"Bullet in the Brain" Prompts for 2/2

For Tuesday, please write a psychoanalytic interpretation of Tobias Wolff's "Bullet in the Brain." Of course I don't expect you to be comprehensive, or for you to try to apply every psychoanalytic concept. Theory is meant to enrich our reading experience by illuminating things we may not see otherwise. It should work for you, not the other way round. What I am asking you to do, essentially, is take some element(s) of Wolff's story and demonstrate how psychoanalytic theory enriches your understanding of it/them. Below is a list of prompts that may help you, but don't feel obligated to answer them exactly (or at all, if there is something else you would rather discuss).

1. People who fear intimacy often do so because intimate, emotional connections would force them to examine themselves and the core issues that they have repressed into the unconscious. How can Anders' scathing book critiques, and his treatment of other people, be seen as defense mechanisms and/or evidence of a fear of intimacy?

2. The things that Anders remembers as the bullet is passing through his brain can be seen as a kind of dream (many of our dreams, after all, are at least partially made up of memories). If the images he remembers are the dream's manifest content, or the shapes the dream takes because of displacement and/or condensation, then what, in your view, is the dream's latent content? In answering this question, you should discuss any clues that the story gives us as to what the dream symbols and characters might mean.

3. Begin reading on page 266 with the sentence, "It is worth noting what Anders did not remember, given what he did recall," and end on page 268 after the sentence, "He did not remember when everything began to remind him of something else." There is plenty in this section (family disfunction, sexuality, traumatic experience, destructive behavior) that is ripe for psychoanalytic interpretation. Choose one or two elements and discuss their importance to a psychoanalytic reading of the text.

4. One reason we are so reluctant to change destructive behaviors is that we form our identities around them. We cling to our masks and destructive actions because we cannot face what is in our unconscious, what would otherwise cause anxiety and discomfort. Yet these repressed desires and conflicts still organize our experiences and govern our behavior. Anders' behavior is destructive in several ways. Does the story give you any clues as to what he might be repressing/avoiding with these behaviors?

5. Lacan would probably argue that Anders is haunted by a longing that can't be satisfied, and that he is continually trying to reclaim a lost object of desire (even if he doesn't know it), one that stands in for the original union with his mother. We might call this his objet petit a. What do you think Anders longs for? What is his objet petit a?

6. It is interesting that prior to the moment when Anders gets shot, Bullet in the Brain is written as a formulaic work of genre fiction, riddled with cliches. It is only after Anders is shot that the story rises to the level of literature. One could argue that the bullet destroys not only Anders, but also the Symbolic Order of predictable storytelling, the "formula" of linear narrative and typical plot devices. In this sense the reader is, at least to a degree, returned to the Imaginary Order ("Heat. A baseball field. Yellow grass, the whir of insects..."). Are there other formal elements of the story that seem to lend themselves to a Lacanian interpretation?

7. We can only deal with repressed desires, fears, needs, and wounds by bringing them into the open, but we often resist doing so to our last breath. Ironically, Anders' unconscious is only revealed to the reader (and perhaps to himself) after Anders has been shot and has no chance to deal with what he has repressed. However, as a reader, we reinvision the first part of the story, see it in a new way, after we get inside Anders' head (quite literally). How does what we learn after Anders is shot help us understand the actions that cause the shooting? More specifically, how could an understanding of his own unconscious have helped Anders prevent his death?

Have fun with this. See you on Tuesday.

Nick, the decent guy

Throughout this novel, Nick seems to be a rarity in moral responsibility and human decency. I believe, in spite of Nick's speculations, that he may pity Gatsby and the source of his destruction through the naivety of his all-consuming dream. Gatsby did all things in a self-centered way. To have lived for such a long time thinking in this manner, there does not seem to be any other fitting end for him. If his dream, which he held onto so tightly, starts to waiver, how could he go on? It almost seems to be the only option. If Gatsby had not been murdered, I wonder if he would have taken his own life. When a dream becomes an obsession that starts to unravel, it is rare to have a so-called 'happy ending'.

Nick was being as honest as he could when he told Gatsby's father they were close friends because he was the closest thing Gatsby had to a real, close friend. When everyone else in Gatsby's life used him, Nick was there trying to put together a decent funeral and take care of his friend. Despite any of his previous negative feelings for Gatsby, Nick has the decency to take care of a person when no one else is there. (And, just to support his decent character, Nick terminated the relationship he had with Jordan so that there was no guessing. He believed he should be as honest as a person can be.

Friends?

I don't think you could say that Nick and Gatsby were close friends. I think in reality Nick wanted it to be true but really who knew very little about Gatsby. Nick was obsessed with Gatsby and I think he was concerned about Gatsby dying as a man who killedan inocent women. Nick was the only person besides Gatsby that knew Daisy was driving the car and killed Myrtle. I also think that Nick was interested in Gatsby's friendship because he knew no one else where he lived.

I think Nick may hae also felt obligated to stay at the funeral and get more people to attend becasue before that time he had never met or heard of any of Gatsby's family. And when he did meet Gatsby's dad he found out that Gatsby had not spoken to him in two years. I think Nick felt he owed Gatsby something. No I would not call them close friends at all.

Gatsby's Dreams WERE Reality

The thing about Jay Gatsby is yes, he was a dreamer, but his dream was also in many ways reality. When he was James Gatz, he dreamed about a different life. But then the dreamer became a doer, and he created that different life for himself. He worked hard to get rich, doing what it took to do so (even though his methods weren't always the best) and became the person he wanted to be. He became Jay Gatsby, and that dream of a different life became his real life. Since he was able to accomplish so many things by setting his sights high, no wonder he never gave up on Daisy. The book his father brought to the funeral proves that he always had intentions of becoming greater, and I think Daisy was just the icing on the cake for his perfect life. When describing how he met Daisy, he admitted that "it excited him, too, that many other men had already loved Daisy - it increased her value in his eyes". If he could have the most desirable women, it would complete his dream. He never gave up on that dream because so far, his dreaming had turned into a reality. I think he believed in his heart that Daisy would leave Tom until the very end, and did everything he could to make that dream a reality as well.

The Direction of Your Dreams

Perhaps the most attractive aspect of Gatsby's character was his reminicent dreaming, something I am convinced he held onto, even unto death. Although Nick speculates on what it would have been like, for Gatsby to lose hold of the dream and wake into reality, I can't believe he ever fully did so.

Continuing on in the "stalkerishly romantic" style of living, that Eric so eloquently described in class, Gatsby sits outside of Daisy's house until four o'clock in the morning, waiting to make sure Tom didn't beat her -- not something a realistically/logically thinking person would do. Even when Nick suggests Gatsby leaving Long Island, he refuses to go without his beloved siren. His final act, too, incriminates -- floating, aimlessly, in a pool, on a blow-up mattress, staring into the sky.

Perhaps towards the end, and especially in the pool scene, reality was starting to settle in, but because there's no real proof of it, in the text, outside of Nick's speculation, I can't be made to believe that he ever came full-circle. He fought so long, and so hard, to keep the dream alive while it came crashing down around him, it doesn't make sense that during his final moments of life he'd accept life as it was.

Gatsby lost in a mirage

Throughout Gatsby's life he felt like he wasn't given the opportunities he deserved. He worked for everything he got, whether it was honest work or not didn't make a difference to him. I think that Gatsby saw something in Daisy that he wanted for himself and she had finally given him that chance he had previously never got. I don't believe that it was the person Daisy that he became enthralled with I believe it was this mirage of a Daisy that became his own personal beacon. Gatsby doesn't seem like he is a complete person in and of himself. The reason I say this is because of the lengths he goes to in order to capture this illusion. He throws elaborate parties every weekend, moving across the water from Daisy, befriends Nick and all the other little things. If he was happy with himself, with who he was as a person I don't believe it would have happened in that way. Its like he was chasing after the idea of what he "should" be instead of who he really was. His whole life was centered around this mirage, which he took to his grave. If Gatsby had lived longer than he had I still don't believe he would of ever come to the reality of his situation. If he did end up seeing that reality I think it would be so damaging in a psychological way that he wouldn't have lived much longer after his realization.

Close Friends?

