1. Literary Analysis Essay Prep

2.  Of Mice and Men  The Glass Menagerie  The Great Gatsby

3. How is American life portrayed during this time?

4.  1930s, California The Great Depression Dust Bowl Migrant workers

5.  1930s, St. Louis The Great Depression Racism “Southern charm”

6.  1920s, New York The Jazz Age “Age of Excess” Prohibition Bootlegging Organized crime

7. Literary Fight Club

8. LAURA WINGFIELDDAISY BUCHANAN  The Glass Menagerie  “Crippled”  Shy  Insecure  Kind  In love with Jim, but he’s already engaged  20s, but lives home  Mom tells her what to do  The Great Gatsby  Emotional  Arrogant/feels she’s sophisticated  Being cheated on by Tom  Cheats with Gatsby  Gold-digger  Negligent mother

9. TOM BUCHANANLENNIE SMALLS  The Great Gatsby  Arrogant  Controlling  Violent/Aggressive  Womanizer (cheating on Daisy)  Of Mice and Men  Mental disability  Huge/Strong  Kind-hearted  George (best friend) takes care of him

10. CURLEY’S WIFEMYRTLE WILSON  Of Mice and Men  Married (unhappily) to Curley  Flirts with guys on farm  Mean-spirited  Killed by Lennie  The Great Gatsby  Married (unhappily) to George Wilson  Bosses George around  Having an affair with Tom  Wants to be of a higher social class  Killed by Daisy (via car accident)

11. NICK CARRAWAYTOM WINGFIELD  The Great Gatsby  Says he reserves judgment, but doesn’t  Loyal friend  Strong sense of morality  Intelligent/Perceptive  The Glass Menagerie  Hard-working  Dreamy/Longs for something more  Feels trapped  Stubborn  Hot-headed

12. CANDYCROOKS  Of Mice and Men  One hand  Old  Longs for companionship  Eager to work  Of Mice and Men  Black  Crooked back  Frustrated (at society/racism)  Bitter  Isolates self

13. JIMGATSBY  The Glass Menagerie  High school hero  Nostalgic for past; working to regain success of HS  Kisses Laura, even though he’s engaged (poor Betty)  Confident  Charming  The Great Gatsby  Charming  Consumed by love for Daisy  Illegal activity made him successful  Lies about past  Mysterious – many rumors about him

14. GEORGE WILSONCURLEY  The Great Gatsby  Poor  Passive  Unintelligent/Oblivious  Hard-working  Wife cheats on him; he locks her away  Of Mice and Men  Boss’s son; arrogant  Married to woman who flirts with the other men  “Whipped” by wife  Short/“Napolean Complex”  Aggressive/Picks fights

15. JORDAN BAKERAMANDA WINGFIELD  The Great Gatsby  Golfer  Daisy’s best friend  Nick’s love interest  Dishonest  Careless  Gossiper  The Glass Menagerie  Husband left her  Controlling mother of Tom and Laura  Nostalgic for past and 17 gentlemen callers  Overly concerned with appearance

16. SLIMGEORGE MILTON  Of Mice and Men  “Leader” on ranch  Respected by others  Opinions are valued  Hard-working  Of Mice and Men  Best friends with Lennie  Leader – Lennie does what he says  Smart  Hard-working  Aspires to a greater life

17. What are some overlapping themes?

18.  What essay questions might you see on your midterm?  How will you respond to these questions? Choose one and write a thesis statement.

19.  Your essay should be argument-based  You NEED a thesis  Support your thesis with specific text references  Tie all support back to your thesis  Follow instructions in your conclusion