NOTE FOR NERD: Please add and revise this annotation log.

Annotation Log Instructions

Strong readers annotate, and all students will be asked to keep a written annotation log as we’re
reading each text this year. I expect most students to keep this in their English notebook. If you
choose to, you may keep this log digitally instead, using the suggested table template provided
on the next page. If you choose to keep a digital annotation log, you must have it accessible each
day in class, as we’ll often use these log entries as part of our daily classwork. Accessible means
either having a printed hard copy or a charged personal laptop; I will not accept homework
shown to me on your smartphone. You are expected to maintain your annotation log
independently and should always have it out along with your copy of the text we’re reading
during class.

Throughout the unit, I will occasionally check specific log entries in class—if you don’t have
that day’s completed log with you, you won’t get credit for that one homework assignment. At
the end of the unit, I will collect the full log (all entries) and assess them for a separate, larger
homework grade. This final grade will be based on completion, perceived effort, and the
thoroughness of your responses (see criteria).

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ANNOTATION LOG ENTRIES

For each reading assignment, please do each of the below TWICE. Meaning, TWO quotes
+ commentary and TWO questions per reading assignment.

QUOTES + COMMENTARY (2x)

Choose two quotes/passages from the reading, write them down, and provide commentary about
each.
Commentary can mean:
● Thinking about the significance of this quote in the context of the play/novel/story (why
is this important?)
● Noting the author’s writing choices/language (identifying motifs, symbols, images,
diction)
● Connecting your quote to other quotes/moments in the play (what patterns are emerging?
what connections can you make?)
● Identifying ideas/themes raised by the quote (what topics are coming up? what is the
author saying about these topics?)
**Note that commentary is NEVER simply explaining or summarizing what happened in the
quote.

QUESTIONS (2x)
Pose two questions about something specific in the reading. See below for some ways to craft
strong questions.
 ● Pull out a specific sentence, line or passage and ask a question about its particular word,
phrase, or style.
● Identify a pattern that could deepen our understanding of structure or style.
● Give examples of literary devices that might indicate intention or effect.
● Consider an example, inside or outside the text, that you think disproves or contradicts
the reading.
● Ask a point of clarification using if…then: “If (author) is saying _____, then does he
mean______?”
● Make a relevant connection to a current event or popular culture and ask how the reading
elucidates this issue, or vice versa.

The Great Gatsby- Chapter 1

Quote + Commentary #1
“‘Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this
world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.’”(pg.1)

West Egg is home to the “new rich,” those who, having made their fortunes recently, have neither the
social connections nor the refinement to move among the East Egg set. West Egg is characterized by
lavish displays of wealth and garish poor taste. Nick’s comparatively modest West Egg house is next
door to Gatsby’s mansion, a sprawling Gothic monstrosity.

Quote + Commentary #2
“They were both in white and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown
back in after a short flight around the house. I must have stood for a few moments listening to the whip
and snap of the curtains and the groan of a picture on the wall. Then there was a boom as Tom
Buchanan shut the rear windows and the caught wind died out about the room and the curtains and
the rugs and the two young women ballooned slowly to the floor. ”(pg 8)

He characterizes himself as both highly moral and highly tolerant. He briefly mentions the hero of his
story, Gatsby, saying that Gatsby represented everything he scorns, but that he exempts Gatsby
completely from his usual judgments. Gatsby’s personality was nothing short of “gorgeous.

Question #1
For a moment the last sunshine fell with romantic affection upon her glowing face; her voice compelled
me forward breathlessly as I listened—then the glow faded, each light deserting her with lingering
regret like children leaving a pleasant street at dusk. (pg 14)

The relationship between geography and social values is an important motif in The Great Gatsby. Each
setting in the novel corresponds to a particular thematic idea or character type. This first chapter
introduces two of the most important locales, East Egg and hest Egg. Though each is home to fabulous
wealth, and though they are separated only by a small expanse of water, the two regions are nearly
opposite in the values they endorse.