I don't think I would call Nick and Gatsby "close friends." Gatsby was probably the best friend Nick had at this time in his life, but I wouldn't consider them close. To me, close friends know and accept each others deepest and darkest secrets. Nick didn't truly know that much about Gatsby and the things he did know he questioned. They may have been friends and neighbors but I don't think they could be called "close friends."
I think there are a couple different reasons he tried so hard to get others to attend the funeral. For one, he realized Gatsby didn't have any true family and friends around and he felt responsible to try to honor his dead neighbor. Even Nick with all his problems and character flaws, didn't want another human being to have a funeral without the proper respects.
The other reason I feel he tried so hard to get people to attend is that he didn't want to accept the reality that Gatsby wasn't the person he thought he was. Nick didn't want to realize this obsession he had was all in vain. In a way he is very similar to Gatsby in that for so long he was so obsessed with something that he couldn't actually have. Gatsby was obsessed with and wanted Daisy, and Nick was obsessed with Gatsby and wanted his life. Both of them wasted a good portion of their lives chasing things that continued to evade them. In the end they should of realized what was really happening and accepted the truth.

Fish in a Fish Bowl

I feel that Gatsby never awoke from his dream. Even until the end (end of the novel, end of working his life up to be the way it was, and the end of his life!) Gatsby still was in his imaginary life and grasping onto that American Dream. But I do think he was definitely aware of the mistakes he was making and also that this life that he had created for himself wasn't real. Or in other words, he did comprehend the real world and his real self in which he should be living. He did realize as he "looked up at an unfamiliar sky through frightening leaves...and shivered as he found what a grotesque thing a rose is and how raw the sunlight was upon the scarcely created grass. A new world, material without being real,..." He just didn't want to change. He couldn't--he didn't know how or who else he could be.

I basically see Gatsby as a fish in a glass fish bowl. He is engulfed in a world in which he calls his own, but he can also see the outside world and the reality of it. Inside his world (bowl) he has what seems to be ideal to him, but when he looks outside the glass he can see he is wrong. But, he just keeps swimming in his own current and denies what he see's or the influences around him. (Knowing that Daisy really loves Tom too, his business is in vain, he is not Jay Gatsby).

What Nick states in his internal thoughts at the end of the novel about Gatsby is entirely true--that he did come so close to that ideal dream and that he "was so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it." That sentence, along with Gatsby's death, made me so sad within the end of the book! And I disagree that he did realize that "...it was already behind him." That was evident within the first meeting with Daisy. Even though he lived in this unobtainable world, he was still striving for something greater in life and had goals in which he would die to succeed upon--even if they weren't moral or valuable, he still had the character traits for someone with much dedication, perseverance, and potential.

Gatsby #3

I think Nick was infatuated with Gatsby and all that he represented. He seemed to care about him and take a genuine interest in their friendship but I think this was due in large part to the fact that Nick was in a new place and didn’t know anyone else. Obviously he did not fit in with the lifestyle or crowd he was running with. I think most people go through this type of phase at some point – trying to decide who they are, and trying to be something they are not. Maybe Nick thought all that Gatsby represented was what he wanted but in the end when he decides to move back west, it is obviously not. I would not call Gatsby and Nick close friends, but he was the closest friend Nick had in the area. I think he was shocked and felt sorry for Gatsby because he seemed to be super popular and well liked but in the end, true feelings came out when no one showed up at his funeral. He probably felt some sort of responsibility to maintain the image he had of Gatsby. I think he respected Gatsby in some way and for that reason he was trying to keep his image from being tarnished after his death.

God in The Great Gatsby

(This too-long post is only somewhat related to the writing prompts.)

George Wilson doesn’t have a church, but he does think that God is watching. He says that he told Myrtle, “God knows what you’ve been doing, everything you’ve been doing. You may fool me, but you can’t fool God!” (159). He recounts this while staring at the advertisement of the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg—which implies that he, in a sort of mad way, believes he is looking at the eyes of God. The first time we encounter the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, Nick describes them like this:

But above the gray land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it, you perceive . . . the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg. The eyes . . . are blue and gigantic . . . . They look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a non-existent nose. Evidently some wild wag of an oculist set them . . . , and then sank down himself into eternal blindness, or forgot them and moved away. But his eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days under sun and rain, brood on over the solemn dumping ground. (23–24)

Adding Wilson’s belief that Eckleburg’s eyes are God’s eyes to Nick’s initial description of the eyes, we begin to recognize how Nick (and maybe Fitzgerald) feels about God’s place in Gatsby’s world. Because if Eckleburg’s eyes represent God’s eyes, Nick (or Fitzgerald) is suggesting that God is watching, but disembodied, forgotten, dim.

None of that is particularly insightful on my part; I just remember it from high school. And maybe this next bit isn’t either.

I was thinking about the people who show up to Gatsby’s funeral—Nick, Gatsby’s father, the minister, and the man with owl-eyed glasses, whom Nick had met three months earlier in Gatsby’s library and whom he hasn’t seen since then. In the library, the owl-eyed man had been “drunk for about a week now” (46). After the funeral, the owl-eyed man says to Nick, “I couldn’t get to [Gatsby’s] house” (175).

Now, the first time Nick mentions glasses is, I think, in his description of the dim, faceless eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, and we learn later that Eckleburg’s eyes represent God’s eyes. So if bespectacled eyes symbolize God, when Nick calls attention to the drunken man’s owl-eyed glasses, perhaps Nick wants us to associate him with God. The man is in Gatsby’s house at the party, but he’s alone and on a weeklong drunk. Then he tries and fails to return to the house. So maybe Nick/Fitzgerald is saying that God is as disembodied and faded as the advertisement and as drunk, withdrawn, and impotent as the man with owl-eyed glasses—at least in 1920s New York.

Nick's Innocence or Ignorance

As Jordan challenges Nick's honesty I began to celebrate with her because I think she finally understood that Nick hadn't been honest with his feelings for Jordan. At times throughout the book he seemed like he was beginning to like Jordan and at others, it seemed as though he was just settling with what had been offered to him. I believe that anytime someone isn't completely open with their feelings that they are being dishonest. I don't know if I would defend the idea that he was necessarily being dishonest with her, but he has been mostly untrue to himself.

"Bad drivers" can be interpreted so many different ways. As I reflected back on their relationship development throughout the book and their personal realizations of the human character, I began to see "bad drivers" as a description for their behaviors in life. Neither of them seem to have a direction, dreams or goals that they are reaching for. Nick especially seems to follow the crowd, but holds himself above the crowd. He never seems to be sitting in the driver's seat.

When Nick decides to go back to the West my initial instinct was that he had made a mature decision and was going to not get caught up in the "worldly" things of life. But as I have continued to argue with myself I have made a final decision to believe that Nick is seeking for the past. Wishing he could have things the way they were.

The Final Words

When I read the last lines of this book, I imagined both Nick Carraway and F. Scott Fitzgerald saying them. In my mind they are mostly the same person. As I read those lines I added myself to the “us,” “we,” and “our” group that Fitzgerald was describing – as I think most of the readers of this book do. I believe the author is collectively talking about the human race and how each of us longs for something in our past that we try to bring into our present lives. Those that are persistent dreamers like Gatsby tend to think like him (“Can’t repeat the past? . . .Why of course you can!”), and they have unrealistic dreams that, like in The Great Gatsby, can end tragically and not at all how the dreamer intended. I think Fitzgerald is trying to tell his readers that the past can’t and shouldn’t be repeated. He has observed how some humans spend their lives trying to guide their boats “back ceaselessly into the past” and seen the bad things that come because of it. Writers write what they know and want to get that knowledge out there and make people more aware and I think that’s what Fitzgerald is doing.

We can still have dreams, but ones that inspire us to move forward. The great minds and inventors of history didn’t accomplish the things they accomplished because they were hung up on their past and determined to move backward. As in the words of Disney’s Meet the Robinsons, we must “keep moving forward.”

Green Light

I like Nick's interpretation of the green light at the end, as a metaphore for the American dream, something that we reach for, but cannot attain. Throughout the book, however, I've come to interpret the green light as a false light, something beautiful, but man made and wholly imperfect, something that attracts us from a distance, but as we get closer to it, we realize it is small, dim, and manufactured. I admire dreamers who look to the future and work towards a goal, but dreamers who sit stagnant in the past find themselves with an empty life.

Comparisons can be easily made to our celebrity culture and all its sorrow and empty glamour, but It could also be focused closer to home, with a comparison to life on the internet. Our computers, smart phones, ipods, they can all be little false lights, distracting us from what matters most, true relationships, meaningful work and worthy goals. I myself have wasted far to much time browsing, chatting, and living in a false reality, only to find that it was just like a dream and though much time was spent, nothing worthwhile was accomplished.

“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther…And one fine morning—
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

These are the last words of the book and I think they say a lot. This is Nick telling the story and character of Gatsby's life. He was a very hopeful man, a dreamer. He held onto the past and had the mind set that he could change anything. If things didn't work out once, or several times, he still held onto the dream that he believed the past would eventually become. He died believing and still dreaming.

