Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Interpreter of Maladies

Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
"She walked slowly, carrying some puffed rice tossed with peanuts and chili peppers in a large packet made from newspapers" (Lahiri, page 149).

The ignorance of Mrs. Das captivated the entirety of the short story. I did not notice until after the conclusion of the short story that Mrs. Das' rice would play such an important role in the story and was mentioned early in the story but left unnoticed. The story is full of intense description of events and people. Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi are both dissected early in the story on pages 148 and 149 leaving a distinct image of them for the remainder of the story. Further into the story I found an oxymoron of "humorless jokes" (Lahiri, page 151). The oxymoron allows for a greater understanding of the quite different focus of the story line. Mr. Kapasi's address seems to play an important role in the outcome and events of the story. Once Mrs. Das revealed her long kept secret, the address seemed to simbolize her readiness to leave the life she was a piece of. Mrs. Das' ignorace came into play when she did not understand the surroundings she was in and carelessly did not pay attention to the rice she was dropping for the monkeys. When her child of a different man was attacked, she seemed to notice that she was internally attacking the issue she has at hand with an outward attack of the reminder of her past careless and ignorant actions. The address flying away allowed for Mrs. Das to return to her previous life of lies as she is left with the past mistake she made for the remainder of her life and nothing could fix that for her. 

Everyday Use

"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker
"Have you ever seen a lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by some careless person rich enough to own a car, sidle up to someone who is ignorant enough to be kind to him" (Walker, page 174-175).

The immediate reaction to the short story was specifically displayed in this quote on the second page of the story. Immediately, the narrator, the mom, points out the flaws she sees in her own family and the culture she feels excluded from. The entire short story wraps around the theme that the narrator is resisting the urge to conform to the society that her own daughter has fell victim to. The mother discusses how her eldest daughter decides to change her name to a cultural name to reflect her stance of the importance of her culture. Furthermore, Maggie seems reluctant to the culture that she was brought up in as her mother displays in the quote as the image of Maggie sliding up to a person who is rich is implied. Likewise, Maggie seems to be a foil character to her  sister. Maggie embraces the culture of the new world they are living and trying to fit into it. Wangero seems to be reaching back into her roots and embrace the world and culture they all came from. The symbol of the quilts seem to display the direct contrast of the characters as Maggie is envisioned to not appreciate the quilt and let it ruin under use. Wangero states that she will hang the quilt in order to cherish her culture and pay hommage to her grandmother. 

Princess and the Frog

"Hazel Tells LaVerne" by Katharyn Howd Machan
"me a princess" (Machan).

Question three at the end of the poem brings out something I noticed as I read the poem. The lack of punctuation leaves the reader to identify the type of person the speaker is. The lack of punctuation and the line structures add the poem its own punctuation and flow. The lines are split up like a person would pause when reading the poem as more of a story of paragraph. Furthermore, the use of slang in the poem also lead me to initiate the thought that the speaker is an uneducated southern girl. Emphasis on certain lines also came across with the line structure of the poem. The speaker puts full emphasis on certain lines but also puts feeling and emotion in the poem of disbelief at the scene. The last two lines give a natural confusion break in the poem that allows for more understanding of the event. Therefore, from the line structure of the poem and understanding of the speaker's identity, I conclude that the poem  portrays the opportunity to be removed from a lower position by some sort of man or opportunity that is resembled in the frog. After the frog was removed from the speaker's room, the disbelief and shock of the speaker seem apparent as she immediately dwells on her dismissal of the frog and the opportunity that she passed up by ridding of the frog.

Mr.Z

"Mr. Z" by M. Carl Holman
"Prelate proclaimed them matched chameleon" (Holman).

The metaphor presented by Holman in the poem leads to a better understand of the poem. The chameleon provides an insight into the feelings toward his life. Chameleons change color to fit into their environment much like Mr. Z could change his personality or look to fit into the society that has left his doubting his own culture. The first line provides the first perspective into Mr. Z who believes his mother's skin was wrong initializing a thought that he was black. Furthermore, Mr. Z has given up his culture in order to become Anglo-Saxonized and fit in with the society he was thrusted into. The food mentioned in the last line of the second stanza further explains his background of being black as he denies them to be apart of his life as well. Another metaphor presented in the poem captured a fuller understanding of Mr. Z's personality. The metaphor, "An airborne plant, flourishing without roots" (Holman), allows for understanding that Mr. Z has walked away from his culture but in a positive way. As the metaphor initiates Mr. Z to be surviving without his culture, the immediate feeling portrayed is that normally people without their past cannot survive, yet Mr. Z seems to be finding himself in a good position without his culture leaving him to be a chameleon to whichever culture is the most accepted. 

