LITERATURE PORTFOLIO

Writer: Nguyễn Thị Thu Phương

Student ID: 1917710127
Number in the class list: 13
Room: TAN111(1+2.2/2021)
Total work: 7
 LITERATURE PORTFOLIO

The connection between "The Great Gatsby" vs "Titanic" and a blow-minded

theory........................................................................................................................3

Different attitude toward first impression in "Pride and Prejudice" vs " Romeo
and Juliet"................................................................................................................5

Fairy Tales In Classics – “Pride And Prejudice” vs “Beauty And The Beast”....6

“Little Prince” - What's Essential Is Invisible To The Eye?..................................8

“Midnight in Paris” - Lesson about the artist’s life.............................................10

“Pride and Prejudice” - Marry for money or for love?........................................11

“Pride and Prejudice” - Who is prideful and who is prejudiced?........................13

 THE CONNECTION BETWEEN "THE GREAT GATSBY"
VS "TITANIC"
AND A BLOW-MINDED THEORY.

“ The Great Gatsby” ( F. Scott Fitzgerald)

And
“Titanic”  ( James Cameron )

Topic: Plot & Themes

After watching the movie “ The Great Gatsby”  based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's
1925 novel of the same name, in which the star Leonardo DiCaprio plays the role of
the main character Jay Gatsby, I realize that there are some connections between this
movie and “Titanic” - one of the classic and must- watch movie of all time, in which 
Leonardo DiCaprio also acts as the main character. Moreover, I suppose that  “The
Great Gatsby” is a "sequel" to “Titanic”.

In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald emphasizes the corruptions of the

American Dream by conveying the consequences derived from wealth. These
consequences include the domination of wealth in the social hierarchy and the lack of
social mobility. Similar to The Great Gatsby, the movie Titanic illustrates the dangers
that arise from a relationship between an upper-class female and a lower-class male,
in addition to revealing the true, depraved American Dream.
 
“Titanic” and “The Great Gatsby” both emphasize the ethicality of
unattainable social mobility through the two protagonists, Gatsby and Jack.
However, the only way to achieve social mobility is through conning. For example,
Gatsby “was in the drug business” in order to join the upper class and become “his
Platonic conception of himself”. Additionally, Jack risked his entire savings in a
game of poker for the chance of attaining Titanic boarding passes. Luckily, Jack
won the tickets and came aboard the Titanic, which was supposed to sail to America
and allow Jack to move up in the social hierarchy because of his insight into the
first-class passengers.
“In The Great Gatsby” and “Titanic”, the wealthy female character develops a
relationship with a poorer man and is then faced to choose between him and a
wealthier man. In The Great Gatsby, Daisy fell in love with Gatsby, but he “let her
believe that he was a person from much the same stratum as herself”. This facade
resulted in a fallacious relationship. Additionally, Gatsby compared Daisy with a
“grail” and it “excited him, too, that many men had already loved Daisy – it increased
her value in his eyes”. Viewing Daisy as a price and judging her “value,” Gatsby
proves that he only loved Daisy because she was a part of his façade. However, Daisy
ultimately chose Tom over Gatsby because he was wealthier. Despite Tom’s affairs,
Daisy stayed with him because of their wealthy appearance. In Titanic, Rose was
engaged to Cal because her mother pressured Rose to marry him for his money.
Despite Jack’s lower-class status, Rose chose him over Cal. After the shipwreck, Rose
was sitting in one of the last lifeboats but jumped back onto the ship in order to be
with Jack. By returning to the sinking ship, Rose choose Jack over wealth and safety.
Finally, I imagine that “The Great Gatsby” is a "sequel" to “Titanic”. When I
watched “ The Great Gatsby” I can see how Leonardo DiCaprio’s Gatsby is
obviously Jack from Titanic.  And how the movie is obviously an alternate timeline
where he survived the sinking of the ship and went on to build a life for himself in
America in an attempt to reunite with Rose. What if Jack had not died on Titanic?.
When you look at Leonardo DiCaprio’s 21st-century film career, it seems like he’s
constantly trying to answer that question. Another movie, a new timeline, and still it
seems that Jack never achieves his goal of reuniting with Rose and living happily
ever after.
 DIFFERENT ATTITUDE TOWARD FIRST IMPRESSION IN "PRIDE AND
PREJUDICE" VS " ROMEO AND JULIET"

“Pride and prejudice” ( Jane Austen)

And
“ Romeo and Juliet” ( William Shakespeare )

