The Great Gatsby Dialectical Journal Essay

July 06, 2012
Journal #2 – Miss Brill
“Behind the rotunda the slender trees with yellow leaves down drooping”.
This quote represents Miss Brill’s old age. Using the autumn season means that Miss Brill is long past her prime and is about to enter the final stage of her life – winter. Also, the “yellow leaves” described in the story are colourless and decayed, just like Miss Brill. At the end of the story, the boy and the girl basically say that Miss Brill is decayed and obsolete by calling her a “stupid old thing” who wears a very weird fur around herself.
“Miss Brill was glad that she had decided on her fur”. “Dear little thing! It was nice to feel it again”. “She unclasped the necklet quickly; quickly, without looking, laid it inside”.
These quotes show the situational irony found with Miss Brill’s fur. The fur was supposed to bring happiness to Miss Brill as she was excited to wear it in the beginning. Instead, the fur brought despair to Miss Brill when the boy and the girl mock how odd she is, wearing the fur that “is so funny”. Miss Brill walks home devastated and in a sense, even blames the fur at the end as she quickly puts away the fur without even looking at it.
“She had taken it out of its box that afternoon, shaken out the moth powder, given it a good brush, and rubbed the life back into the dim little eyes”. “It’s exactly like fried whiting”. “But today, she passed the baker’s by, climbed the stairs, went into the little dark room – her room like a cupboard”. “What has been happening said to me? Said the sad little eyes”.
These quotes show how the fur symbolizes Miss Brill. The fur is isolated, locked up in a box that is hidden in dark and also obsolete as it is a very old fashioned piece of clothing. Likewise, Miss Brill is a lonely woman who seems to be detached from the community. Since the beginning, she seems isolated already as she is an English teacher with a non-French surname living in France. She is also lonely as “Miss” Brill also implies that she is an unmarried woman. Miss Brill does not interact with the people at the park, but instead puts herself in a fantasy while eavesdropping on other people’s conversations. She also treats the inanimate fur like a friend, conversing with it in the beginning.

Brian Wang
July 06, 2012
Questions – Miss Brill
2.
Miss Brill’s nationality seems more English and not French. The story takes place in autumn, symbolizing her old age and takes place mostly in a park. While most others are conversing with one another at the park, this shows the contrast between Miss Brill and most of the other people at the park; Miss Brill does not say one word to anyone.
3. Miss Brill is very old, unmarried and she is lonely so she listens in on conversations.
4. Miss Brill is excited especially this Sunday as she is wearing her fur, and she enjoys her Sundays at the park because this is where she feels less isolated; she is able to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations.
5. The woman in the ermine toque is similar to Miss Brill herself, alone. The toque has also decayed just like Miss Brill.
6. At the beginning she is excited and glad that she is going to the park with her beloved fur. At the end, she is devastated. She is a developing character as she realizes what others truly think about her.
7. The fur serves as a symbol to Miss Brill herself and the meaning of the final sentence shows that she admits her empty life.
8. She comes to a realization of her lonely life and she is unable to supress these
truths.