Dream Deferred

"Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes
"Or does it explode?" (Hughes).

Question two at the end of the poem poses an interesting thought that I thought of myself once I notices Hughes was the author. From the context of Hughes' life, I decided the poem most similarly discussed the stuggles of a black man in the United States. The many similes and metaphor in the poem leave different images that seem to coincide with the different emotions a black person could feel in the society he lived in. The first simile provokes a feeling of shrinking, the next injury, and the next disgust. Furthermore, the rest of the language allows for feeling sof unappealing, inhibiting, and exploded. All of these emotions seem to add up to Hughes' feelings of uninvited tension between himself and the society he lived in. With emphasis on the last line with italics, Hughes seems to prevail that the last feeling he felt could have been a positive explosion that could correlate with the Civil Rights movement. Lastly, Hughes' open ended questions lead to believe that maybe he is unsure himself of what he is feeling. Maybe Hughes is leaving the questions open ended so each person in his similar situation can answer the questions themselves to relate to his feelings. The open ended questions leave the reader with a thought of wonder of what he is referring to as a dream deferred.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Poetry Interpretations

"The Nature of Proof in the Interpretations of Poetry" by Laurence Perrine

Perrine's attempt to explain that poetry can have correct and incorrect readings seems to be misleading. The second paragraph of the article gives reasons for why authors of poetry should not explain the meaning of their own poems. I happen to find myself agreeing on that particular part of the article. The mystery of the poem is what makes it desirable and allow varying interpretations for readers. If authors give away what they were writing about, the poem looses its ability to be flexible in meaning. From this paragraph, I believe Perrine seems to take an opposite opinion than my own. Much like song lyrics, poems allow can allow multiple interpretations. While a song can meaning on thing to one person, it can mean a totally different thing for another. The interpretation of a poem depends of the experiences of the person reading the poem and interpreting the poem.
As Perrine flows into the third paragraph of the article, he begins to stray from my beliefs for poem interpretation. Perrine states that a correct interpretation must account for all details of the poem. When Perrine flows into interpreting the four poems we discussed in class, he found all of the reasons for only one interpretation. Sure some of the details of Dickinson's poem lead for the poem to not be about a field, but the fun and mystery of the poem comes from the multiple interpretations of the poem. Furthermore, I disagree with using a post editor's title of "Sunset" as support for the meaning of the poem. Each person can have their own opinion and just because an editor believes in their own interpretation, it does not mean there is not more than one interpretation. The interpretation of Perrine is narrow sighted and not allowing for the artistic interpretations that poems can allow. Along with the two Civil War poems, I disagree that the second is only about stars. Although I can see where Perrine is coming from, I also believe that the poem can lead to an interpretation about a different era war.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

The End

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Chapter 9 pages 174-180
"So we beat on, boast against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past" 
(Fitzgerald, page 180).

The end has become bittersweet. With Gatsby's death, the rest of the people have moved on. I am glad that Nick has seemed to learn a lesson from Gatsby that is the lesson of the novel. Do not hold onto the past as it is your past. Move on with your life to bring new joy to your life. Gatsby seemed to hang onto the past of his life when it was nothing more than his past. When Jordan told Nick she was engaged, I was glad that Nick left. Jordan seemed angry that she could not have waited for Nick as she realized she was just like Daisy, but Nick let her go like he should have. Furthermore, I am glad that Nick decided to keep Gatsby's wish of taking the blame for Myrtle's death. Gatsby loved Daisy with all of his heart and life and his wish was to protect her in any way. He did that by dying for her and giving up his entire life for his one love
The book as a whole surprisingly keep my attention. I enjoyed reading the book and following the characters evolve and learn from their mistakes. As I compared it to many movies and television shows, my attention was kept with the same kind of story lines that occur in our culture today. The Great Gatsby has become one of my favorite historical books that I have read and I have enjoyed the connection the book and the characters have with our society today.

