During our first session we reviewed and discussed edits to Nina's final essay on "Huck Finn." I provided instruction on sentence clarity and punctuation. We then worked on redrafting sentences to improve and sharpen the essay's focus on the thesis statement.During our second session, we began our discussion of Chapter 1 of "The Great Gatsby." Nina discussed the character traits of Daisy,Tom , and Jordan Baker. I noted how both Tom and Gatsby are seeking to recapture their past and discussed the role of time in the novel. We then explored the use of color as a symbol including the famous "green light" of Gatsby's aspirations, the stark whiteness of Daisy's home , her dresses and the flowing white curtains, and last the raised gold printing on the cover of Nick's finance books. Nina further examined the social class structure references in the text including the geographical and social class separation of East Egg and West Egg and Fitzgerald's references to the rich upper class as members "of a distinguished secret society", one that Gatsby longs to belong to but to which he can not purchase entry .