Some might see this as a negative way of life, but I read this and I see someone with hope, faith and determination. I really admire dreamers, as long as they really strive to achieve and go after their dreams. Gatsby did just that. He didn't take the easy way of life and settle for what was given him, but took risks in order to achieve what he saw as his ideal life. Not a lot of people have the guts to do this, but instead convince themselves that it's not what they really want, or that it's not obtainable. Others are just sitters and watchers who point their fingers and make fun of those struggling to achieve their dreams. Out of these different people, I'd choose to be like Gatsby.

Gatsby till the end of his life I believe was a dreamer. Gatsby was still caught up in his idealist views that captivated him for all of his life. He always lived in a dream world, he saw the world how he wanted to see it. He never let the reality out weigh his dream of Daisy. Gatsby never saw Daisy as the carless and wreckless girl, he only lived in the past. Even at the end he thought that Daisy would call him. "I suppose Daisy'll call too."(154)
He was clinging to the dream because if the dream died he died along side it. I can see how Gatsby would have to die in this book. You see at the end of the book almost a decay of the spirit that encompassed Gatsby. His dream and imagination became so fantastic that when shot down only leaves devastation. Where would Gatsby had gone from there?
In some ways I wish that Gatsby would have gotten the dream that he wanted. I wish that people lived up to the ideal he had set. But then again we wouldn't have a story and a story that shows real life human characteristics now would we?

Nick's Relationship With Gatsby 01/21/10

It seems as if Nick idolizes Gatsby. Throughout the book, Nick sought to be with Gatsby at all of his raging parties, visited him regularly at his home, and assisted him in his affair with Daisy. It was a type of mutual respectful relationship, in my eyes. Gatsby seemed to understand Nick, at least in Nick's eyes. He was a kind fellow who did not challenge anyone or threaten him. Nick was almost a bit of a Gatsby groupie throughout the novel, it seemed.
Why does Nick try so hard to get people to Gatsby's funeral or erase the dirty word from his sidewalk? Again, Nick seemed to respect Gatsby for who he had become and the things he had and worked for. But in addition, I think Nick felt sorry for Gatsby. Nick could see that no-one was going to show up to the funeral, after all the parties they invited themselves to, in order to partake of Gatsby's riches. "One night I did hear a material car there (at Gatsby's)...but I didn't investigate. Probably it was some final guest who had been away at the ends of the earth and didn't know that the party was over." Perhaps he saw that he had also used Gatsby a bit and was ashamed to be numbered with all the other fake, shallow individuals who showed up to Gatsby's parties.
Perhaps Nick learned a great lesson from Gatsby, which was that living in a superficial, made-up "reality" only brought Gatsby pain and eventual death. He had worked so hard to be someone he clearly wasn't. Perhaps this is why Nick leaves for home at the end of the novel. Perhaps he sees the follies of his ways and decides not to repeat those mistakes.
I think Nick did consider Gatsby a close friend. Although he may not have approved of everything he did, Nick seemed to be drawn to Gatsby. He learned many lessons from him and enjoyed his company. Perhaps his experience with observing Gatsby's shortcomings and death changed his direction in life for the better, in essence, saving his very life.

Gatspy's friendship

As I read this book, Gatspy, who was some great mysterious character, turned more into a desperate man, who relied on money to fix the lack of love and friendship in his life. I don't think his relationship with Nick was very close. True, they may have spent a fair amount of time around each other, but Nick did not know anything about Gatspy, everything that Gatspy told nick, nick contemplated on whether or not it was true.
It seems to me that Gatspy, more or less, used Nick as a tool to establish a renewed relationship with Daisy. Gatspy, wasn't even a real person. Gatspy was a person that James Gatz envisioned, someone he thought that people, like Daisy, would want. It was interesting to me that Gatspy spent a great amount of time inviting people to his home and socializing, yet noone came to his funeral.
I think Nick spent time with Gatspy, because Nick wanted to believe in the things Gatspy told him. He found him intriguing, someone different and mysterious. I think that he wanted people to come to the funeral, because he wanted to believe that Gatspy, a man he was so interested in, was someone that everyone else loved. Maybe he wanted people to go to the funeral because he felt guilty, feeling like Gatspy's death was partly his fault. After all, it was Nick who arranged Daisy and Gatspy to meet up again.
I think he told Mr. Gatz that he was a good friend of Gatspy because he wanted Mr. Gatz to feel like his son had a friend. I also think he believed he was a friend, at least as close of a friend as Gatspy really had.

Gatsby 1-21-10

I believe Nick is narrating this story not as it is happening but as it has already happened. When he told Gatsby that he was worth "the whole damn bunch," he was telling the story as he felt then. He reverts back to the present and says, "I've always been glad I said that."

Sometimes people look back on a situation they were previously in, and wonder why they were in it to begin with. Nick's feelings must have changed, not for the worse but maybe toward regret, since his experience with his chosen life in the East. Because he tells this story from experienced eyes, that may be why he does sound so detached and possibly "without judgment."

Nick was friends with Gatsby. . . at the time. Maturity may have set in and helped him realize the whole ordeal was not one to be looked up at. I liked Gatsby myself. He was a mysterious, interesting guy who, I felt, got misjudged or misrepresented by many characters in the book.

Final Paragraph Interpretation

It is here that Nick is saying that people in this life will recreate their pasts in order to achieve goals. This is exactly what Gatsby did to try and prove himself to Daisy. For it was his view of the past that motivated Gatsby to try and create the life that he believed Daisy would want to live in. This really shows that it is hard for people to move on, as illustrated by the line where the current draws them backwards as they row forwards.
The line about tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther, I believe has to do with the American dream. Everyday, regardless for how hard and unrealistic some goals may be, people strive to obtain them through any means necessary. The green light is this metaphor which represents Daisy, or the hopeful future which we all might obtain if we keep striving. But it is because people hold on to the past so much that the goal truly becomes unattainable.
Fitzgerald might have written this to show the reader that we shouldn’t live in the past and we should strive to attain our goals without holding on to some idealistic fantasy of the future.

Nick A.K.A. Gatsby

At the conclusion of the book I've come to a certain theory about Nick and Gatsby. This theory is that Nick and Gatsby are the same person, living the same lives, but in a different part of their life. Nick and Gatsby's relationship seemed very distant at the least. There is even one passage within the text where Nick talks about how he didn't believe a word Gatsby had ever said "from beginning to the end." I think that paid dividends with the second question about the people Nick was trying to invite to the funeral. All of these friends were essentially superficial and just faces in the crowd. Nick and Gatsby really served that same relationship as well. Nick was only used for his friendship so that Gatsby could get closer to Daisy, likewise Nick used Gatsby to attain high profile status. I believe that Nick is essentially playing the same roll Gatsby played five years prior. Jordan will be Nick's love interest and his pushing force to retrieve the green light. Overall I think that there are many question and tie-ins within the book that could be connected with Nick and Gatsby's lives.

Gatsby January 21

After finishing the novel, I don’t believe that Gatsby ever truly stopped dreaming. I believe his faith in the dream was shaken by the events of the previous night but I believe he died a dreamer, perhaps contemplating what it would be like when Daisy finally left Tom. Even if Daisy didn’t choose to leave Tom right away, I believe Gatsby was still clinging to the dream, the hope that she one day would: “‘I suppose Daisy’ll call too.’ He looked at me anxiously, as if he hoped I’d corroborate this” (154). I think he was so caught up in his dreams that he couldn’t see anyone for who they really were, not Daisy, not Tom, not the hundreds of people who came uninvited to his parties. And maybe it was because he lived so much within his dreams that there was nothing left after he died. The Daisy in reality wasn’t like the Daisy in his dreams, grief-stricken and sobbing uncontrollably over Gatsby’s casket. Who knows how long it was before she even found out Gatsby had been killed. I feel extremely sorry for Gatsby. He spent all of his life building a reality based completely on dreams of fame, wealth, power and Daisy, and in the end, it seemed to amount to nothing. Even after Daisy admits that she loves Tom too, Gatsby still tries to convince himself that his dream could become a reality: “‘I don’t think she ever loved him,’ Gatsby turned around from a window and looked at me challengingly. “You must remember, old sport, she was very excited this afternoon. He told her those things in a way that frightened her—that made it look as if I was some kind of cheap sharper. And the result was she hardly knew what she was saying…Of course she might have loved him just for a minute, when they were first married—and loved me more even then, do you see?’” (152) He didn’t want to give up the dream because then he’d have nothing to live for, ironically enough.

Nick is his closest friend

It’s been interesting following the conversations about this book. Our perspectives are definitely diverse and influenced by our age and experience, and as we’ve discussed certain people and topics I find myself having a much different view of the characters and situations than many in the class.

