Thesis statement for the great gatsby american dream

6. Paper 1 Preparation

6.1. Module 6.1: Getting Started--the Openng of Paper 1

Getting Started--Paper 1

Your topic is not a matter of life and death, yet the idea of the American dream is an important myth in American culture and history. Thus, your first paragraph (I), the opening, must have three elements: Thesis, Three Organizing Ideas, and Statement of Significance.

Opening for Paper 1

How to get started and things to keep in mind as you write:

1. To start your essay, use the following phrasing:

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby (verb of your choice)….

Make this first sentence of the essay be your thesis statement.

See http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/1/1/ for a discussion of thesis statements.

There is discussion in textbooks about where to place your thesis: Should it be the first sentence? Should it be in the middle of the first paragraph or at the end of the first paragraph?

For this class, for the purpose of uniformity and clarity for your reader (me), make your first sentence be your thesis statement.

Sample: F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby devotes itself primarily to the failure of the American dream.

2. Follow that thesis statement with your organizing idea sentences. There should be three of these sentences, one for each 20-sentence paragraph in the body of the essay.

The organizing idea sentences tell the reader in advance what is in the three-part body of the paper. You probably should not try to write these organizing idea sentences (some call them advanced organizers or controlling ideas) until your paper is completed because you may not be clear about what exactly your three-part body is about until after you have written it.

An example:

This paper will explain what the American dream is.

It will place the dream into the context of The Great Gatsby's setting.

Finally, it will relate the ideas of the dream to three characters.

3. Last, create a statement of significance, which explains why this paper is important, significant, or interesting. Some call it a hook to get the reader's interest.

An example:

The American dream helped to build the United States for two centuries, and Fitzgerald was testing its effectiveness in the 20th century.

One test for you is:

Does the thesis statement align with the conclusion? Another is does the title align with the thesis and conclusion?

The total length of Paper 1 is five paragraphs.

6.2. Module 6.2: Evaluation Criteria

This Module applies the planning for Paper 1 to the Evaluation Criteria

NOTE:

1, Boldface refers to Evaluation Criteria

2. Underlining refers to the organization of Paper One.

Evaluation Criteria

1. Elements of Organization (These Arabic numerals in bold face refer to the Evaluation Criteria.)

I. Opening paragraph: It needs both a thesis statement and an organizing idea. It should end with a statement of significance. (These Roman numerals refer to the organization of your essay in outline form.)

V. Closing paragraph: It needs a summary, a conclusion, and a hint of things to come. (These Roman numerals refer to the organization of your essay in outline form.) Hint: If you end up writing the opening and closing of the paper at the end of the writing process, after you have written most of the three-segment body of the paper, you would be right on task. Three body paragraphs should be 20 sentences each. Body paragraph

II. What is the American dream in general terms (but be prepared to relate your description to the novel)? 20 sentences Body paragraph

III. What is the American dream in The Great Gatsby? 20 sentences Body paragraph

IV. Relate the American dream to characters in the novel. 20 sentences

2. Methods of Development: Use description and example for the three-segment body of the paper.

3. Mode of Order: The overall mode of order for this paper is general-to-specific; however, consider what your mode of order is for each segment as well.

4. Mechanics: For a passing grade, review your paper for effective mechanics, with no more than four errors per page. Include two quotes from The Great Gatsby. Use a works cited page, referencing the novel. Consider using quotes to support the examples you are presenting of the American dream.

Notice that it is “the American dream”: lower case “t” and “d.” Only the “A” is capitalized.

Always underline the title of the novel, The Great Gatsby. You need to mention the author and the novel's title once in the first sentence of the paper, but after that you can refer to him as Fitzgerald and to the novel as the “novel” to avoid repetitiveness. So the first sentence, your thesis sentence, might look like this:

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is a search for the meaning of the American dream in modern society.

5. Transitions: Use “first,” “second,” and “third,” for the three segments (paragraphs) of the body of the paper. Each is followed by a comma. Use “In summary,” and “In conclusion,” in the closing. Each is followed by a comma.

What transitions are you using to communicate your methods of development and your modes of order?

6. Format: Double space the entire paper beginning with your last name and page number in the upper right-hand corner, per MLA; note in the sample papers.

Four-line heading: Remember to put English 101, Paper 1 and your section number at this point. Follow the style from MLA.

So the four-line heading will look like this, with two minor changes that are noted below after the English 101:

Johnny Johnson

Professor Sprague

English 101

4 October 2007 (or whatever the accurate date is)

Use a title that hints at the thesis. Don't try to write the title until your paper is over, so you can be sure that it hints at what the overall idea of the paper is.

Indenting: Every time you indent, you indicate that a new paragraph is starting. Indents are five spaces. Because this is a five-paragraph essay, you will have five indents.

Formal tone: Eliminate the use of the following: “I,” “me,” “my,” “mine”; “we,” “us,” “our,” “ours”; “you,” “your,” and “yours”). Formal exposition is not about us; it is about the topic that is being developed.

