Monday, October 31, 2011

Chapter 7&8

The first thing I realized in these chapters was the dinner they all had together. Having a meal together is symbolic of communion of some sort. Instead of Daisy and Tom eating alone at their house, Gatsby eating alone at his house or with Nick, daisy eating alone ect. Everyone is together at one table and the lies start to come to the surface. It was just said, when Tom was on the phone, that he was talking to his girlfriend. Daisy also comes up to Gatsby and tells him she loves him after they kiss. She continues to act this way even when Tom is beside her at the table and it makes him angry and jealous even though he’s having an affair too! Which he’ll later find out is being taken away from him and soon after, completely impossible…
Another thing that caught my eye was the fact that it was Tom’s wife, Daisy, that killed the woman he was having an affair with, Myrtle, and who was going to be “taken away” by her husband.  Also Gatsby, the man having an affair with Daisy, was with her in the car. Could this have been a foreshadow of when there was a car accident in his yard after a party? Maybe, maybe not.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Chapter 5&6

One of the symbolic things in these chapters that really stuck out to me was the rain. Mr. Gatsby arrives first and is very stressed and nervous about seeing Daisy he actually turns a "gostly white". Then when Daisy actually arrives Mr. Gatsby goes and "finds a shadow to sit in" and watches while Nick and her talk casually. After Nick leaves them for a half hour standing under a tree in the rain and returns they are sitting next to eachother on the couch having had an intense conversation it seems because Daisy is crying. Rain simbolises a cleanse, not exactly purity, but to refresh or start new. It was as if Jay was a whole new guy around Daisy because he was more comfortable with talking to her. It could also represent or forshadow their relationship starting new.

In chapter 6 is when Tom and Daisy are at one of Gatsby's parties. Its says that "Daisy only had fun the half-hour that she was with Gatsby". I was surprised that she was away from Tom that long without him asking around where she was. He also didn't ask that many questions about Jay and how or why he knew Daisy: he thought she met him one of the times she went around town on her own.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Chapter 3 and 4

It seemed even though Nick had just met Mr. Gatsby, they recognised eachother from the Third-Devision during the war. Also Nick didn't know it was Mr. Gatsby at first, but he gave him a smile that was "much more then understandingly. [He had] one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it...with irresistible prejudice in your favor."

Just these couple sentances show that Mr. Gatsby is a caring and understanding person. Nick can't help but always notice his very rare smile that is always confident and reassuring. Nick meantions it again later on in these chapters but is more annoyed then relieved by it because it can deviate the issue they may be dealing with.

Monday, October 10, 2011

#1

First of all I don't have any clue if i'm doing this right so bare with me.

Pg. 8: "I had the familier convstion that life was beginning over again with summer." Usually the season to represent a new beginning or life is spring, how can he feel life was beginning over again with summer?

Pg 10& 11: "And so it happened that on a warm windy evening I drove over to East Egg to see two old friends whome i scarcely knew at all." he knew this friend in highschool but it's as if he doesn't know him because he's changed so much

Pg 18: Why or how does polishing silver in the past affect the butler's nose?

~

What is he exactly describing in the first paragraph? I pictured people mining but i'm not completely sure.

Who is Doctor T. J. Eckleburg?

Pg 30: Why a "Scrawny italian child setting off the torpedoes"?

Pg 31: Mrs. Wilson picks up a Town Tattle magazine. What is the purpose of these to her? It also mentions this magazine on page 33 with a novel "Simon Called Peter"

On page 35 it also points out that Mrs. Wilson changes her dress often and along with her outfit, her personality changes too.