Victor Duenas Gonzalez

Ms. Storer
English 3H; Block 5
February 20, 2020
Socratic Circle Reflection: The Great Gatsby
The discussion was based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. I participated
in the second inner circle. Two questions were the base for the discussion: question six and
question ten. Question six inquired the following: “Some characters seem to have power in one
aspect but seem to be utterly vulnerable in another. Choose one character and examine how s/he
is both incredibly powerful and incredibly weak/vulnerable at the same time. What does this
dichotomy tell us about true power?” Amalia answered this question by stating that Gatsby is
powerful due to his wealth. Samantha then added that it is true that Gatsby is a wealthy man but
when it comes to Daisy, he is a weaker. Alex Guzman backs this up by reading a quote on page
one-hundred-thirty-four. Emilio gives a new perspective by stating that Daisy feels empowered
for having control over others (such as Gatsby). Michael builds on Emilio’s opinion by
presenting the opinion that Daisy is also Tom’s weakness as shown when Tom punches Myrtle.
Itzel disagrees with Micahel because Daisy is powerful in making things go her way; the only
exception is Tom because she has to listen to him. Timothy adds yet another point by stating that
Tom is physically powerful but not intellectually powerful. The discussion then shifts to question
ten: “Could Gatsby be considered a Christ-figure? Why or why not?” Almost all who spoke gave
reasons why Gatsby is and is not a Christ figure. Max starts the dialogue by reading a quote in
page ninety-eight to prove his idea that Gatsby was influential and was like “the son of God.”
Maximo contrasts this idea by reading a passage on page one-hundred-thirty-three where Tom
exposes Gatsby and concludes that Gatsby isn’t a Christ-figure, for he lies and breaks the law.
Emilio agrees with Max. Multiple group members disagree with the opinion given by Max and
Emilio because they argued that Gatsby is just attempting to repeat the past. I was the last one
who spoke, I said something similar to Max in regard to why Gatsby is not Christ-like, but I also
stated that Gatsby is Christ-like because like Christ, almost no one attended his funeral.
The two most original arguments made in the Socratic seminar were from Kate’s and
Wentao’s points. Kate stated that people cannot be truly powerful because they cannot be
respected by everyone and respect from everyone is indispensable for power to flourish. This is
the first time I have ever heard the opinion Kate shared and I do believe it has some truth in it.
An authority cannot successfully guide those below him if he is not respected by all of them, for
riots can occur. Wentao stated that in order to gain something one has to lose something. I
though his opinion was insightful because in a sense it explained why many of the characters
partook in many actions that fulfilled their desires but that brought them very negative
consequences, such as in the case of Gatsby and Daisy. Gatsby got to see Daisy again but it
eventually, though indirectly, led him to lose his life. The most original piece of evidence was
used by Kate to argue why Myrtle has power over Gatsby but not over Tom. I think this because
the point she made was not one that anyone probably thought of and to prove it she needed a
totally different type of textual evidence than what being used by other students.
The author pays specific attention to the setting of The Great Gatsby because it provides
the tone that guides a reader’s ideas and emotion throughout the novel; this is exemplified
through his theme that a negligent and hedonistic life leads to the annihilation of values and
structure in a society. Fitzgerald first sets the tone for this theme by including an intriguing
description of the Valley of Ashes (the setting): “This is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm
where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens where ashes take the
forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men
who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air. Occasionally a line of grey
cars crawls along an invisible track, gives out a ghastly creak and comes to rest, and immediately
the ash-grey men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud which screens
their obscure operations from your sight” (Fitzgerald 23). In this passage there is a lot of
symbolism, such as the ashes and grey cars, and words, such as grotesque and ghastly, that
connote a negative message. A message that describes the social and moral decay found in the
novel as a result of the people’s inability to not be controlled by their money. This novel took
place in the Roaring 20s—a time when traditional social conventions changed. For many people,
pleasure became the main objective. However, pleasure by itself cannot bring true happiness. An
inordinate amount of something leads to the breakdown of another—in this case, morality.
I want to focus to focus on the following concept discussed in the Socratic seminar: the
effect of the past on the future of a person’s life. In my opinion, I believe that Gatsby was trying
to build his past with events that took place in the past. However, he was unable to understand
that the past cannot be relived: what happened in the past will never reoccur because one cannot
go back in time. I tend to think of the past and desire to have done something different or retry
again. For example, when I was in ninth grade, I asked a girl in my school something, and I wish
I would have never asked her anything because from that moment our relationship (nothing
special though) slowly fell into a void. I often wonder how it would have been if I wouldn’t have
said anything. My mom has taught me that I should focus on the present not on the past—that I
should only use the past as a learning experience. She also tells me that life is too short to be
constantly thinking of what happened or did not happen. The past sometimes can be painful and
that hurt can cause resentment, which is detrimental to the person and those encompassing him
or her. Through Campus Ministry I have learned that the best thing that I can do to have a good
future is to trust in God. I just have to choose to do so. There is no opportunity to relive the past,
but there is an opportunity to live the present.