Topic: Themes

 
       “First impression lasts. You haven’t a second to make first impression”. While
Jane Austen through  “Pride and Prejudice” shows that people should rethink their
initial judgment, other literature such as Romeo and Juliet indicates that first
impression has positive effects on people’s memory.
        First impressions do play an important role in the novel. Both protagonists are
misled in their judgment the first time meet each other. Darcy first considered
Elizabeth as “tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt (him)”. From that
Elizabeth rises initial prejudice against Darcy. She is left with no cordial feeling
towards Darcy. In addition, Elizabeth is wrongly prejudiced in favor of Wickham,
charmed by her fine countenance, pleasing addresses, and his flattering attention. In
the end, they have to struggle to put down their pride and get rid of their prejudice to
realize their love for one another. Austen’s novel shows that so not believe in the first
impression because it is just a blend of superficiality.
         On the other hand, in other literature like “Romeo and Juliet” Shakespeare show
that the first impression is effective and love at first sight is believable. When Romeo
first catches sight of Juliet at the Capulet ball, he refers to her as the brightest thing in
the room and compares her beauty to a "snowy dove trooping with crows." He also
asks himself, "Did my heart love till now?" and calls his eyes liars in the line,
"forswear it, sight!". Right away, Romeo feels himself to be very attracted to Juliet's
beauty, and this compels him to ask if he has ever loved before now. Likewise, it is a
true account to portray Juliet as falling in love with Romeo so quickly. Shakespeare
also depicts Juliet as falling in love with Romeo at first sight based on looks, in the
one simple chorus line, "Alike bewitched by the charm of looks.  At the end of the
novel, Romeo and Juliet are willing to die for each other.
           In my opinion, I suppose that Romeo - young men are likely to just have fallen
in love with a beautiful girl, simply because of Juliet’s beauty. Therefore, it is not a
stretch for Shakespeare to portray Romeo as loving with his eyes, rather than with his
heart. After a long time of interaction, they can understand and fall in love with each
other. It is true that “It takes a second to judge someone but a lifetime to understand
them”
 FAIRY TALES IN CLASSICS –
“PRIDE AND PREJUDICE” VS “BEAUTY AND THE BEAST”

“Pride and prejudice” ( Jane Austen)

vs
“ Beauty and the beast” (Fairy Tale)

Topic: Plots and Themes

 Last Friday, after attending the presentation about “ Beauty and the Beast “ of
a group in literature class, I suddenly realized that this fairy tale and the classic novel:
“Pride and Prejudice” in terms of plot and themes. 
First, I think that "Pride and Prejudice" has exactly the same plot structure as
"Beauty and the Beast".  Let’s examine the evidence. Here’s a breakdown of the basic
plot, as it relates to both stories:
1. Two people meet in unfortunate circumstances.  They don’t like each
other.
2. He starts to like/need her, but she still doesn’t like him.
3. He makes a move on her and she refuses.
4. He lets her go/does something genuinely loving for her.
5. She realizes she loves him when it seems too late.
6. Love affects a transformation.
Just like Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, the Belle and the Beast “appear” to
dislike each other. Little does she know that Beast’s personality and bitterness is a
result of his inner hatred for himself. Just like Mr. Darcy, he knows his fault: “I have
faults enough, but they are not, I hope, of understanding. My temper I dare not vouch
for. It is, I believe, too little yielding — certainly too little for the convenience of the
world… My temper would perhaps be called resentful. My good opinion once lost is
lost forever” But why is this? Why is his personality so dreadful? It is because the
Beast was raised under wealthy circumstances. His pride grew exponentially and he
learned not to care for others outside of his social class. The Beast was then cursed to
live a life of ugliness, recluse from the outside world. Mr. Darcy, in comparison, also
grew up like the Beast and grew an arrogant pride. He did not consider others
situations and, consequently, attained a character that was reserved and cold. 
However, everything changed when he met Elizabeth. After discovering the
fact that she had accused Mr. Darcy of all the wrong reasons, Elizabeth Bennet is
ashamed. Upon her arrival at his home in Pemberley, Elizabeth gets a taste of his
wealth and learns of his good character and conduct as well. In Beauty and the Beast,
the Beast’s mansion is of a magnificent scale. Rid of all of her initial prejudice of Mr.
Darcy, Elizabeth begins to fall in love with him. His kindness towards her, she feels
she cannot repay. In Beauty and the Beast, Belle and the Beast spend a long period of
time together and begin to fall in love as well. In the end, Belle’s warm and innocent
character and liveliness help soften the Beast’s bitterness and change him completely.
It is Elizabeth’s liveliness as well that seems most befitting for Mr. Darcy’s wife: “It
was a union that must have been to the advantage of both – by her ease and liveliness,
his mind might have been softened, his manners improved”(Austen).
There are other shades of "Beauty and the Beast" in "Pride and Prejudice" as
well, and it is about the theme of love and marriages. For example, the contract by
which Beauty’s father sells her to the Beast. This is all about arranged marriage.  A
daughter can be sold to a husband she has never met and expected to share her life –
and her bed – with him.  This is a scary business! No wonder the husband appears to
be a Beast.
Pride and Prejudice, too, is all about the marriage market. That is evident from
the first sentence: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in
possession of a large fortune, must be in want of a wife.” We are told that the business
of Mrs. Bennet’s life is to get her daughters married. Getting a husband is the only
way for a woman to be financially secure, get out from under her parent’s feet and run
her own home. This can mean settling for a husband you do not love or even respect.
Charlotte Collins (previously Lucas) knows the truth of this, when she says,
“Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance,” and accepts Mr. Collins. In the
film, she defies Lizzy to judge her for this choice. Lydia, on the other hand, is carried
away by passion into a foolish marriage, which “soon sunk into indifference.” 
In my mind, Pride & Prejudice and Beauty and the Beast are two of the most
beautiful hate/love stories of all time. 
 “LITTLE PRINCE” - WHAT'S ESSENTIAL IS INVISIBLE TO THE EYE?

