Skip to main content

Apply two of the schools/approaches of literary criticism (New criticism, psychoanalytic, mythological, feminist, postcolonial) to a literary text...

If we use The Great Gatsby as our text of choice, we could examine it through both a New Critical and a feminist lens.


A New Critical reading aims at finding unities in a text and employs the tools of close reading we typically learn in high school, with a focus on plot, theme, setting, characterization, symbols, metaphors and repeated patterns. In Gatsby, we see the color yellow associated with money, and more particularly with Gatsby,...

If we use The Great Gatsby as our text of choice, we could examine it through both a New Critical and a feminist lens.


A New Critical reading aims at finding unities in a text and employs the tools of close reading we typically learn in high school, with a focus on plot, theme, setting, characterization, symbols, metaphors and repeated patterns. In Gatsby, we see the color yellow associated with money, and more particularly with Gatsby, who, for example, drives a yellow car. Green is another symbol in the novel, representing desire: the green light at the end of the pier represents Gatsby's yearning for Daisy. What about clocks: do they symbolize Gatsby's desire to stop time? We might also look at name symbolism: does Nick Carraway get 'carried away' by Gatsby? Is Mr. McKee a 'key' to the novel? 


A feminist reading would examine how women are portrayed in the novel. How have gender roles limited Daisy? Would she be a different person if she had had opportunities other than marriage? Why does she hope her daughter will be a beautiful "fool?" What about Jordan? Is she forced into deceptions to live her atypical, androgynous life? What can we say of Myrtle? Is she trapped in a mindset that sees sex with a wealthy man as her only "career" path? Whether conscious or not on Fitzgerald's part, it's difficult not to read the novel as a critique of the constraints still put on women in the newly liberated 1920s. 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is hyperbole in the story "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry?

The most obvious use of hyperbole in "The Gift of the Magi" occurs when the narrator describes Della's and Jim's evaluations of their two treasures—her long, luxuriant hair and his gold watch. Had the Queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his... The most obvious use of hyperbole in "The Gift of the Magi" occurs when the narrator describes Della's and Jim's evaluations of their two treasures—her long, luxuriant hair and his gold watch. Had the Queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him plu
Post a Comment
Read more

How can I analyze Moon and Six Pence by Somerset Maugham?

In "Moon and Sixpence," loosely based on the life of Paul Gaugin, Maugham presents a study of the tension between the "civilized" life of 19th century Europe, and the lead character's desire to throw off the shackles of bourgeois life. Charles Strickland is a middle-aged English stockbroker with a wife and family. By abandoning his domestic life, Strickland commits what many in European society would consider a gross betrayal of one of the foundations of... In "Moon and Sixpence," loosely based on the life of Paul Gaugin, Maugham presents a study of the tension between the "civilized" life of 19th century Europe, and the lead character's desire to throw off the shackles of bourgeois life. Charles Strickland is a middle-aged English stockbroker with a wife and family. By abandoning his domestic life, Strickland commits what many in European society would consider a gross betrayal of one of the foundations of that society. His decision to e
Post a Comment
Read more

What are some literary devices in Macbeth, Act V, Scene 1?

Act V, Scene i of Macbeth certainly continues the imagery that is prevalent in the play with its phantasmagoric realm, as in this scene a succession of things are seen or imagined by Lady Macbeth. Imagery - The representation of sensory experience Lady Macbeth imagines that she sees bloody spots (visual imagery) on the stairs; she also smells blood (olfactory imagery): Here's the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not... Act V, Scene i of Macbeth certainly continues the imagery that is prevalent in the play with its phantasmagoric realm, as in this scene a succession of things are seen or imagined by Lady Macbeth. Imagery - The representation of sensory experience Lady Macbeth imagines that she sees bloody spots (visual imagery) on the stairs; she also smells blood (olfactory imagery): Here's the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh! oh, oh! (5.1.53-55) Hyperbole - Obvious exaggeration  There is also h
Post a Comment
Read more