Chapters Seven and Eight:
Chapter Seven makes me sick. It appears to almost be a roller coaster of the battle between Gatsby and Tom over this girl. In the beginning of the Chapter Gatsby continues his Nixon-esque paranoia by firing all of his staff and replacing them with these seedy little Russian guys in the name of secrecy. He is currently the suitor of Daisy and it appears that we are heading towards a "happy" ever-after ending. The crime lord adulterer gets the girl and we all are supposed to feel good about ourselves. However this takes a turn for the worse when ole bo Tom seems to get the full picture of what is going on all while realizing that he is losing his mistress. All our favorite pals come together in New York City and Tom and Gatsby get into a verbal altercation. This stems from Gatsby's arrogance in thinking that in order for he and Daisy's romance to be the same as it was five years ago she must denounce all feelings for Tom. This great plan of his fails and in the end Tom calls him out on all of his lies and disguises. This makes Daisy realize that Gatsby is indeed not the man that he claimed to be and, though Tom is a vile creature himself, she would rather stay with him than be with Gatsby in his somewhat psychotic state. Long story short is that Tom has won the war over this clueless and destructive girl and in his victory allows Gatsby and Daisy to drive back together. Daisy is driving and hits Mrs. Wilson, Tom's mistress, killing her. This enrages Mr.Wilson who the following day arrives at Gatsby's home and shoots him while he floats in his pool. Gatsby had a conversation with Nick the night of the hit and run and well into the next day about his first romance with Daisy. My personal judgment of this whole story is that all of the characters are sick, utterly mentally ill. The way that they play each other like pawns is repulsive and the disregard that they show for the poorer people is astounding.
Chapters Five and Six:
After reading chapters five and six I do believe that Moes' famous "Homewrecker" burrito was named after Jay Gatsby. This guy is unbelievable, he goes to extreme lengths in order to entice a woman he once had some sort of relationship with away from her husband. Gatsby is a pretty messed up guy, his confidence is miraculously low and this makes me think that he might have more knowledge of the farfetchedness, if not the inherent wrongness, of his plan than Nick lets on. I do believe that Gatsby's paranoia over Daisy can be comparable to Nixon's about well, everything! He must have everything be absolutely perfect: grass cut, flowers delivered, tea set made of silver. Not only this but he seems to have some sort of obsession over time, specifically the time that he has lost with Daisy. It is also revealed in chapter 6 that Gatsby is indeed a bootlegger (Ole Bo Tom found that one). I think that Gatsby has one of the single largest identity issues that I have ever seen. (Well done Walters, have us write an identity paper and then have us read this) He despises his poor, honest upbringing so much that he leaves his home and serves on the yacht of wealthy drunk man! Wealth then becomes a drug for him, he's like a crack addict. He must have it by any means, and when he does not inherit any of the money that this wealthy drunk guy dies with, he apparently gets it through bootlegging. Upon the close of chapter six I see just how confused Gatsby is about his situation, he has fooled himself into thinking that this guise of wealth and power, oh and daisy, has given him the ability to turn back time. He sincerely believes that Daisy will revoke all feelings of love for Tom and will come flying into his, creepily always open arms.
Chapters Four:
This chapter leaves me with no choice than to believe that Gatsby is involved with some sort of shady business. The guy is adamant on building the perfect image for Nick, perhaps simply to show off, but then takes him to lunch with the single highest profile gambler at the time. Lets not forget that this guy has human teeth sticking into his shirt serving as cufflinks, whether this is particularly important to the story or not one cannot deny that it is creepy and at least a little shady. Gatsby tells elaborate tales of personal glory and in particular shows a small military medal from the little country of Montenegro! At this point Gatsby reminds me of the man in Greek Mythology who is stuck looking at himself in the mirror, unable to stop fawning over himself, his incessant rambling about himself is wearisome to me and I am not even hearing it first hand. The question this raises though is what is Gatsby attempting to achieve with all of this bravado? He is clearly either trying to entice someone or something with his wealth and prestige or, he is desperately trying to cover something. This is revealed at the end of the chapter with Jordan Baker and Nick's conversation regarding the favor that Gatsby asks of Nick. Surprise!!!!!!! Gatsby is in love with Daisy. All of these parties and luxury homes and vehicles are solely for the purpose of impressing this woman Gatsby has an obsession with. Nick agrees to invite Daisy to tea for Gatsby and it seems like Nick feels pity for Gatsby and his heartthrob story of love long-lost.