Now that I’ve finished the book I see Gatsby for the dreamer that he is, willing to do whatever it takes to fulfill his dreams. Dreamers draw people to them. Nick is a follower and, as will happen with dreamers, Nick is drawn to Gatsby by his money, influence in society, and his personality. Tragedy is another draw and when it strikes, it brings people who may not have been that close, closer. When Gatsby is killed, that act brings Nick closer to him and he feels sorry for Gatsby, but I would also say he feels somewhat responsible. Nick facilitated Gatsby in his quest for Daisy, helping them to get together, leading to Gatsby’s end.

Guilt can be a great motivator. It’s Nick’s guilt of involvement that drives Nick to work so hard to get people to Gatsby’s funeral. In the end, when he tells Gatsby’s father they were close friends, he’s probably telling what he thinks is the truth. Nick was probably the closest friend Gatsby had when he died. He was the only who cared, other than Gatsby’s father. He saw some dignity in Gatsby which is why he wiped the swear word from Gatsby’s porch. Though many of the things Gatsby told Nick about himself may have been exaggerated, he was probably more truthful with Nick than anyone else. If we’re looking for truth, Gatsby was probably not really close to anyone.

Final Set of Gatsby Prompts

1. When Nick sees Jordan for the last time, she challenges his honesty. Has he been dishonest with her? What does Jordan mean that they are both “bad drivers”? Relatedly, is Nick’s decision to go back west an honest one that reflects maturity, or is he (perhaps like Gatsby) trying to reclaim the past? (or both, or neither).

2. Now that you have finished the novel, how would you describe Nick’s relationship with Gatsby? Why does he try so hard to get people to Gatsby’s funeral? Why does he wipe the swear word from Gatsby’s porch? When Nick tells Gatsby’s father, “We were close friends,” does this ring true to you? Is that how you think of Gatsby and Nick? Explain.

3. The last thing Nick says to Gatsby is, “You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.” If Nick, as he asserts immediately after relating this, “disapproved of [Gatsby] from beginning to end,” why does he say this to him? Is he lying?

4. Nick wonders if Gatsby ever awoke from his dream. If so, Nick surmises, Gatsby “must have felt that he had lost the old warm world, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream. He must have looked up at an unfamiliar sky through frightening leaves and shivered as he found what a grotesque thing a rose is and how raw the sunlight was upon the scarcely created grass. A new world, material without being real, where poor ghosts, breathing dreams like air, drifted fortuitously about...like that ashen, fantastic figure gliding toward him through the amorphous trees.” Do you think Gatsby ever comes to these types of realizations? Does he ever escape his dreams and see the reality of his situation and the cost of his choices? Or does he die a dreamer, unwilling to compromise or relinquish his ideals?

5. Interpret one of these two passages:

“And as I sat there, brooding on the old unknown world, I thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night.”

“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther…And one fine morning—
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

See you on Thursday.

Gatsby Response

Maybe I'm just hopeless romantic, but I truely believe Gatsby is genuinly in love with Daisy. However, I can understand why those who believe differently argue that point. He has been dreaming of her for five years, and it's possible that he has dreamed up something that is completely unreal. It's true that Gatsby has put Daisy on a sort of pedistool. But he hasn't seen her for five years. If you love someone and you're apart, it's very easy to forget his or her faults. In fact, I don't think Daisy ever showed Gatsby her faults in the first place. She's a very charming woman, and knows how to put the best version of herself forward at all times. But that doesn't mean he doesn't feel true affection for the Daisy he knew. He might not be in love with the real Daisy, but he's definitely in love with the Daisy that she is when she's with him. He's not obsessed, he's love sick. I think she's just "the one that got away", and for a man like Gatsby who has everything else in the world except the girl he loves, of course he's going to have trouble letting her go. I don't think those critics are willing to give the man a little credit.

"Green Light"

I have to agree with the critics that claim that Gatsby does not love Daisy. Maybe at one point in his life he did, but in the present time is is obvious that Gatsby wants the American Dream. As mentioned before "green" is a recurrent topic of these chapters. The color green is parallel to money. Gatsby has become obsessed with money and has done everything to impress Daisy.

Gatsby lit up his house to impress her and sent a staff member to cut Nick's lawn (which was also another mention of green) because he knew that Daisy would have view of his lawn. Gatsby's plan was to impress Daisy. He mentioned to Nick that inviting Daisy to his house was crucial because she could se Gatsby's house from there.

When it is mention that Daisy's voice is "full of money" it is exactly what Gatsby wants. This along with the statement "You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock," prove that Gatsby is finally intact with his American dream. Daisy is definintely a symbol to this.

All is fair in love and war...

Many critics believe that Gatsby never loves Daisy and that he merely turns her into a symbol. She is the “green light” of his ambition to become rich, successful, and powerful. In other words, she is the embodiment of his American Dream. What do you think? After finishing Chapter VII, do you believe Gatsby truly loves Daisy? Is she more than a symbol to him? Use examples from the novel in your response.
As much as I hate to say it, I have to go with the critics on this one -- there's no proof, in the text, that Gatsby is sincerely in love with Daisy, but rather the idea of the perfection that comes with having money; coincidentally, this typically includes some sort of romantic interest.

Before they all leave to head into town, Gatsby turns to Nick and says, "I can't say anything in his house, Old Sport." Perhaps -- perhaps -- I could let the statement pass as him not having the nerve to blatantly break up a marriage in the face of the couple's daughter, in front of Tom, but the next line out of his mouth really does it in, for me: "Her voice is full of money." It doesn't take Nick long to internalize what was just said, the meaning behind the observation, and phrases, beautifully, for the reader, what exactly attracts Gatsby to the woman -- "[Her voice] was full of money—that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song of it. . . . high in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl. . . ."

She's been associated with such high status, there's no way to see her as anything, really, but as a symbol. Gatsby has used her as motivation, from the very beginning, to live a life of all sorts of wonderful and fabulous. Instead of viewing her as a lover, I have found that he sees, instead, that last remaining puzzle piece to his picture-perfect life. I can understand where the misconception has come from, he's done so much for her (to make their relationship socially acceptable), it seems logical that he'd love her, but when you truly love someone, you want what's best for them -- their affair is anything but beneficial for her. In the end, maybe Daisy can't necessarily be considered a symbol, but she certainly is nothing more than a catalyst and trophy for/of wealth.

Motivations?

As I was reading about the set-up meeting between Gatsby and Daisy, it never really crossed my mind what Nicks true intentions or motivations were. I guess one of the reasons I didn't find this peculiar is due to Nick's fascination with Gatsby. Nick is so intrigued with Gatsby that he has allowed Gatsby to pretty much take over his life. This is rather obvious throughout the book,but one that is mentioned prior the tea party is dealing with Nick's lawn. Gatsby is so worried about impressing Daisy that he has his lawn guy take care of Nick's as well. My impression is that Nick didn't really want this to happen but he allowed it to please Mr. Gatsby. This is just one example of the lengths Nick will go to in order to be a part of Gatsby's life. I personally don't think Nick realized that him setting up this meeting would have a chance of leading to infidelity. He is so obsessed with pleasing Gatsby that he has put aside or almost forgot about his so called morals and character. I may be entirely missing something from the text, but what I get from it is, at this point Nick will do anything to keep Gatsby in his life. Even if it goes against things which he supposedly prides himself on.

Not-So-Honest-Nick...

What are Nick's motivations for setting up a meeting between Mrs. Daisy Buchanan and her former lover, Gatsby? Nick is a self-professed honest man, but perhaps everyone has a bit of a dishonest side. First, Daisy is Nick's cousin. Naturally, Nick is going to be concerned for her happiness and well-being. He has met her lousy husband, so he knows what a pill he is. Not that two wrongs make a right, but Daisy's husband fools around with no consequence at all, so why should he believe she will stay faithful and true to him? What goes around comes around, as they say. Nick has even met Tom's mistress, so he can easily see what kind of Daisy is with and probably wonders why she is with him in the first place.
Second, Nick seems enthralled with the very presence of Gatsby. He seems protective of him. He seems to watch his every move and want to be in his circle of friends. When Gatsby's lights did not come on one evening, Nick rushed over to make sure he was alive and well. He also protects his secrets. He makes the effort to visit Gatsby regularly. He is deeply interested in his past, his ideas, and where he came from.
Third, Nick has another conflict of interest that would help further his decision to set up Daisy and Gatsby, the Miss Jordan Baker. When a heart is blinded by love, every decision seems to be made upon that foundation. Jordan asked Nick to set up the meeting for the two lovers, and since it was she who asked, it's easy to see why he consented. Perhaps Gatsby did that on purpose, knowing the leverage she had over the poor fellow.
As far as the "Nick-being-honest-all-the-time" thing, I don't believe it. He's definitely proud about being so, but just because he says he is doesn't make it so. Toward the beginning of the book, Nick says that Jordan is dishonest, but that it doesn't matter to him. Why would a person who is honest want to be with one who is not? That is odd. He seems to surround himself with dishonest people, and perhaps this is what has given him a false perception of what honesty and integrity is. Tom is having an affair, Daisy and Jay are having an affair, Jordan steals things from stores for fun. Nick knows about all of these things, but keeps them all under the rug. So in all actuality, Nick may not be as honest as he appears.

