Chief of the revolutionary forces, with jurisdiction and command from one border to the other, and the man most feared by the government, but he never let himself be photographed.

      What is the purpose, significance and effect of this characterization of the colonel? What can you infer are the forces that shift this character from Aureliano to Colonel Aurielano Buendía? How is it related to his movement out of Macondo into the world outside through the medium of war?

    1. It was dark now, and as we dipped under a little bridge I put my arm around Jordan's golden shoulder and drew her toward me and asked her to dinner. Suddenly I wasn't think-ing of Daisy and Gatsby any more, but of this clean, hard, lim-ited person, who dealt in universal scepticism, and who leaned back jauntily just within the circle of my arm. A phrase began to beat in my ears with a sort of heady excitement: "There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired.

      Examine the timing of Nick's sudden interest in Jordan. What is the significance?

    2. A week after I left Santa Barbara Tom ran into a wagon on the Ven-tura road one night, and ripped a front wheel offhis car. The girl who was with him got into the papers, too, because her arm was broken-she was one of the chambermaids in the Santa Barbara Hotel.

      This is at least the third mention of car accidents and it is clearly a motif. How have car accidents been used thus far?

    3. tragic nose

      Nick mentions Wolfsheim's nose multiple times and here, calls it "tragic." Why does he call it "tragic" now and what does he mean? How does this characterize him?

    4. the tragic eyes and short upper lips of southeastern Europe, and I was glad that the sight of Gatsby's splendid car was included in their somber holiday. As we crossed Blackwell's Island a limousine passed us, driven by a white chauffeur, in which sat three modish negroes, two bucks and a girl. I laughed aloud as the yolks of their eyeballs rolled toward us in haughty rivalry.

      What is the purpose, significance and effect of this set of descriptions? Why does Fitzgerald include it?

    5. From West Egg came the Poles and the Mulreadys and Cecil Roebuck and Cecil Schoen and Gulick the State sena-tor and Newton Orchid, who controlled Films Par Excellence, and Eckhaust and Clyde Cohen and Qon S. Schwartze (the son) and Arthur McCarty, all connected with the movies in one way or another. And the Catlips and the Bembergs and G. Earl Muldoon, brother to that Muldoon who afterward strangled his wife. Da Fontano the promoter came there, and Ed Legros and James B. ("Rot-Gut") Ferret and the De Jongs and Ernest Lilly-they came to gamble, and when Fer-ret wandered into the garden it meant he was cleaned out and Associated Traction would have to fluctuate profitably next day.

      List out what you can observe as difference between the East Egg and West Egg crowds based on Nick's description

    6. All these people came to Gatsby's house in the summer.

      How does the fact that Nick even made this list characterize him?

    1. "Not madness," Aurcliano said. "War. And don't call me Aure-lito anymore. Now I'm Colonel Aurcliano Buendia."

      Discuss the purpose, significance and effect of these final sentences.

    2. Aureliano Buendia, armed with table knives and sharpened tools, took the garrison by surprise, seized the weapons, and in the courtyard executed the captain and the four soldiers who had killed the woman.

      According to this chapter, how and why does Aureliano end up on the Liberal side? What does this tell us about political positions in this context?

    3. They dragged out Dr. Noguera, tied him to a tree in the square, and shot him without any due process of law. Father Nicanor tried to impress the military authorities with the miracle of levitation and had his head split open by the butt of a soldier's ~ifle.

      How does GM want us to feel about what has happened to these characters? What is the purpose or significance?

    4. Only Rebeca succumbed to thc first impact.

      Theorize about why Rebeca might be the only one to "succumb" to JA.

    5. He did not succeed in becoming incor-porated into the family

      Why is he unable to incorporate into the family? What is the significance?

    6. ompletely covered with tattoos of words in several languages intcr-hvincd in blue and red.

      What is the significance of JA's body being entirely covered with tattoos, much of it language?

    7. he link witll ti,e Buendias consolidated Don Apoli-nar Moscote's authority in the town

      If Don Apolinar Moscote's arrival to Macondo represents the state exerting its influence, how do we interpret related details (the intial clash between Moscote and JAB, Moscote's daughter Remedious and Aureliano getting married, etc.)? How does GM want us to feel about state power vs. a JAB more primitive form of power?

    8. little Remedios woke up in the middle of the night soaked in a hot broth which had exploded in her insides with a kind of tearing belch, and she died three days later, poisoned by her own blood, with a pair of twins crossed in her stomach

      Why does Remedios exit the world of the novel in this way? What is unusual about it? What is the significance?

    9. One Saturday, not even having collected the price of the doors, he fell into a desperate confusion.

      What is the purpose, significance and effect of father Nicanor?

    10. There was barely enough time to teach her how to wash herself, get dressed 'by her-selr, and understand the fundamental business of a home. They made her urinate over hot bricks in order to cure her of the habit of wetting her be

      What is the significance of the Buendias pushing Remedios to develop and mature faster?

    11. When Ursula and Amaranta returned he was still tied to the trunk of t.he chestnut tree by his hands and feel, soaked with rain and in a state of total innocence. They spoke to him and he looked at them without recognizing them, saying things they did not understand. Ursula untied his wrists and ankles, lacerated by the pressure of the rope, and left him tied only by the waist. Later on they built him a shelter of palm branches to protect him from the sun and the rain.

