Journal 21 - Some Like it Hot

Although Some Like It Hot is a comedy and The Great Gatsby is a tragedy, both works use popular culture to portray life in 1920s America.  Focusing on the following elements (characterization, conflict, and theme), discuss how the two works are similar and different and what each is saying about American life.

            In both of the stories, it explains in some way that each person has gone through a hardship and is trying to get away from a part of their life.  It seems thought that both centralize around love, romance, and marriage.  Also, there is the fact that it was around the time of the prohibition and at least one of the characters in each story had a connection to that, especially when it includes crime and murder.  Such as when it was revealed that Gatsby was involved in bootlegging.  When it comes to the characters, each one can be connected from one book to the other.  From Some Like It Hot, the character Joe, also known as Josephine and Junior the billionaire, he can easily be connected to Gatsby.  Both had tried anything they could to get close to the girl they loved, even if it meant that they were with someone else or have had bad relationships in the past.  Then there is Sugar, who is like Daisy, both being the girl that every girl wants to be and every guy wants to be with.  A final example is Spats, who is like both Gatsby and Wolfshien.  Both were involved in the wrong kind of business, one of which had ended up having them killed in end.  Although there are many similarities that you can make between the two, there are also some major differences.  Such as, in The Great Gatsby, the love stories that were involved in it had ended up more of a tragedy for many. While on the other hand, in Some Like it Hot, the main love story that it had focused on, those two people had actually ended up together in the end.  Then there is the obvious between the two that one is a tragedy, the other being a comical love story where the people who actually love each other end up together. 

Journal 20 - Gatsby Conclusion

Read the novel’s last passage (beginning with, “Gatsby’s house was still empty when I left”) and discuss the use of imagery and symbolism that is being employed by Fitzgerald.  In your response, specifically address what Nick is saying about the green light and the connection that he is making between Gatsby and the Dutch sailors who “discovered” Long Island. 

            In the last paragraph of the Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald had used multiple means of symbolism and imagery.  The first thing that he had started to describe was about Gatsby’s house.  Not only how the looks of it were, but how lonely it felt since Gatsby had passed.  An important part of this last passage was when he had mentioned the green light which had stood across the water at Daisy’s house.  There was also the reference made to the Dutch sailor’s.  What the interpretation of this reference might mean is that when Nick was lying on the beach, he had started to block out all the other houses that surrounded the area in the distance in front of him.  By doing so, he was able to recognize all the things that were there when apparently the sailors had discovered that same area that Nick was admiring.  

Journal 19 - Characterization in The Great Gatsby

Write a description for each of the following characters based on his/her first appearance in Chapter 1. Your description should include: -the character’s physical appearance; -the character’s actions/words; -an adjective that best describes the character based on his/her initial appearance 


Nick Carraway Polite to others and always seems very aware of what’s going on. Was not as judgmental as the others.

  Tom Buchanan He is very fit and shape, with large muscles, an athletic person. Had an aggressive demeanor in some ways. Also, was very forceful in the ways when he would speak to other people. Untrustworthy, since he had another woman.

  Daisy Buchanan Seemed very charming to others, chatty, has blonde hair, tries to ignore the lies that surround her.

  Jordan Baker Charming and very polite, was very chatty, dark brown hair. Also involved in what is going on in other people’s lives.

  Jay Gatsby He is quiet and kept mainly to himself. Always seen staring at the green light across the water from his house. A tall and slender man.