Clocks and Time

The “defunct mantelpiece clock” that Gatsby nearly knocks to the floor (86)—in addition to showing that time might as well have stopped for Gatsby since he has been living the last five years with his memories of his past with Daisy and his dreams of a future with her—represents Nick’s time-traveling abilities. (Remember, Fitzgerald’s working title for The Great Gatsby was Nick of Time, but his publisher felt that readers would think that the book was either a humorous fantasy novel or a light murder mystery. Of course, it is both, but Fitzgerald had his literary aspirations.) Why else would Nick keep a clock that doesn’t work? Well, for decoration, I guess, but also because time is mostly irrelevant for him. However, he doesn’t dare reveal his abilities, so he says things that he hopes will convince his friends that he is like them. For instance, later in the book he says, “No . . . I just remembered today’s my birthday” (135). And he tells Gatsby, “You can’t repeat the past”; Gatsby suspects Nick, though, and replies, “Can’t repeat the past? . . . Why of course you can!” (110; emphasis mine). Gatsby’s right, and Nick shows us one way he repeats the past—he writes about the events of the summer with Gatsby after they occur.

Gatsby's American Dream

I believe that there was a time when Gatsby truly loved Daisy. But as the years grew, that love and longing turned into a fantasy that consumed Gatsby. He became obsessed with the idea of impressing Daisy. He lit up his house like a circus or fair in hopes of attracting her to it, he shows her his dozens of beautiful shirts, and even gets Nick’s lawn trimmed knowing she will see it. When Daisy does enter his magnificent home, Gatsby “revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes.”

I believe that Gatsby ultimately wants the satisfaction of winning Daisy. She really has become his American Dream and a sort of object to him. If Gatsby gets Daisy, he will feel as if he has beaten Tom and fully gained everything he has wanted. He is already rich and successful, but Daisy would be the icing on the cake. She would symbolize the grand finale to his list of attributes: powerful. Gatsby would have power over Tom in the same way that Tom feels he has power over George Wilson. But Daisy cannot simply just decide to be with Gatsby rather than Tom, Gatsby “wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you.’” Gatsby is so hung up on the past. He states he can repeat the past and that he will “fix everything just the way it was before.” Nick believes that Gatsby “wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps,” and “if he could once return to a certain starting place and go over it all slowly, he could find out what that thing was.” Obtaining Daisy is that starting point and the part of his past that Gatsby wants to repeat. If successful, it will be Gatsby’s American Dream come true and the final fulfillment of his life’s ultimate aspirations.

Time is of the essence

I think that the clock mentioned in chapter 5 represents the timefinally mingling witht the present. Gatsby has been living in the past for so long. He has been wiating, dreaming, and filling his life with this one objective of meeting Daisy again. Gatsby wants to erase five years that has pasted, he thinks nothing of the reality that has happened within those five years they were apart. The clock is a new hour where the present finally means something to Gatsby. The theme of time is important to the character Gatsby. I think it is significant that Gatsby's head was leeaning against the clock creating pressure on the clock, just like he has been putting pressure on time up until the time he meets Daisy again. The clock couldn't supprt all the pressure he put on it. Us as the reader know that all the demands Gatsby has for timecan't be supported either. The fact is time changes people and Daisy no longer is the girl he used to know and thought he loved!
Another thing i thought about when thinking of the clock was the saying "Time is Money." Since Gatsby has used time to get the money and riches he needed to impress Daisy, this saying goes hand in hand with Gatsby has used time to be... a tool. Yet time betrayed Gatsby. It never gave him anything in return. This makes me think is this dream Gatsby has real happiness? The things that people try to gain in in order to make time worth it such as money isn't necessarily the thing that will give you all that you want. All the money in the world couldn't have made Daisy go with Gatsby.

Green = Happiness? "But what is happiness?"

The comment made by Gatsby: "You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of you dock," could very well make a reader believe that Daisy is really the secret to his success. As commented before in an earlier blog, green is mentioned several times within the book. The significance of the word "green", I believe, has to do with the resounding effects money has to do with each individual or instance that is connected with the color "green". For example on page 92 Gatsby speaks of his shirts which he has collected from an Englishman: "shirts with stripes and scrolls and plaids in coral and apple-green..." Earlier in the chapters, although I had a hard time trying to find it again, there is another reference to green. I conclude that all of these instances are the contribution to Gatsby's success. Furthermore, Daisy can only be the symbol of his success and his very essence. Without Daisy, Gatsby has no desire or motivation to seek out riches, with the hope of reconnecting of his once true love. Arguably the greatest possible reason Gatsby is alive today and didn't die in the "war" was because he had to prove his worth once again to Daisy. This was a valiant effort at the beginning for Gatsby, but I feel that it was only the initial effort until he soon was overwhelmed with his riches. Daisy now just stands for everything Gatsby has worked for and nothing more.

Gatsby is living in the past

Memories can often trick us into believing in something that isn’t real. Gatsby has spent five years living with a dream of what could have been but having no real knowledge of reality had Daisy been waiting for him upon his return. Gatsby is not in love with Daisy but rather is in love with the idea of Daisy. He has built her up in his mind and put her on such a high pedestal that he can’t see anything beyond his vision. Nick tries to help him understand that he’s caught up in the past and Daisy is living in the present but Gatsby is unwilling or unable to grasp the concept. Gatsby tells Nick, “I’m going to fix everything just the way it was before… She’ll see.” He is blind to the person Daisy really is, a selfish rich socialite who is only really in love with the person with the most money. And, in the end this is what leads to his downfall. Daisy can do no wrong in his eyes. When Gatsby tries to get Daisy to tell Tom that she never really loved him, Daisy can’t, whether she did love/loves Tom or not. And finally, when Daisy hits Myrtle and continues to drive on, causing even more trouble, Gatsby can only think of the Daisy before that he must protect. Daisy is only a symbol of what could have been, a symbol that he can’t let go of.

Gatsby #2

I think the description given of Gatsby fits well with his character and gives the reader a better understanding of his opinion about himself. The idea that he is a son of God and the interpretation of this belief is actually very telling and at times evident in his actions. He seems to think he is better than others in may ways but behaves in such a way that this makes him more respected and admired in his community, rather than disliked or mistrusted. He seems to have an air that I would describe as egotistical, but I can see how it fits into the son of God description. He seems to have a belief that he deserves certain things out of life and that he should be given, or be able to get, what he desires.
It seems like other characters, Nick specifically, may have this same belief, even subconsciously. There seems to be something almost magical about Jay Gatsby that draws people into him. This special something makes people want to be involved in his life and makes them want to please him in any way they can. It’s like they thirst after and need his approval for some sort of validation. Nick, it appears, almost worships him and kind of idolizes him – like a son of God would be.

Over For Tea

When first reading that Gatsby asked Nick be apart of his plan to have Daisy over for tea and to reunite the long lost relationship, I initially didn't think that it had a instilled meaning or that it might be detrimental to Daisy leaving Tom. I just thought that Nick was being nice in providing a way to help out his friends. I also was naive enough to believe that they would both just catch up and continue on with the lives they lead and not dwell with the past.

But as I read on and backed away from the text, I contemplated the whole situation in full as well as to remember/recognize that Jay Gatsby is a man of intentions and he wouldn't just have this get together for nothing to come from it but casual friends. Why would Nick want to be involved with this arrangement other than he is a catalyst because Daisy is his cousin and he can provide an excuse for the setting? Nick is supposed to be this full-fledged honest-to-good man and now he is providing the terms for chaos.

I think that realistically Nick idolizes Gatsby's lifestyle. He contradicts himself when he puts on this face to say that he doesn't judge or take into consideration the lifestyles of others. It's also ironic that Nick is said to be the man of the honest moral, and yet everything he is involved with is contradictory with other social and moral values in full. Nick admires Gatsby's status and he is personally intrigued with his life. This is why he attends the parties, is curious about where and what Gatsby is always doing, and is interested so much in his past. He even looks past all the lies Gatsby tells him at the start even though dishonesty is totally against Nick's nature (so it is said). In the 1920's Jay Gatsby is living the American Dream and Nick fantasizes his life in the shadow of Gatsby's own. He helps with this meeting of the couple because he is utterly captivated by how and why Gatsby lives and obtains the life that he wants.

