Isabella Fernandez

English III H Block 4

Mrs. Storer

20 February 2020

Socratic Circle Reflection, “The Great Gatsby”

During the Socratic Circle, my circle digested questions two and three mostly, which
seemed to be the questions that everyone wanted to discuss. The questions of is Tom a reliable
narrator, and does Gatsby truly love Daisy. The group seemed to agree on the idea that Tom is
not a reliable narrator based on the fact that he very biased. Tom is biased in his descriptions of
Tom, who he views negatively and Gatsby who he favors over everyone. Sometimes he presents
a story out of order, or he’s not present for an event, and finally because he sometimes obscures
the truth. The complex understanding of Gatsby is entirely dependent on Nick’s narration. In
relation to question three, most of the group could agree that Gatsby does not completely love
Daisy or at least mistakes what he believes is love for obsession of a life he desires. He is
projecting everything he wants and desires onto her and confusing that with love. To him, she
represents wealth, fame, power, and all that is "golden". Yet, Tom’s love proves to be more
robust than Gatsby’s in the Darwinian sense. In the end, the group concluded more that Tom
loved Daisy in a different way than Gatsby, and surprisingly enough, Tom’s love seemed more
sincere than Gatsby’s in a sense.

In the second group discussion, the topic of who holds power between the characters, became
mostly narrowed in the women characters of the book—Daisy and Jordan. I thought it was very
interesting how some related the power that Daisy held in relation to the corresponding time
period in the book. Daisy is shown to be treated as a typical woman in the 1920s—one who men
treated as unimportant by constantly interrupting her, speaking for her, and neglecting her
opinion by simply deciding for her. This can be shown in both Gatsby and Tom, as they both
assume Daisy to act or be a certain way. Gatsby plans out a life for both of them with Daisy and
how they are going to run away together, and she will tell Tom she doesn’t love him. Although,
Daisy has no knowledge of the plans she “is going to do”. I thought It was very insightful how
they connected the time period to the power they hold. Jordan, on the other hand, does not seem
to be treated the same as Daisy as she does not get interrupted, etc. Which contradicts the theory
of the time period directly correlating Daisy’s power. Another argument that I found insightful
was how the group compared the death of Gatsby with the death of Christ, I loved how they
connected two completely independent topics with each other and created a deeper analysis of
the meaning behind both deaths. This theme also relates to Gatsby being seen as a “God figure”
which relates mostly to his death. How he “died for Daisy” or if he didn’t die for her, per say. I
believe the most original piece of evidence shown in the discussion, would be Julie’s quote from
the bible to support her opinion. I think it really showed a contrasting example of evidence to
back up her claim, as well as using textual evidence from the book.

Thesis: In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the themes of obsession, power, and
selflessness further serve to create an imaginary version of Jay Gatsby.
In this imaginary essay, I would talk about the three topics which I found most interesting from
what I heard in the discussion; Gatsby’s obsession of the idea of Daisy which is mistaken for
love, the power that Gatsby and Daisy both hold, and the selfless motives which Gatsby
ultimately manifested. Gatsby’s idea of her became inflated over five years of absence. He shuts
down his parties and fires his staff to protect her from gossip, insists on the confrontation with
Tom, and after the car accident is prepared to go to jail for her. His actions clearly show that he
loves her, but does he really? Or is Gatsby simply trying to obtain what he has wanted his whole
life—a true social and economic status in society, one which is not faked or forged. Through his
parties, Gatsby has managed to seem of a high social and economic status yet tacky and over the
top. He believes he will attain everything he wants through Daisy, and views her as a prize as a
“golden girl”. The power that Gatsby shows throughout the book is evident through the behavior
he inflicts on Daisy and the way he manages to control her and everything around him—
including his life and what people perceive of him. Daisy does not have power yet Jordan does.
In the end, Gatsby’s actions confuse the reader when thinking about Gatsby’s “true love” for
Daisy as he “sacrifices himself” for her, in a Christ-like way. He is willing to go to jail for her for
a murder he did not commit and put in danger everything he has worked for in his life. When he
is killed, Gatsby dies and the last thought he has is of Daisy.

I have noticed, throughout my years of experience with Socratic Circles, that they help greatly to
help me understand a subject immersively. Hearing the different points of views from my
classmates in an open discussion, and how each of them comprehended the same text really helps
me look at it in another perspective. One example that I can think of when discussing how
hearing different points of opinions help me understand a subject better and maybe take a
different approach when interpreting it, is that when I got really mad with a friend. I was really
worked up over a discussion that we had had. But after I talked about it with my mom and
brother and listened to their opinions, and different approach to the view, I realized that I was
getting mad about something insignificant and immature.