The final chapter revolves around Nicks description of Gatsby's funeral, two years after the fact. After he was murdered, there were tons of reporters and journalists leaving the mansion, leaving crazy exaggerated stories (kind of like the ones from the beginning, but more outrageous), and revolved around the relationship between Gatsby, Myrtle, and Wilson. Gatsby's failing life can suggest that you cannot run away from your past, no matter what you do, it will only cause distraction. Just because you lie to the world, doesn't mean the world doesn't know who you really are. I think Gatsby's attraction to Daisy lies with "forbidden love", because their love is basically forbidden, and Gatsby tends to want things he doesn't have, or even can't have, based on their pasts, and social backgrounds. I believe this is why Gatsby has such a hard time with things.
Nick gets the opportunity to analyze the relationship with Gatsby and Daisy, when they reconnect, showing more of Gatsby's love for Daisy. We learn that Gatsby's dream isn't as big as we thought it was, and it is actually just motivation for him to be wealthy, and have the stuff he does, however his dreams aren't realistic, because he can dream all day and night, but his power to make his dreams come true aren't as strong. It is suggested that if Gatsby looses Daisy, he feels his world will collapse, after all his work to redo the past with her, which causes him to discuss with Nick, his desperation, and how to keep his dreams from dying. Nick understands that Daisy won't leave Tom, no matter what, after the confrontation between them, however Gatsby refuses to believe it, and insists that he'll receive a call from Daisy. This chapter uses the weather to reflect the events happening in the story, as well as the emotional state of the characters, which all correlates to their location, and themes.
As one of the lengthiest chapters in the book, it also plays out as one of the most exposing, causing shock in the readers emotions. Basically, this chapter is about Gatsby, Tom, Daisy, Jordan, and Nick, venturing into the city. The shift in how Gatsby acts, begins the chapter, with the closing of lights, and parties, and the elimination of his employees, which causes suspicion that something is going on with Gatsby. It can be suggested by these actions, that Gatsby was only having those parties to lure in the woman he loved, and since they have been spending more time together, the parties are irrelevant. In understanding the kind of past Gatsby comes from, as well as how he feels about Daisy, it is revealed to us that Gatsby is in love with Daisy, however his actions are showing more of a selfish type of pattern. This is suggesting a point I made earlier, that Gatsby only wants what he can't have, and once he acquires it, he wants something else.
In the book, we are shown two different affairs; Tom and Myrtle, as well as Gatsby and Daisy, which sets up a window of opportunity to compare one to the other. While we can see that Tom keeps to himself, and isn't as flashy with his affairs, and keeps Myrtle as a little toy, while also having strong feelings for Daisy. However Daisy and Gatsby is very strait forward, and more endangering to the marriage between Daisy and Tom. However, it is apparent that Gatsby is more in love with the concept of Daisy, than he is with he as a person, which is revealed by what he does, and what he says in this chapter. When he finally makes Daisy incriminate herself, and proclaim her love in front of Tom, things become even messier, which brings up issues Gatsby has that can be supported by his past, of his always wanting more, and never having enough. Chapter 6 brought a new format to the story; social class. Up until now everyone has been "perfect" and "rich" and living like kings and queens and partying with Gatsby. However, we find out that Gatsby actually grew up on a farm, to "shiftless and unsuccessful" parents, which caused him to attend college, to break away from the life he had. However, at St. Olaf's (his college), he dropped out in humiliation because he had to pay for it by working as a janitor, and later a fisherman for salmon and digging for clams. However Dan Cody runs into him to warn him about an oncoming storm, his life is changed after that. He is then invited to travel with Dan to work on his ship, and basically babysit him when he drinks too much, which is when "Gatz" became Gatsby, ultimately leaving Gatsby to start a new life as the man he is known to be now.
