Endya, Your presentation was really good. Before I comment on the specifics though, I wanted to tell you one thing: try to relax! It seemed as if you were a bit nervous giving your presentation, and I think that you could make your presentation flow a little better, and you could increase the quality of improvised transitions or unscripted parts by trying to be a bit more calm. Of course this is easier said than done (and not one of my best traits either) but staying calm while giving a presentation is probably one of the best things that you could learn in high school -- arguably much more important to your future career than the work of Fitzgerald or any other author presented in this project. Anyway, the material in your presentation was quite interesting. You had some very good evidence as you discussed some of the major themes of Fitzgerald's writing through identifying commonalities in poetry as well as identifying the specific symbolism and allusions that characterize his writing. One of your greatest strengths was your ability to tie his writing style in with his historical and personal context when you discuss his many references to alcoholism, and numerous characters based on real people. One area that I think could be expanded upon though is identifying and explaining the true meaning for the piece -- why Fitzgerald wrote the piece. Your thesis states that his style was unique, but with some further researching, I think you could easily expand upon this in order to prove that Fitzgerald had a major thesis to prove that relates to human nature itself.
I like how in your presentation you focused on not just a singular work, but three novels by Scott Fitzgerald and you proved his writing style by reviewing each text equally. In your PowerPoint you chose to really take a look at the symbolic imagery that Fitzgerald employs in his writing along with autobiographical allusions in order to create a vivid picture. I like how you especially showed how this vivid imagery helped to improve the character development in each of his novels. I think that understanding how an author uses imagery, and not just the fact that he does use it, is a key factor to exceeding on the AP exam. I think that in your presentation you did a very good job of showing the imagery and modernist ideas present in the writing, however I became a little bit lost on the allusions. Like in Tender is the Night you pointed out the affair as an allusion in the plot structure but I think a little bit more explanation is required to really call an affair an allusion. In your explanation of Babylon Revisited the allusion to alcoholism and the ruined life is a bit more clear and really helps to reinforce the authors tone and message.
Before I go into anything else I just want to say that your blog design is phenomenal! It is very pretty and also fits with your author and pieces of literature well so great job on that aspect. I also really liked the connection to your works with the food item you brought in and that you started your presentation with a toast. It was a creative and fun way to kick things off that I really enjoyed. You also did a great job of setting context for the time period Fitzgerald was writing in and how that really affected his novels. His personal life had a great impact on how he viewed society and what he wrote about so that was an important element to emphasize. You definitely focused on how Fitzgerald's language was a big part of his writing and his success because although all his literature may not have been great he always had a eloquent way of saying things. You hit on important themes like excess and destruction but I think you could extend on those themes a little more with a further explanation on what exactly Fitzgerald was saying. Dive into the "complexity" of his writing a bit more to find his argument. He saw all of this destruction in his life and lived through it so was overall message is he sending to his readers through all of his novels with all of his life experience? But I think you did Fitzgerald justice and did a great job of incorporating how his personal life influenced his writing style as well as how his wife played an important part in his writing as well. Like how alcoholism ruined his love life in Babylon Revisited and how alcohol was an important symbol as it was very prevalent in Fitzgerald's life and lead to a lot of his self destruction. You also discussed the theme of the inescapable past which my author commented on how the past can affect people and how it is hard to get out from under but necessary to do so. Overall, I really enjoyed your presentation!
The thing that I loved the most about your presentation is how involved you got into with your author. You did an excellent job with not only telling the readers about Fitzgerald's lifestyle, but also painting a vivid image of how he truly lived and how that affected his writing style. You provided a lot of details and evidence to prove your points which made your presentation very easy to follow and built your ethos. I also really enjoyed hearing about Fitzgerald's personal life because it helped me grasp a better understand of him as a person and how that affected him as a writer as well. Something that you could have improved on was more outside sources. It would have been great to hear more about what other people thought about Fitzgerald's writing and his personal life and incorporating that into your presentation would have brought it home. Other than that, you did an amazing job presenting all of this information in such an engaging yet educating manner. Great job!
I really enjoyed your presentation, Endya! First, I'd like to say how I liked that you started off with a toast to your author and what you food represented and how it related thematically to the work as a whole. On another note, your consistency with the business card, the powerpoint, and your blog is phenomenal. Your incorporation of the analysis of your poems was really great and how they relate to the works thematically. I would have incorporated more information about the major themes of the author, with the exception of his social life and how they create meaning and significance within his novels. I would have focused more on allusions and symbolic imagery that you have listed into your powerpoint. Overall, I loved your presentation!
Endya Brandon: I really appreciated your presentation on F. Scott Fitzgerald. With all of the hype over Gatsby this year due to the release of the movie (not to mention everyone reading it in English), I felt like we all had a somewhat stilted view of Fitzgerald as an individual. I cannot speak for everyone else, but I have a tendency to attribute a main character’s behavioral traits and characteristics to the author, so Gatsby made it easy to assume that Fitzgerald was a valorous individual, admirable to his dying breath. Your presentation proved that this was not the case. You did a great job communicating just how prevalent his romance with alcohol was in every element of his life, and painted him as he truly was. I was surprised to see how little of his writing was borne from passion or life experience, and sad to see how much of it was fueled by a more monetary basis. His treatment of Zelda is also very disappointing, but I applaud you for giving such an honest depiction of a man who has been so lately glorified, perhaps without it being very warranted.