Works Cited: This should be the last numbered page of your paper. Check MLA to see what one looks like. Follow the rules for creating your works cited references from MLA.

Follow the rules for creating your in-text citations from MLA. Use signal phrases following MLA.

Outline. For your outline for Paper 1, copy and paste your thesis statement, the three topic sentences for the three-part body, and the conclusion onto a separate piece of paper at the end of your paper. It should be an unnumbered page because an outline is not part of MLA style. The outline is just for English 101. Use Roman numerals for the five pieces (I-V) of your essay.

Study the Module Evaluation Criteria for additional information about how Paper 1 will be evaluated.

6.3. Module 6.3: Outlining

This Module Section has two parts.

First, there is a sample guide for a detailed outline that may help you to make sure you have all the components of the paper.

Second, there is a sample guide for the very brief outline that must be turned in with Paper 1.

These presentations demonstrate the elements of the five-paragraph essay that is Paper 1.

A Full Outline would look like this (First, there is a sample guide for a detailed outline that may help you to make sure you have all the components of the paper.):

I. (5 sentences)

A. Thesis statement: this is the overall main idea of the essay

B. 3 Organizing Ideas

C. Statement of Significance

II. (5 sentences, 20 sentence body paragraph, 5 sentences)

A. Topic Sentence:

Start this sentence with “First,” and make it be about the American dream in general.

B. First example with description of the American dream in general

C. Second example with description of the American dream in general

D. Third example with description of the American dream in general

E. Closing

III.(5 sentences, 20 sentence body paragraph, 5 sentences)

A. Topic Sentence:

Start this sentence with “Second,” and make it be about the American dream as it relates to the novel.

B. First example with description of the American dream and its relationship to the novel.

C. Second example with description of the American dream and its relationship to the novel.

D. Third example with description of the American dream and its relationship to the novel.

E. Closing

IV. (5 sentences, 1 20 sentence body paragraph, 5 sentences)

A. Topic Sentence:

Start this sentence with “Third,” and make it be about the American dream and its relationship with three characters in the novel.

B. First example of a character in the novel and his or her relationship with the American dream.

C. Second example of a character in the novel and his or her relationship with the American dream.

D. Third example of a character in the novel and his or her relationship with the American dream.

E. Closing

V. (5 sentences)

A. Summary, using the phrase “In summary,” which should be three sentences long.

B. Conclusion, using the phrase “In conclusion,” which should be a restatement of the thesis in different words.

C. Hint of things to come.

Outline for Paper 1 to Turn in (Second, there is a sample guide for the very brief outline that must be turned in with Paper 1.)

The outline that you need to attach to your paper as the last page (unnumbered because it is not part of MLA) will look like this:

I. Thesis statement copied and pasted from your paper

II. First topic sentence copied and pasted from your paper

III. Second topic sentence copied and pasted from your paper

IV. Third topic sentence copied and pasted from your paper

V. Conclusion copied and pasted from your paper

6.4. Module 6.4: Checklist

Check List

Make certain that you have included the following issues in your papers: Your last name and the page numbers in the upper right-hand corner.

Double space your paper.

Use no other spacing format.

Include the four-line heading in the upper left-hand corner of the paper, double-spaced below the page number.

Correctly format and write your title, and make sure that it hints at the thesis.

The first sentence of the paper must include the author, the title of the novel, and the thesis statement. The opening paragraph also requires an organizing idea and statement of significance.

Each paragraph of the body of the paper is introduced by the organizational transitions “first,” “second,” and “third.” Each must be followed by a comma.

The length of the three supporting body paragraphs are about 20 sentences each.

The closing paragraph requires that it start with the organizational transition “In summary.” It must be followed by a comma. The summary should be three sentences in length, at least. The closing paragraph must have a conclusion, introduced by the organizational transition “In conclusion,” followed by a comma.

The total length of Paper 1 is five paragraphs.

There should be a very close relationship among the title, the thesis statement, and the conclusion.

Paper 1 turns out to be five paragraphs in length, with the three body paragraphs written with 20 sentences each. That means that the body paragraphs will be 20 sentences long, or a total of 60 sentences. The opening and closing paragraphs will be about five or so sentences in length.

The paper has quotes, with in-text citations and a works cited page.

You will need a citation for everything that you quote. This will be an individual choice.

For example, someone will want to quote from Democracy in America by De Toqueville. Someone will quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. Someone will quote from J. Meachem's article about the American dream that is found in Modules If you quote or reference them, you will need a signal phrase, a MLA in-text citation, and a reference in the Works Cited page.

Everyone must have at least two quotes from the novel with signal phrases, MLA in-text citation formatting, and a MLA-formatted Works Cited page as the last page of their papers.

Go to Assignments to turn in your paper on time.

6.5. Module 6.5: Sample Paper

Instructions: See this sample paper as an example only. It is not perfect, of course, but it does address most of the E101 formal exposition requirements that are listed in Modules Paper 1, Evaluation Criteria in Modules, and Assignments Paper 1.

