Conclusion

At Gatsby's funeral, we find out that Gatsby had literally no one in his life. The only people at his funeral were his former servants, owl eyes, his father, and Nick. What a shame. You can't help but feel bad for the guy because he became obsessed with a girl that in reality he couldn't of ever had, and in the end, died not knowing the relationship he'd still have with her. I wonder how different the ending would have been if Gatsby was not murdered. But overall I liked the way Fitzgerald wrote his story. It was written in a way that kept me wanting to read more and more at the end of each chapter, and I think others will agree with that statement. It's very interesting how we were introduced to Gatsby in the beginning. How we know almost very little about him and who he is, and how as we continue reading the book, we learn more and more about him and change our thoughts on his personality. So to be honest with you it was a good read, and I would highly recommend to keep on reading it. I feel like blogging about was a great idea, in that it helped me to analyze and think more in depth about each chapter, (even though I was a tad bit late on blogging each chapter itself). I feel like if I did a blog for each book I'd enjoy it more like I did with this.

Innocent, but Not Innocent?

Poor Gatsby. All he ever wanted was the love of Daisy, and it's a shame that he had it, but since she wasn't ready to put forth the effort into it, he ended up getting hurt in the end...and by hurt...I mean killed. Did Gatsby deserve such a brutal death? Think about what Tom said... He said Gatsby had it coming for him, but was Gatsby innocent? Maybe not, but in no way did he deserve to die. Gatsby wasn't a perfect man, and we can argue that he wasn't a mentally stable man either, but was he innocent, that's the question. At that time, Prohibition was taking place, so the dealing and selling of alcohol (bootlegging) was against the law. People back then loved to drink and have a good time, so most of the wealth high class folks of East Egg knew all about Gatsby and his involvement in the bootlegging industry, but didn't bother turning him in since he always threw parties and really had no problems with anybody, so why have him behind bars? I doubt that was the only illegal business Gatsby was a part of, but unfortunately, Fitzgerald does not mention anything else about Gatsby's behind-the-scenes life. Something else to think about while talking about Gatsby's innocence is was his affair with Daisy behind Tom's back considered adultery? Because as we all know, Tom was having a long term affair with Myrtle Wilson and being very unfaithful with Daisy and leaving her all the time to be with his mistress. When Tom realizes Daisy has someone else, that's when he becomes VERY selfish and starts investigating and calls out Gatsby when they all meet together. All of them were guilty of it; Myrtle was unfaithful to George Wilson, Tom was unfaithful to Daisy, and vice versa with Daisy being unfaithful to Tom with Gatsby. Poor Nick is the lonely bystander with Jordan Baker just onlooking, but unfortunately being caught in the middle. How awkward would that make you feel, being caught in such a multi-sided affair such as he? But thinking to myself, I fee like the way he died was in a way fitting to his personality. He died because of a classic mix up, a huge misunderstanding. A misunderstood man was never to be understood, and Fitzgerald portrayed this almost to perfection in his book.

Mysterious James Gatz

As I read along, I think to myself, "Who is the mysterious Gatsby really?" Reading thus far I've discovered many traits to this man. . . glimpses of nervousness, insanity, compassion/infatuation, genius, creepiness, desperation, and a young life full of determination. A boy born into a privilege-lacking life, James Gatz ends up owning a huge mansion with all the luxurious life that goes along with it. But does he enjoy that life? Was he seen at his parties? How did he get involved with bootlegging; the business he partakes in that acquires his wealth and prosperity. We read about his first and original love life with Daisy when they were both young. They meant the world to each other, but to Gatz, you could say that she meant a little bit more than just the world to him. What's so great about Daisy that's gone and driven him over the top for her? It says in Chapter 7 that he had it easy when it came to girls, so what's the deal with him going crazy over Daisy. There must be more to what him and Daisy had for him to be losing so much sleep and dedicating his whole life to her, wouldn't ya' think? In my opinion, if Daisy isn't as willing to be with Gatsby as much as Gatsby is willing to be with her, Gatsby should just let her go. Think about it... Daisy is a married woman, she has a child, and she's doing well since we notice how materialistic she really is. The only thing Gatsby can raise the offer with is that he truly loves her more than Tom does. So whatever is going on in Gatsby's head, obviously cannot be doing him any favors...

