The New York Newspaper OP-ED Wednesday, April 11th, 2012

Let’s Refine High School English Curriculum

A new issue has been brought to the attention of teachers at private schools all around New York City, namely, what are we teaching our children in a tenth grade English class? The answer, given straight from Packer Collegiate Institute, is called “The American Experience.” This class focuses on the question of “What does it mean to be an American?” and examines writings by authors of diverse groups of people from the United States, both from early and present times. The books and writings read are written by, but not limited to, E. L. Doctorow, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Frederick Douglass, Kate Chopin, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Langston Hughes, and James Baldwin (2012-13 Curriculum Guide). This is an outstanding curriculum in terms of themes as it so closely provides opportunity for instruction in ideas that are truly important to adolescents and growing into adulthood. However, perhaps there is an area that could be refined. Why should one size fit all, when let’s face it, one size doesn’t even fit most? It is critical to ensure that these important themes resonate with every tenth grade student. One way this may occur more frequently is if the curriculum was tailored to both genders. Generally, males and females have different interests, certainly in adolescence. Not to over generalize, but, for example, boys tend to be interested in sports and action stories, while girls lean more towards topics like romance and poetry. In those instances where inherently the books’ or texts’ characters or format is of little interest and does not appeal to a student, then it is an enormous challenge and often an unsuccessful one to impart the lessons the curriculum intends. Seeing as this one size fits all curriculum has long been the case in tenth grade English classes, maybe it is time for schools to give students choices within different units. The same objectives can still be achieved through the reading and studying of different materials. In the case of a book like The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, some find it hard to relate to because they were never a teenage boy. How can one relate to a book or text that has no resemblance to oneself? I myself found it hard to relate to a book taught in tenth grade- The Great Gatsby.

Why should one size fit all, when let’s face it,

one size doesn’t even fit most?

The Great Gatsby, a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a story set in the 1920’s narrated by a young man named Nick Carraway about the extremely wealthy, yet mysterious Jay Gatsby. This is a book of many themes but one overarching- the search for the American Dream. From a young age, Gatsby strived to recreate himself and make a fairytale life for himself that included the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. He created an image of who he wanted to be because “the truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself… he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end” (Fitzgerald 98). Before becoming Jay Gatsby, he was James Gatz, a boy with a huge imagination and belief in the American Dream, a belief of a fairytale life where he would work hard, be rich, and have Daisy. Some considered Gatsby to be a bootlegger, or a phony. Gatsby is, in fact, both of these. The only thing is that it was real- Gatsby truly believed all of the lies he told and stories he put forth.

For those of you who have read the book, maybe you fell in love with the romantic ways of Gatsby, how he stopped at nothing to try and reach his life goal of being with the lovely Daisy Buchanan, a woman with a voice full of money. But maybe, like me, you found little in yourself to compare with Jay Gatsby and therefore did not find the book as incredible and outstanding as many people say. If the latter pertains to you, then you were most likely slightly disappointed. Not disappointed in your teacher, but disappointed because you found it hard to relate to said book. Don’t get me wrong, the themes are important, but the character of Jay Gatsby just didn’t speak to me like I wanted him to. Yes, I found it hard to relate to a character that made money by illegal means but I also don’t see myself as the type to change who I am simply to suit another person, as Gatsby did when he fell in love with Daisy. However, perhaps don’t side with me at all, but rather with Nick Carraway when he so kindly tells us, “life is much more successfully looked at from a single window, after all,” but even then it is hard to deny that the connection just isn’t there (Fitzgerald 4). How can a person get anywhere in life being so one minded by looking at life through one window? It just isn’t realistic. Instead of solely offering The Great Gatsby, students should be given a choice of Gatsby or a similar book; one titled Breakfast at Tiffany’s which is about a girl who reinvents herself in an attempt to reach the American Dream and find herself.