COMMENTS

What needs to be done here is to use "First," for the first 5-paragraph segment of Paper 2. Then use "Second," for the second 5-paragraph segment. The second segment of the paper is new and is developed by cause and effect. It should have three characters and it should describe the effect of the dream on each one. The first segment, of course, is an edited version of the first paper, Paper 1. So you will notice that this paper is really just a new version of Paper 1, and it never really devotes three full paragraphs on the effects of dream on characters.

Billy Grubstake

Professor Sprague

English 101

February 2009

                                         Gatsby and the Subjective American Dream

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby can be seen as a multi-perspective exploration of he American ream with varying ideas of what that dream can mean. this thesis lacks clarity about the values of the thesis in terms of the American dream and the novel...the novel is about tragedy, but this essay's topic sentence mistakenly pretends that the tone may be neutral...the novel ends in tragedy, so the thesis statement must communicate that tragedy somehow...The dream that has been labeled uniquely American is a subjective concept, an idea open to interpretation and based on one’s own background and personal aspirations. In The Great Gatsby, the backdrop of early 20th century America serves as an environment for exploring the dream. Further, the individual characters of the novel demonstrate different facets of that ‘dream’.

First, why and how this universal and fluid concept of human striving for potential and contentment became American is up for discussion and perhaps could be rooted in Thomas Jefferson’s famously celebrated words that help make up part of the theme that is the American constitution; that elusive concept of the pursuit of happiness. topic sentence should be simpler THEN follow with discussion...While happiness itself is not, and cannot, be guaranteed, the freedom to pursue it is held as the high ideal for the state to base its own self-creation on. What is happiness anyway? Obviously for some it is more complex than for others. It could be wealth, fame, or social success. It could be a simple life free from unnecessary hardship. It could be owning a home or a business. It could be falling in love and having a secure life partner. It could be going to college, finding spiritual enlightenment, having children, etc. What it means is less relevant than having the freedom to pursue it. What makes America unique is that it is the only country founded on an idea, as opposed to nationality based on geography or ethnicity. The idea is freedom. Individual freedom that is a God given birthright is set to law in the American constitution. Perhaps this is the big reason for the dream having been titled American. Admittedly, it has taken centuries for this to actually manifest itself in a truly credible way. Jefferson himself was a slave owner who wrote of the black man’s inferiority to white men, even while stating the “All men are created equal.” needs a citation...For this to maintain substance, it cannot be applied selectively to only white men. Women and minorities must be included or the foundation is weakened with a double standard and hypocrisy. It took literally centuries of progress, from women’s rights to civil rights and now to our first black president. But even with all this progress, there is still work to do and a perpetual evolution to be had. Perhaps the dream can exist precisely because it is in its very nature to be free to find evolution without a dogmatic ideological barrier of laws that would permanently prevent this American dream, the pursuit of happiness, from growing and finding its home in the heart of American citizens and of those around the world who admire and respect it.

Second, The Great Gatsby explores different dimensions why different as opposed to all negative...again, the topic sentence pretends a neutrality when the writer should acknowledge that this is a discussion of a tragedy...of this American dream. As the story progresses we see how the dream is subverted by those who seem to possess all the elements integral to the dream, not the least of which is material wealth. For most the dream is something that is pursued, but never attained. For those with wealth, the dream’s promise of happiness is squandered and corrupted with greed, vanity and narcissism. The overall essence of the novel is tragic in that the higher ideals of the American dream are subverted by those who, even with all the elements seemingly in place, still thwart their own potential happiness. One could have health, wealth and a loving spouse, but still find discontentment and misery. Perhaps it is truly a matter of perspective in that those whose wealth is inherited, never experienced the pains and trials of poverty and therefore never learned appreciation, which in itself breeds discontentment. It seems the pursuit of the dream can bring more happiness than the attainment. And when finally attained, happiness is still elusive in the absence of healthy relationships. In a counter-intuitive way, this can be viewed as something positive and inspirational in the sense that we can let go of what we think will bring us happiness, (i.e. – material wealth), in light of the knowledge of those whose wealth not only can fail to bring happiness, but often brings it’s own source of misery. It is a classic assessment of the painful realities of capitalism as it relates to the American dream. In the capitalistic culture, competition and domination are valued over more down to earth human virtues. We as humans tend to forget the things that can truly bring happiness and get caught up in the sacrificial culture, where failure to succeed is seen as weakness and those who play the game differently are outcasts. Even the rich segregate themselves in terms of old and new, with the old rich looking down on the new rich as somehow uncultivated and as primitive as the impoverished culture from whence they came. What we see in the novel is how the old rich subvert the dream with their own aristocratic discontentment and show little interest allowing the dream to manifest for those who aren’t already in their bubble like subculture. This is actually a complete 180-degree subversion of the dream in that a major component in the dream should be the reality that anyone can achieve it. As Jefferson wrote, “All men are created equal…” from which one would conclude that for the dream to exist, it becomes contingent on whether the dream is truly and equally available to all, not just the privileged few.