Task A -Examine the relationships between the
narrator of each novel and the character
who so fascinates them in each case.
Over the last fifty years, since the release of On The Road in 1957, it has not been uncommon for critics to draw parallels between Kerouac's semi-autobiographical novel and Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, released thirty-two years previously. It is for certain that both the novels share many similar traits, both examine concepts of American ideals and The American Dream, both are heavily influenced by the jazz age of the time, but nothing binds the novels closer to one another than the authors' use of the first person narrative and that narrators relationship with their leading character.
It is perhaps the most common reading to see both Jay Gatsby and Dean Moriarty awarded iconic status by their corresponding narrators. The connotations concerning the epithet found in the very centre of Fitzgerald's title alone can bring an image to the reader's mind of one of history's great leaders, putting Gatsby in league with characters such as Alexander the Great, Catherine the Great, Peter the Great and Frederick the Great. It would seem obvious from the title that Gatsby is one beheld with admiration and respect by the narrator.
The relationship between Kerouac's Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty is often viewed in much the same light. The importance of Dean to Sal is visible from his very first paragraph, where he states that, "the coming of Dean Moriarty began the part of my life you could call my life on the road". Within a short time period, Sal allows his life to be turned in a completely different direction by someone who is basically a stranger. This willingness to uproot and follow somebody else's lifestyle pays a great compliment to Dean.
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Peer Reviews
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Quality of writing
The Quality of Written Communication is of a very high standard. There is an excellent use of a wide variety of punctuation, ranging from the fairly basic comma and full stops to semi-colons, colons and parentheses. There are no spelling mistakes and the grammar of this candidate is clear and conforms to the writing standards expected of an analytical essay.
Level of analysis
The Level of Analysis indicates that this candidate is completely capable of achieving the top band of marks as this is a highly original, highly well-informed piece that draws on a number of sources, all cited, to inform their answer. As well as quoting from the source text, as is imperative in analytical essays, this candidate shows they have the ability to go one further and quote from external, independent research - this is examiners really want to see. This shows an excellent writing flair and an enthusiasm for both texts, as well as demonstration of the fully-fledged holistic understanding that is required of candidates hoping to do well with a question like this. The answer covers a range of ideas that the authors of the novels have integrated into their characters. Similarities and differences in equal wamount have been identified (all candidates much exercise the ability to do this; a balanced argument is far more effective in analytical merit than essays with a clear bias to one text, as the latter example does not show full understanding of both novels). Overall, this essay is a very strong response that shows a candidate with knowledge of both texts and an incentive to research further information to fortify their response.
Response to question
This essay asks candidates to draw comparisons between the relationships between the protagonists and the narrators of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' (Nick Carraway) and Jack Kerouac's 'One The Road' (Sal Paradise). This candidate retains an immensely strong focus on the subject question and every point they make is backed up with very clear evidence of understanding of the two novels' plots, themes and characters, as well as drawing upon the similarities and difference between the two relationships. There is plenty of content here to cover enough information to achieve a high A grade, but it does not appear too extensive - this is good because it shows an ability to be able to analyse and compare effectively in concise lengths; a skill highly appreciated by examiners who have to mark many essays at a time.
