Primary and Secondary Sources

For your Literary Analysis, you will need to incorporate both primary and secondary sources to help prove claims. View the video below to understand more about finding and using primary and secondary sources.

View the sample essays from the video above. Notice how the primary and secondary sources work together to prove the claims.

Sample Essay #1:

In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock to symbolize Gatsby’s dream that he can never reach. At the end of Chapter 1, Nick sees Gatsby “stretching out his arms toward the dark water… and distinguished nothing except a single green light” (Fitzgerald 12). Gatsby really wants something that is far away—both physically and emotionally. His arms reaching out but not touching anything reinforces the idea that he has not attained his desire. Literary expert Sarah Churchwell says the green light is like a “mirage of success” (Churchwell 52). Mirages look real, but they are not -- meaning his success looks real but is not. Fitzgerald uses this symbol to show that some dreams, no matter how much someone wants them, will always stay just out of reach.

Sample Essay #2:

Ponyboy Curtis starts The Outsiders as a smart but innocent boy who feels caught between being a Greaser and wanting to understand life in a deeper way. Early in the book, he says, “I lie to myself all the time. But I never believe me” (Hinton 34). He struggles with his feelings and does not always know how to deal with them, especially in a world where guys are supposed to act tough. As the story goes on, Ponyboy starts to think more seriously about violence and who he really is. Readers see that "Ponyboy's emotions and love for reading help him grow into someone who sees things more clearly and with more understanding by the end of the story"(Taylor 165). By writing everything down, Ponyboy turns his pain into something important. He realizes that he’s not just a Greaser—he’s also a deep thinker, a writer, and a person who is learning to look beyond what people seem like on the outside.

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