Rekindling Love

At first, it was surprising to learn that Nick was Daisy's cousin, but again that's the reason he had come to New York in the first place. But just imagine the ultimate surprise that Gatsby experienced after learning that the love of his life happened to be in next door neighbor's good cousin, but poor Nick. When Gatsby and Nick meet each other, they are forced into a quite awkward friendship, for the fact that Gatsby knows exactly what he wants from Nick. It doesn't take long for Gatsby to attempt to explain his master plan to Nick, and asks him of a very important favor. He finds this favor so necessary that Gatsby even offers a fair amount of money for it. When Nick agrees on having Daisy over, Gatsby heads over to make sure the house looks all needy and even goes as far as cutting his grass and fixing up his lawn. It's interesting seeing how such a prestigious man turns back into a nervous school boy talking to his elementary school crush. He stutters, sweats, and does not act like himself. We've all been in situations like that, but it's quite odd to act like that when it has to do with a girl. When Daisy arrives, he magically disappears, and I suppose he must have anticipated a good amount o waiting time until he arrives just in time for quite a "surprise." The moment they met was so awkward. They could barely hold a normal, classic convo, so Nick left them to be and when he came back he found them talking. Throughout the day Daisy and Gatsby re kindle what they used to have, and when nervous Gatsby first knocked over the frozen clock, it described their relationship. Their love for each other seemed to have just stopped years ago, and picked up where it left off when they re met. Weeks later, Nick stops by Gatsby's to say hello to his neighbor and finds Tom talking to him and witnesses an awkward convo about Daisy. All Gatsby wants is Daisy to leave Tom so that she can be his. And at his party he looks forward to seeing her but realizes she's having a terrible time and feels terrible himself. Tom notices something fishy about the looks Daisy and Gatsby give each other, and becomes selfish and tells Daisy how Gatsby had become so rich, by bootlegging. This breaks her heart, so what is to become of their relationship now… Money can' buy happiness, but unfortunately Gatsby does not realize this...

Nick, Not the Party Type

Reading Chapter 2 was interesting for the fact that they mention the "valley of ashes" that lies between the eggs and New York City. When going over the book introduction in my English class, we were taught that the story took place in two different worlds located so close together, referring to the East Egg and the West Egg. In the valley of ashes, the less fortunate and basically the rest of the world is represented. I find it interesting how Tom just goes back and forth through the valley of ashes to get only what he wants, a woman on the side, or a side chick in my terms... Myrtle. To me that represents his his self-centered manner where all he cares about is himself, and could care less about anybody else, for example, his wife's feelings and trust. When Tom introduces Nick to Myrtle, Nick is very reluctant in becoming a part of Tom's scandalous affair, and is sucked into what we call these days as "guy code," so Nick knows he wants to tell Daisy about what Tom does behind her back, but knows he shouldn't & isn't. Nick doesn't want to be involved in Tom's lustful actions but he has no choice, so it's better to be a bystander and keep your mouth shut than to be directly involved. His reserved nature makes him a great observer though. At the party in Tom's apartment, he sort of just stands out and has light chit chat with people and just listens to gossip about Gatsby, and even though he was very drunk, he still made sure he wasn't really too involved in the party itself. Even at Gatsby's party, Nick finds himself just wandering around, observing the different groups of people, thinking to himself and classifying what kind of people. He's not even worried about having a good time there, because he is more concerned on actually meeting the Gatsby he's been hearing all this nonsense about. Such a mysterious character Gatsby has cut himself out to be in Nick's eyes. He hears so much about Gatsby and what kind of person he is, but the thing is all this gossip is coming from people that have never met Gatsby themselves. So he wanders and ponders, until he talks to an odd old fellow...

Chapter 1

After reading the first chapter from The Great Gatsby, I've come to learn what kind of man Nick is. Nick is man who was brought up in a very well structured family with an ample amount of wealth to live comfortably. He is very aware of his surroundings, and can analyze situations, scenarios, and settings very well and quickly. For example, he analyzed how different the two eggs are from one another; with the West being classified as the "New Money", and the East Egg being classified as a more old school kind of old money vibe. He can tell what kind of a person some people are because his father raised him to be able to be very street smart and such. Nick is also a Yale graduate, and he has returned from World War 1. So he has a sort of out of the loop look on the society in New York.