Gatsby January 19

At first I found myself unsure about Gatsby’s true feelings for Daisy. I believed, or wanted to believe, that his insane obsession must warrant some true affection towards her. However, as I skimmed over what I’d read, my fairytale mentality melted away to realize a different side of Gatsby. I do agree with said “many critics” in that Gatsby believes he loves Daisy but she has become mostly a symbol to him—a symbol of the American dream, of everything rich and glittering. At one point he tells Nick that Daisy’s voice “is full of money” (120). Tied to this, I can see that maybe Gatsby doesn’t know who he is or who he wants to be. Nick later says that Gatsby talked about the past a lot, as if “he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy” (110). His illusion of grandeur, of the “Jay Gatsby” he’s created for himself will not be complete until he has erased the years and taken Daisy back as if he never lost her at all. “He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you.’ After she had obliterated four years with that sentence they could decide upon the more practical measures to be taken. One of them was that, after she was free, they were to go back to Louisville and be married from her house—just as if it were five years ago” (109). He has created this dream for himself and even the scintillating reality he lives when Daisy comes back into his life cannot live up to his dream: “There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams—not through her own fault , but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything” (95). Now I wonder if he ever even loved her at all, even when he first met her. We know from Jordan’s recount of the past that Daisy was “by far the most popular of all the young girls in Louisville” (74). Maybe the attention she gave to Gatsby then began his feverish obsession with Daisy. She was liked and desired by everyone. She was his link to fame, riches, power and success.

Gatsby 1-19-10

I had an idea about the clock when I initially read it and am glad it was one of our prompts. Before getting into the details of the clock though, I want to prelude it with a couple of other thoughts that may tie into it.

From our previous reading assignment (1-60), I remembered when Nick first met Mr. Gatsby. They were both looking into the heavens that night (my interpretation is the sky)(pg20). At a closer look Nick noticed Gatsby to be looking "seaward-and distinguished nothing except a single green light. . .far away." Seemingly irrelevant at the time, but I believe the color green and the distance play a small part in the clock's meaning. Every time Gatsby is near Daisy, the color green is either implied through objects or said by a character. I have already mentioned the green dock light in the beginning but it is mentioned once more when Daisy is over for tea (93). The ONE thing that Gatsby was very intent on getting taken care of was Nick's lawn which, coincidentally, Nick describes the difference in green color between his and Mr. Gatsby's lawn. Gatsby's car had green seats. When Tom and Daisy went to Gatsby's party (there were stars in the sky which I will talk about next) Daisy said to hold up a green card and she would come running(104). When Gatsby kissed daisy they were in a tree (the tree may be far fetched). I believe the color green was implying that Gatsby was green with envy. Envious of Tom being married to Daisy. That's why Gatsby walked away from Tom when Nick introduced them for the first time. That's why Gatsby's house was right across from Tom and Daisy's home.

Stars are nearly mentioned every time the color green is too. In each of the previously mentioned pages from above you will find stars. Remember they were looking into the heavens on page twenty and mentioned again, referring to the same night on pg93 when having tea, "It had seemed as close a star to the moon. Now it was a green light on a dock." There were stars when they kissed in the tree on pg110 and 111, and when Tom and Daisy arrived at the party. I think stars are symbolic of length in this book. This may already be known, but light years are not a measurement of time but of length or distance.

The length of time keeping Daisy and Jay apart had finally come to a stop when the clock was introduced. The woman whom Gatsby had been longing for was finally there. Time is obviously represented by a clock, so when Nick said they imagined it had "smashed in pieces on the floor", it implied that time was irrelevant to the feelings previously had. The love was still there no matter what length of time had gone by. The green "star" on the dock was the only "star" left keeping distance between them. That's why Nick was important, he was the bridge, so to speak, that would finally let Daisy come from over the water. When Nick saw Gatsby trembling he was doing it out of envy and frustration.

My side note for this assignment:
Every character mentioned in this book, that was either invited or just went to the parties, was not reputable. Dr. Civet was drowned, the voltaires that "flipped their noses like goats at whosoever came near.", Mr. Endive who got in a fight with "a bum", the Snells who went to jail, suicides, drunks, gamblers, and many others listed on pages 61-63 (that's a lot of people). Even the main characters from the book had questionable views of moral. Remember the guy that fixed the world series too? Mr. Gatsby was friends, knew, or hung out with all of them. Gatsby does not ever pass judgment on any of these people. An attribute that Nick's father had. Also, he called Nick "Sport." I have found that only older people do this to people that are younger than they are. Nick does favors for Gatsby, goes to lunch with him, does recreational activities, and looks up to him at some points. I have been wondering if Nick looks at Mr. Gatsby as some what of a father figure. . .

THE GREAT GATSBY, Second Set of Prompts

I enjoyed our discussion of Gatsby today, and I was impressed with your blog posts. I want to remind you that you can respond to a classmate's post and receive credit for blogging. In fact, I would like to encourage you to make the blog into a conversation, not just a comment board. You don't have to limit yourself to one or the other, either. Feel free to post your own response and then comment on the responses of some of your peers.

Here are the prompts for Tuesday:

1. When Nick has Gatsby and Daisy over for tea, Gatsby nearly breaks an old clock. That clock is mentioned several times, and Nick also makes other references to time. What is the significance of this? Based on your reading so far, what is the clock symbolic of?

2. In class today, we discussed “circles of understanding,” or the share of knowledge between author, reader, and characters. Point to a place, or a few places, in the reading where the implied author is revealing things to us as readers that the characters themselves do not fully understand.

3. What is/are Nick’s motivation(s) for arranging a meeting between Gatsby and Daisy? Why does this self-professed honest man do something that is clearly going to lead to infidelity?

4. Interpret this passage: “The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God—a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that—and he must be about His Father’s Business, the service of a vast, vulgar and meretricious beauty.”

5. Many critics believe that Gatsby never loves Daisy and that he merely turns her into a symbol. She is the “green light” of his ambition to become rich, successful, and powerful. In other words, she is the embodiment of his American Dream. What do you think? After finishing Chapter VII, do you believe Gatsby truly loves Daisy? Is she more than a symbol to him? Use examples from the novel in your response.

Thanks. See you on Tuesday.

Response to Jake's Post

In his post, Jake Hess noted that

Contrary to Nick's statement, "In consequence, I'm inclined to reserve all judgments . . ." I think he is in constant judgment... Nick later refers to Tom as egotistical and that Tom no longer nourished his peremptory heart. Nick also has characteristics of a cynic.

I would like to respond specifically to the accusation that he is in constant judgment. Do we not all judge in some way? How boring would a book be if the characters were not differentiated in somehow? Because the story Nick is telling concerns mankind, there is need for descriptions of personalities and characteristics. I do not mean to say that Nick is completely truthful in his being a self-proclaimed nonjudgmental person. However, I would say that Nick is less judgmental than he is discerning. As we all must be, Nick views those around him and describes them by their situations, circumstances, and sometimes their ethics. It seems that he does not wish harsh punishment upon anyone for who they are and what they do, rather he views people as a culmination of these things and carries on with his life. Does he not still associate with them? I personally believe he is a fairly nonjudgmental person because of the way he discerns others.

Tom's Motivations

Though I think that Myrtle's motivation for her affair with Tom is a little more obvious, I have to ask myself why Tom would would be involved with Myrtle. He has a beautiful, charming wife, a three year old daughter, an exquisite house and no want for money. After thinking about it for a while, I've decided that those people who appear to "have it all" are never quite satisfied. Tom has a safe, stable life. For someone who doesn't have a life like that, safe and stable is all that person wants. That person might consider Tom the luckiest man in the world. But Tom is bored. However, when he met Myrtle, he found excitement in doing something wrong. He created a whole new life that is completely opposite from the one he has with Daisy. The fact that the text suggests he lied to Mytle about his reaosns for not getting divorced shows that he enjoys his life with Daisy too. Myrtle and Daisy are very different, essentially creating options for Tom. He can choose to be in one life or another, depending on what he feels like at a particular time. Instead of having one great life, he has two. He's made it possible for himself to have the best of both worlds (Hannah Montana reference not intended).

