Gatsby Vocabulary Quiz

________________adj. sharing in the knowledge of (something secret or private).

________________v. pretend to be affected by (a feeling, state, or injury).

________________n. humor or frivolity, especially the treatment of a serious matter with humor or in a manner lacking due respect.

________________n. a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation; a written defamation.

________________having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views

as unworthy; cocky

________________to go with impatient or impetuous, exaggerated movements

________________to damage, ruin, deface

________________(noun) a short, four-wheeled, closed carriage, usually with a single seat for two passengers and an outside seat for the driver. (p. 53)

________________(verb) to walk during sleep, sleepwalk. (p. 69)

________________(noun) wasteful extravagence in spending (p. 40)

Privy

Feign

Levity

Libel

Supercillious

Flounce

Mar

coupé

somnambulate

prodigality

Gatsby Essay Question

Analyze how the American dream is portrayed in The Great Gatsby.

Gatsby 30 Second Questions

What sport does Jordan play?

In what state does the novel take place?

What is Gatsby's given name?

What college in England does Gatsby claim to have attended?

Where do Tom and Daisy live?

Five Minute Question

1.) How does Nick's perspective affect the reader's perception of the story?

2.) What is the difference between East Egg and West Egg?

Wallstreet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQOGfCy-K_c

Essay Question

Analyze one of the major themes of Howl.

30 Second Questions

Who did Ginsberg dedicate “Howl” to?

Who is part III of “Howl” about?

What word is repeated multiple times in the footnote?

What is Moloch?

How many parts are there in “Howl?"

Five Minute Question

What or who does Moloch represent?

Vocabulary Quiz

__________________: (adj) attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature.

__________________: (adj) intimate and affectionate but not sexual.

__________________: (noun) a completely empty space

__________________: (noun) an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization.

__________________: (verb) think about.

__________________: a run-down and often overcrowded apartment house, especially in a poor section of a large city.

__________________: a small flat or folded sheet of printed matter, as an advertisement or notice, usually intended for free distribution.

__________________: semen, climax

__________________: any large, overpowering, destructive force or object, as war, a giant battleship, or a powerful football team.

__________________: having catatonia, a syndrome characterized by muscular rigidity and mental stupor.

Wordbank:

fascism

supernatural

contemplate

void

tenement

juggernaut

catatonic

gyzym

platonic

leaflet

Does everyone live in the same America?

Although she feeds me bread of bitterness,

And sinks into my throat her tiger's tooth,

Stealing my breath of life, I will confess

I love this cultured hell that tests my youth!

Her vigor flows like tides into my blood,

Giving me strength erect against her hate.

Her bigness sweeps my being like a flood.

Yet as a rebel fronts a king in state,

I stand within her walls with not a shred

Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer.

Darkly I gaze into the days ahead,

And see her might and granite wonders there,

Beneath the touch of Time's unerring hand,

Like priceless treasures sinking in the sand. 

"America," by Claude McKay is similar to the writing of both Ginsberg and Whitman and combined who thier views of America. The poem is stylistically different; it is a rhyming sonnet, while the work of he other two poets are more free form. At first the poem dipicts the authors contempt and hatred of America and how it is a corrupt nation, yet he claims to depend on "her" too. It is a love/hate relationship told using elaborate metaphors to emphasize his frustration for dependence. Both Ginsberg and Whitman wrote poems with the same title, where they discuss thier opinions of America too. Whitman is the more cynical of the two, effectively making a mockery of his country. He talks distainfully about America and disagrees with the Cold War. He also explains how society and conformity destroy the individuals and creativity, this is a parralell to Mckay's line, "stealing my breath of life." Whitman on the other hand celebrates America and appears to be patriotic at a glance. Whitman talks about all those who thrive in the country and explains how every person has a place or specific niche to fit into. This is a similarity to McKay's America, where he narrator is dependant on the country, just as Whitman's workers are dependant on America and the system they so neatly fit into. McKay's America is a perfect combination of both Whitman: who expresses love, and Ginsberg: who expresses hate and contempt. This shows that America is a an uncategorisable topic and will convey a different emotion to each author. 

Comparison

“An American Poem” by Eileen Myles describes the narrator’s personal journey from youth into adulthood.  This may sound very different than Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl,” which makes one political statement after another.  However, the poems share striking similarities.  For one, Myles’ narrator is homosexual, just like Ginsberg, who narrates “Howl.”  The narrator of “An American Poem” also sheds light on the struggles of homosexuals in the United States, just as Ginsberg does.  In both poems, American society as a whole is blamed for some of the struggles of gays and lesbians.  Furthermore, both poems feature graphic sexuality.  In “An American Poem,” Myles portrays actual sexual experiences.  In “Howl,” Ginsberg uses sexual language, such as “cock and endless balls.”  The fact that both poems go so far out on a limb by eliciting sexual thoughts gives them a bond unlike any other.

