Comparative Character Analysis (500 words): The Great Gatsby and Waitress
This critical essay of 500 words is a comparative analysis between a character in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), and a character in Sara Bareilles’ musical, Waitress (2015). Thus far each of you have revised a close reading of the character Jordan Baker, with some students already attempting comparative analysis solely in The Great Gatsby (between Jordan and another character). The challenge, now, is for you to attempt an interesting (maybe not entirely smooth at this point) correlation between a character in the novel to a character/actor in the musical.
Pre-Writing
Before attempting any new writing between the novel and the musical, take a moment to think about the musical/performance and jot down a few notes to get a sense of your literal meaning of the plot and its most striking characters/actors. Then, setting the musical aside, think about your character analysis in The Great Gatsby. Some of you are writing specifically on Jordan Baker, whereas others are writing specifically on how Nick Carraway views Jordan Baker (in relation to Daisy Buchanan and Tom Buchanan and Myrtle for what Nick’s (mis)perceptions asserts about his character/identity, not necessarily what his view asserts about Jordan’s character/identity. My suggestion is to immediately establish which camp you’re in: is this paper about Jordan or is it about Nick? Then ask yourself how you might relate this understanding of Nick or Jordan to a character/actor in Waitress. This is a necessary component before moving forward and writing your essay, mainly to assert YOUR point of view and to remain organized so as to develop a thesis.
For a definition of “thesis" see:
Gardner, Janet E. Reading and Writing About Literature: A Portable Guide. 3rd edition. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012, p. 23. ISBN: 9781457606496. [Preview with Google Books]
Here you will understand the difference between creating a topic around these characters versus inventing a thesis around these characters.
Your topic is: ____________________________________________________________
Your thesis is then: _______________________________________________________
The challenge is to establish what you’re writing about in The Great Gatsby and then simply appropriate/apply that thinking to what you’ll examine and write about in Waitress. This is comparative analysis in its pre-writing stage.
The Actual Writing
Now for the actual writing, there are three components to an essay, which I briefly discussed in class:
Introduction (or first paragraph): Explain your topic and the approach to the topic, which renders the thesis (and the significance of this comparative character analysis).
Body (second, third, and maybe forth paragraphs): Writers often begin writing the body paragraphs versus the introduction, and since you already have a body paragraph from your close reading on The Great Gatsby, you might begin by drafting a paragraph on a character/actor in Waitress. With one paragraph on the novel and one paragraph on the musical, your next paragraph should create a contrast/comparison/insight between the novel and the musical.
Conclusion (final paragraph or paragraphs): A conclusion is not about reflecting or summarizing what you’ve written; instead, push forward into new terrain: you want to express to the reader that by comparing these two characters (one from a novel, one from a musical) you’ve arrived at something entirely NEW that hasn’t been talked about or realized in The Great Gatsby or Waitress.
Perhaps the very experience of attending the musical offers insight into the character in the novel OR perhaps the novel allowed you an understanding to interpret the character/actor in the musical.
Basic Writing Tips (see Gardner, pp. 40–50)
- Checklist for basic ‘writing about literature’ principles
- Ideas for how to use quotations effectively and appropriately
- Guidelines for manuscript form instructions – MLA, 12 pt font, double spaced, center paper’s title, etc.)
- Sample student essay (pp. 127–129)
Choosing a Topic (see Gardner, pp. 21–22)
You have plenty of room to create your own topic – this doesn’t have to be an essay about Jordan Baker and notions of femininity and how she traverses those boundaries and ventures into a terrain of ambiguity and agency. And this doesn’t have to be an essay about Nick Carraway’s (mis)perceptions of others, to put it simply. Remember, our class theme is about types of relations, types of bonds, types of love, and types of attachment (whether that is seduction, adoration, admiration). You may consider how love is treated in the novel and the musical. How are we viewing relationships on the page and on the stage, in the sense of gaining a heightened understanding and broader sense of the “content of love”? In class we have talked about “love’s ability to kindle the senses”—that is, the range of senses that reveal love’s affective/emotional power. Love is about deep affections—warmth, excitement, pain, joy, confusion, care, loyalty, happiness, bewilderment …
Before writing, think about the characters in musical, in the very way that we thought about Nick and love bonds between characters in The Great Gatsby (the web of relations that we created together on the board).
- Jenna – waitress, genius pie maker
- Earl – Jenna’s husband
- Becky – waitress
- Dawn – waitress
- Joe – restaurant owner
- Dr. Pomatter – gynecologist
- Ogie – Dawn’s online date
- Cal – cook
- Cal’s wife
- Dr. Pomatter’s wife
- Lulu – Jenna’s daughter
Musical Numbers
Act I
- “What’s Inside”
- “Opening up”
- “The Negative”
- “Door Number Three”
- “Waiting Room”
- “When He Sees Me”
- “It Only Takes a Taste”
- “A Soft Place to Land”
- “You Will Still Be Mine”
- “Never Getting Rid of Me”
- “Bad Idea”
Act II
- “Bad Idea (Reprise)”
- “I Love You Like a Table”
- “I Didn’t Plan It”
- “Take It From an Old Man”
- “She Used to Be Mine” “Everything Changes”* “Lulu’s Pie Song”
- “Opening Up (Reprise)”
Place
- A small town off Highway 27
Time
- The present
