Veronica Molina

Storer
English 3H, Block 4
February 20, 2020
Socratic Circle Reflection: The Great Gatsby
For this Socratic circle, I was apart of the second inner circle. This Socratic circle, our
group discussed the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. My group and I discussed many
questions from 6-10 during our time in the inner circle. For example, my group and I began with
question #6 about power. Gillian mentioned how she thought Daisy had a lot of power
throughout the story, as she had both Gatsby and Tom fighting over her. However, she also
mentioned how Daisy lacks power because she cannot speak for herself. We then transitioned to
question #9 about interruptions. For this question, I actually shared my thoughts. I mentioned
how these interruptions might have had to do with the time period, but it was also a way for Tom
to assert his power over Daisy. I thought this because Tom speaks in such an aggressive way and
is constantly interrupting Daisy throughout the story and he continues to talk and talk over topics
that do not even interest him. After that question, my group finished off with question #10 about
whether or not Gatsby was a Christlike figure. Many people in my group said how they thought
Gatsby was not a Christ-figure, as he objectified Daisy and he perpetuated sin through the parties
he threw.
Some of the most original arguments that were shared during this discussion was by
Maddie about how Gatsby was not Christlike, as he perpetuated sin through his parties. This was
an insightful observation because I did not think of his parties this way. Another original
argument that I heard was by Ms. Storer about whether Jesus actually died for us. Though I
disagreed with what Ms. Storer said, she brought a deeper discussion to our Socratic circle.
Maddie and Brynn provided many good responses to this question, by saying how Jesus
expected death, while Gatsby did not. They said how even though Jesus had the ability to save
himself, he still sacrificed himself to save humanity from sin. Many people also provided many
good textual evidences from the book. However, I think Brynn provided a good piece of
evidence from the book where she shows that Gatsby objectifies Daisy. I thought this was a good
piece of evidence because it shows how Gatsby was not Christlike through him objectifying
Daisy.
Thesis: Through Daisy and Myrtle living in a male dominated world in the 20th century,
one learns about each female’s wants, their social classes, and their relationships with males.
In this imaginary essay, I would be comparing and contrasting Myrtle and Daisy. I would
first begin by talking about their personal desires. I would mention how both female’s feel they
are missing something in their life. I would say how Daisy is always searching for love with
Tom, while Myrtle is just with George for financial stability. Both these women feel their current
relationships cannot handle this, so they turn to affairs with different men. I would then transition
to my second body paragraph and talk about the difference in both of their social classes. I would
say how Myrtle was born poor and married poor, while Daisy was born into money and married
into money. I would then say how Myrtle desires to act as if she were part of a higher class.
Lastly, I would talk about the relationships these women have with men. I would say how they
are both in toxic relationships, especially with Tom.
This connects to the Feminist theory, which we learned last semester. The feminist theory
is so present in the Great Gatsby, especially through the female characters. They live in a society
in which men dominate, and they do not have as much power. They are constantly abused by
Tom and his aggressive nature. They do not have the power to speak up for themselves or do not
have the strength to say no to Tom because they will end up getting abused.