Chapter Three:
Here Comes Gatsby!!! This chapter was captivating particularly in its description, or lack there of, of the "Great" Gatsby (see what I did there?). Through this elaborate party that is thrown at the home of Gatsby Nick encounters these various characters that all give their different descriptions of the man. Through these descriptions the mystique and mystery surrounding Gatsby grows, and I personally began to wonder what was actually so "Great" about him. Many of the stories seem to have negative connotations to them, (murderer, German spy) and while it is clear at the time of their telling that they are not completely true, I wonder if these ideas in particular are introduced as any sort of allusion as to what is to come. Also the call from Philadelphia seems to add to the character of Gatsby, giving him some sort of authority. I don't know exactly how it seems to elicit such a response, maybe just the fact that Philadelphia would like to speak at a obscure time, but it certainly seems to demand some sort of attention. It also is relevant that Nick receives an invitation and that nobody else at the party appears to have one. This is certainly not consequential and it seems that this means that Gatsby did not just invite Nick to be friendly, Gatsby has some sort of plan and Nick is a crucial piece of it.
Chapter Two:
So this chapter was significantly more action packed than the first one at least in my opinion. The description of the valley of ashes as a massive sexual innuendo, so perfectly described by one young Johnny Walters, while perturbing was also quite effective. I feel like the valley of ashes could also just be viewed as showing the sharp contrast between those who have money and those who don't. Anyway, this is the dwelling place of the classic mistress, an archetype like no other in literature. This mistress belongs to Tom, the husband to Nick Carraway's cousin. She is a woman who is in a less fortunate situation than the man she is interested in and is captivated by the wealthy lifestyle that her suitor appears to be offering her. I feel that the situation that ensues with her mentioning Daisy and then being the receptor of a beating from the brutish Tom might once again further the contrast between the rich and the poor in this novel. She begins to get a little buck with Tom in the mentioning of his wife thus sparking Tom to do the only logical thing which is to smash her in the face and bust her nose. This abrupt reminder that Tom is above all of those present at the party sort of ruins the mood and as they all leave I think that it is important that Nick leaves with the people who are not wealthy. I wonder if this is somewhat of an allusion that it is important the distinction between "New Money" and "Old Money" and how they relate.
Chapter Seven makes me sick. It appears to almost be a roller coaster of the battle between Gatsby and Tom over this girl. In the beginning of the Chapter Gatsby continues his Nixon-esque paranoia by firing all of his staff and replacing them with these seedy little Russian guys in the name of secrecy. He is currently the suitor of Daisy and it appears that we are heading towards a "happy" ever-after ending. The crime lord adulterer gets the girl and we all are supposed to feel good about ourselves. However this takes a turn for the worse when ole bo Tom seems to get the full picture of what is going on all while realizing that he is losing his mistress. All our favorite pals come together in New York City and Tom and Gatsby get into a verbal altercation. This stems from Gatsby's arrogance in thinking that in order for he and Daisy's romance to be the same as it was five years ago she must denounce all feelings for Tom. This great plan of his fails and in the end Tom calls him out on all of his lies and disguises. This makes Daisy realize that Gatsby is indeed not the man that he claimed to be and, though Tom is a vile creature himself, she would rather stay with him than be with Gatsby in his somewhat psychotic state. Long story short is that Tom has won the war over this clueless and destructive girl and in his victory allows Gatsby and Daisy to drive back together. Daisy is driving and hits Mrs. Wilson, Tom's mistress, killing her. This enrages Mr.Wilson who the following day arrives at Gatsby's home and shoots him while he floats in his pool. Gatsby had a conversation with Nick the night of the hit and run and well into the next day about his first romance with Daisy. My personal judgment of this whole story is that all of the characters are sick, utterly mentally ill. The way that they play each other like pawns is repulsive and the disregard that they show for the poorer people is astounding.