Always Together

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Chapter 9 pages 163-174
"The minister glanced several times at his watch, so I took him aside and asked him to wait for half an hour. But it wasn't any use. Nobody came." (Fitzgerald, page 174).

Nearing the end of the novel, I am quite saddened by the people of Gatsby's life. Luckily, Gatsby's father is found to be alive. Although I am confused at why Gatsby could not embrace his childhood life, his father seemed to understand why Gatsby was so distant. The revelation that Gatsby was trying to perfect himself seemed to shock me. I believe that Gatsby was running from something in his life. I am not fully aware of what exactly pushed him away from his former life, but he seemed to be content with his new life. Furthermore, I am still quite confused at what exactly his job was. The men that all acted as his fathers seemed to ditch him when he needed them the most. His actual father did not seek to find Gatsby in his new life, Dan Cody left Gatsby little after he died except someone to look after, and Wolfsheim failed to come to his funeral when Gatsby just needed friends. The business of Gatsby seemed to be in bootlegging which provided him a large sum of money. I am not sure why Wolfsheim, a friend, would not even come to his funeral as a gesture of kindness and compassion. Lastly, a comparison of the policemen and doctors at Gatsby's house reminded me of one of my favorite television shows, Pretty Little Liars. The show has a lot of death and mystery but Gatsby's death reminded me of the entirety of the show that is revolved around Allison's death. Her death has remained a mystery to the people of the town and many realized they did not know her as well as they thought, just like Gatsby. 

Goodbye Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Chapter 8
"It was the only compliment I ever gave him, because I disapproved of him from beginning to end" (Fitzgerald, page 154). 

Gatsby gone was surprising due to the one that ended up murdering him. Although the events seemed to be leading up to his death, I believed that Tom would kill Gatsby over Wilson. I do see that Wilson believes it was Gatsby who killed his wife and was having an affair with her but I would have thought he would have investigated a little better so he knew the full truth. When Nick said goodbye to Gatsby so he could go to work, I felt that the words led to the fact that it was their last meeting and their forever goodbyes. Furthermore, Nick's conversation with Jordan seemed to point that Jordan had told Nick something that he was left troubled. Although the end of Gatsby was to come, I felt that he left on a low note in his life. He spent his life making something of himself for Daisy. In the end though, Daisy brought his downfall with her careless driving and anger with her husband. The people of this time do not grasp that they cannot just marry for money or status. Daisy and Gatsby could have been happy together but since Daisy was impatient, she moved on without giving Gatsby a chance. Hopefully Nick can learn from Gatsby's mistake and make a life with Jordan as he himself is seeing him slowly getting older without having a stable life. Lastly, I find it interesting that Nick has admitted he disapproved of him the whole time he knew him. They seemed very close and friendly but obviously Nick felt differently than he wrote. I found Gatsby to be quite humbled in his life as he felt that his love was more important than the money he gained yet Daisy seemed to feel the money needed to come with the love. On a more random note to Gatsby's end, I am still confused on how he exactly made his money. I am not sure if the information just washed right over my head and I missed it or if the mystery of Gatsby will continue.

Surprise, Surprise!

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Chapter 7 pages 136-145
"The "death car" as the newspapers called it, didn't stop; it came out of the gathering darkness, wavered tragically for a moment, and then disappeared around the next bend" 
(Fitzgerald, page 137).

I am quite surprised with the events of this section. At first, I was confused when Myrtle was found dead. I could not wrap my head around the event that came so surprisingly. First, I want to know what George Wilson knows about his wife and Tom. He was obviously angry with Myrtle for something and it seemed to be linked to Tom although I am not sure if George knew which man it was. As the police officer ran through what happened with Tom, I first thought she had committed suicide. The event seemed to point in that direction with me as her and her husband seemed to be having a heated argument just before she was killed that was until I found out the car was yellow. From the conversation prior in the chapter between Tom and George, Nick was sure to point out the yellow car of Gatsby's. I should have seen the hint as something important as they were very specific about his yellow car. When the color of the car came up from the policeman, something more suspicious came about. At that point, I believed that Myrtle was either trying to go away with Tom or get at his presumed wife, Jordan. Otherwise, though, the reason for Myrtle to run at the car was careless and even more distraught once I learned that Daisy was driving the car but Gatsby is willing to take the fall for her. I have a feeling that the heated tension between Daisy and Tom is going to lead to the downfall of all of their friends that think of them to be ready to end their marriage. Obviously Tom is committed to not losing his wife and I think he will go to all ends to make sure nothing gets in the way of that, even Gatsby. (Maybe George will take the same path but in vengeance for his wife's death.)