Question #2
“‘I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a
beautiful little fool.’”(pg 17)
 Nick admires Gatsby highly, despite the fact that Gatsby represents everything Nick scorns about New
York. Gatsby clearly poses a challenge to Nick’s customary ways of thinking about the world, and
Nick’s struggle to come to terms with that challenge inflects everything in the novel.

The Great Gatsby- Chapter 2

Quote + Commentary #1
“But his eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days under sun and rain, brood on over the solemn
dumping ground” (24).

The valley of ashes symbolizes the moral decay hidden by the beautiful facades of the Eggs, and
suggests that beneath the ornamentation of West Egg and the mannered charm of East Egg lies the
same ugliness as in the valley. The valley is created by industrial dumping and is therefore a by-
product of capitalism. It is the home to the only poor characters in the novel.

Quote + Commentary #2
“‘Oh, sure,’ agreed Wilson hurriedly and went toward the little office, mingling immediately with the
cement color of the walls. A white ashen dust veiled his dark suit and his pale hair as it veiled
everything in the vicinity—except his wife, who moved close to Tom.” (pg ...)

The sequence of events leading up to and occurring at the party define and contrast the various
characters in The Great Gatsby. Nick’s reserved nature and indecisiveness show in the fact that though
he feels morally repelled by the vulgarity and tastelessness of the party, he is too fascinated by it to
leave. This contradiction suggests the ambivalence that he feels toward the Buchanans, Gatsby, and the
East Coast in general. The party also underscores Tom’s hypocrisy and lack of restraint: he feels no
guilt for betraying Daisy with Myrtle, but he feels compelled to keep Myrtle in her place.

Question #1
Throughout the chapter, Nick/ Fitzgerald switches between “Myrtle” and “[Link]”

Question #2

-catherine purpose
-wilsona nd tom relationship
-point of mckees

The Great Gatsby- Chapter 3

Quote + Commentary #1
‘Well,—he told me once he was an Oxford
man.’
A dim background started to take shape behind him but
at her next remark it faded away.
‘However, I don’t believe it.’
 55

Quote + Commentary #2
Most of the remaining women were
now having fights with men said to be their husbands.
‘Whenever he sees I’m having a good time he wants to
go home.’
57

‘Don’t ask me,’ said Owl Eyes, washing his hands of the
whole matter. ‘I know very little about driving—next to
nothing. It happened, and that’s all I know.’
‘Well, if you’re a poor driver you oughtn’t to try driving
at night.’
‘But I wasn’t even trying,’ he explained indignantly, ‘I
wasn’t even trying.’
59

Question #1
‘Your face is familiar,’ he said, politely. ‘Weren’t you in
the Third Division during the war?’ (52—)
‘I thought you knew, old sport. I’m afraid I’m not a very
good host.’ 53

● What are the implications of Gatsby’s observation that Daisy’s voice is ‘full of money’

Question #2
Every one suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal
virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people
that I have ever known. 65

● Fitzgerald wrote, “You don’t write because you want to say something, you write because you
have something to say.” What did he have to say in Gatsby?

The Great Gatsby- Chapter 4

Quote + Commentary #1

Quote + Commentary #2

Question #1

● How does geography contribute to the definition of social class in The Great Gatsby?

Question #2
●
The Great Gatsby- Chapter 5
Quote + Commentary #1
- “[Gatsby] hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house
according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes” (91).
Nick is able to see through Gatby’s lies as Oxford has a prestigious, old money reputation and Gatsby's
new money. Furthermore, Gatsby tries way too hard to impress people. Nick had already suspected
Gatby’s untruthfulness and “casually” asks him what part of the middle west he is from to see whether
he is lying or not. Gatsby then says he is from San Francisco, which is in California, and nowhere near
the Middle West, further proving that he is in fact lying. Perhaps Gatsby is lying in an effort to avoid
facing the truth , something that he obviously doesn’t want others to know about. It seems as though
Gatsby is afraid that if people learn the truth about his past, they won’t look at him the same anymore.

