Thesis and Concrete Details

            Religious symbolism is illustrated in Flannery O' Connor's "The Coat" in a way that is different from another one of her short stories, "The Life You Save May Be Your Own."

Concrete Details

            The Chirst figure is corrupted and selfish in "The Life You Save May Be Your Own."He lies to the old woman in order to get her car. He pretends to marry her daughter for his own selfish purposes.

            The Christ figure in "The Coat" is innocent. He is shot by the white men even though he has done nothing wrong. This is one of the many ways that O'Connor hints that he is a Christ figure.

Bonus Blog: what's good about blogging

Blogging is useful because...
-a new efficiency; assignments are not lost; no papers to keep up with
-endless examples for other students; access to other blogs
-environmentally friendly; no use of paper

Three Body Paragraphs

            Two colors that are discussed together are white and yellow. Daisy's name is specifically chosen for her by Fitzgerald because like the flower she is "yellow" on the inside-meaning she is decaying on the inside. On the outside she tries to come across innocent and white like a Daisy. West Egg and East Egg are also mentioned as symbols of inner decay. West Egg, being new money, is filled with people who want to come across wealthy and glamorous. On the outside things may seem wholesome and pure, but truthfully there is corruption. Yellow/gold is mentioned while describing Gatsby's outfit when he plans to meet Daisy for the first time in years. The gold tie symbolizes the wealth he has obtained to impress her, which has also corrupted him(created decay). He wears a white suit to disguise his attempts to portray his flashiness with innocence.

            Colors we see in Myrtle and Daisy's wardrobes reveal a lot about their lifestyle. In chapter three, Myrtle changes into a cream colored dress while entertaining company at her apartment in New York City. She wants to appear wealthy and glamorous to Tom. Cream is almost white, in other words it tries to be white the same way Myrtle tries to appear something she is not. She uses the cream colored dress to play house for Tom. Daisy is seen in many chapters wearing lavender, specifically when she meets with Gatsby. The color lavender represents her fairytale lifestyle. She wants to live a life with Tom, who has money so that she can live the "perfect" life.

               The color green can mean two things, envy or wealth. At the end of Daisy's dock, a green light shines. Gatsby looks at it every night wishing he could have Daisy back. He sees that Daisy lives a wealthy life with Tom. He is envious of Tom because he now has Daisy. The interior of Gatsby's car is also green. Gatsby wants to live a life filled with money and glamour to win Daisy back. Fitzgerald shows is this when Nick describes Gatsby's car.

Outline

I. Thesis

II. The Colors Yellow, White and Gold
     -Daisy
     -West and East Egg
     -Gatsby

III. Myrtle and Daisy
      -cream colored dress
      -lavender hair clip

IV. The Color Green
      -the light on Daisy's dock
      -the interior of Gatsby's car

V. Closing

Color Symbolism

            The colors mentioned in The Great Gatsby each have an important underlying meaning. One of the first examples of color symbolism is the color of the shutters on Daisy and Tom's house."Their house was more elaborate than I expected, a cheerful red and white Georgian Colonial mansion, overlooking the bay." The red represents the corruption/hostility in their marriage. In chapter two Myrtle shows a new side to herself. " Mrs. Wilson had changed her costume some time before, and was now attired in an elaborate afternoon dress of cream-colored chiffon..." The cream color is close to white but not completely, in the same way Myrtle tries to disguise her impurity. The color of Gatsby's suit shows what he is trying to convey in chapter five. Upon meeting Daisy for the first time in years he dresses to impress her. "-Gatsby, in a white flannel suit, silver shirt, and gold-colored tie, hurried in."The silver and gold represents the wealth he has obtained to become a part of Daisy's lifestyle. Daisy on the same day also dresses according to her lifestyle. "Daisy's face, tipped sideways beneath a three-cornered lavender hat..." The color lavender is seen on Daisy many times to show her fairytale way of life.

#1 Dust in Gatsby

•         On page 2, the dust shows his past feelings for Daisy that still linger in his dreams. 
•         On page 25, the dust covers an abandoned old Ford in George Wilson's garage. The dust rests on the car to show the way his interests are a part of the past. He doesn't care about his dreams anymore.
•        On page 66, the character leaking sawdust represents Gatsby. Gatsby is fake and now his stories are falling apart.
•        On page 151, the shining dust that the golden and silver shoes shuffle through are all part of Daisy's world. Her dream to get married to a wealthy man is still shining.
•        On page 116, the powder that rose from her bosom into the air is a symbol of her fake personality. Daisy tries to cover her true self the same way "the powder covers Jordan's tan fingers" mentioned a few sentences before.
•        On page 137, Myrtle's blood mixes in with the dust in the ground to show that her body is now a part of the past just like her dreams to be with a man like Tom.
•       On page 148, the romances are not musty in Daisy's house. Everything is laid away in lavender. Daisy wants to live her life like a fairytale.

       Dust can show past dreams or aspirations that were not accomplished. It shows what no longer exists. The same way dust covers things that aren't in use anymore or just sit still. The dust can also show lack of character or genuine personality. It's mentioned while Gatsby's telling the untrue stories of his past. Its also mentioned to describe Daisy. This tells us that Daisy is not a genuinely decent person.