WWL meets Gatsby

We Were Liars and The Great Gatsby: A Comparison Similarities? Differences?

So now what? You’ve examined… Plot and characters Development of themes Use of point-of-view Symbolism

Does Money buy happiness? An Essay

The assignment… The Goal: To take what you know of the characters, themes, and symbols in these texts and apply them in writing in a way that creates a new and unique response. The Basics: Five paragraph essay Use both novels and one nonfiction article provided Final draft due Friday, Jan. 15.

What’s your initial response? What would Lockhart and Fitzgerald say? What does the article say?

Introduction Paragraph 1-sentence hook (strong statement, fact or statistic, quotation) 2-4 sentences of background info 1 sentence thesis

Thesis Your thesis is a one-sentence summary of the point of your paper. You write this first so you know which direction you’re heading. The main idea part of a thesis is your main argument (ex: It isn’t possible for money to buy true happiness…) Proofs are the reasons why your main idea is true (ex: (1) money can’t save doomed love, (2) money can’t change a person’s past, and (3) money can’t heal physical wounds…) Thesis = main idea plus three proofs (ex: It isn’t possible for money to buy true happiness because it can’t save doomed love, it can’t change a person’s past, and it can’t heal physical wounds.) Your turn…

Now back to the hook… Strong statement example Money may make the world go round, but it can’t make the world any happier. Fact or statistic example There are more than $80 trillion in the world, according to the CIA Factbook, but who possesses those dollars is not be as important as one would expect. Quotation example “A rich man,” according to writer W.C. Fields, “is nothing but a poor man with money.”

Background Info What constitutes happiness? How many people in this world are considered rich? Poor? What does your reader need to know about money and happiness in the world in order to understand your thesis? How can you make your paragraph flow from your hook to your thesis?

Now put it all together

Based on Proof #1 in thesis Body Paragraph #1 Based on Proof #1 in thesis

Proofs and body paragraphs In a five paragraph essay, there are three body paragraphs. There are also three proofs. Proof one goes with body paragraph one. Proof two goes with body paragraph two. Proof three… you get the idea. Proofs connect directly with a body paragraph’s topic sentence. NOTE: They should not be the exact same wording, just the same idea. Example: Proof #1 = Money can’t save doomed love Body Paragraph #1 = No amount of money in the world can change a person’s heart or save a couple’s relationship. Write your body paragraph #1 topic sentence

Body Paragraph Elements Topic sentence (connected to proof #1) Evidence (one sentence) Elaboration (two sentences) Conclusion/transition sentence

Body Paragraph One No amount of money in the world can change a person’s heart or save a couple’s relationship. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby earns millions of dollars to win back Daisy, his first love, after many years apart, but in the end “she and Tom [go] away…[taking] baggage with them” (164). Regardless of the wealth Jay accumulated, he couldn’t earn back Daisy’s true devotion. When she found herself in a crisis, Daisy returned to Tom, her husband, despite declaring her love for Jay just hours before. Similarly, money can’t preserve Cady and Gat’s relationship in E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars, in which beach roses, which symbolize their love, become “dried” and die (146). Though Cady and Gat remain affectionate toward one another, their relationship can’t be saved. Her wealth cannot overcome the socioeconomic gap, the prejudices, and ultimately the mortality that stand between them. Money can’t preserve love, nor can it change the past. TS: No amount of money in the world can change a person’s heart or save a couple’s relationship. EV: In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby earns millions of dollars to win back Daisy, his first love, after many years apart, but in the end “she and Tom [go] away…[taking] baggage with them” (164). EL: Regardless of the wealth Jay accumulated, he couldn’t earn back Daisy’s true devotion. EL: When she found herself in a crisis, Daisy returned to Tom, her husband, despite declaring her love for Jay just hours before. EV: Similarly, money can’t preserve Cady and Gat’s relationship in E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars, in which beach roses, which symbolize their love, become “dried” and die (146). EL: Though Cady and Gat remain affectionate toward one another, their relationship can’t be saved. EL: Her wealth cannot overcome the socioeconomic gap or prejudices between them. CS: Money can’t preserve love, nor can it change the past.

Body Paragraph Two Another of money’s limitations is that it can’t change the past. Reporter Mark Fahey wrote that “People naturally compare their lives and incomes to others‘,” which holds true in the case of Jay Gatsby. After falling in love with Daisy, Jay realized how impoverished he was compared to the high society of Daisy’s family, and endeavored to become rich himself. But in doing so, he left Daisy, and none of his new money could buy back the original happiness they had. Likewise, Cadence wishes “Maybe, maybe. If only, if only” when she learns her cousins and Gat have died (208). Her Grandfather’s money isn’t enough to rewrite the night during which The Liars set the family house on fire, nor can it erase the fatalities that followed. Cadence faces the crushing realization that nothing can return to her the people she loves. As Gatsby and Cadence learned, there is no price to be paid to change the past, nor is there one that can heal a physical wound.