      What has happened to JAB? What is the cause? The significance? The relationship between his collapse and the other events in the chapter?

    12. That woman bothered him. The tan of her skin, her smell of smoke, the disorder of her laughter in the dark-room distracted his altcntion and made him bump into things.

      What is Pilar Ternera's role in the novel thus far? If she is the Buendias' "other," then what does this say about them?

    13. He lived at that time in a par-adise of disemboweled animals, of mechanisms that had been taken apart in an attemplto perfect t.he~ with a system of perpetual motion based upon the principles of the pendulum

      What is the significance of JAB's obsession with mechanical things? Why are they so prominent in this chapter?

    14. That day he went into the water at a bad spot and they did not find him until the rollowing day, a few miles downstream, washed up on a bright bend in the river and with a solitary vulture sitting on his stomach

      One cannot help but associate Meliquíades deterioration and eventual death with his taking up residence in the Buendia home. What might be the significance of this?

    15. I've come to sleep with you," he said

      Why does Aureliano sleep with Pilar Ternera?

    16. The house became full of love

      What is the significance of the fact that the house is enlarged by Ursula and subsequently fills with love?

    17. Aureliano listened to it simply because everything, even music, reminded him of Remedios.

      What is the effect of GM choosing to have Aureliano fall in love with a child? Why do you think he made this choice? (many readers and critics find this and other references to the sexualization of children such as the gypsy girl disturbing, even creepy)

    18. She went back to eating earth. The first time she did it almost out of curiosity, sure that the bad taste would be the best cure for the temptation

      Why does this generation of Buendias react to love or desire with such anguish?

    19. Finally Jose Arcadio Buendia managed, by mistake, to move a device that was stuck and the music came Qut, first in a burst and then in a flow of mixed-up notes. Beating against the strings that had been put in without order or concert and had been tuned with temerity, the hammers let go

      Why do you think GM decided to make it a pianola rather than a piano? A piano would symbolize art; however, a pianola?

    20. The image of Remedios, the magistrate's younger daughter, who, because of her age, could have been his daughter, kept paining him in some part or his body. It was a phys-ical sensaLion that almost bothered him when he walked, like a peb-ble in his shoe.

      Aureliano experiences desire in a manner similar to his brother. What is GM doing with this motif? What themes might he be developing? How does he use it to structure the plot, develop characters, generate conflict?

    21. The magistrate," Ursula answered disconsolately. "They say he's an authority sent by the government."

      What is the possible significance of the timing of the massive expansion of the Buendía house and the arrival of a government official?

    22. at ten o'clock in the morning, when he reached Catarina's store, the girl had left town.

      What is the purpose, significance and effect of Aureliano's experience with this girl? What might have been García Márquez's intention in including it?

    23. he would have years later as he faced the firing squad.

      Thus far, what is the purpose, significance and effect of the repetitive mention of Aureliano facing the firing squad "years later"?

    24. Melquiades.

      What clues does the fact that Melquíades cures the insomnia plague give us about the meaning of the plague and/or the meaning of Melquíades?

    25. But the system demanded so much vigi-lance and moral strength that many succumbed to Ule spell of an imaginary reality, one invented by themselves, which was less prac-tical for Ulem but more comforting.

      Construct a possible parallel meaning of the insomnia plague.

    26. and so on and on in a vicious circle that lasted entire nights.

      If memory=history, what is the symbolic significance of the effects of the loss of memory (history) on the town?

    27. It was never established whelller it was the rhubarb or the beatings that had effect, or both of them together, but the truth was that in a few weeks Rebeca began to show signs of recovery

      What is the possible symbolic significance of this episode and its resolution?

    28. Somebody is coming," he told her

      Consider how characters are typically brought into a traditional narrative and compare that to how Rebeca is introduced and assimilated into the Buendía family. What is the purpose, significance and effect?

    29. went back to being the cntcIprising man of earlier days when he had decided upon the layout of the streets and the location of the new houses so that no onc would enjoy privileges that everyone did not have. He acquired sllch authority among the new ~rr.ivals tl1at foundaLions were not laid or walls built without his being consulted, and it was decided that he shollid be the one in charge of the distribution of the land.

      What is the significance of this facet of JAB's character? What kind of figure is he meant to resemble in moments like these?

    30. The people who had come with Ursula

      Some critics argue that the people Úrsula brings to Macondo symbolize "immigrants." What details support this and what implications does it have for our understanding of Macondo?

    31. He's become a gypsy!"

      What is the significance of JA "becoming a gypsy" in order to escape his desire for Pilar Ternera?

    32. That was how they undertook the crossing of the mountains

      What literally causes the founding of Macondo and what figuratively causes it? What meaning does that lend to Macondo?

    33. had nothing to do with thc invisible power that taught him how to breathe {i'om within and con-trol his heartbeats, and that had permittcd him to understand why men are afraid of death.

      How would you characterize JA's experience of desire? What is the effect?