Quote + Commentary #2
- “If it wasn’t for the mist we could see your home across the bay,’ said Gatsby. ‘You always have a
green light that burns all night at the end of your dock. . . .’ Possibly it had occurred to him that the
colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever…His count of enchanted objects had
diminished by one” (92).
● Gatsby’s love for Daisy as well as his hopes, dreams, and desires in regards to her) - not
brought up but since readers now know the relationship between gatsby and Daisy, the green
light from chapter 1 makes more sense.

Question #1
“‘What day would suit you?’ ‘What day would suit you?’ he corrected me quickly. ‘I don't want to put
you to any trouble, you see’”(82).
● How does geography contribute to the definition of social class in The Great Gatsby?

Question #2
- “The day agreed upon was pouring rain” (83). “After half an hour the sun shone again and the grocer's
automobile rounded Gatsby's drive with the raw material for his servants' dinner” (89).
What do you think Fitzgerald is saying about the American dream in the 1920s?

The Great Gatsby- Chapter 6

Quote + Commentary #1
- “[Gatsby] hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house
according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes” (91).
Nick is able to see through Gatby’s lies as Oxford has a prestigious, old money reputation and Gatsby's
new money. Furthermore, Gatsby tries way too hard to impress people. Nick had already suspected
Gatby’s untruthfulness and “casually” asks him what part of the middle west he is from to see whether
he is lying or not. Gatsby then says he is from San Francisco, which is in California, and nowhere near
the Middle West, further proving that he is in fact lying. Perhaps Gatsby is lying in an effort to avoid
facing the truth , something that he obviously doesn’t want others to know about. It seems as though
Gatsby is afraid that if people learn the truth about his past, they won’t look at him the same anymore.

Quote + Commentary #2
- “If it wasn’t for the mist we could see your home across the bay,’ said Gatsby. ‘You always have a
green light that burns all night at the end of your dock. . . .’ Possibly it had occurred to him that the
colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever…His count of enchanted objects had
diminished by one” (92).
● Gatsby’s love for Daisy as well as his hopes, dreams, and desires in regards to her) - not
brought up but since readers now know the relationship between gatsby and Daisy, the green
light from chapter 1 makes more sense.

Question #1
“‘What day would suit you?’ ‘What day would suit you?’ he corrected me quickly. ‘I don't want to put
you to any trouble, you see’”(82).
● How does geography contribute to the definition of social class in The Great Gatsby?

Question #2
- “The day agreed upon was pouring rain” (83). “After half an hour the sun shone again and the grocer's
automobile rounded Gatsby's drive with the raw material for his servants' dinner” (89).

● What do you think Fitzgerald is saying about the American dream in the 1920s?

The Great Gatsby- Chapter 7

Quote + Commentary #1
“She's got an indiscreet voice," I remarked. "It's full of ——" I hesitated. "Her voice is full of money," he
said suddenly. That was it. I'd never understood before. It was full of money — that was the
inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals' song of it. . . . high in a white
palace, the king's daughter, the golden girl. . . . “ ( ).
- This quote reveals that Gatsby is not only attracted to Daisy because he loves her, but also because he
loves the wealth and old money that she represents. For Gatsby, Daisy is his “golden girl”. She is like a
prize that Gatsby is trying so hard to win. Furthermore, Daisy’s “indiscreet voice” is a reflection of her
privileged status in society. Not only that, but the fact that Daisy’s voice has a “jingle, inexhaustible
charm, and the cymbals’ song to it paints the picture that one can listen to Daisy speak forever and
ever. Because she was born into old money, this kind of voice comes naturally to her, and she has a
certain ease to it, which also indirectly references Gatsby’s lack of old money.