Novel’s name: “Little Prince”

Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Topic: Quotes

"Goodbye," said the Fox. "Here is my secret. It's quite simple: One sees clearly
only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes."
-The fox, p. 63-
This is perhaps the most famous line in the book: “Little Prince” by Antoine de
Saint-Exupéry, and for a good reason: it sets out the author's viewpoint on what makes
life truly worth living, which is to cultivate relationships that are based on deep and
meaningful connections rather than superficial ones. It allows the prince to understand
what the issue was with his rose and to appreciate her for who she truly is. It solidifies
the pilot's understanding of why the little prince is so special and what exactly the
pilot was onto back when he was a child and drew the boa constrictor with the
elephant in its stomach. Numbers, pride, compliments, books, and other such things
the grownups thought as important, actually are not. 
As human beings, our tendency is to focus on something physical, external,
peripheral. We often miss the point for we failed to get through and discover what is
behind such as love, friendship, hope, compassion which are invisible to the eyes. Yet
we waste our time and energy chasing things that are socially considered as aesthetic,
hunt for all the materialistic things but still we find ourselves nowhere but short of
true contentment. This is another line from the same author: "The best and most
beautiful in the world cannot be seen or even touched-they must be felt with the
heart."
After reading this quote, my mind comes up with one of the two big topics that
often get debated are money and love. For some, they think that money is important
because, without money, their relationship will fall. On the other hand, some people
think that love is more important than money, and the reason being that money can’t
buy love and love is what makes the world go around. In my opinion, both money and
love are important in life. Perhaps, we should love and money like our hands and our
legs. Do you think that your legs are more important? Or your hands are more
important? Probably, both hands and legs are important and you definitely do not
want to lose any of them. The same can be said for love and money. Both can be
important in their own way to make our life work. Money should not be the main
objective of your relationship. And financial success usually comes as a result of a
partnership that works, from love. That is why it is important to have both money and
love. And you need to learn how to make both work for you in life.
 
 
 “MIDNIGHT IN PARIS” - LESSON ABOUT THE ARTIST’S LIFE.

Novel’s name: “Midnight in Paris”

Author: Woody Allen
Topic: Themes

This weekend, watched “ Midnight in Paris” starring Owen Wilson and Rachel
McAdams, and I was surprised by how much I can learn bout the artist’s life.
Midnight in Paris, a film by Woody Allen, Make me thoroughly enjoyed it. The
setting is definitively Parisian, the cinematography nostalgic, and the plot inventively
clever. What I loved about the movie is that it was made particularly for creatives and
their lives. 
 First, artists are often misunderstood by people. Gil is not only misunderstood
by Inez, he is disdained by her. She and others always scoff at his lofty dreams of
traveling and writing a novel. This ultimately sends him searching for his ideas. I
know the artists sometimes have to grips with the fact that to be creative is to be
misunderstood, but when dealing with this problem, they have to always remember
the importance of not disconnecting themselves entirely from the rest of the world.
They cannot inspire that which they are not a part of.
  Second, Artists need their own communities. When Gil is so misunderstood
and restless, he walks the streets of Paris at night, then the community of world-
famous writers and artists that take him in. Accordingly,  he learns two important
lessons that he needs the companionship of others to be true to his voice and that the
community around him is not the right one. 
 After this novel, I realize everyone is not alone. Every writer, painter,
photographer, and filmmaker, or other creatives is not alone. Artists must find a
community that will encourage them. They must live in the tension of being
misunderstood and dissatisfied with the way things are and being called to create art
that inspires and leads people to believe in something more.  Nowadays, with the
rapid economic growth, people are paying more attention to art because of the desire
for happiness and self-expression. Art is important Without the songs you listen to
while you exercise or work, you might not be able to accomplish whatever it is you’re
working on. That’s some powerful stuff. Moreover, in the increasingly digital, it is
easier for artists to find their community on the internet through groups, blogs, and
forums.
 “PRIDE AND PREJUDICE” - MARRY FOR MONEY OR FOR LOVE?