    34. They were afraid that those two healthy products of two races that had interbred over the centuries would suffer the shame of breeding iguanas.

      Discuss the possible symbolic significance of incest--what themes might it be related to?

    35. All right," he said. "Tell them to come help me take the things out of the boxes."

      Here, the novel seems to have JAB shift away from scientific pursuits and turn inward, to the family. Read to the end of the chapter and then answer: What is the cause? The consequence? Is it permanent?

    36. Ursula replied with a soft firmness: "If I have to die for the rest of you to stay here, I will die."

      Thus far, what has the novel said about gender?

    37. Ursula lost her patience. ceir you have to go crazy, please go crazy all by yourselfl" she shouted. "But don't try to put your gypsy ideas into the heads of the children."

      So far, Úrsula has been characterized as helplessly standing by, enduring (and even financing with her own money) her husband's experiments with science (all of which are aimed at making money or gaining power). Thus far, what has been her function in the exposition?

    1. IZl"ading over what I have written so far,

      Here we get a sudden reference to the fact that Nick is writing this account. What is the purpose, significance and effect?

    2. "It came off," some one explained. He nodded. "At first I din' notice we'd stopped." A pause. Then, taking a long breath and straightening his shoulders, he remarked in a determined voice: "Wonder'ff tell me where there's a gas'line station?" At least a dozen men, some of them a little better ofT than ~1~ was, explained to him that wheel and car were no longer J01l1ed by any physical bond. "Back out," he suggested after a moment. "Put her in reverse." "But the wheel's om" He hesitated. "No harm in trying," he said.

      What is the purpose, significance and effect of the party chapter ending with this car accident scene?

    3. . looked around. Most of the remaining women were now ILlvII1g fights with men said to be their husbands. Even Jor-,LlIl's p~rty, the quartet from East Egg, were rent asunder by dl\senslOn. One of the men was talking with curious inten-"Iy to a :ou~g ac~ress, and his wife, after attempting to laugh .11 I he S1t~atlon m a dignified and indifferen t way, broke ,I"wn entlrely and resorted to flank attacks-at intervals .11,' ;tpp~ared suddenly at his side like an angry diamond, and III"cd: You promised!" into his ear. Ihe reluctance to go home was not confined to way-II .11 d men. The hall was at present occupied by two deplorably ., ,11('1" men and their highly indignant wives. The wives were \ III pa thizing with each other in slightly raised voices

      This chapter has spent a lot of time describing young single women--why the detour here into a discussion and description of married couples? What is the purpose, significance and effect?

    4. ndingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced-or seemed to face-the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey

      What values is Nick extolling in this account of Gatsby? What might it tell us about post WWI society?

    5. Your face is familiar" he s'lid poll't"ly "\vr' . . .. . ,c', ~. weren t you In Ihe Thu·d DIvIsIOn during the war?"

      Why does Fitzgerald have Nick and Gatsby meet:

      1. through their experience in the war
      2. in a situation where Nick doesn't realize he is speaking with Gatsby?
    6. a triumph. What thoroughness! What realism! Knew when to stop, too-didn't cut the pages. But what do you want? What do you expect?"

      What values in Gatbsy is the owl-eyed man extolling? Also, Belasco was a famous set designer during this time period.

    7. "You'll give McKee a letter of introduction to your hus-band, so he can do some studies of him." His lips moved silently for a moment as he invented. "George B. Wilson at the Gasoline Pump, or so

      What are your thoughts about the significance of this discussion about "art" (McKee's photography)? Purpose, significance and effect?

    8. "Is it a boyar a girl?" she asked delicately. "That dog? That dog's a boy." "It's a bitch," said Tom decisively. "Here's your money. Go and buy ten more dogs with it."

      What are some ideas you have about what this dog purchasing episode is all about?

    9. en I heard footsteps on a stairs and in Illoment the thickish figure of a woman blocked o~t the ligh: 110m the office door. She was in the middle thirties, and I.IIntly stout, but she carried her surplus flesh sensuously as ',I IInc wome~ can. Her face, above a spotted dress of dark blue : 111~',p~-de-chI~e, con~ained no fac~t or ~leam of beauty, but Ie was an ImmedIately perceptIble vItality about her as if ill(' nerves of her body were continually smouldering

      Compare this description of Myrtle Wilson's physique to the descriptions fo those of Daisy and Jordan. What is implied in the contrast? How does this description characterize her?

    10. You see I think everything's terrible anyhow," she went on in a convinced way. "Everybody thinks so-the most advanced people. And I know. I've been everywhere and seen everything and done everything." Her eyes flashed around her in a defiant way, rather like Tom's, and she laughed with thrilling scorn. "Sophisticated-God, I'm sophisticated!

      What is the purpose, significance and effect of this dialogue? Use the "function of dialogue" sheet on GC.

    11. My family have been prominent, well-to-do people in this Middle Western city for three generations. The Carraways are something of a clan, and we have a tradition that we're descended from the Dukes of Buccleuch, but the actual founder of my line was my grandfather's brother, who came here in fifty-one, sent a substitute to the Civil War, and started the wholesale hardware business that my father carries on to-day

      What is the purpose, significance and effect of this transition in the text?