Quote + Commentary #2
“The other car, the one going toward New York, came to a rest a hundred yards beyond, and its driver
hurried back to where Myrtle Wilson, her life violently extinguished, knelt in the road and mingled her
thick dark blood with the dust” (137).

Myrtle’s death represents the death of the american dream and just how corrupt the american dream
truly is. Myrtle spent the entirety of the novel desiring a luxurious and wealthy life, believing that
being with Tom would provide her with just that. However, she was sorely mistaken as it was her
desire for a better life that contributed to her death. The fact that her “thick dark blood mingled with
the dust” illustrates that no matter how hard she tried, she would’ve never been able to escape the
valley of ashes and achieve the American dream.

Question #1
“The next day was broiling, almost the last, certainly the warmest, of the summer” (114).
 ● How does Fitzgeralds use the environment the characters are in to reflect their conflict?Is this
in favor of one or all characters

Question #2
“But with every word she was drawing further and further into herself, so he gave that up, and only
the dead dream fought on as the afternoon slipped away, trying to touch what was no longer tangible,
struggling un happily, unsparingly, toward that lost voice across the room” (134).

● How does Nicks's bias towards Gatsby shape how readers view Daisy and in general the
difference in how gender is approached?

The Great Gatsby- Chapter 8

Quote + Commentary #1
“I said 'God knows what you've been doing, everything you've been doing. You may fool me but you
can't fool God!' "Standing behind him Michaelis saw with a shock that he was looking at the eyes of
Doctor T. J. Eckleburg which had just emerged pale and enormous from the dissolving night. "God sees
everything," repeated Wilson."That's an advertisement," Michaelis assured him. Something made him
turn away from the window and look back into the room. But Wilson stood there a long time, his face
close to the window pane, nodding into the twilight” (159).

Dr. T.J. Eckleburg’s eyes represent the eyes of god and look down upon the sins of the working
[Link] sounds desperate and frantic - he wants someone to blame and in his desperation confuses
the billboard for the eyes of god, despite the fact that he is not religious. Dr. T.J. Eckleburg is wearing
yellow rimmed glasses and the color yellow has come to symbolize not only wealth, but more
importantly corruption, making readers wonder whether the eyes of god are still able to distinguish
between what is right and wrong at this point in the novel.

Quote + Commentary #2
“His house had never seemed so enormous to me as it did that night when we hunted through the great
rooms for cigarettes. We pushed aside curtains that were like pavilions, and felt over innumerable feet
of dark wall for electric light switches — once I tumbled with a sort of splash upon the keys of a
ghostly piano. There was an inexplicable amount of dust everywhere, and the rooms were musty, as
though they hadn’t been aired for many days. I found the humidor on an unfamiliar table, with two
stale, dry cigarettes inside. Throwing open the French windows of the drawing-room, we sat smoking
out into the darkness” (147-148 ).

Now that Gatsby’s dream of Daisy is over, his house has begun to reflect that change. It used to be
flashy and well-maintained, but now it is dirty and musty. The parties and its guests had concealed the
true nature/reality of Gatsby’s [Link] Gatsby’s house has always been enormous and empty, it
appears to be even more enormous and emptier. This can be attributed to the fact that since Gatsby’s
dream of Daisy is over, he doesn’t need to impress her anymore with his flashiness and well-
maintained house. Furthermore, Gatsby’s gloomy house reflects that without Daisy, Gatsby is lonely
and his life is empty as he lost the one thing that he had spent so much time longing for, and as a result
no longer has purpose or something to strive for. Uncovering the mystery of Gatsby has allowed Nick
to see certain parts of Gatsby’s house that were previously hidden. He now gets to see the downside of
the American dream and how Gatsby’s life isn’t as vibrant and lively as it had appeared to be.“ghostly
piano” indicates that the piano is only in use when Gatsby throws his parties. Without these parties, the
piano is “ghostly”, symbolizing how Gatsby’s dreams were illusions, and because of that
unachieveable.
**Gatsby’s dream is deteriorating**

Question #1
“She was the first “nice” girl he had ever known. In various unrevealed capacities he had come in
contact with such people, but always with indiscernible barbed wire between. He found her
excitingly desirable” (148).

