Comments for MR. A's PLACE

Comment on Gatsby Blog 3 by Randy Always Nguyen

Randy Always Nguyen — Tue, 08 May 2012 02:05:39 +0000

In the last section of “The Great Gasp,” the readers learn more about why the character from which the book’s name came from gasps. Chapters 17, 18, and 1900 also bring the book’s underlying conflicts to the seafloor. If my calculations are correct, Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship is now discovered by Tom. So, this in turn, encourages Tom, who wants to start a riot with Gatsby to win back the myogenic muscular organ aka the heart of Daisy. Daisy, in wonderland dropped off by the fighting men, also creates more issues by eating rainbows and dropping off butterflies. Ahhhhhhh…. To be continued…

Comment on Gatsby Blog 3 by Sophia K

Sophia K — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:28:32 +0000

‘She vanished into her rich house, into her rich, full life, leaving Gatsby–nothing. He felt married to her, that was all. They met two days later. Her porch was bright as she turned toward him and he kissed her curious and lovely mouth. Gatsby was overwhelmingly aware of the youth and mystery that wealth imprisons and preserves, of the freshness of so many clothes, and of Daisy, gleaming like silver, safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor.’
pg. 149-150

Chapters 7, 8, and 9 mainly focus on Gatsby and Tom’s fight over Daisy being brought out into the open and then Gatsby’s funeral, as described by Nick. Daisy goes back to Gatsby after he comes into money, and although they were in love before, love wasn’t enough for Daisy. Daisy needed money and material objects in order to achieve happiness. Once Gatsby is rich, Daisy leaves Tom in order to be with him, showing the shallowness of the upperclass. The previous quote describes, again, Daisy’s belief that in order to achieve happiness she had to be above the poor. Gatsby was completely in love with Daisy but she turned down that love in order to be with Tom who was more “well off.” The rhetoric of the last three chapters is very strong and successful because it shows how flawed and distructive not only society but the American Dream was–if happiness was caused only by money, how were real relationships ever supposed to form?
After all of Gatsby’s parties that made him gain status, recognition, “friends,” and ultimately, Daisy, his funeral in chapter nine should have come as a shock. Most of his friends didn’t show up, and Daisy had run off with Tom without leaving an address. It was sad, really, how materialistic and again, how shallow the relationships were that his “friends” wouldn’t even come to his own funeral, and how the “Great love of his life” leaves as soon as he dies with someone else who is better off.

Comment on Gatsby Synthesis Blog Assignment Week Two (Due by the beginning of class on Thursday 4/12) by Sophia K

Sophia K — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:08:32 +0000

“Well, I’m going to tell you something about my life,” he interrupted. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea of me from all these stories you hear.”
So he was aware of the bizzare accusations that flavored conversation in his halls.
“I’ll tell you God’s truth.” His right hand suddenly ordered divine retribution to stand by. “I am the son of tome wealthy people in the Middle West–All dead now. I was brought up in America but educated in Oxford, because all my ancestors have been educated there for many years… It is a family tradition.”
pg. 65

Reading chapters 3-6 taught me a lot more about the main theme of the book, which included the decline of the American dream in the 1920s and the importance of materialistic means in society. Chapter four consists largely describing the mysterious question surrounding Gatsby’s past. The previous quote, which took place in chapter four, highlights the point of how materialistic 1920s society was. Nick gets the impression that Gatsby’s fortune may not have been obtained honestly, believing much of his money may have been stemmed in organized crime or bootlegging.
Gatsby, who is contantly organizing parties not only to lure Daisy back, but to gain social status and friends, is always being judged on his past. Hundreds of important, wealthy people show up at his parties as his “friends” becaus he has money, but then are constantly talking behind his back creating rumors surrounding his ways of obtaining wealth. Accusing someone who is supposed to be your friend as a “bootlegger” shows the shallowness of the society, how people can go to your house and basically take advantage of you to gain wealth and social status, but can still talk badly about you. It shows that they are not true friends–that they don’t care about who you are, or where you come from if they don’t even believe you when you tell them. The fact that Gatsby has to defend himself and his past to someone who is supposed to be his “friend” goes to show how materialistic the society is.

