Sam’s Comments (group member since May 25, 2016)

Sam’s comments from the Mills AP Lit and Comp group.

Sam Altman
Period 1.

Phoenix and the Turtle:

Beauty, truth, and rarity,
Grace in all simplicity,
Here enclos'd, in cinders lie.

Death is now the Phoenix' nest,
And the Turtle's loyal breast
To eternity doth rest,

Leaving no posterity:
'Twas not their infirmity,
It was married chastity.

This poem is known as one of the first metaphysical poems. It represents the mystical nature of love. The poem describes a funeral of two lovers, represented by the phoenix ( the mythological bird associated with immortality). The turtle represents the fidelity held within this relationship. The greater meaning of this poem points to the power of love, and its capability to separate humans from the material world. I believe this poem is very useful and applicable to our now modern society full of material wealth and goods. It points to the freeing nature of love and the reward of separating yourself from this material world.

Gianna wrote: "Gianna Neathammer Period 2

In the novel Great Expectations, Charles Dickens contradicting endings spawn an ongoing debate. Personally, I emotionally connect with the more positive outcome of the ..."

Sam Altman (period 1)

I understand your appeal to the second ending, as it is more upbeat for the conclusion of the novel. However, I believe the original ending puts the reader in the true perspective of Pip, a conflicted man, because of the loss of his sister and the heart break of Estella. To understand Pip I believe that an ending of which details Pips closure and heartbreak would be the most appropriate. I think your insight into Pip and Estella's relationship is very interesting! But their relationship was far from perfect, so to make light of Estella's intentions in the novel would be inappropriate to the plot of the story. All of your arguments really made me think a lot about this novel! Some of your insights made me question the weight that the fist ending carries! However I believe the fist ending is appropriate to the story and the writing style of Charles Dickens.

Sam Altman
(Period 1)

The original ending fits best with Charles Dickens true intentions to create a since of realism vs desire. This ending makes since of Pips evolution and provides a since of closure to the conflict that plagues Pip and Estella's relationship. "I was very glad afterwards to have had the interview; for, in her face and in her voice, and in her touch, she gave me the assurance."(492) This original ending, though gloomy and dark, provides a coming of consciousness moment for Pip. Estella's true intentions are revealed and again this concludes the novel in the most appropriate way.

Charles Dickens writing style is also exemplified in the original closing. "I was in England again — in London, and walking along Piccadilly with little Pip — when a servant came running after me to ask would I step back to a lady in a carriage who wished to speak to me. It was a little pony carriage, which the lady was driving; and the lady and I looked sadly enough on one another."(492) Dickens style is very ornate and surprising! His since of detail much like the quote above gives different view points that contribute to the main plot of the novel. Without this gloomy and troubled ending, the reader would miss out on a truly classic form of Dickens writing that leaves the reader without that classic grandiose ending.

To conclude, Pips Great Expectations are totally destroyed throughout the novel. London is not a gold paved paradise, its a filthy rathole; and Pip becomes the exact opposite of a rich gentlemen. Instead he is a hardworking shipping agent. So to compliment the true meaning of the novel, that is the realization that most will live a life that is very common and the opposite of lavish; one must truly understand the first ending gives Pip, the characters of the novel, and the reader true closure. "That suffering had been stronger than Miss Havisham's teaching, and had given her a heart to understand what my heart used to be."

Sam Altman (Period 1.)
Charles Dickens effectively uses distortion to create memorable characters throughout "Great Expectations". These intricate and complex storylines give off a cartoonish feel to characters such as Pip. Distortion is used to mask Pip's true self. Pip is not remarkable for his horde of gold, bridal showers, or guillotine fascination. He is a common man that proves to be more influential to the many characters in "Great Expectations". The deception and distortion of other characters is so prevalent in how the novel shapes Pip's identity, but society seems to be the exact parallel to Pip's life throughout this amazing novel.

Pip has dreams of becoming rich, respected, and a well educated gentlemen in life. Soon all of these things that Pip longs for turn into a distorted fantasy that draws Pip to realize that all of his desires were based on false assumption. The true distortion lies in the title of the novel, "Great Expectations". Pips expectations for his future are unrealistic, but at the same time they are very understandable. “asking more from life than, under the limitations imposed by one’s nature, station, or the general conditions of existence, it can reasonably expected to return. The habit of holding great, but unrealistic expectations of life is the source of wrong [and] evil . . . ” (279). All of Pip's relationships become illusions, and Estella is contributes to this.

Charles Dickens uses social inequity along with the industrial revolution to make since of the distortion in "Great Expectations". What separates distortion from literary realism, is the powerful effect of letting the reader draw a conclusion that is offered from a unique angle; and Charles Dickens mastered the ability to distort character attributes and plot line to draw a conclusion about the larger meaning of the novel "Great Expectations". “The truth is not distorted here, but rather a distortion is used to get at truth.” -Flannery O'Connor.

