A Sample Literary Analysis:

selected passages from The Great Gatsby.

the Essay Engineering methodology, in two parts:

The standard Essay Engineering literary analysis consists of two main parts for a single work:

• Part One: “Defining the Structuring Principle of Empirical Evidence, and thus the Literary Work”

• Part Two: “Transforming Empirical Reality to the Higher Signifying Plane of the Conceptual Framework”

For detailed discussion of Parts One and Two, see the Methodology page under “Praxis” on the menu.

Coming Soon –  additional passages from The Great Gatsby

Two Passages –  “We walked through a high hallway…”; “The only completely stationary object…”

“We walked through a high hallway into a bright rosy-colored space, fragilely bound into the house by French windows at either end. The windows were ajar and gleaming white against the fresh grass outside that seemed to grow a little way into the house. A breeze blew through the room, blew curtains in at one end and out the other like pale flags, twisting them up towards the frosted wedding-cake of the ceiling, and then rippled over the wine-colored rug, making a shadow upon it as wind does on the sea.” (8)

“The only completely stationary object in the room was an enormous couch on which two young women were buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon. 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.” (8)

Passage no.1 – minor point 

“We walked through a high hallway into a bright rosy-colored space, fragilely bound into the house by French windows at either end. The windows were ajar and gleaming white against the fresh grass outside that seemed to grow a little way into the house. A breeze blew through the room, blew curtains in at one end and out the other like pale flags, twisting them up towards the frosted wedding-cake of the ceiling, and then rippled over the wine-colored rug, making a shadow upon it as wind does on the sea” (8) 

Sentence-Level Meaning Reconstruction (Micro 1OT)  

• wind: calm, freedom.

• [most significant point, but still a minor point] openness, house is open to outside and to nature; harmony of house with its surroundings. 

• idyllic bucolic – away from the city, pleasant 

• [most significant point, but still a minor point] “fragilely bound into the house” – the main residence (‘house’) is distinct from the sunroom, and their connection is one of being ‘fragilely bound’. Indication that the place of nature and light and warmth is only tenuously linked to the place where these people live.

Passage no.2 – major point 

“The only completely stationary object in the room was an enormous couch on which two young women were buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon. 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.” (8) 

Sentence-Level Meaning Reconstruction (Micro 1OT)  

• v1 There are two fancily dressed women in the house / relaxed 

“Tom Buchanan shut the rear windows and the caught wind died out about the room” 

• v1 Tom shuts the windows and stops the wind. [only 30% correct; is Exterior meaning, which is useful, but we really want the Interior meaning]

• v2 Tom controls everything in the house. [Interior meaning; but only ca. 50% right; “control” is not entirely accurate; what exactly is Tom doing in the house?]

• v3 The wind is subdued by Tom (“shut”) & he makes it imprisoned (not free, “caught”)  / then  Tom kills the wind (“died out”). [ca. 95% correct and complete; good “extrapolation” of the indirect meaning that is not explicit]

Important prompts in reviewing one’s work include “what other meaning can I find?” and “this adjective / verb / noun is partly right, but is there a better word that more accurately describes what is happening?” – Remember, it is essential to create a paraphrase and to not repeat words from the original text. (exceptions can sometimes be made for certain very common words, such as “food” or “woman” or “man”; but otherwise and in general, it is best to not make exceptions.)

“two young women were buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon. 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.” 

• v1 Tom is destroying the aspect of freedom, and the happiness and excitement of the women. [partially correct] 

• [prompt] Tom is destroying the aspect of ___, and happiness and ____ of the women. 

• v2 Tom is destroying the aspect of innocence (like a bird: “short flight”), and happiness and relaxation (“dresses rippling and fluttering”), lifted up (“buoyed up”), the women are having a positive experience. 

Conceptual Framework (second-order thinking)  –  Passage no.2 

i) Formal Quality Tag: Passivity 

Essay Thesis:

• the scene in Gatsby where Tom shuts the window demonstrates two kinds of passivity – typically we think of passivity as being a negative thing, but this passage demonstrates a conceptual notion of two kinds of passivity, one harmful and slavery-inducing, the other positive and life -inducing. 

Essay paragraph no.1: 

• Paragraph Thesis – passivity of being subdued – i.e. negative & destructive 

Essay paragraph no.2:

• Paragraph Thesis – passivity of innocence, relaxation, an uplifting experience – i.e. positive , life-giving.