Gatsby's Intriguing Smile

After reading the description of Gatsby and his smile, one can see that he is a person who seems eager to please. It seems to me that one learns quite a bit about Gatsby by simply learning about the way he smiles and when he tends to do it. The sentence "...assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey" tells a lot about his character. Gatsby seems to be willing to allow those he comes in contact with to believe him very accepting, kind, understanding. He seems to be a people-pleaser, one who will do anything to make one comfortable. Perhaps this suggests a bit of self-doubt? Or perhaps it is just a personality trait he has that allows him to make many friends, whether true friends or whether he has alternate motives. Perhaps he simply knows how to "work the system" to obtain the desired result. In short, Gatsby seems to understand those he comes in contact with. He understands how to make them feel at-ease. It seems that this technique is one of the best to win another over, being interested in them and completely understanding (whether real or not?) It also is described as rare. His rare smile is one "you may come across four or five times in life". He is a unique individual. Another thought to mention is the fact that despite Gatsby's wealth and standing, he seems to be pretty down-to-earth, a fellow who gets drunk with the best of them and can get along like any regular man.

Mr. Tyson,

I hope it is acceptable to respond to "Critical Theory Today."

While accepting that literary criticism is sound and useful, i believe the practice engenders some important questions. The first of which is the nature of the work itself and it's relation to both the audience and the author. Literary theory seems to assume, and of course correct me if I'm wrong:

• The work in itself is independent of both the author and the audience.
  
• The audience's interpretation of the work determines weather context is applied
  
• The author uses the work as a communication tool only insomuch as is successful in engendering the desired interpretation in the reader

It would be a mistake to say that this hierarchal order dissolves the theory, however, i think it's important to ask to what extent are we marginalizing the communication aspect of literature. Of course the argument against is that literature is subjective, and an author (or artist) should have no ownership over the work.
Not trying to start arguments, necessarily, just the thoughts that came to me after reading the intro.

Adam Wilson

Nick's Credibility

When I finished the first three chapters of this book, I decided that Nick Carraway was kind of a self-righteous being. This was firmly expressed when he ended the third chapter with the line “I am one of the few honest people I have ever known.” I believe him when he says this, and I don’t think it’s a bad thing that he is self-righteous. Nick believes he is morally above other characters in this book and he is right in thinking so. Compared to the people we see him with, he is a very respectable person: Tom is having an affair, Jordan is dishonest and careless, and the people at Gatsby’s party seem reckless and absurd. Nick does have higher values than all these people, but he is not perfect. He does get drunk on his outing with Tom and Myrtle, but there was probably no one else there that could say it was only their second time ever being drunk.
The other characters’ responses to him also add to his credibility. What struck me was when Jordan said to Nick, “I hate careless people. That’s why I like you.” Jordan has taken notice to Nick’s personality and knows he is different in a way. I might even go as far to say that Nick is an anchor and the only relatively normal person in this book in terms of values. His conscience speaks a little louder to him and he doesn’t fit into the common character mold of one living during the Roaring Twenties.

With or Against the Grain

In our book, Critical Theory Today, Tyson discusses the idea of reading "with the grain" or "against the grain." When analyzing the motivation for Tom's affair with Myrtyle, I think that one's interpretation would depend on whether or not they are reading with or against the grain. F. Scott Fitzgerald allows for personal interpretation in the beginning chapters of The Great Gatsby. He doesn't reveal ample amounts of information. Instead he gives bits and pieces that when pieced together can help the reader form a conclusion.

Analyzing the affair while reading "with the grain" I came to the conclusion the Tom enjoys having two separate lives. His life with Daisy seems structured and more common. While his events with Myrtle are spontaneous and adventurous. His motivation could have been spurred by the desire to entice other women with his money. When Myrtle sees the dog she wants, Tom knows that the dog only will cost ten dollars. But instead, he throws the seller more money and tells him to go buy more dogs with the extra money. This arrogance carries into all aspect of Tom's life. Maybe even motivation for an affair. To flaunt himself.

Tom's motivation can't specifically be defined by one or two different options. As I began to interpret his motives "against the grain" my ideas were endless. A few of the feelings I received through reading between the lines include the idea that Tom has lied many times throughout his life, that he feels it necessary to lie once more about his relationship. It is apparent in Chapter 2 when Myrtle tells Nick that Daisy is a Catholic and doesn't believe in divorce. Nick knew that Daisy isn't Catholic. He assumes that the lie came from Tom. Also, Tom and Daisy seem like such separate individuals. I personally believe that he is motivated to find passion and companionship. In the beginning of the book, Daisy is lying on the couch doing nothing while Tom is continually talking about money. Their motives and directions for life are so different. Will Tom be true to Myrtle, or is he thrilled with the idea of running around with other women? Is the motivation to be separated from Daisy? These are all questions that haven't been answered but could create speculation for the ultimate motive for an affair.

Gatsby, First Set of Prompts

Dishonesty and rumor permeate The Great Gatsby. Tom says, "Don't believe everything you hear, Nick"; moments later, Daisy insists the story of Nick's engagement is factual: "We heard it from three people, so it must be true" (19). Rumors about Gatsby's past fuel the conversation at his parties (44). Myrtle and Tom hide their affair from Myrtle's husband (26), and Tom has told Myrtle that Daisy is Catholic and doesn't believe in divorce (33). Jordan is rumored to have cheated at golf (57), and Nick says she's "incurably dishonest" (58). Even the dog seller lies about the sex of the dog he sells Myrtle—or perhaps Tom lies when he contradicts him (28).

With all this evidence of dishonesty, when Nick claims, "I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known" (59), I want to believe him, and almost do. But with the novel's emphasis on lies and rumors, I have to at least suspect that Nick's comments are a bit questionable. And the focus on the dishonesty of the other characters isn’t the only proof that maybe I shouldn't believe that Nick isn't always entirely trustworthy—right before he asserts his honesty, he admits to weekly sending letters signed "Love, Nick" to a woman he doesn't love (58).

If Nick's presentation of events can't be trusted, I have to look at him as more than he appears on the surface: a camera providing commentary about the main characters. Because if he is an unreliable narrator, he becomes the main character, and his interpretation of the events around him tells me more about him than it does about, say, Gatsby or Daisy. What does it tell me? I'm not sure yet. But while I'm trying to find out, I need to keep this in mind: even if Nick is unreliable at times, that doesn't mean everything he says is false.

The Great Gatsby

In my personal experience, first impressions are often incorrect. While I was reading Nick’s description of Gatsby, I got the sense that he was, in one way or another, too good to be true. It seems to me that “people skills” go a long way in getting what you want out of life and I have the feeling that Gatsby might be putting off this air mostly for his own benefit, and not because he is this genuine and caring person Nick perceives him as. (This reminds me of the book title, How to Win Friends and Influence People.)
I think we as readers can also learn some things about Nick through his description of Gatsby. Maybe Nick feels insecure and out of place in this new location and this new phase of his life, and having someone like Gatsby befriend and take an interest in him makes him feel a little bit better about himself. I can see how it might make him feel more secure to have someone with Gatsby’s reputation take an interest in him. Maybe the reputation of Gatsby gives him these good initial thoughts of Gatsby, more than the actual person Gatsby gives him these impressions.
It will be interesting to see how these initial perceptions develop and change throughout the book.

A Thought

It's always amazing to me that when you read something there can be hidden messages that follow the text in thought. As I read Nick's response to the evaluation of Gatsby I wondered if Nick's evaluation wasn't merely an evaluation of himself or even the reflection of temptation within a certain situation. The passage refers to "It" as opposed to Gatsby himself. I wonder if Fitzgerald was alluding to the temptations we are often faced with and have to overcome. Specifically, Fitzgerald states that Gatsby seemed as though he was "picking his words with care." Often this can be a response to an action involving temptation. When an individual is tempted, whether it's a drug, or sex, or any other faulty devices to some, we often have to be careful with the actions we chose to withdraw ourselves from the situation.

Nick's evaluation also can be very well interpreted as his own. For example: Nick and Gatsby both served in the military, both appearing, or seemingly appear to have somewhat of the same background. As I read this text I am reminded of a book and movie I once read and saw entitled "Fight Club." Fitzgerald may be alluding to the fact that Nick in himself really is Gatsby, and Gatsby really is Nick. He is leading these double lives, but somehow they mysteriously link themselves together. Another evaluation I would be interested in seeing is how much of Nick and Gatsby's lives are similar to Fitzgerald's life as well.

Tainted mirrors

At the beginning of the book Nick announces that because of his father’s he doesn’t look at the world or people in a judging way. He also claims that he doesn’t like secret confidences and would often times “feign sleep, preoccupation, or a hostile levity” when he thought someone was going to express their intimate revelations. Both of these claims I do not believe for a couple of reasons. Throughout the first chapters he describes all parties to the readers in his own perspective. Tom’s description is laced with hostility plus fear when he describes how no one liked Tom in college or that he wasn’t surprised the Tom had a mistress. Also his own cousin Daisy is painted with a warm glow amidst the accusations that she is flighty and fake. In addition in the frequent times that a person turned to him and told Nick a story in confidence, he did nothing to prevent hearing it like he claims he does in the beginning. To me it just seems like he looks at himself in a rosy mirror when in reality it is just as tainted and ugly as those he belittles.