We Drove on Toward Death

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Chapter 7 pages 125-136
"So we drove on toward death through the cooling twilight" (Fitzgerald, page 136).

I find the quote above to be very dark and sinister. After the blow up between Gatsby, Tom, and Daisy, I am afraid for the fate of the three. Tom has finally decided to come to terms with the fact that Daisy has been sneaking around with Gatsby recently. With this heated argument, I could not help but think about the fact that Tom has another person, too. I wonder if he thinks he can justify his relationship with Myrtle to Daisy but is angry at Daisy for justifying her relationship with Gatsby. I find many of these to people to be hypocritical but specifically Tom for this particular event. The quote I believe is foreshadowing events to come yet wrapping up the past event in the novel. At this point, Tom has given up any restraint he had and the full blown mess has arose in the heat of the argument. Nick, on the other hand, had realized for the first time in the day that it was his birthday. Nick obviously has himself so wrapped up in the situation that he has had no time for himself and when he realizes he has turned thirty, immediately speaks as if his life has already ended because he believes himself to now be old. From this, I believe the downfall of the story is about to occur. I do not believe that this has been the climax but so far, I believe that we are still leading up to a bigger breaking point where everything will totally fall quickly.

To Weave a Tangled Web of Love

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Chapter 7 pages 113-125
"Her expression was curiously familiar - it was an expression I had often seen on women's faced, but on Myrtle Wilson's face it seemed purposeless and inexplicable until I realized that her eyes, wide with jealous terror, were fixed not on Tom, but on Jordan Baker, whom she took to be his wife" (Fitzgerald, pages 124-125).

The dawning of a new chapter has brought a new, more tangled mess of a social web. Gatsby finds himself reinventing his home to suit his new secret life with Daisy. As all his staff are switched out and his parties die down, Gatsby has Daisy come to his house more often. Things do not heat up until Daisy invited Gatsby and Nick to come to her house one day. I found myself not surprised when I found out that Daisy knows of Myrtle Wilson and her husband yet she does not seem to care. Furthermore, I had no idea Daisy and Tom had a child. It is possible that it was mentioned earlier and I missed it, but I also found it strangely awkward for Daisy to have her child come out and meet Gatsby and Nick. The meeting of the child seemed to put a spark in my mind as Nick did not seem to know the child's name yet he is Daisy's cousin and I presumed that he would know those kinds of facts if he had been spending a great deal of time with her family. 
I have never heard of this book but the title seemed fitting.
Lastly, Alcohol seems to be growing in its role in the plot. The alcohol of the afternoon has taken over Tom's actions and made him quite rude and irresponsible. As far as alcohol's role in the entire story, I am finding it to be used by people to drown their feelings and mask themselves to be different people. As I am finding many of the characters to have another man or woman besides their husband or wife, I am also connecting that a lot of them drink. As Tom confided in Jordan and Nick that everyone thinks he is dumb, I believe that Tom is unraveling his mask of not caring about his wife having another man because he has another woman, that is, until he finds out his woman is planning on leaving with her husband to go west. And the web just keeps getting  larger as Myrtle believes Jordan is Tom's wife.

