Damian To

Mrs. Storer
English 3H: Block 1
02/19/2020
Socratic Circle Reflection
(1) Summary of the Discussion
Our Socratic circle discussion was on the book The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The
main points and questions that my inner circle had discussed was the importance of color in the
story and whether Gatsby was a Christlike character. On the discussion of color, the discussion
had focused on the green-light that had signified Gatsby’s dream. The main consensus of
Gatsby’s dream is that his dream was immature for thinking of Daisy as an Idea rather than a
person. Secondly, there were some conflicting views on whether Gatsby was a Christlike figure
or not. On the agreement side, many had stated that he was willing to sacrifice his future by
claiming responsibility for Daisy’s actions. However, on the contrary, some had viewed Gatsby
as someone similar to Al Capone due to his involvement in alcohol bootlegging and his
association with Wolfsheim.

(2) Reflection on Performance

The first most original opinion on the text was that Gatsby was similar to Al Capone and his drug
cartel. This was an insightful thought because it allowed the class to think outside of the box to
find the similarities between the two, his association with Wolfsheim, alcohol bootlegging, and
this was during the time period where Al Capone was prevalent. The second most original
argument was that Gatsby was a Christlike figure due to his betrayal of Tom and dying for the
sins of Daisy. This allows the class to see the similarities between the two and think of Tom in a
different way, seeing him as originally someone who never truly trusted Gatsby and would be
willing to give him up for something worthless, such as securing a future with a wife that truly
doesn’t love him. The first most original piece of evidence in the story was the connection of
how Gatsby was talking to Tom in the garden which is similar to the garden in which Jesus
prayed in before willingly entering into his passion. This allows the class to further connect
Gatsby as someone who has Christlike qualities, he is communicating with Nick and getting
confirmation that him sacrificing his future for Daisy was the correct decision. The second most
important piece of evidence was comparing the car crash involving Mrytle to the valentine’s day
massacre of Al Capone. It further instills into the class that Gatsby wasn’t an innocent person,
this is because he had willing let another person die without stopping to check on her well-being.
This shows his similarity to Al Capone in their lack of compassion for human life.

(3) Reflection on Content

My thesis would be as follows: The first sentence of the story was significant because it shows
Nick’s quick to judge nature and negative outlook on characters in the story. In this essay, I
would use evidence of his first impressions of Tom and Gatsby. When he first meets Tom he
views him as aggressive and an overall mean person. Furthermore, it would show Nick’s
contradicting statement in the first sentence about not criticizing everyone because some may not
be as fortunate as you. Secondly, I would mention how he had an automatic skepticism and
negative outlook on Gatsby’s life from the start, when Gatsby was attempting to tell Nick of his
past, Nick often didn’t believe a word from his mouth. This would also go against his beliefs in
the first sentence, he is judging Gatsby about his past when all Gatsby is trying to do is make
friends because he doesn’t have connections and friends like Nick does.
This text was greatly connected to our current agenda in APUSH, during the time of
reading the book, we were learning the historical context of the Jazz age along with all the crime
that was associated with it. It helped, I understand the story and was able to analyze the quotes
with a newfound perspective, I would be able to make connections with real-world events that
happened during the time period. Furthermore, it allowed me to come up with perspectives of the
text which were original and unique, such as making the connection between Gatsby and Al
Capone. Lastly, this story can relate to everyone in the lessons that it tries to teach us, it shows us
that lying in life will only create more problems and that wealth and materialistic items would
not help you achieve true happiness but would also cause our downfall.
Checklist
Before turning in a reflection, use the following checklist to ensure you have included all the
necessary requirements to receive full credit:

______ One-to-two pages, single-spaced, 12-point font, typed

______ MLA Header: Your name, the teacher’s name, the course title and block, and the due
date of this reflection
______ Centered Title: Socratic Circle Reflection on [the subject of this particular Socratic
circle]
______ One paragraph reflection on the performance of your group
______ One paragraph reflecting on your individual performance
______ A thesis statement for an “imaginary” essay on this text
______ One paragraph explaining the main points of that “imaginary” essay
______ One paragraph explaining the connections you made between the text and your own life