Gatsby 1-14-10

Contrary to Nick's statement, "In consequence, I'm inclined to reserve all judgments . . ." I think he is in constant judgment. I read on previous posts that he showed his "reservation of judgment" when he learned of Tom's affair. To be fair, he did when he initially heard it, aside from his discomfort and wanting to call the police (pg16), but if you recall when he was leaving he said (pg20), "It seemed to me that the thing for Daisy to do was to rush out of the house, child in arms-but apparently there was no such intentions in her head." Then he continues on Tom, "As for Tom, the fact that he "had some woman in New York" was really less surprising than that he had been depressed by a book." Nick later refers to Tom as egotistical and that Tom no longer nourished his peremptory heart.
Nick also has characteristics of a cynic. All the way to page sixty in the book, he has allowed me to like only two and a half characters. I like Jordan (who later he criticizes her driving, calls her incurably dishonest and, begins his contempt for her) and, of course, Jay Gatsby due to curiosity. I say half because Daisy is only partially scrutinised by Nick. We tend to be on her side because she is victimized by her low-life husband Tom, but Nick finds her slightly irritating I believe. She laughed an absurd laugh as if she had said something witty. She disgusted him when bringing up his engagement. He didn't like that she was giving out meaningless compliments, that he said were untrue, just to improvise the situation.
I lightly mentioned before of Nick's cynicism, I need to elaborate on why. Every other character (other than the two and a half) mentioned in the book was subject to Nick's judgment. Mr. Wilson was a "spiritless man." Mr. Mckee was a "feminine man" and he continued to point out appearance flaws like the spot of lather left on his cheekbone. Catherine was a "worldly girl." Even though these examples are quite subtle, they aren't the only ones on each character. Nick will take a little verbal jab here and there that influences our perception of these people slowly, but surely. (These weren't all the characters he did this with)
Taking a more in depth look at Nick, I feel like he has feelings of inadequacy and likes to remind himself of that constantly. Instead of living on the "East Egg," he went to the less liked side, but to stay consistent with my theory, when he went to that side he put himself in an eighty dollar a month home in between two homes that go for 15,000 a season. He is constantly surrounding himself with people far more wealthy and much more famous than he. Nick tries too have others perceive him as nonjudgmental in hopes that they wont judge him. This is why he sits around like a bump on a log and does nothing to change or engage conversations. He wanted to walk to the park but didn't even have the nerve to do that. What a sissy! It's too risky. He's monotonous. He feels low so he cuts others down in his own mind and tells himself "holier than though" statements (like the one about him being honest) to balance out his feeling of inadequacy.

Gatsby Response

Nick’s initial impression of Gatsby might not be as accurate as he would like to have thought. Being that it’s the first personal impression that Nick receives, it’s almost like Nick has decided that Gatsby is a really considerate and personal man that truly cares about others. I think that Nick is a little bit quick to judge, though I am not extremely far in the text, so his assumptions could be correct. But it could be that Gatsby is just being polite to his guest. So to me it shows that Nick is very quick to trust a complete stranger, almost as though he has found somebody that might truly care, unlike the other people that he has met at other parties and shindigs. So in that sense, Nick’s description reveals Nick’s perception of Gatsby, but it reveals more about Nick, since we are only getting his person take on Gatsby’s care for complete strangers. When we read something that has come from somebody else there is always a bias to be considered. It’s almost as though Nick would like us, the readers, to feel that he is important in the eyes of Gatsby. These are my thoughts on the matter.

Gatsby

Myrtle, a woman that lived in a small apartment above a dumpy car garage for 11 years with her husband, Mr. Wilson. She " was in the middle thirties, faintly stout, ....[had] surplus flesh, ...[and her face] ....contained no facet or gleam of beauty." I'd like to point out that the description of Myrtle's physical beauty and unprosperous financial situation is almost the exact opposite of Tom's wife, Daisy. Also, i would like to point out that Tom is almost the exact opposite of her husband.
Myrtle reveals that she's conscience about her looks; she says in response to a compliment on her dress " Its just a crazy old thing. I just slip it on sometimes when i don't care what i look like." Shortly after the comment she announces that she is going to buy a new dress tomorrow.
From the comments and actions Myrtle displays while courting Tom, money and success seem to be her primary motivation. Unlike her husband Tom is very wealthy and can afford to purchase items for her, such as dresses. Immediately after Tom, Myrtle, and Nick meet up in New York, Myrtle begins shopping, getting some magazines and a dog.
All dresses up, she calls her friends to come over to her secret apartment. She conveys to me that she is ashamed of the house she lives in with her husband and once she has something nicer, she wants to display it in front of all of her friends. When her friends come over to her home, "She excitedly recalls how her husband had to borrow a suit for thier' wedding; "I knew right away i made a mistake... he wasn't fit to lick my shoe." In contrast, the first time she saw Tom, "he had on a dress suit and patent leather shoes, I couldn't keep my eyes off him."

Gatsby January 14

The book opens with Nick’s explanation that he refrains from judging people: “In consequence, I’m inclined to reserve all judgments, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores” (1). Much like the people that call upon Nick to hear their “abortive sorrows and short-winded elations” (2), we, as Nick’s audience, trust his position of neutrality to provide us with only the facts of actual events, untainted by personal prejudice. As far as I can see, the text seems to back up this claim. Nick meets men and women of both low status and high and regards all of them basically the same. When Nick first visits Tom and Daisy, he is presented with unsettling information that Tom is having an affair. Nick responds “blankly”. He doesn’t condemn Tom as being in the right or the wrong. He simply lets Tom exist. Nick exhibits the same neutrality as he visits with Tom, Myrtle and company. Even when Tom’s affair is openly gossiped about, Nick only responds with unbiased questions. He presents the events as they occurred without furious passion, crimson embarrassment or smug approval. At one point, in a drunken haze of memory, Nick recounts how Tom, in a “short deft movement”, broke Myrtle’s nose because she refused to refrain from using Daisy’s name. He doesn’t litter his report with declarations of provocation or immaturity. The account is crisp and simple: “bloody towels upon the bathroom floor”, “the despairing figure on the couch, bleeding fluently”, “a long broken wail of pain” (37) and then he leaves. Another simple example of Nick’s restraint is when he finds Jordan to be “incurably dishonest” (58). He shrugs it off, telling his audience, “It made no difference to me. Dishonesty in a woman is a thing you never blame deeply—I was casually sorry, and then I forgot” (58). Nick leaves room for both his companions and his audience to decide what is morally right. His claim is solid. Nick makes for a very accomplished narrator. He allows his fellow characters to speak for themselves, providing his readers the freedom to paint the novel’s pallet as they see fit.

THE GREAT GATSBY, First Set of Prompts (1/12)

Please choose one of the following prompts and post a response to it before class on Thursday. You do not need to retype the question(s) or state which prompt you have chosen (this will be obvious to us as we read). Also, you don't have to answer the prompt exactly. These prompts are meant to help you and spur your critical thinking, not constrict you. If you want to write about something else that is important to you, that's fine (as long as it's well-done and meets the minimum length requirements). You may also respond to the thoughts of one of your classmates. Please think about, and come prepared to discuss, all of the prompts, even the ones you do not choose to write about. Also, please try to restrict your discussion to the first three chapters, even if you have read the novel before or have read ahead.

1. The Great Gatsby is told, and ostensibly written, by Nick Carraway. Everything we are given is filtered through him. At several points in these first chapters, Nick evaluates and makes claims about himself, attempting to establish his credibility as a narrator. Point out one or two of these moments and then discuss whether or not these self-evaluative claims hold up. Use specific examples in your answer.

2. In any work of fiction, there are circles of understanding: what the author knows, what the characters know, and what the reader knows. At times the author finds ways to align his or her circle with the reader's while leaving the characters outside the circle. This is a kind of dramatic irony. Are there times when Fitzgerald is able to reveal things to us as readers that the characters themselves do not understand? What, where, and how? What, for example, does Fitzgerald reveal to us through Nick's descriptions of other characters?

3. Choose one character and talk about his or her motivation(s). What, for example, are Tom's motivations for his affair with Myrtle, or her motivations for an affair with him? etc. Choose any character, but don't just guess. Ground your discussion in specific examples.

4. Respond to Nick's initial description of Gatsby (below). Does this reveal more about Gatsby or about Nick? Explain.

[Gatsby's smile] faced--or seemed to face--the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey. (48)

Thank you. See you on Thursday.