Sophia Nguyen

Storer
English 3H Block 1
February 19, 2020
Socratic Circle Reflection on The Great Gatsby
The inner circle which I was in discussed color symbolism and Gatsby as a Christ-like
figure. While talking about color, we focused on the importance of the green in this novel. I
made a point saying that green in this case represents healing for Gatsby, who is trying to repair
his past relationship with Daisy and others. Following my comment, Damian made a remark
that green symbolized immaturity, since Gatsby classified Daisy as a dream or idea, rather than
a person. Sabrina contrasted Damian's point, saying that green meant growth because he
reached high levels of success, making him worthy of Daisy. Lastly, Miguel said that green
symbolized the American Dream for Gatsby because he sailed into the past, but ended up losing
Daisy again. The next topic discussed was Gatsby as a Christ-like figure. Miguel started off this
discussion by saying yes, he was, but not entirely. He claims that Gatsby experienced similar
rumors spread about him, since no one really knew who he was; he was a mystery, like Christ at
the beginning of his ministry and Gatsby at his parties. Following that remark, Ben noted that
Gatsby was sitting in a garden the day prior to his death on behalf of Daisy. I added on saying
that Gatsby's journey to his death mirrored Christ's: Gatsby was sacrificed for Daisy's
wrongdoings as Christ was sacrificed for human salvation, Gatsby was then betrayed by Tom
who revealed his identity to Wilson as Christ was betrayed by Judas to the Pharisees, and
finally, Gatsby died for the sins of Tom and Daisy as Christ died for our sins. Damian and Ben
ended this discussion by saying that Tom represents Judas and Gatsby's love for Daisy was
paralleled by Christ's unconditional love for us.
In this socratic seminar, I believed the two most original ideas brought up were
Damian's question about whether or not it is better to die knowing the truth or believing in
your false successes and Miguel's point about Gatsby and Christ both being mysterious to the
public. I think Damian's question brought up a good point because there were many contrasting
opinions, some argued that it's better to not know the truth while some said the truth is always
the best. It allowed us to debate and see each others' ideas. Miguel's point about the
comparison of Gatsby to Christ was different from the rest of ours because he reflects more on
the public opinion of the two figures instead of their actions. It allowed for deeper insight on
the topic, which was how Gatsby was a Christ-like figure. The most original piece of evidence
from the book was when Ben mentioned that Gatsby was in the garden the day before his
death, similar to Christ. It was a small detail but it greatly contributed to our discussion on why
Gatsby was a Christ-like figure.
Fitzgerald's shows that the fate of those with Old Money will always be greater than
those with New Money, as exhibited in The Great Gatsby. With this thesis statement, I will be
arguing that those with New Money could never be as great as those with Old Money. My first
example will be Gatsby, who worked extremely hard in order to make money, but ended up
dying for his dream: Daisy. My next point is that Nick, who has New Money, was left
heartbroken when his love interest, Jordan who has Old Money, left him without notice. My
last point will be on the Buchanans, who moved away following Gatsby's death and avoiding all
repercussions that they would have encountered had they stayed in New York.
 The biggest revelation I had when reading this book was how many archetypal
situations Fitzgerald set up in this book. The most prevalent one was Gatsby as a Christ-figure.
When I finally realized the connection, it reminded me of when I was reading To Kill a
Mockingbird and I saw the parallels between Atticus and Christ. I had that feeling of shock as
well as accomplishment, seeing that I was able to make broader connections from my own faith
to the text I was currently reading and learning about.