Comment on Gatsby Blog 3 by Doug Horan

Doug Horan — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:07:46 +0000

The last three chapters of the book were definitely the most intriguing. Tom and Gatsby got into a heated battle over Daisy. Fitzgerald is able to show how much Tom and Gatsby are acting like children. This can relate to a video in which two baby’s fight over a pacifier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsHyyAi3F7w. Despite the childlike behavior, Fitzgerald’s rhetoric is very effective because he shows how flawed the American dream has become. Gatsby chased Daisy with all his heart in order to fulfill his dream of having money and a woman. On page 155 Nick tells Gatsby to go away, but after talking to him Nick realizes: “He wouldn’t consider it. He couldn’t possibly leave Daisy until he knew what she was going to do. He was clutching at some last hope and I couldn’t bear to shake him free.” Gatsby had become obsessed with the dream of having Daisy, and in his mind, he couldn’t stop until he had her. Fitzgerald purpose in writing this book is to show how corrupt the American dream was. In reality, Gatsby probably did not even like Daisy, he just liked the idea of0 being with her. This really shows how corrupt the American dream had become. It was not about happiness and freedom but rather greed and possession. Gatsby wanted others to think he was rich and had a girl. This resulted in death for him, and Fitzgerald therefore does a great job of showing his purpose through his rhetorical writing.

Comment on Gatsby Blog 3 by Brendan Smith

Brendan Smith — Wed, 02 May 2012 01:50:20 +0000

During the last three chapters of The Great Gatsby the story of the infamous Jay Gatsby comes to an end as we see conflicting stories of betrayal and adultery meet when Daisy kills Myrtle Wilson out of anger and jealousy that she has for Myrtle because she was cheating with Tom. The end of the book goes through many twists and turns ultimately ending the story in the present time when Wilson kills Gatsby out of revenge for killing and having an affair with his wife. Even though it was Daisy, Gatsby was looking to protect Daisy and take any blame, and Tom steered Wilson in the “right” direction. After this Nick skips ahead to Gatsby’s funeral and we meet his dad, and Owl Eyes makes a final return but with little rhetorical or literary significance. We learn the Gatsby has always had the wanting to be more than he ever could be but we also see how his life was filled with lies and severed relationships.
Gatsby’s mindset of the American dream and being someone more than who you are and being your own image of yourself being successful intrigued me. As Fitzgerald was writing this book, he was writing along with the real development of the whole concept of the American dream. Though usually the American dream is pinned on immigrants, nothing is stopping those who live in this country to realize why people come here, to see what the dream is all about. In his last two sentences Nick talks about how Gatsby believed in that green light. Though we are never told exactly what that light is in real life, it is a symbol in the book for the very dreams Gatsby had for himself that were taken away faster than anyone could’ve imagined because of Tom’s manipulative powers.
http://www.e-scoala.ro/referate/engleza_fitzgerald_american.html

Comment on Gatsby Blog 3 by Caroline Kuzoian

Caroline Kuzoian — Tue, 01 May 2012 17:15:52 +0000

I noticed in chapter 7 that the weather plays a big role, as a physical factor and symbolically. In this chapter the affair of Gatsby and Daisy is revealed to Tom, and the whole scene is extremely heated, just like the weather. I found a website that analyzes the role of weather in literature. It discussed “The relationship between a state of mind and a given climate”. Sunny weather could mean a good mood, while dark and cloudy weather suggests a gloomy mood. It also talked about the importance of opposition in weather. The hot weather in chapter 7 parallels the tension brought on because of the affairs and the drama in West and East Egg.

