Q4 English Benchmark

In the Great Gatsby, there's a certain portrayal of the women in the story. The image placed on women is expressed through the relationships of Tom and Daisy, The Wilsons, also Jay Gatsby and Daisy. Each one with its own level of clarity but never the less throughout all it all it's seen that the women are often more of possessions than humans.

The first relationship that will be analyzed is Tom and Daisy’s. Tom and Daisy are one of the main sets of characters that are seen and broken down in the story. The two are married but as more is learned about them it's seen that their marriage isn't all that perfect. In a discussion pertaining to this topic, a classmate named Janae said "Women seem to be very undervalued in this society. Tom does not treat his wife in the best way. Tom and Daisy are in an unhealthy marriage. They are bonded by wealth instead of love. On page 127 Daisy calls Tom out for making smart remarks. Personally, I feel as if this shows that he doesn't have respect for his wife because not only is he being ignorant but it's also in public." In agreeance with this quote, Tom doesn't his wife much respect throughout the story, often he tries to control and instate his dominance upon her while also having a mistress. Also, this is express in the story when the story states "There is no confusion like the confusion of a simple mind, and as we drove away Tom was feeling the hot whips of panic. His wife and his mistress, until an hour ago secure and inviolate were slipping precipitately from his control."

A similar situation is seen in the disagreement between Gatsby and Tom in the last few chapters. During this time the two were in a heated battle to claim Daisy. This is also where Gatsby who was previously thought to be Tom's opposite showed similarities to him instead. In chapter 7 Jay and Tom argue " Your wife doesn't love you," said Gatsby. "She's never loved you. She loves me." After Tom's response, he then goes on to say "She never loved you, do you hear? he cried. "She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me. It was a terrible mistake, but in her heart, she never loved any one except me!" In these quotes from Gatsby, it is clear that he sees Daisy as no one else's woman but his and several times in this same disagreement between the two does he state things in her name without asking her once for her input or opinion.

In conclusion throughout the entirety of the book, the role of women is a recurring portrayal of women being trophies and possessions of the male characters. Its seen with Jay, Tom, and the other male to female relationships shown in the book that have yet to be mentioned

The American Dream has been the perpetuated end goal for many years to date. However, as much as I agree it has undoubtedly become a harder goal to achieve for the recent generations. The poster above gives a quick statistic of one of the most important aspects of the American Dream which is ultimately owning a home. The biggest problem to account for the reduction in homeowners is the lack of financial education on top of the growing expense Millenials are stacked with of student loans as said in the quotes seen on the poster. The statue of liberty in the middle of the title "Myth about the American Dream" is meant to signify how society in the U.S. remains stuck in the same American Dream that was constructed years ago without making changes to adapt to the changing times.

I made this while reading the chapters where there was a lot of world-building and introduction of different characters. I specifically thought that a Text connection response would be best because it was a way to deepen my understanding of the text by associating it with my own personal experience. The Instagram post below was a response that I thought depending on the character and moments in the characters life could be interesting to try to give them a more modern personality