In IB English, we are learning how to write our Paper 2 essays. The premise is to ensure that we, as readers, understand how to properly analyze the content in our books.

But this analysis part always seems particularly challenging for me. 

When writing The Great Gatsby, did F. Scott Fitzgerald intentionally describe the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg on a billboard overlooking the Valley of Ashes in order to represent God judging American society as a moral wasteland? Was this really what he wanted us to get out of his nuanced description or did we as a society overanalyze his words?

It took me a Reddit thread about Gatsby and a digital camera to finally figure it out: everything has a deeper meaning, and analyzing text has been our English teacher’s way of trying to get us to understand.

In November, I filmed a friend’s birthday with my digital camera. Trying to emulate the 73 questions that Vogue asks celebrities with a hint of “The Office,” I walked around the dinner table interviewing each one of my friends as they mingled, yelling at each other over the background music by Men I Trust and Steve Lacy.

Rewatching the videos, I realize every second of the film is intentional. I zoom into the birthday girl as she tosses her head back after we joke about her failed attempt at acting conceited. 

This framing draws attention to the subtle twinkle in her eyes and her wide smile. Zooming into this moment was my way of forever capturing the warmth of this heartfelt moment.

I could have recorded the video on my iPhone with a quality that is better by tenfold, but I chose to record on my camera, hoping to evoke a sense of affection. 

Even this mere choice has its own layer of meaning.

I’m oddly selective with the events I take my camera to, usually ones that I want to forever remember like last year’s Sidekick banquet, my DECA trips or even road trips I take with my family.

So what may seem like a fun recording of a birthday party actually holds a significance that’s more than what meets the eye. 

And if there is this much meaning just behind a memory captured by my camera, an author must put endless amounts of thought into the words that flow to form their story. As fun as it is to joke about how an English teacher will never stop harping on about the green light in Gatsby, these specific details do warrant an analysis. 

Follow Sri Achanta (@sriachanta_) and @CHSCampusNews on X.