Don’t get me wrong, the themes are important, but the character of

Jay Gatsby just didn’t speak to me like I wanted him to…

the connection just isn’t there

Breakfast at Tiffany’s, a novel written by Truman Capote, is about a young woman in the time right around World War II named Holly Golightly. Like Gatsby, Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a story that revolves mostly around the American Dream with some reinvention thrown in the mix, too. Like in Gatsby, whose narrated by Nick, this story is also narrated by a character who is not the protagonist, who Holly calls “Fred.” After some time it is clear, through Fred’s depiction of her story, that Holly is a socialite who loves throwing noisy parties and being the center of attention. At one of Holly’s said parties, Fred meets O.J. Berman, a Hollywood actor’s agent who questions Fred on the realness of Holly. Fred disagrees with this confusing question so O.J. answers with “you’re wrong. She’s a phony. But on the other hand you’re right. She isn’t a phony because she’s a real phony. She believes all this crap she believes. You can’t talk her out of…these ideas” (Capote 30). Holly is, in fact, a real phony because, hidden beneath the outer frame of herself, lies a girl named Lulamae Barnes who ran away from home at the age of fourteen and never looked back. Yes, she lied along the way to get to where she then stood, but to Holly it never seemed that way. She is the truth behind a real phony- she truly believes all of the lies she spins and is “such a goddamn liar, maybe she don’t know herself any more” (Capote 32). Holly, like Gatsby, cannot differentiate between the old her and the new one. This book resonated with me a lot more than Gatsby did. Honestly, I was able to relate more to the character of Holly Golightly than to that of Jay Gatsby.

Holly… is the truth behind a real phony- she truly

believes all of the lies she spins

There are similarities between Holly and Gatsby but there are also contrasting aspects that set them apart from each other. The similarities between Holly and Gatsby (or Lulamae and Gatz) are that they both came from backgrounds they did not want to be part of and therefore changed their stories. The lying became natural, a part of themselves that they never intended but happened because they truly believed in all of it. They both just wanted to recreate themselves in order to reach the American Dream. Holly is just trying to find out who she is, something that all of us can relate to. Holly is lost; she’s still searching for who she wants to be. Not only is she hopelessly chasing the American Dream, but she is struggling with self-identity. Gatsby never had a problem identifying himself. When he was young, “it was James Gatz who had been loafing along the beach that afternoon…but it was already Jay Gatsby who borrowed a rowboat” and it was that identity that he stuck with his entire life (Fitzgerald 98). Gatsby is, from the start, a formed identity with a fully formed dream. Gatsby knows what he wants and never looks back.

So why did I connect more with Breakfast at Tiffany’s than to Gatsby? I believe I feel a strong connection to Holly because I see a bit of myself in her. It isn’t just that we’re the same gender, because frankly, that has nothing to do with it. I am still young and growing up. I have no idea where I want to be in ten years, let alone where I even want to go to college. I have not run away from home like Holly did but I certainly have not planned out my whole future and made a persona for myself. Sometimes I feel like I’m on the right track in my life but other times I do feel that I don’t even know myself anymore. Gatsby didn’t speak to me because I found it a bit unrealistic- life isn’t a fairytale no matter how hard one may wish it is. It just doesn’t seem possible to me for a man to recreate a future for himself and have it come true. Let alone include other people also. It may be a stretch for some but I don’t think I’m alone in feeling this way.

Perhaps these two books and the stories they tell should be taught in tenth grade as a choice or even in conjunction with each other. The bigger question is actually: why should we even bother with either of these books? Well, they relate to everyone because they tell the stories of heritage and chasing the American Dream. I also believe this because although they are both about similar characters, the stories are told from different perspectives as one protagonist is male and the other is female. The reason many instructors are so inclined to teach The Great Gatsby, and why Breakfast at Tiffany’s should be taught, is because there is, in fact, a bit of Jay Gatsby and Holly Golightly in each of us; something that each of us can relate to whether we know it or not.

Works Cited
Capote, Truman. Breakfast at Tiffany’s. New York: Random House, 1950. Print

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1925. Print
Packer Collegiate Institute. 2012-13 Curriculum Guide. Brooklyn: 2012. PDF on School Website