Time for Some Family History

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Chapter 6
"So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end" (Fitzgerald, page 98).
Surprise, Surprise. Gatsby's past is finally revealed and definitely not what I expected. I will say that I was expecting cookie-cutter lifestyle story where Gatsby was only trying to get away from his childhood and make something of himself. Sure he made something of himself but in a different way than I imagined. At the beginning of the chapter before the retelling though, Gatsby's portrayal of his life reminded me of the movie Disturbia with Shia LeBeouf. Like the creepy neighbor, Gatsby seems to have the unknown factor that could cause harm or good to his friends at his house. I am pretty certain he will not turn into a killer with the bodies in his basement but I guess anything could happen at this point. 
Furthermore, I find it strange that I am still left in the cold on what Gatsby's exact job is and how he makes his living. The story of his "inheritance" seems to be masking a worse career of Gatsby as it is revealed he did not get the small inheritance he was supposed to earn. Adding to this, he made up a past that seemed pleasing to the people of his social class yet not totally true. This past, though, seems to have shaped Gatsby into a man who misses his young love and life on the boat so he pushes to isolate himself again in the same way. I found it further interesting the Gatsby took on the name Jay Gatsby from the man that left him some money in order to become a different man that the previous Gatsby had been. 
Lastly, I find it interesting the directness of Gatsby to Tom about him knowing Daisy. I believe that Gatsby is trying to put doubt into Tom's mind about his marriage so he will leave Daisy for his mistress that I presume Nick has told Gatsby about. 

How It Reminds Me of that Sitcom

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Chapter 5
"Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her" (Fitzgerald, page 93).

This was a totally crazy yet interesting chapter. As Gatsby offers Nick a job with good money for arranging his meeting with Daisy, I am baffled at the total difference from The House of Mirth. Gatsby is willing to give up money for his love, Daisy, but Lily would not give up her lifestyle based on money for a guy she loved, Selden. Through this, Gatsby humbles himself to where I believe Nick truly idolizes Gatsby for this although he declines the offer of the job.
Through this whirlwind of a chapter, a sitcom feeling has come about. Gatsby seems to be over stressed about meeting Daisy for the first time in a while. Along with this, Nick and Gatsby are not seeing eye to eye as Gatsby is obviously quite nervous where Nick just wants to get them together and leave as quick as possible. With most sitcoms, nothing seems to come easy and Nick struggles to get Daisy and Gatsby to be on a speaking basis about what has happened. My favorite part of this whole section is while Nick answers the door for Daisy and when he walks her into the living room, Gatsby is gone. Gatsby, though, has snuck out and knocks on the door in order to pretent that this was just a happening instead of a set up. Luckily things seemed to go as planned despite the many awkward and funny moments. Although I do not particularly like this show, The Secret Life of the American Teenager came to mind for this situation. Occasionally I will watch this show and although it is quite an entirely awkward show with awkward acting, I did watch an episode where one of the main characters, Ben, was figuring out a big plan for him to meet up with his forbidden girlfriend for a date. In the show though, it does not work out as planned yet this part of Gatsby reminded me of this episode.

Gatsby's Request

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Chapter 4 pages 69-80
"There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired" (Fitzgerald, page 79).

As I met Wolfstein, I became even more confused with Gatsby's purpose in his life mystery. Gatsby mentions him to be an old friend yet I looked back on the list of the people who visited Gatsby's house the previous summer, and he was not listed at all. I figured friends of Gatsby would come to his parties. Furthermore, I could not decide if Wolfstein would be there for the purpose of having an excuse to run into Tom Buchanan or not and whether Wolfstein has a deeper connection to Gatsby's past than he lets show or no connection at all. 

The main focus of this section was in Gatsby's big request to Nick. The request as expected, came with more revelation of Gatsby's past. As Jordan explains the situation, I feel that Gatsby has given up his life to find Daisy again. Through this, I am able to feel that past in his life that he wanted to get rid of was losing Daisy and he used his parties as a distraction to the pain he felt from his lost love. I am pleased that Nick seems to feel that he should allow Daisy and Gatsby to feel the love that many of the time do not see openly. I find it quite ironic the love web that is going on currently. There is almost a lost idea of the marriage as all of the people seem to have some other person they would rather spend their time with other than their spouse. Gatsby is in love with Daisy who is married to Tom who has another woman, Mrs. Wilson who is married to Mr. Wilson. This almost makes me think of the love web from the movie She's the Man which says: Duke wants Olivia who likes Sebastian who is really Viola whose brother is dating Monique so she hates Olivia who's with Duke to make Sebastian jealous who is really Viola who's crushing on Duke who thinks she's a guy...

Why Nick?

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Chapter 4 pages 61-69
"Even Gatsby could happen, without any particular wonder" (Fitzgerald, page 69).

