Ms Cotter's Class

Theme Essay Plan 

Your theme is IDENTITY 

Your three texts: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Brooklyn directed by John Crowley, A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen

You have three central points to make:

• First impressions of your central character- initial thoughts on what contributes to your sense of their identity 
• Challenges your character faced which helped shape their identity 
• Moments of revelation at the end of the texts which allowed you to form a final impression of the central character’s identity 

Structure of essay: 

Introduction: Where you introduce your theme, your texts and engage with whatever question is asked. Ensure also to introduce the subheadings you intend to discuss. 

Subheading one: Paragraph one- First impression of Gatsby

Paragraph two- First impression of Eilis

Paragraph three- First impression of Nora 

Subheading two: Paragraph four: Challenges that present themselves to Gatsby

Paragraph five: Challenges to Eilis

Paragraph six: Challenges to Nora

Subheading three: Paragraph seven: Gatsby’s revelation

Paragraph eight: Eilis’s revelation

Paragraph nine: Nora’s revelation

Conclusion 

Plan: 

I am not going to write a stock introduction because you MUST learn to address whatever question is asked in the introduction and avoid having just a stock one prepared. What you should include in your introduction is your theme and the name of your texts, their authors and the three subheadings you will discuss. 

While I don’t want you to merely copy this, the following will help when structuring an introduction:

The theme of Identity permeates the worlds of the three texts I have explored: The Great Gatsby (henceforth, TGG) written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the film Brooklyn, directed by John Crowley and A Doll’s House (henceforth, ADH) written by Henrik Ibsen .In each text, the central characters’ respective identities experience rather significant changes. Throughout my exploration of this rather complex theme, I formed the following insights which I will explore further throughout this essay: my first impression of the central character was important in providing me with an initial impression of their identity, challenges faced by the central characters played an important role in influencing their identities and finally, moments of revelation that occurred towards the end of the narratives played a big role in forming my final impression of a character’s identity. 

Subheading One: First impressions (This section will contain THREE paragraphs)

Anchor text: TGG- Discuss alone first- DO NOT refer forwards 

Paragraph One: 

The Great Gatsby- Gatsby is initially shrouded in mystery. He cuts an enigmatic figure- we hear of his escapades through rumours Nick has heard (discuss these rumours- reference is marked in PINK). Nick’s first sighting of him is at night as he reaches his hand out towards the green light at the other side of the bay. 

Gatsby seems to have cultivated a very careful image of someone who is well-educated and cultured, however Nick is suspicious of this. His house serves as the perfect metaphor for Gatsby, ostentatious and gaudy. His speech is affected, Nick finds his use of the phrase ‘old sport’ odd. 

Paragraph Two:

Brooklyn- Eilis lives in small-town Ireland in the 1950s. She seems disillusioned and frustrated with it. Her friend, Nancy, is singularly focused on capturing the attention of George Sheridan so that she can secure her future in Enniscorthy. Eilis is not interested in securing a husband and seems to deliberately make herself appear unappealing to the local boys. 

Eilis works in the local grocery shop for the particularly elitist Miss Kelly, who seems to represent the small-minded and judgemental attitudes of the time. Eilis appears submissive and shy, struggling to stand up for herself when Miss Kelly criticises her decision to emigrate. 

Comparison with TGG: Eilis is not as concerned with her social standing as Gatsby but it does play an important role in her life. 

Paragraph Three: 

A Doll’s House- Nora initially appears cheerful and in good spirits as she busies herself with preparing for Christmas. She treats herself to macaroons but hides these from her husband, Torvald, who treats her like a child. He condescendingly refers to her as a ‘little spendthrift’. 

Comparison with TGG and Brooklyn: Like Gatsby, Nora enjoys the finer things in life but her means are more limited. While Eilis is controlled by the elitist attitudes present in small-town Ireland, Nora is restricted by her husband. 

Subheading Two: Challenges the character faced (Three Paragraphs)

Paragraph Four: 

TGG- Gatsby’s carefully constructed persona is aimed at attracting the attention and love of Daisy Buchanan. It is entirely false- his money in fact comes from illegal dealings. He succeeds in attracting the attention of Daisy and the two begin an affair, but he continues to lie about his background. He attempts to conceal his true identity. In order to get what he wants, Gatsby has had to invent an identity. 