Restrictive Order

“Order” by Linda Kunhardt is similar to Ginsberg’s “Howl” and Whitman’s “Song of Myself.” In “Order,” each line describes an everyday activity or event in an ordinary person’s life, such as “a narrow girl sells purses made of reed.” This is similar to Canto 15 of “Song of Myself,” in which Whitman describes the different roles of individuals in society. They both target individuals and are fairly specific, however they seem to have a different message. Canto 15 celebrates individuals and their seemingly ordinary lives instead of judging them and sees each role being a crucial part for society to work and in order for each person to be able to define himself. “Order” does not imply that these ordinary activities are something one should celebrate, but sees them as acts that are constricting and meaningless. This idea is similar to Ginsberg’s idea of the absence of freedom where authoritative figures intervene. “Order” repeats a line multiple times “while chicken crammed in cages peck their seed,” in order to compare that image the other individuals Kunhardt describes. She implies that people are in “cages,” similarly how in “Howl,” people are stripped away form their freedom in asylum houses or factories.

USA

http://www.gradesaver.com/allen-ginsbergs-poetry/study-guide/section3/

According to this Gradesaver summary, the name “Moloch” that is used by Ginsberg repeatedly in part II is meant to represent all that is wrong with America.  The name was apparently chosen because it is the name of an ancient god who required lots of sacrifice.  The name choice, then, is a subtle criticism of the United States by Ginsberg.  However, Ginsberg makes many more criticisms of his country in part II.  To an extent, this is okay.  It was the 1950s, a time in which the Civil Rights situation in the United States was absolutely disgusting.  As a gay man, Ginsberg has especially good reason to be upset about this.  However, he goes overboard in part II.  He criticizes cities, industry, electricity, and banks.  He suggests that capitalism is inherently evil because it is creates poverty.  By criticizing things that have nothing to do with morals or Civil Rights, Ginsberg lets his bitterness become apparent.  He would be better off sticking to the issues he cares most deeply about, which are presumably social ones.  By trying to effect change in all aspects of society, he has hindered his ability to effect change in any aspect of society.  His bitterness towards totally acceptable aspects of American society hurts the chances of success that his more intelligent points could potentially have, because critical readers are able to denounce him as a hater of America based on tenuous evidence whose opinions on the nation cannot be taken seriously.

Moloch in Metropolis

In Part II of Ginsberg’s poem “Howl,” the word Moloch comes up to represent all that is bad or evil. Though oftentimes Moloch is associated with the Bible as an evil angel, Moloch also could be making a connection to the silent film Metropolis. The film is set in an industrial city and explores the dystopia of workers and owners in factories. After an accidental machine explosion in a factory that kills some of the workers, the protagonist starts to see the machine as a beast, which he calls Moloch. In the movie there are two classes of people: the workers and the oweners.  The workers live underground, while the owner live in the skyscrapers. Ginsberg makes reference to this: “Moloch whose skyscrapers stand in the long streets like endless Jehovas!” Drawing from the movie, Ginsberg is associating evil with the skyscrapers, which represent the authority figures. Therefore government, factories, and money are all evil figures that impose lifestyles on the comman man like the owners imposed hard work on the factory workers in the film.

Cosmopolitan Greetings Response

In "Cosmopolitan Greetings," Ginsberg draws from many prominent figures from the past and the current. Ginsberg directly references Einstein and Whitman, but also indirectly references Emerson and Thoreau. He does this in the first line when he writes; "Stand up against governments, against God." Emerson expressed these same thoughts when he wrote over a hundred years earlier. Both Ginsberg and Emerson believes that as long as one does not let oneself be confined by outer influences, one will make the right choices. While Emerson defines this fixed human nature as the oversoul, Ginsberg is more vague in that he argues that in order to let this fixed human nature come through, one has to be "irresponsible." The ultimate goal for humans in Emerson's and Ginsberg's eyes would be freedom. This freedom can be achieved by humanity, as it is humanity that defines the universe. According to Einstein humans define the universe, because humans are the ones observing it. Therefore, humans can achieve freedom by being and observing. 

Five A.M.

Poem Five A.M.

Part One

Gradesaver.com explains the title of the Ginsberg's poem in great depth. It explains that the title, "Howl", sets the story up for what it is. The website says that the title says to the reader that the poem will not be quiet, it will not be a happy little sonnet or ode. Instead, the poem will be one of noise. The poem will say things that the reader is not used to hearing. The poem will be unlike anything the reader has ever read. The epic will feature sex, drugs, and alcohol. It is interesting that a title can give so much information about a story

Hum Bum

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/hum-bom/ 

Cosmopolitan greetings

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/cosmopolitan-greetings/

"Crossing Nation" by Allen Ginsberg

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/crossing-nation/