Endya,
ReplyDeleteYour presentation was really good. Before I comment on the specifics though, I wanted to tell you one thing: try to relax! It seemed as if you were a bit nervous giving your presentation, and I think that you could make your presentation flow a little better, and you could increase the quality of improvised transitions or unscripted parts by trying to be a bit more calm. Of course this is easier said than done (and not one of my best traits either) but staying calm while giving a presentation is probably one of the best things that you could learn in high school -- arguably much more important to your future career than the work of Fitzgerald or any other author presented in this project.
Anyway, the material in your presentation was quite interesting. You had some very good evidence as you discussed some of the major themes of Fitzgerald's writing through identifying commonalities in poetry as well as identifying the specific symbolism and allusions that characterize his writing. One of your greatest strengths was your ability to tie his writing style in with his historical and personal context when you discuss his many references to alcoholism, and numerous characters based on real people. One area that I think could be expanded upon though is identifying and explaining the true meaning for the piece -- why Fitzgerald wrote the piece. Your thesis states that his style was unique, but with some further researching, I think you could easily expand upon this in order to prove that Fitzgerald had a major thesis to prove that relates to human nature itself.
I like how in your presentation you focused on not just a singular work, but three novels by Scott Fitzgerald and you proved his writing style by reviewing each text equally. In your PowerPoint you chose to really take a look at the symbolic imagery that Fitzgerald employs in his writing along with autobiographical allusions in order to create a vivid picture. I like how you especially showed how this vivid imagery helped to improve the character development in each of his novels. I think that understanding how an author uses imagery, and not just the fact that he does use it, is a key factor to exceeding on the AP exam.
ReplyDeleteI think that in your presentation you did a very good job of showing the imagery and modernist ideas present in the writing, however I became a little bit lost on the allusions. Like in Tender is the Night you pointed out the affair as an allusion in the plot structure but I think a little bit more explanation is required to really call an affair an allusion. In your explanation of Babylon Revisited the allusion to alcoholism and the ruined life is a bit more clear and really helps to reinforce the authors tone and message.
Before I go into anything else I just want to say that your blog design is phenomenal! It is very pretty and also fits with your author and pieces of literature well so great job on that aspect. I also really liked the connection to your works with the food item you brought in and that you started your presentation with a toast. It was a creative and fun way to kick things off that I really enjoyed. You also did a great job of setting context for the time period Fitzgerald was writing in and how that really affected his novels. His personal life had a great impact on how he viewed society and what he wrote about so that was an important element to emphasize. You definitely focused on how Fitzgerald's language was a big part of his writing and his success because although all his literature may not have been great he always had a eloquent way of saying things. You hit on important themes like excess and destruction but I think you could extend on those themes a little more with a further explanation on what exactly Fitzgerald was saying. Dive into the "complexity" of his writing a bit more to find his argument. He saw all of this destruction in his life and lived through it so was overall message is he sending to his readers through all of his novels with all of his life experience?
ReplyDeleteBut I think you did Fitzgerald justice and did a great job of incorporating how his personal life influenced his writing style as well as how his wife played an important part in his writing as well. Like how alcoholism ruined his love life in Babylon Revisited and how alcohol was an important symbol as it was very prevalent in Fitzgerald's life and lead to a lot of his self destruction. You also discussed the theme of the inescapable past which my author commented on how the past can affect people and how it is hard to get out from under but necessary to do so. Overall, I really enjoyed your presentation!
The thing that I loved the most about your presentation is how involved you got into with your author. You did an excellent job with not only telling the readers about Fitzgerald's lifestyle, but also painting a vivid image of how he truly lived and how that affected his writing style. You provided a lot of details and evidence to prove your points which made your presentation very easy to follow and built your ethos. I also really enjoyed hearing about Fitzgerald's personal life because it helped me grasp a better understand of him as a person and how that affected him as a writer as well. Something that you could have improved on was more outside sources. It would have been great to hear more about what other people thought about Fitzgerald's writing and his personal life and incorporating that into your presentation would have brought it home. Other than that, you did an amazing job presenting all of this information in such an engaging yet educating manner. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your presentation, Endya! First, I'd like to say how I liked that you started off with a toast to your author and what you food represented and how it related thematically to the work as a whole. On another note, your consistency with the business card, the powerpoint, and your blog is phenomenal. Your incorporation of the analysis of your poems was really great and how they relate to the works thematically. I would have incorporated more information about the major themes of the author, with the exception of his social life and how they create meaning and significance within his novels. I would have focused more on allusions and symbolic imagery that you have listed into your powerpoint. Overall, I loved your presentation!
ReplyDeleteEndya Brandon: I really appreciated your presentation on F. Scott Fitzgerald. With all of the hype over Gatsby this year due to the release of the movie (not to mention everyone reading it in English), I felt like we all had a somewhat stilted view of Fitzgerald as an individual. I cannot speak for everyone else, but I have a tendency to attribute a main character’s behavioral traits and characteristics to the author, so Gatsby made it easy to assume that Fitzgerald was a valorous individual, admirable to his dying breath. Your presentation proved that this was not the case. You did a great job communicating just how prevalent his romance with alcohol was in every element of his life, and painted him as he truly was. I was surprised to see how little of his writing was borne from passion or life experience, and sad to see how much of it was fueled by a more monetary basis. His treatment of Zelda is also very disappointing, but I applaud you for giving such an honest depiction of a man who has been so lately glorified, perhaps without it being very warranted.
ReplyDelete