Gatsby's infatuation with Daisy is caused by the representation of everything he has always wanted, but since it was so easy for her, it was difficult for him, since he had to work so hard for it. We find that Gatsby's gift is his ability to make his dreams come through acquiring wealth, and increasing his social status, however his biggest dream is to find his true identity, and not work so hard to fit in, but to let it simply take over him, and let him enjoy his wealth. Gatsby has dreamed about this his whole life, and in trying to make it happen, he forgot to stop and enjoy it. This is basically the symbol of the 1920's lifestyle, where people aspired to be at the top of the social pyramid, and be wealthy, so they could be reckless and carefree. This lifestyle was put on a facade by doing all these things, just like Gatsby is, even though he's only trying to win the love of Daisy with his wealth, and popularity. It's almost as if he feels he will be happiest with Daisy, just as he would when he was wealthy, just as he would when he became popular. But I don't think Gatsby realizes, that he is not happy when he acquires these things, he just simply wants more, and does not know how to be content. After dinner, Nick noticed the lights on inside of Gatsby's mansion, even though there is no party. Gatsby comes over as Nick is walking home, seeming to be desperate, and trying to please Nick for some reason. It is later made obvious that Gatsby wants something from Nick, which is the meeting with Daisy, and when Nick agrees to hep, Gatsby offers to have someone cut his lawn for him, and the opportunity for involvement in some work that he does on the side.
The build up to the meeting with Gatsby and Daisy is very large, it was very rainy the day it happened, however Gatsby sent someone to Nick's house to cut the lawn anyways. when Daisy arrives at Nick's house, Nick brings her inside to find that Gatsby is gone, but Gatsby comes back from a walk around the house, in the rain, which was very odd. At first it can be inferred that the reunion is awkward, but the silence begs the need to solve the issues between them, so Nick leaves them alone for a while, and finds them happy when he returns. The rain outside stops, and Nick and Daisy are invited back to Gatsby's, where Gatsby shows Daisy everything he owns, and Daisy appears to be having a hard time with processing the information. As Gatsby's fantasies are explained to Daisy, it seems that she won't be able to live up to his expectations. However, Gatsby and Daisy seem to be romantically repaired, for the time being. In the mansion, gatsby calls for Klipspringer, who lives with him, and requests that he play the piano, and Nick leaves, feeling the two should be alone. Nick's fascination with Gatsby continues in this chapter, with Nick listing off the "regulars" at Gatsby's parties, which included the most rich, who had the most influence. Next, he describes his outing with Gatsby when they went to lunch, when Gatsby tells Nick about his life, which are so specific, it makes us wonder if they really happened or not, which is sensed by Gatsby, which caused him to show a medal from Montenegro with a picture of himself playing cricket at Oxford.
When Gatsby gets pulled over for speeding, he shows the officer a small white card, causing the officer to apologize, and let them go. At lunch, Nick is introduced to Meyer of Wolfshiem, who is blamed by Gatsby for fixing the 1919 World Series. Meyer also talks about his "underground" business, and Nick starts to realize that Gatsby's wealth is more than likely from the same things. After Lunch, Nock sees Jordan again, and is told of the conversation she and Gatsby had at the party. Apparently Gatsby is in love with Daisy Buchanan, and had told her the day before she married Tom, but when Gatsby left for war, she decided to marry Tom, so Gatsby confessed to buying his mansion in West egg to be closer to Daisy, and asked Jordan to convince Nick to arrange a meeting between himself and Daisy. Detailed introduction to Gatsby FINALLY. We find out that one of the reasons Gatsby is so well known, is because of the parties he throws at his mansion every weekend. Everyone in New York shows up, and it's the social event of every weekend. Nick was the first, and only one, who was formally invited to Gatsby's party. On the day of the party, Nick walks over to the mansion, and explains how out of place he feels, and his feelings towards the mystery of Gatsby's past, and current success. There are many rumors about Gatsby's past, about him being in the war, or a German spy, or even a murderer. Regardless of his past, Nick cannot stand it being a mystery. When the guests arrive, the author uses this as an opportunity to show the nature of Gatsby, and it makes the reader wonder more about Gatsby.
When Nick and Jordan go outside at Midnight to watch performances, they sit at a table with a man who recognizes Nick, which is later determined that they served together in the War. As the party goes on, Nick becomes more fascinated with Gatsby, and notices Gatsby's lack of drinking, but separation from the rest of the party to observe. At about 2 in the morning, Gatsby's butler pulls Jordan from the party to talk with her privately, which is a secret. It can be suggested that Nick felt guilty about going to the party, because of the syntax being used for the rest of the chapter. In this chapter, Nick's character becomes more developed, as a trait is revealed, displaying his feeling towards women, and his attraction that is directed towards men. He chooses to discuss physical features when he discusses women, He presses to see what they are interested in, and if he can't figure it out, he moves on. However, when he discusses with male characters, he takes more time to get to know them, and connect to them more emotionally. As Nick describes the Wilson couple, he states that Myrtle has a "thickish figure" blocking his ability to observe Mr Wilson, who is "Spiritless, anemic, and faintly handsome," who has a "damp gleam of hope" (p.25). When acknowledging Mrs. Wilson, he only dresses her appearance, and it can be observed that that is all that he wants to know of her. However, he also addresses the appearance of Mr. Wilson, and his attractions towards him, as well as his personality. He also describes how a person can be seen through their eyes.
