Tuesday, February 28, 2017


Great Gatsby Essay Question #3

How does Fitzgerald’s characterization create a tone around the theme of happiness?  What is Fitzgerald’s attitude toward happiness?  Does it depend on love, on external markers such as wealth, on repairing or atoning for the past, or on something that is unattainable?

Happiness is the feeling of being mentally/ emotionally positive. While reading Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby", none of the characters seemed "happy" to me. Throughout the whole story happiness had to depend on something; for Gatsby it was the past, for Daisy it was money, for Tom it was two women, for Jordan it was Nick and for Nick it was Gatsby's friendship. Fitzgerald tried his hardest through out the whole book to make his characters happy at least once, yet everything comes with a price. In my honest opinion, all the characters tried to be ecstatic, positive but money always got in their way. Money is truly the root to all evil, yet for a few people (Daisy and Tom) it was all the happiness they could ever need.

I felt as though Nick was the reader. He had his opinions yet they couldn't be voiced out just as much as we do. To the readers, Nick was our ray of sunshine/ happiness throughout the whole book. Maybe this is why Fitzgerald made Nick as a character, to relate him to us. The readers dealt with Nick through the whole book and read all the ordeals that occurred.  However a nagging feeling told me that he wasn't happy, perhaps it was because he was lonely. This was then when Fitzgerald gave us Jordan and later introduced Gatsby. Jordan WAS supposed to be the woman to sweep Nick off his feet and be tied down, yet issues like money (Daisy, Tom and Gatsby?) got in the way of that. Gatsby, however, is Nick's muse, his best friend. Nick acted 'himself' with Gatsby and didn't let money,love, the past or something that is unattainable get in the way.

Gatsby is a different story though. Gatsby wanted to live in the past, the past to Gatsby was his happiness and what he attempted to recuperate. However, Gatsby's past was living in the future with a husband and kid. Fitzgerald perhaps attempted to make Gatsby the American Dream but every dream has its flaws and Gatsby's flaw was Daisy. He wanted to finally be happy being with her and, now that I think about it, Fitzgerald wanted the readers to be happy by seeing romance between them. Money got in the way, as usual, for this.

Tom and Daisy are the definition of bad people. Tom had two women to himself yet he was never happy. His happiness revolved around alcohol to push his worries away. Daisy wasn't happy either, she had a cheating husband. Daisy was finally going to be "happy" with the man she "loves" yet I believe this isn't true. I believe that Daisy never loved Gatsby, just like Gatsby she was trying to re spark an old flame. In some way that made her happy, to re spark something long forgotten. Her other love however, wealth and power, killed her beloved. Daisy left on an extended vacation with Tom to be happy. Her love for Gatsby was never real, she must've just wanted to make him happy.

Fitzgerald must've thought that love wasn't true. All his characters believed in it yet in some way it got crumbled. Money was the root of all evil for most of these relationships. Money/greed  and the past killed Gatsby. He wanted the past but his past wanted money. "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made" (The Great Gatsby Chapter 9) Tom and Daisy loved nothing more then themselves and money, that was their definition of happy. Maybe that's why Daisy wished for her daughter to be a beautiful fool, because that way she doesn't get hurt, like Gatsby did, and can just be happy and rich and not worry about another thing. Fitzgerald's characterization didn't know a thing about the true meaning of happy, their happiness revolves around the artificial things, money. 

Monday, February 20, 2017

Chapter 7

  • DAISY CHEATS ON TOM!!
    • Is it bad that I feel good/bad for her? I mean good that she's standing up for something she believes in, her love for Gatsby, but an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. I feel that if Tom didn't cheat on her then she wouldn't have cheated on him with Gatsby. 
  • Gatsby and Tom interact with each other
    • Honestly they just bicker for a bit. They bicker in Tom's house then they bicker in New York. It was like two kids fighting for a toy that they both loved. Haha Daisy the toy.
  • Gatsby admits the love affair that him and Daisy have!
    • Does he only does this to get under Tom's skin? For example, they were bickering and to finally one up him he goes "Well she loves me not you so HA!"
  • Tom and Gatsby fight...again
    • In  my opinion I felt that Tom, Daisy and Gatsby could have fought about this elsewhere, not in front of NICK AND JORDAN. 


My main question is...... DID WILSON KILL MYRTLE???

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Great Gatsby Quiz

Chapter 1
  1. What does second cousin once removed mean?
  2. Where does Nick live and where does Daisy live? Compare the two locations.
Chapter 2
  1. What is the name of Tom's Mistress and relationship status?
  2. What are Tom's and his mistress' feelings on their other partners?
  3. Compare Daisy and Tom's Mistress. Further information: In chapter 1 Daisy was taunting Tom with "hulky" and he didn't get upset. However in this chapter, Tom's Mistress keeps saying "Daisy" and Tom slaps her. Does he not "love"  her enough?
  4. What lie did Tom tell his mistress on why he can't get divorced?
Chapter 3
  1. What things were people saying about Gatsby?
  2. What do Gatsby and Nick have in common?
  3. What does Nick discover about Jordan Baker?

Friday, February 3, 2017

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Remix/ Questions?

  • Does the fact that Tom and Daisy not being in Chapter 3 mean that they're not MAJOR characters?
  • If Gatsby is almost the same age as Nick then how is he so important in society?
  • If Gatsby is rich then why did he have to join the war? Couldn't he just pay his debt to society and be on his way, away from the blood and guts?
  • Did ladies in the 1920s need to have a date? Like Jordan had her escort, but did she HAVE to bring him? Could she not come alone?
(I will probably have more questions tomorrow in class.)

Chapter 3 Notes (completed chapter)

Beginning of chapter
  • Nick goes to Gatsby's soiree
  • Nick sees Jordan Baker and mingles with her
  • Two ladies come to "mingle" with Jordan and spark up a conversation with Nick about Gatsby

  • Nick meets a random man and talks to him
    • They talk about the war (both in)
    • Man looks around Nick's age
    •  "Oh I don't know where Gatsby is. Where is the host? Yada yada."
  • The random man introduces himself to Nick as Gatsby
    • Nick apologizes and feels embarrassed
    • Gatsby apologizes for not introducing himself sooner
  • Lovey Dovey jazz song comes on and couple dance
    • GATSBY HAS NO LADY LEANING ON HIM!!
    • Gatsby's butler asks Jordan to follow him to meet Gatsby
      • Gatsby spills some juicy drama that we don't know yet
  • Nick 'leaves' Gatsby's house to see a car wreck outside
    • (In my opinion, the car crash wasn't even that important. Nobody got hurt so meh.)
  • Nick doesn't see Jordan Baker for some time
  • NICK MEETS JORDAN AND FALLS IN LOVE?
    • just kidding...?
  • Jordan is a liar 
    • The golf tournament
    • the car's top that she left down and rain ruined it (Full House anyone?)
MY FAVORITE (so far) CONVERSATION BETWEEN JORDAN AND NICK

"You're a rotten driver," I protested. 
"Either you ought to be more careful, or you oughtn't to drive at all."
 "I am careful." 
"No, you're not." "
Well, other people are," she said lightly. 
"What's that got to do with it?"
 "They'll keep out of my way," she insisted. 

Jeez I love her comeback! Badabing badabong!