Novel’s name: “Pride and prejudice”

Author: Jane Austen
Topic: Quotes

"IT IS A TRUTH UNIVERSALLY ACKNOWLEDGED, THAT A SINGLE MAN

IN POSSESSION OF A GOOD FORTUNE, MUST BE IN WANT OF A WIFE."

- Narrator, Volume I: Chapter 1 -

 In the first line of the novel, Austen wrote: “It is a truth universally
acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a
wife" revealing two of its primary themes: marriage and class (particularly as
indicated by money). In the world of Pride and Prejudice, individuals are defined by
their marital opportunities and financial holdings. However, the irony in this line
conceals an implicit criticism. The novel had begun simply with "A single man
possessed of a good fortune must be in want of a wife," we'd wait for a romantic story.
We might expect the next sentence to describe an aristocratic Colin Firth lookalike
galloping full-tilt toward the Bennets' house at Longbourn. But prefacing that clause
with "It is a truth universally acknowledged" implies that's only what most people say
they believe — after all, if everybody really does accept it, why bother to mention the
fact? In fact, as Austen says in the following sentence, nobody really cares what the
wealthy man himself thinks he needs. There's only one truth that matters to Mrs.
Bennet and the other families in the neighborhood — that a daughter who has no
fortune must be found a well-to-do husband to look after her, which Mrs. Bennet has
made "the business of her life." Each Miss Bennet knows that without a husband of
decent means and status, she risks living a life as a powerless and potentially destitute
spinster. 

 Nowadays with the increase in materialism, some women choose to marry for
money, not for love, in my opinion, money can’t replace a husband who loves you. .
Frist, money can be earned more easily than love. You can always learn new skills
and earn more money. It also comes with more experience in your professional area in
most cases. But to find someone to love and trust is a completely different story.
Second, ff you lose the love of your partner, you lose something that can`t be gained
back in most cases, so be grateful for him more than the money this person can give
you. Moreover, put him above the other candidates for your heart. Finally, No one can
predict the future - the person in front of you can lose all his money in a flash. So
don't put all your hopes into this. Marriage becomes greater with time because of the
love and trust between the partners, not because of the financial status of the family.
In conclusion, love always wins!
 “PRIDE AND PREJUDICE” - WHO IS PRIDEFUL AND WHO IS
PREJUDICED?

Novel’s name: “Pride and prejudice”

Author: Jane Austen
Topic: Characters

 In the novel, Jane Austen used the pairing of two keywords for the title: “ Pride
and Prejudice” making most of the readers may make a guess that these two words are
describing the two main characters, so the question raised in audiences’ minds is Who
is prideful and who is prejudiced? First, Elizabeth, The second daughter of Mr.
Bennet, is the most intelligent and sensible of the five Bennet sisters. She is well-read
and quick-witted, but her sharp tongue and tendency to make hasty judgments often
lead her astray. Mr. Darcy, A wealthy gentleman, the master of Pemberley, is also
intelligent and forthright; nevertheless, he tends to judge too hastily and harshly. 

 In my opinion, Both of the protagonists are prideful and prejudiced!. Elizabeth
prides herself on her ability to analyze other people, but she was often mistaken in her
conclusions. She is already negatively prejudiced against Darcy and prejudiced in
favor of Wickham. Darcy’s pride is understandable due to his wealth and high social
position. Darcy also shows prejudice by very quick making judgments about the
people he met. At the end, Both Elizabeth and Darcy must overcome feelings of pride
and prejudice to realize their love for one another. Austen’s novel shows that almost
anyone is capable of being prideful and prejudiced. While these qualities are more or
less universal, individuals who are able to rethink their initial judgments are the ones
who are most likely to lead happy lives. 
     
  I actually have my own pride and prejudice. I used to proud of myself that I
was able to get into one of the most prestigious universities of Vietnam, which was
known as Havard of Vietnam. In addition, I also made prejudice on people who can
not get into a university that they do not be smart, study hard enough. However, after
that year’s summer vacation, I had changed my mind completely. That summer I went
to my family’s factory to help my parents, and I had a chance to work with a boy the
same age as me, he had to go go to work because he could not get into a university.
Working with him, I realized that he was very good at He is very good at measuring,
calculating, and is skillful to make products from wood. In contrast, I am with better
knowledge background than him could not do this as well as him. From then on, I
have to rethink my initial judgment about people who not good at studying. Most
people have their own advantages and disadvantages, some people do not good at
learning but they do a great job at working or others. “ Do not judge people based on
one thing, every coin has two sides.