Chapters Five and Six:
After reading chapters five and six I do believe that Moes' famous "Homewrecker" burrito was named after Jay Gatsby. This guy is unbelievable, he goes to extreme lengths in order to entice a woman he once had some sort of relationship with away from her husband. Gatsby is a pretty messed up guy, his confidence is miraculously low and this makes me think that he might have more knowledge of the farfetchedness, if not the inherent wrongness, of his plan than Nick lets on. I do believe that Gatsby's paranoia over Daisy can be comparable to Nixon's about well, everything! He must have everything be absolutely perfect: grass cut, flowers delivered, tea set made of silver. Not only this but he seems to have some sort of obsession over time, specifically the time that he has lost with Daisy. It is also revealed in chapter 6 that Gatsby is indeed a bootlegger (Ole Bo Tom found that one). I think that Gatsby has one of the single largest identity issues that I have ever seen. (Well done Walters, have us write an identity paper and then have us read this) He despises his poor, honest upbringing so much that he leaves his home and serves on the yacht of wealthy drunk man! Wealth then becomes a drug for him, he's like a crack addict. He must have it by any means, and when he does not inherit any of the money that this wealthy drunk guy dies with, he apparently gets it through bootlegging. Upon the close of chapter six I see just how confused Gatsby is about his situation, he has fooled himself into thinking that this guise of wealth and power, oh and daisy, has given him the ability to turn back time. He sincerely believes that Daisy will revoke all feelings of love for Tom and will come flying into his, creepily always open arms.
Chapters Four:
This chapter leaves me with no choice than to believe that Gatsby is involved with some sort of shady business. The guy is adamant on building the perfect image for Nick, perhaps simply to show off, but then takes him to lunch with the single highest profile gambler at the time. Lets not forget that this guy has human teeth sticking into his shirt serving as cufflinks, whether this is particularly important to the story or not one cannot deny that it is creepy and at least a little shady. Gatsby tells elaborate tales of personal glory and in particular shows a small military medal from the little country of Montenegro! At this point Gatsby reminds me of the man in Greek Mythology who is stuck looking at himself in the mirror, unable to stop fawning over himself, his incessant rambling about himself is wearisome to me and I am not even hearing it first hand. The question this raises though is what is Gatsby attempting to achieve with all of this bravado? He is clearly either trying to entice someone or something with his wealth and prestige or, he is desperately trying to cover something. This is revealed at the end of the chapter with Jordan Baker and Nick's conversation regarding the favor that Gatsby asks of Nick. Surprise!!!!!!! Gatsby is in love with Daisy. All of these parties and luxury homes and vehicles are solely for the purpose of impressing this woman Gatsby has an obsession with. Nick agrees to invite Daisy to tea for Gatsby and it seems like Nick feels pity for Gatsby and his heartthrob story of love long-lost.
Chapter Three:
Here Comes Gatsby!!! This chapter was captivating particularly in its description, or lack there of, of the "Great" Gatsby (see what I did there?). Through this elaborate party that is thrown at the home of Gatsby Nick encounters these various characters that all give their different descriptions of the man. Through these descriptions the mystique and mystery surrounding Gatsby grows, and I personally began to wonder what was actually so "Great" about him. Many of the stories seem to have negative connotations to them, (murderer, German spy) and while it is clear at the time of their telling that they are not completely true, I wonder if these ideas in particular are introduced as any sort of allusion as to what is to come. Also the call from Philadelphia seems to add to the character of Gatsby, giving him some sort of authority. I don't know exactly how it seems to elicit such a response, maybe just the fact that Philadelphia would like to speak at a obscure time, but it certainly seems to demand some sort of attention. It also is relevant that Nick receives an invitation and that nobody else at the party appears to have one. This is certainly not consequential and it seems that this means that Gatsby did not just invite Nick to be friendly, Gatsby has some sort of plan and Nick is a crucial piece of it.
Chapter Two:
So this chapter was significantly more action packed than the first one at least in my opinion. The description of the valley of ashes as a massive sexual innuendo, so perfectly described by one young Johnny Walters, while perturbing was also quite effective. I feel like the valley of ashes could also just be viewed as showing the sharp contrast between those who have money and those who don't. Anyway, this is the dwelling place of the classic mistress, an archetype like no other in literature. This mistress belongs to Tom, the husband to Nick Carraway's cousin. She is a woman who is in a less fortunate situation than the man she is interested in and is captivated by the wealthy lifestyle that her suitor appears to be offering her. I feel that the situation that ensues with her mentioning Daisy and then being the receptor of a beating from the brutish Tom might once again further the contrast between the rich and the poor in this novel. She begins to get a little buck with Tom in the mentioning of his wife thus sparking Tom to do the only logical thing which is to smash her in the face and bust her nose. This abrupt reminder that Tom is above all of those present at the party sort of ruins the mood and as they all leave I think that it is important that Nick leaves with the people who are not wealthy. I wonder if this is somewhat of an allusion that it is important the distinction between "New Money" and "Old Money" and how they relate.