Fitzgerald definitely used this hot weather for symbolic and slightly rhetorical effect. There are countless times in chapter 7 where the hot weather is mentioned, and symbolized in many different things. One great example of this symbolism is when Gatsby and Nick join the Buchanans and Jordan for lunch: “We had a luncheon in the dining-room, darkened too against the heat, and drank down nervous gayety with the cold ale” (118). In the same scene Fitzgerald wrote, “`But it’s so hot,’ insisted Daisy, on the verge of tears, `and everything’s so confused” (118). In the first part of that section, Fitzgerald symbolizes the heat as something that the Buchanans are blocking out (or trying to ignore), like they do with all the drama in their lives. The rest of the quote symbolizes that the hot weather is causing (or revealing) much confusion. This symbolism is also rhetorically effective in showing that West and East Egg are full of scandal, and people seem to cover up and ignore it. For instance, Fitzgerald’s is saying that these socialites have so many dilemmas and think that they can just block them out and pretend they don’t exist. Also, Fitzgerald criticizes them of their “solution” to these problems which is by drinking cold ale. In this way the symbolism of weather used in chapter 7 also adds to the rhetorical purpose of uncovering the perils that come with living the American Dream.

http://www.symbolism.org/writing/books/sp/6/home.html

Comment on Gatsby Blog 3 by Dennis Green

Dennis Green — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:10:16 +0000

In the last the chapters of The Great Gatsby, there are many new and old conflicts that continue to take place. One of these, is the ongoing love affair between Gatsby and Daisy. Finally, the history as to what has truly happened between the two of them is unveiled. Gatsby finally reveals how he actually feels for Daisy, and the tone that Fitzgerald uses really captures how he feels. It seems like Gatsby may have been attracted to Daisy for the wrong reasons, and not because he truly loved her. He wanted a woman whom he could show off to the world as his, and Daisy was pretty and wealthy, so she would fill both needs. I think that Gatsby felt a little bad about this because in the end, he seemed to be very materialistic, and did not actually value Daisy for who she really was, he valued her lavish lifestyle and beautiful looks.
“He had never been in such a beautiful house before. But what gave it an air of breathless intensity was that Daisy lived there”
I think that this quote shows that although Gatsby was all about the wealth, and money, that he actually did love Daisy for who she was. This is a recurring theme that Fitzgerald brings up throughout this book. Even though Gatsby’s ultimate goal was to live the American Dream, and become as wealthy as possible, he couldn’t seem to be happy without the presence of Daisy in his life. She provided the perfect fit by being both stunningly attractive, and born with wealth. Overall, another theme that comes up is failure because in the end, Gatsby dies without having settled down with Daisy, so in his mind he would have failed at living the so-called dream life.

Comment on Gatsby Blog 3 by John Dinucci

John Dinucci — Tue, 01 May 2012 04:13:07 +0000

In the last few chapters, we find that all the true natures of the characters. The last chapter shows how Tom confronts the matter of Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship with one another. Because of the blunt approach that Tom took in confronting the matter, it left them both, Daisy and Gatsby, in an uncomfortable situation. Even though we were introduced to the idea that Gatsby might have acquired his fortune through bootlegging much earlier in the novel, it just spurred my interest now because it was a prominent factor in why Daisy was straying away from the idea of being with Gatsby and had more logical support as to why she should stay with Tom. “ I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him and I wasn’t wrong.” (141), said Tom. Before explaining the significance of this accusation, one most know that bootlegging is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law. Despite this being a lucrative business for Gatsby, the more and more the idea is exposed to Daisy the less attracted to him she felt. This slightly confused me because during this same time both Daisy and Tom acted immorally yet she had not viewed Tom or herself as being “in the wrong”. Both have proved to be unfaithful in their marriage (more so of Tom) yet because Tom made his points much more powerful than Gatsby’s; the fact that he had earned his wealth unorthodoxly was a turn off for Daisy. This was somewhat hypocritical of her and showed that the feelings of Tom, Daisy, and most likely Gatsby were superficially and lacked any real depth.