The list of people the visited Gatsby's home in the summer seemed to stick out a few insights into Gatsby's character. The list mostly made no sense to me as I could not pick out any of the names that I had heard of before. From that, I concluded that the list explains how Gatsby distances himself from his parties. He seems to have all of these wealthy and important people of his time at his house, yet there is no reason in his mind to care. Furthermore, I see that Gatsby must have something holding him back from letting himself mingle with the people in his home like I would expect him to do.
The main idea that came to me during this section was: Why Nick? I am totally confused on why Gatsby decides to chooses to confide his life in Nick. I feel as if Gatsby has chosen someone completely random for him to tell his life to Nick when they have not known each other long. By Gatsby's low interaction with the people at his parties, I would have expected Gatsby to be a very secluded man with his thoughts that would only tell his mysterious life to someone he fully trusts. On another note, what is up with this "old sport" thing? It has caught me off guard and seems to be quite annoying as Gatsby seems to say this in almost every sentence he says to Nick.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Mr. Jay Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Chapter 3 pages 47-59
"It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you many come across four or five time in a life" (Fitzgerald, page 48).

I did not know what a hydroplane was but this is it.
The introduction of Gatsby came at an unexpected time. He enjoys his party without being noticed yet believes that Nick knows who he is. I am not sure how Gatsby expects to receive this type of nonchalant treatment at a party where he is the most talked about subject. It almost baffles me that he is able to go unnoticed yet he seems to captivate Nick's attention once Nick learns he is speaking to Gatsby. The quote above seems to capture the feeling that Nick got once he learned who the famous Gatsby was and that Gatsby had invited him out on his hydroplane for the next morning. Along with the brief introduction and correspondance with Gatsby, the mystery of Jordan and Gatsby seems to be revealed a little more when he invites her to speak with him privately and they spend an hour together until Nick is on his way out of the party. Obviously, Jordan and Gatsby know each other on a more personal and intimate level where Gatsby actually spends time with her unlike his other party guests. 
Toward the very end of the chapter, Nick shifts to talking about his time outside of the parties he previously covered in the novel. When it is revealed that Jordan lies about a lot, I concluded that Jordan really must have lied about her reason for being at Gatsby's party as everything seems to point at the fact that she lied. I am further interested to know why her and everyone else in the society seem to lie about everything they do. "I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known" (Fitzgerald, page 59).

Circus Party

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Chapter 3 pages 39-46
"The groups change more swiftly, swell with new arrivals, dissolve and form in the same breath; and already there are wanderers, confident girls who weave here and there among the stouter and more stable, become for a sharp, joyous moment the center of the group, and then, excited with triumph, glide on through the sea-change of faces and voices and color under the constantly changing light" (Fitzgerald, pages 40-41).

The entirety of this section of the novel is consumed in Gatsby's party. The descriptions of Fitzgerald seem to fit the elaborate party that Nick was taking in slowly. The descriptions allowed for the text to not only flow, but to describe every little detail of the environment that Nick seemed to be thrown into. From the little details, I was able to conclude that I believe the party seemed to reflect an almost circus-like atmosphere where the elaborate elements seemed to mix oddly together to create this atmosphere. 

Furthermore, this part of the also brought a heightened mystery to the character of Gatsby. Everyone seems to have their own story of why Gatsby acted as he did. Gatsby seems to be a mostly faceless party host that goes unnoticed at his own party or hides from his own party. Along with the mystery of Gatsby, Jordan Baker seems to bring her own mystery to the party. After she tells Nick that she came to the party to see him, she meets up with her own group as if she needed an excuse to tell Nick previously. I was fully confused with Jordan at this point and was further confused when she seemed to know where Gatsby could possibly be. It appeared almost as if Jordan has a hidden relationship with Gatsby the brought a heightened mystery to Gatsby and Jordan. I am curious to find out Jordan's true reason for being at the party and if they have much to do with Gatsby.
Random drunk man?! I am fully confused as well with this snippet of this section. What was the purpose of the drunk man and the bookshelves. Is this somehow describing the nature of the alcohol in this 1920s society? Everyone seems drunk and really drunk. From the previous chapter where Fitzgerald wrote as a drunk Nick with confusing passages almost simulating the thoughts of Nick to this  section where everyone else seems to be overly drunk like this man. Not sure if this type of style of writing will continue in the book to where the reader is in the more intimate thoughts of Nick that the writing reflects his train of thoughts and mindset. 