When he gets to meet Tom's mistress, Nick kind of accepts, which proves his disinterest in women, since most other people would be enthusiastic about meeting the mistress. When Tom and Myrtle are at the apartment, Nick uses this as an opportunity to run errands so he could take a break from the beaconing silence, and give them a chance to talk. However, later on he is also distant when they are all sitting around and talking, and Nick wants nothing but to walk in the park, but he doesn't because he wants to know what happens between Tom and Myrtle. Chapter 1:
Narrated by Nick Caraway, The Great Gatsby begins with a discussion of advice he received from his father. He flashbacks, helping the description of how he views his life, and how his morals were shaped, as well as reveal his family, and how it was part of the "old wealth" population, having strong views on the world. It is because of these things that he has been criticized his whole life, which has made him insecure. This is all caused by his lack of infatuation with his wealth, unlike his family. However, Nick stays positive through the insults, and becomes the uplifting mood of the story. When visiting his cousin Daisy back in West Egg, his character is revealed as cheerful. All of the characters int he story have been set up as wealthy, and perfect, which is apparent by the interpretations that Nick had on them. When he speaks to Daisy and her Husband, he is honest, even though he is withholding some opinions he has to himself. Altogether, these things with the wealthy theme, makes the story, almost like a dream. Nick seems to be eyes and ears to the elites social world, because he is the only one who isn't phased by all the bling, which enables him to reveal this world to the reader in very simple ways that can be related to. "How Soccer Is Ruining America," is an essay written by Stephen H. Webb, in 2009, suggesting, and discussing that America is becoming corrupt because of Soccer, and it's "foreign invasion" (pg 2, number 3). In the beginning of the essay, Webb claims that soccer is corrupting our nation, and attempts to support his claim by using another claim stating that it teaches kids that they can get away with anything if they wish. However, neither of these claims are valid, because they are based on opinion, and neither have solid data to support it.
In Webb's first point, he argues that it is unfair to limit a sport to just one part of you body; for example, feet. But how is it unfair, if everyone has to play with the same rules? Isn't that what adds the challenge to the sport? Also, how is it a "disability?" Is it a disability in volleyball to not be able to use your feet to kick the ball? Or perhaps tennis as well, if your only allowed to use a racket? When Webb declares that God gave us opposable thumbs to separate us from animals ,so we could pray and such, it can be suggested that there is a bias in his opinion. Weather there is a God or not is irrelevant, but if we bring Him into it, we could say, "well if God didn't want soccer here as a sport, he wouldn't have given us the creativity, physical ability, or the talent to create it, and pursue it." Webb uses his religion to attempt to connect to the audience through God, or religion, hoping to create a connection with his readers. In Webb's next point, he claims that baseball is one of the only sports that does what it is supposed to; break kids down before they are built up with confidence. Although baseball may do this, so does every other sport. You must fail, before you succeed, it's how you learn. But when Webb tells the audience his personal experience with sports, and baseball, yet again trying to connect with some of his readers, except this time its through sports. With Webb's claim "Everyone knows that soccer is a foreign invasion," (Page 2, number 3), it can be suggested that Webb may be racist, or prejudice against certain things because they weren't "made in America," but rather adopted by another country. However, soccer is not "all about death and despair" (Page 2, Number 3), and even if it was, that doesn't make it European. There is just as much death in America that there is anywhere else in the world, weather the reasons are the same or not. Soccer is not a sport for just one Gender. No sport is. Webb uses his daughter to connect to the audience, yet again, but this time, he uses her as a supporting point to his claim that "soccer is a game for girls," (page 2, Number 4). First, there is no data to support the claim, second, thats opinionated, biased, and sexist. Any gender can play any sport, no issue. In conclusion, Webb's claims may have been supported by data, but it was false, and based on opinion not fact, leaving his essay classified as a rant, not a factual essay, or article. |
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May 2015
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