● How does Fitzgeralds use -the environment the characters are in to reflect their conflict?Is this
in favor of one or all characters?

Question #2
“I waited, and about four o'clock she came to the window and stood there for a minute and then turned
out the light” (147).

● How does Nicks's bias towards Gatsby shape how readers view Daisy and in general the
difference in how gender is approached?

The Great Gatsby- Chapter 9

Quote + Commentary #1
“I said 'God knows what you've been doing, everything you've been doing. You may fool me but you
can't fool God!' "Standing behind him Michaelis saw with a shock that he was looking at the eyes of
Doctor T. J. Eckleburg which had just emerged pale and enormous from the dissolving night. "God sees
everything," repeated Wilson."That's an advertisement," Michaelis assured him. Something made him
turn away from the window and look back into the room. But Wilson stood there a long time, his face
close to the window pane, nodding into the twilight” (159).

Dr. T.J. Eckleburg’s eyes represent the eyes of god and look down upon the sins of the working
[Link] sounds desperate and frantic - he wants someone to blame and in his desperation confuses
the billboard for the eyes of god, despite the fact that he is not religious. Dr. T.J. Eckleburg is wearing
yellow rimmed glasses and the color yellow has come to symbolize not only wealth, but more
importantly corruption, making readers wonder whether the eyes of god are still able to distinguish
between what is right and wrong at this point in the novel.

Quote + Commentary #2
“His house had never seemed so enormous to me as it did that night when we hunted through the great
rooms for cigarettes. We pushed aside curtains that were like pavilions, and felt over innumerable feet
of dark wall for electric light switches — once I tumbled with a sort of splash upon the keys of a
ghostly piano. There was an inexplicable amount of dust everywhere, and the rooms were musty, as
though they hadn’t been aired for many days. I found the humidor on an unfamiliar table, with two
stale, dry cigarettes inside. Throwing open the French windows of the drawing-room, we sat smoking
out into the darkness” (147-148 ).

Now that Gatsby’s dream of Daisy is over, his house has begun to reflect that change. It used to be
flashy and well-maintained, but now it is dirty and musty. The parties and its guests had concealed the
true nature/reality of Gatsby’s [Link] Gatsby’s house has always been enormous and empty, it
appears to be even more enormous and emptier. This can be attributed to the fact that since Gatsby’s
dream of Daisy is over, he doesn’t need to impress her anymore with his flashiness and well-
maintained house. Furthermore, Gatsby’s gloomy house reflects that without Daisy, Gatsby is lonely
and his life is empty as he lost the one thing that he had spent so much time longing for, and as a result
no longer has purpose or something to strive for. Uncovering the mystery of Gatsby has allowed Nick
to see certain parts of Gatsby’s house that were previously hidden. He now gets to see the downside of
the American dream and how Gatsby’s life isn’t as vibrant and lively as it had appeared to be.“ghostly
piano” indicates that the piano is only in use when Gatsby throws his parties. Without these parties, the
piano is “ghostly”, symbolizing how Gatsby’s dreams were illusions, and because of that
unachieveable.

Question #1
“She was the first “nice” girl he had ever known. In various unrevealed capacities he had come in
contact with such people, but always with indiscernible barbed wire between. He found her
excitingly desirable” (148).

● How does Fitzgeralds use -the environment the characters are in to reflect their conflict?Is this
in favor of one or all characters?

Question #2
“I waited, and about four o'clock she came to the window and stood there for a minute and then turned
out the light” (147).

● How does Nicks's bias towards Gatsby shape how readers view Daisy and in general the
difference in how gender is approached?