Very Hollywoodesque

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Chapter 2
"Mrs. Wilson had changed her costume some time before, and was now attired in an elaborate afternoon dress of cream-colored chiffon, which gave out a continual rustle as she swept about the room. With the influence of the dress her personality had also undergone a change
(Fitzgerald, page 30).

The quote above explains the puppet like feeling from this chapter. When Mrs. Wilson jumps through many hoops to meet up with Mr. Buchanan, I felt as if this was a cover story for a tabloid that is waiting to come out. She rode in a different car, changed her clothes, and even bought stuff to hide her true reason for being in New York besides seeing her sister.
Furthermore, I found this chapter to be quite random. The chapter goes from meeting Mrs. Wilson to traveling to New York to buying a dog! Later, everyone meets in an apartment, presumably Mrs. Wilson and Mr. Buchanan's, and everyone becomes drunk. The last part of this chapter when Nick is drunk, the writing seems to reflect his mental state. I became very confused at what events were occurring. 
After finishing this chapter, I currently like Mrs. Wilson's sister Catherine. I find her seeing eye to eye with Nick and that will lead them to understand what is so confusing about the social class of the Buchanan's. 
Lastly, where is Gatsby?! Everyone seems to be bringing up this "Great Gatsby" but we have yet to meet him. I would have thought that the main focus of the novel would have shown up by this point in the novel. I am intrigued to know what is so great about Gatsby and why everyone seems to know a lot about him. This is almost how our society is with the Kardashians. Although I personally do not want to know everything about them, I seem to know quite a bit without trying and I feel like Gatsby could be the same way.


Monday, August 6, 2012

#richpeopleproblems

The Great Gatsby by F. Schott Fitzgerald
Chapter 1, pages 5-21

The introduction of Tom and Daisy Buchanan and Jordan Baker brought me to compare the people of Gatsby to the people of Mirth. Much like the people of Mirth, the people of Gatsby gossip about everything. In this quote, "We heard it from three people, so it must be true" (Fitzgerald, page 19), Tom and Daisy seem to back up their idea that Nick must be engaged because they heard it from three people. Recently while watching television, I came across a commercial that seemed to display this same idea. The State Farm commercial plays with the idea that some people can believe that everything they read on the internet is true:
Likewise, in another sense, I believe that Daisy has a habit of liking to hear herself. In this quote, "Do you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always watch for the longest day in the year and then miss it" (Fitzgerald, page 11), I felt as if Daisy just wanted to speak just to hear herself speak. After I first noticed this, I kept reading and realized she seemed to do this frequently when speaking to other people. 
Lastly, I find myself feeling the same feelings as Nick the narrator. He is in disbelief at what types of conversations and conning goes on during one dinner at his cousins house. Likewise, I felt the same way while reading Mirth and yet again while reading this. In the same way, our society today can sometimes baffle me in the same way where I am taken back at how we believe every ounce of gossip and news we read or hear.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

From a Country Man to a City Man

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Chapter 1, pages. 1-5
"No-Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed in Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men" (Fitzgerald, page 2).

As an unnamed man narrates the opening of the novel, the groundwork for the novel is laid out. The first two chapters seems to play out the general focus of the novel, Gatsby. The novel gives the background of the man who will tell us the story of why Gatsby was above reproach in his eyes. The foreshadowing of the novel seems to take over in these first few pages and I like the way that the novel almost reads to me like a Disney story would open. I am imagining a Disney princess movie where the opening is the narrator opening magical book saying "Once upon a time.." as the story appears in front of my eyes. Although I am sure Fitzgerald was not exactly aiming for this to be imagined, I find it easier to relate to when I can see if for myself in a different way. Likewise, I can directly compare the narrator to any small town person moving to the Big Apple or Los Angeles. The story almost seems relatable in another sense with the almost cookie-cutter story that the narrator seems to be telling of his life going from the Midwest to the East Coast taking his ignorance and father's words with him for the journey. Furthermore, I find the narrator to be quite relatable as we all live in the Midwest and personally, I dream of moving to New York City or a big city that is quite different from the childhood life I experienced here in Indiana. "I had just left a county of wide lawns and friendly trees" (Fitzgerald, page 3).