Question

In this section, you’ll analyze how a text’s main theme is supported by particular details and identify how to properly cite information.

You follow a book reviewer who hosts a virtual read-along through their blog. Each month, they choose a theme and a book that goes along with it. Sometimes, they ask their followers for suggestions on what book to read next.

This month, the blogger has decided to focus on the theme of the American Dream, or the idea that anyone can make it in America through hard work.

Based on the mini descriptions of each novel, which novel would be best for this month’s read-along?

1984, a dystopian novel about limiting freedom and individuality
. The Great Gatsby, a novel whose narrator moves to New York City to gain financial and social status
The Stranger, a novel in which the main character is indifferent to society and his place in it
Dune, a sci-fi epic about politics and ecology on a distant desert planet

Answer 1

Best choice: The Great Gatsby.

Why: The novel centers on characters who move to New York to pursue wealth, status, and reinvention — core elements of the American Dream. Gatsby’s lavish parties, his reinvention from James Gatz into Jay Gatsby, his illegal means to acquire wealth, and his obsessive pursuit of Daisy as a symbol of social success all illustrate both the promise and the corruption/failure of that dream. Symbols like the Valley of Ashes and the green light further critique the idea that hard work alone guarantees success.

How to cite the novel (examples)

- MLA (book): Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Scribner, 2004.
In-text (MLA): (Fitzgerald 23)

- APA (book): Fitzgerald, F. S. (1925). The great Gatsby. Scribner.
In-text (APA): (Fitzgerald, 1925, p. 23)

Notes:
- Page numbers vary by edition; replace “23” with the correct page from the edition you use.
- If you cite a blogger’s mini description instead of the novel, cite the blog post (author, date, title, URL) in the chosen style.