Comment on Gatsby Blog 3 by Dan G

Dan G — Tue, 01 May 2012 02:57:50 +0000

During the last three chapters of The Great Gatsby, we see the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby take multiple twists and turns. After first meeting Gatsby, it was obvious that Daisy was infatuated with Gatsby, and spent much time with him and Nick. At Tom and Daisy’s house the relationship reaches a new high when Daisy says, “As he left the room again she got up and went over to Gatsby, and pulled his face down kissing him on the mouth. ‘You know I love you,’ she murmured. (122)” In this scene, Daisy waits until her husband leaves the room only to confess her love for Gatsby. The two are practically inseparable. However, this all changes when Tom confronts Gatsby in the plaza of a hotel in New York. He questions Gatsby’s lifestyle and accuses him of obtaining his money illegally. He then goes on and tells Gatsby that him and Daisy are in love on a level that he will never be able to understand. Daisy feels herself moving closer and closer to Tom as the argument continues. This is basically the turning point in Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship. The relationship comes to a conclusion when Nick sees Gatsby waiting outside Daisy’s house at night to “make sure she is safe.” Daisy never comes out once to talk to Gatsby, who ends up going home at four in the morning. Both Tom and Daisy were no where to be found when Nick tried to invite them to Gatsby’s funeral showing that Daisy had completely lost interest in him and was back with Tom.

The situation with Daisy, Gatsby, and Tom really reveals a lot about Daisy’s personality; she is attracted to wealth, power, and luxury. When she first met Gatsby in 1917, she was in love with him because of his great riches and his exciting background. Also, when they finally meet again, she starts to fall in love with him because of his house, wealth, military achievements, and his parties; but it never seems like she loves him for his personality. Then, when she sees Tom question Gatsby and attempt to defend his relationship with his wife, she begins to see that Tom is truly the guy for her. She sees his power and authority as attractive qualities; something that Gatsby seemed to lack. Tom is very wealthy and very controlling, which is probably why she married him instead of waiting for Gatsby like she promised. Daisy can be classified as a gold digger; meaning she wants money and as much of it as she can. A first, she saw Gatsby’s huge house and enormous parties and was instantly infatuated. But, after seeing that Tom is still capable of the same things as Gatsby, she fell back in love with him.

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/canalysis.html

Comment on Gatsby Blog 3 by Toby

Toby — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:04:36 +0000

In the last few chapters of the Great Gatsby, it becomes clear that the book was highly symbolic of the American 1920’s as a whole, in particular the decline of the American Dream. Fitzgerald portrays the 1920’s as an era of decayed social and moral values. This is seen in the book through the characters wealth, greed, infidelity, and the pursuit of pleasure. The main plot of the book reflects the decay of the American Dream, as Gatsby’s dream of loving Daisy is ruined when he is killed in his pool, and his resort to crime in order to gain enough money to impress her. The American Dream was originally about discovery, individualism, and the pursuit of happiness. In the book, the west is representative of people who still follow these traditional values, and the east represents people who look for easy money, and follow corrupt social values. All of the wealthy people in west-egg, such as Gatsby and Meyer Wolfshiem represent people who are “Self-made rich”, and have acquired their money through the rise of organized crime and bootlegging.
In the article I found, it discusses how the American Dream was not present in the 1920’s and that is what shaped the 1920’s into what it was. In the article it talks about the reckless feeling that many people demonstrated that led to wild parties, and jazz music. This behavior is clearly seen at all of Gatsby’s parties, because of all of the people’s unrestrained want for money and pleasure. In the article, it talks about how many people who were previously unhealthy, came into possession of lots of money through business’s to make quick cash, often illegal and immoral. These types of people are present in the novel, Gatsby being a prime example, and many of the other people in West egg who have recently acquired wealth. The traditional values the represent the American Dream, and not a corrupt one, are still very present on the west coast, and in the mid-West. At the end of the book, after Nick has seen the effects of the corrupt American Dream on the east coast, he decides to move back to Minnesota where traditional values have not been decayed.

http://www.e-scoala.ro/referate/engleza_fitzgerald_american.html