Paragraph Five:

Like Gatsby, Eilis initially struggles with her sense of self but she is more open and confides in others. Eilis struggles initially in Brooklyn- she has poor social skills and appears homesick. After confiding in Fr. Flood, she soon begins to thrive. She meets Tony Fiorello and enrols in a book-keeping course. Both of these events are a huge catalyst in Eilis’s identity beginning to emerge- she appears confident and self-assured. Her life is soon turned upside-down when her sister, Rose, passes away back in Ireland. This forces Eilis to come home. Her newfound sense of confidence and the skills she learned in book-keeping afford Eilis opportunities in Enniscorthy that she did not have before she left. Soon, Eilis begins to forget about her life (and husband) in New York and struggles with her dilemma. 

Comparison: Eilis begins to thrive and better her social standing through honest work, unlike Gatsby, who has engaged in criminality in order to succeed financially. 

Paragraph Six: 

ADH- Nora confesses to her friend Christine that she took out a loan in order to save her husband’s life. She seems to take pride in the fact that she has been able to keep this a secret, while also engaging in menial jobs to help pay back the loan. It is clear to the audience that we have underestimated Nora. Nora faces a significant challenge when she is blackmailed by Krogstad, who threatens to tell her husband about the loan. It is clear that Nora’s entire identity revolves around her husband’s impression of her. 

Comparison: Similarly to TGG, Nora’s short-lived sense of wealth revolves around deception. Unlike Eilis, who is self-made and independent, Nora relies heavily on her husband and his impression of her.

Subheading Three: Revelations (influenced by a third party) 

Paragraph Seven: 

TGG- Gatsby’s true identity emerges in the explosive scene at the Plaza Hotel. Tom relishes the opportunity to utterly humiliate Gatsby, revealing his criminal dealings to everyone but most significantly, to Daisy. Gatsby loses everything in this scene: the love of his life, but also the identity that he has so carefully cultivated for many years. By the end of the novel, it is difficult to say if we have gotten to know much about Gatsby’s true identity at all. The lack of mourners at his funeral suggests that his true identity is far less appealing than the one he carefully crafted throughout his life. 

Paragraph Eight: 

Brooklyn- Eilis’s decision to return to Brooklyn is heavily influenced by Miss Kelly’s malicious declaration that she is aware that Eilis is married. At the beginning of the film, Eilis was unable to stand up against Miss Kelly but now she is able to proudly state ‘my name is Eilis Fiorello.’ It appears that Eilis realises her true identity is tied to her life in America, where she is truly happy. 

Comparison: Tom’s revelation of Gatsby’s deception utterly destroys him where Miss Kelly fails in her attempt to gain a moral victory over Eilis. Instead of her new-found identity being overshadowed by her deception, she is allowed a sense of liberation and she finally appears to have gained the self-confidence and self-assurance to thrive in the USA. 

Paragraph Nine: 

ADH- Nora’s deception is revealed when Torvald reads Krogstad’s letter (it is important to note that Mrs. Linde allowed this to happen by stating ‘they must come to a full understanding’). Torvald’s reaction is not what Nora expected- he completely rejects her, telling her that he will remain married to her, but only to preserve his reputation. This declaration allows Nora to see the truth: her husband has never really loved her and she has been nothing more than a play-thing for him. Nora makes the controversial decision to leave, realising that she has a ‘sacred duty’ to herself first and foremost. In order to truly realise who she is, she must leave Torvald and his influence behind. 

Nora’s emergent independence is rather incredible, considering how dependent she has been on her husband throughout the text. Her newfound sense of identity emerges here because she realises that she has to learn to know who she is outside of her marriage. Her admirable decision to leave at the end of the text is comparable to Eilis deciding to return to the US- both women make completely autonomous, confident decisions. While the revelation of Gatby’s lies completely destroys him, it seems to be the making of both Eilis and Nora as independent, strong women on the road to self-discovery. Unfortunately for Gatsby, his entire persona is contrived and thus his identity is fully entwined with this deception. 

Conclusion