Journal 1 Are you excited for school to start? Do you like English? Why/Why not? What did you do this summer? What is the American Dream? Does it still exist? Why/why not?

Journal 2 Free Write!

Journal 3 Many parents give children a weekly or monthly allowance regardless of their behavior because they believe an allowance teaches children to be financially responsible. Other parents only give children an allowance as a reward for completing chores or when they have behaved properly. Explain what you think parents should do and why.

Journal 4 Have you ever read a text that was so difficult you felt as if it was a foreign language? When you’re reading do you ever feel as if you are carrying on a conversation with the text in your head? Explain. What do you know about annotations? Have you ever used them? Do you think they are beneficial? Why do you believe annotating is considered a mature study practice?

Journal 5 What do you know about the 20’s? From what you know about the 20’s what do you think it would have been like to live during the time? Write a journal entry as a person from the 20’s.

Journal 6 You have achieved your dream award / position. Perhaps this is an Oscar or Grammy, a Pulitzer Prize, a political office, a multi- million dollar sports contract, etc. Write your acceptance speech for the occasion. Be sure to thank those who helped you and to tell your audience what it means to accept the award / position.

Journal 7 Write about a dream that you have already accomplished. Describe the challenges you faced in realizing this dream and how you felt when you accomplished it.

Journal 8 In chapter 1 of the Great Gatsby, Daisy discusses her hopes for her daughter. She remarks: “I hope she’ll be a fool-that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” What does Daisy’s remark about her infant daughter tell you about Daisy’s own character? What does it tell you about society in 1922, the year the novel takes place?

Journal 9 In real life, F. Scott Fitzgerald had to work hard, amass a fortune, and throw himself into a glamorous social world in order to win the hand of his socialite wife, Zelda. This experience, as well as his difficult marriage with Zelda (who eventually suffered a nervous breakdown) probably complicated his attitude toward women. Discuss the attitude toward women in The Great Gatsby. As you try to establish your argument about women in the novel, closely examine the behavior of the female characters and think about how the narrator, Nick Caraway, describes them. You might also consider the behavior and attitudes of the various male characters toward the female characters. How do the men treat the women?

Journal 10 In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald places a great emphasis on the use of symbols, or the significance we place on the objects and people in our lives. For example, to Gatsby, the green light at the end of the Buchanan’s dock, and even Daisy herself, stand for his dream of recreating his happy times with Daisy in Louisville five years ago. To another man, this green light and this woman might be meaningless. Which objects or individuals hold particular significance for you?

Journal 11 In chapter 4, Gatsby asks Nick, “Look here, old sport…what’s your opinion of me anyhow” (Fitzgerald 69)? Comparing what we learn about Gatsby in Chapter 4 and Chapter 6 what is your opinion of Gatsby? How has your opinion of Gatsby changed over the course of the novel?

Journal 12 In The Great Gatsby, Tom and Daisy Buchanan’s marriage is ruled by a double standard. Tom feels that he is free to engage in extramarital affairs, but he is outraged at the thought that his wife might get involved with someone else. Double standards are fairly common in families, in relationships, and even in social institutions. Frequently, what seems to be good for one person is not allowed for another. Make a list of double standards you have experienced or observed. Are they connected in any way? Does there seem to be a logical reason behind any of them, or are they all the result of irrational prejudice?

Journal 13 Jay Gatsby totally reinvents himself. Imagine that as you go off to college, you decide to change your name and to alter large portions of your personal history. Who do you become? *Keep at least one true detail from your past.

Journal 14 Why might pursuing a dream or goal be more satisfying than actually achieving it? Like Gatsby, have you ever become blindly obsessed with a goal (money, soul mate, vehicle, group membership, G.P.A.,etc)? Were the results destructive for anyone? Explain with examples.