Sam Altman
Period 1

"The Great Gatsby" uses the East to a represent a morally irresponsible way of life. A way of life that pushes the envelope, and soon Nick Carraway realizes that an Western lifestyle is a lot different in contrast to that of the East. "Every one suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known(171)." Honest and Genuine are great words that describe Nick, which makes him an unlikely sympathizer for Gatsby. The idea of morality is juxtaposed between the East and the West. Nick refers to his roots as "cheerful and warm". Nick's past proves to be a similarity in which brings him closer to Gatsby. They both are foreign to the corrupt environment that consumes them. Pop Culture of the 1920s thrives in the East, and Nick feels out of place for most of the book. "He talked a lot about the past, and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy" (110). Gatsby longed for his past life, and wanted to retreat from this environment of crime and lavish partying; and while Daisy and the other westerners faded into the East and its temptation, Gatsby longed for something different, and Nick soon came to a new appreciation of his roots and where he came from. "When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart. Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book, was exempt from my reaction—Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn."

Sam Altman
Period 1

This novel isn't just about a failed love story. It also encompasses the decaying morals of the 1920s. The "illuminating" episode is one that parallels the 1920s America that Fitzgerald was trying to convey. This is the "Valley of Ashes" that Nick Carraway notices passing through with Gatsby. “This is a valley of ashes – a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of ash-grey men, who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air (Pg. 26)." The "Valley of Ashes" represents absolute poverty and hopelessness. The confrontation with Tom and George (Myrtles husband) shows a class division between the rich and the poor, which is a major theme in the novel. West and East Egg mask the "Valley of Ashes" which is created by dumping and direct relation of capitalism during the 1920s. The valley exists because of places like West and East Egg. So, because of the greed and morals of the 1920s, Fitzgerald was trying to show the effect of greed and wealth on surrounding areas.

Sam Altman
Period 1
The first time I read this book I came away with the impression of a heart wrenching artsy romance, in which takes place within the lavish 1920s American backdrop. This backdrop hides the many imperfections that occur within F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby". One of them being the lack of character development throughout the novel. J. Gatsby, the main protagonist of the book is introduced upon Nick Carraways arrival to his new home in West Egg. The reader is left to the mystery of Gatsby throughout much of the novel. Nick visits his cousin Daisy, which soon evolves into speculation of the mysterious man that lives across "the bay", "Somebody told me they thought he killed a man once" . These instances provide Nick and the reader with very little information on Gatsby's past. So far Nick and the reader understand he is a mysterious man, but Gatsby never evolves from this mystery that plagues him. This weakens Gatsby as a protagonist especially since the reader has no emotional connection for Gatsby until the end of the novel. In fact, Fitzgerald sums up most of Gatsby's life within a very short section of the entire novel. Its almost as if the reader is thrown into a setting that celebrates shallow, money obsessed culture; and then expected to understand Gatsby's longing for Daisy in the "thick" of this complex plot which happens to be a failed attempt at love.

Confusion is the best word to describe the majority of the novel. Now I must applaud Fitzgerald at his attempt to create a complex plot that makes the reader want to investigate and learn more about each character. But, that interest and mystery is soon discouraged by the lack and or creativity of the characters such as Daisy and Tom, who prove to be dull characters that lack depth which makes the novel another cliche love story. The most emotion Daisy shows is over material wealth, "They're such beautiful shirts," she sobbed, her voice muffled in the think folds. "It makes me sad because I've never seen such – such beautiful shirts before". and this happens to me a reoccurring theme in her obsession with material wealth which proves to be the downfall of her relationship with Gatsby. Tom, as expected is the dominant, hulking, Eugenicist that showers Daisy in wealth and riches to hide his affair with another woman named Myrtle. He nodded sagely. "And what's more, I love Daisy too. Once in a while I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time." Tom is the man that seems to have everything but proves to be ignorant and naive of what he has. Sadly the ending of this novel doesn't come as a surprise, the good guy, being Gatsby is left alone to die after risking everything for Daisy, and the bad guy, being Tom wins the girl because of his wealth and controlling demeanor. Which satisfies the readers expectation if you caught on to the cliche plot. The good guy always loses in this case.

To conclude, Nick Carraway is the saving grace when it comes to character progression and plot line. He is the outsider looking into a world that is very foreign to him. He isn't from "old money' and he is by know means wealthy. So he represents the common man throughout this novel which gives this love story a different point of view. The Characters plagued by the lavish wealth of the 1920s are Gatsby, Tom, and Daisy, but Fitzgerald's attempt to create a character in which was meant to grab the readers emotion and give them someone to root for fell short because of the lack of character development.