Sunday, December 4, 2011

The Gatsby Façade


Inference In Literature: Skills of inference are needed not just to be able to "read between the lines," to detect the unspoken hidden meanings that enrich overall understanding of a text or to draw one's own personal conclusions about a text. They are needed in handling texts: to understand the effects achieved through choices in vocabulary, to recognize what the writer is trying to accomplish through the whole text and to appreciate what the impact on the reader may be. 

1. We begin to learn about Gatsby in chapter 3. There are several details relayed through indirect characterization. Provide two examples.
2. Regardless of his lavish parties, Gatsby doesn't drink. Instead, he stands back and watches the guests at his parties, preferring to be in the background. Why do you believe he does this? What inferences can you make about Gatsby based on what you know from Chapters 1-3? What predictions? 
3. Ch.3 brings the 1920s glitz and glamour into focus. What do you notice about the social hierarchy? How is Fitzgerald's mood of 1920's America depicted?
4. Gatsby is said to be an enigma....a cross between East and West egg, what characteristics make him part of both?
5. Describe Gatsby's smile. Why is Nick so fascinated with it? What is the inference?
6. How is Jordan depicted? What does Nick's interest in her infer about his acclamation to the East Coast?

Essential Question: 
1. How does the historical context of when the text was written, or the historical setting of the narrative affect current readers' interpretations? I.E. Based on the 1920s social world and what Fitzgerald illuminates within the novel, how did he interpret the 1920s via Nick Carraway's eyes? How does this affect you as the reader? 
2. To what extent is Fitzgerald's message sustained or lost to the present-day reader? 

50 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kaylee Johnson
    12-4-11
    Orange A

    1. One example of indirect characterization describing Gatsby is at the very beginning. For example, Nick saw Gatsby intently looking at the green light across the way. This light has some kind of meaning to him, but it’s not yet revealed. Also, on page 44, so many rumors about Gatsby’s past is being spread between groups of girls, it makes you wonder if any of it’s true.
    2. I’m not completely sure why Gatsby doesn’t drink at all at his party; I believe it may be because he doesn’t like making himself look like a fool in front of all of his “friends.” I think Gatsby is sort of above that type of scene; however, he likes everyone else to have a good time. From what I’ve learned so far, I predict Gatsby to be very mysterious and envied. Also I think that he has a thing for Jordan Baker, because he took her to have a talk that lasted an hour. I think that Gatsby will end up “stealing” Jordan from Gatsby.
    3. If you were not on top of the social hierarchy in the 20’s, life would be stressful. On the other hand, people who do rest at the top of the ladder are living the luxurious life. They would go to the hottest places and do the hottest things. Fitzgerald’s mood of America in the 20’s is depicted as skeptical of the superficial lifestyles that were lived. Fitzgerald is making everyone look like an idiot who’s just wasting his or her life away.
    4. The characteristics that make him part of both are that Gatsby was born into money and he made even more money somehow.
    5. Gatsby’s smile was described as a rare smile that gives you eternal reassurance. Nick is so fascinated by it because when he sees it he feels that “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.” Fitzgerald must really like smiles because in Winter Dreams he also takes time to genuinely describe Judy Jones’ smile. For some reason, I think that Gatsby’s smile is going to have a critical part that will be identified yet to come.
    6. Jordan is depicted as a possible cheater from her golfing scandal. Also she shunned bright and perceptive men for a reason. Also she lied often. Because Nick likes Jordan, his approval of New York increases. I don’t know why Nick still likes Jordan because of her unpleasant traits.

    Essential Questions
    1. Because it was the 1920’s, the Jazz Age and the superficial attitudes were just now starting to explode and become popular. Having social parties with entertainment also became popular, so it was a big deal. Viewing this novel through Nick Carraway’s eyes makes you feel like you are there. Nothing is held back, you see what he sees and you hear what he hears, you even understand what he feels.
    2. To the most part, Fitzgerald’s story is still the same; however, present day readers may not understand some of the content because of the time it was written. The vocabulary may also slow down the comprehension of the novel.

    ReplyDelete
  3. 1. Two examples of indirect characterization would be when it was said that Gatsby was in the war and when everyone is talking about Gatsby but the truth is no one exactly knows him.
    2. Gatsby doesn’t want to be the center of attention because he is very rich and he doesn’t want everybody asking for things. The 1920’s were a very socially inclined era and he was one of the few that didn’t want anything to deal with it.
    3. As I said in the second question the 1920’s were a very socially inclined era. People were always having parties and meeing up except for Gatsby who was never seen outside of his house.
    5. Nick ends up daing Jordan at the end of the chapter which doesn’t exactly make sense to me since he is honest and she is not.

    1. The 1920’s were very socially inclined so Nick carroways eyes represent being part of everything seeing the world.
    2. A lot of the things that happened in the 1920’s we are not exactly aqqainted with today.

    ReplyDelete
  4. 1. One lady at the party had said that Gatsby had once killed a man, and because of it he felt bad. This characterizes him as someone who will not sop until he gets what he wants. Another example is another guest who said Gatsby was a German spy in the war. This characterizes him as someone who is not loyal to his country, and is willing to betray people for his beliefs.
    2. I believe he does this because he loves making other people happy, but he does not want to become emotionally involved with anyone else. This infers that either he prefers to be emotionally secluded, or he is holding out for someone else. I predict he likes someone else, and is holding out for her.
    3. I notice that the more socially gifted do not mind throwing money around, even if they do it all of the time. It is depicted as a time when people had money to spend, and didn’t mind spending it.
    4. He has a huge house, and is extremely wealthy. Those are both characteristics of the people of East Egg. However, like the people of the West Egg, he has to work for his money.
    5. He said his smile was rare, with a quality of eternal reassurance. He said at first it seemed to be for everyone, but after a moment, it focuses on you specifically, with extreme prejudiced in your favor. It believed in you as much as you were willing to believe in yourself, and this is why Nick was fascinated with it. It infers that Gatsby has spent a long time working on his smile, and he has for a reason.
    6. Jordan is depicted as a liar, and a compulsive one at that. It shows that flappers are the new wave, and many new fashions start on the East Coast. This shows that Nick is enthusiastic about a change such as the one flappers will bring.
    1. He interprets the 1920’s as a time of fun and wealth, and even the people that don’t have money are trying to enjoy themselves. It shows us that everyone is trying to have a good time, and they do not care how they do it.
    2. It is lost, because everywhere there is economic depression, and people can no longer fathom spending money for other people every Saturday night, without a limit.

    ReplyDelete
  5. 1. Nick says that Gatsby smiled understandingly explaining that Gatsby had feelings and knows about how to show it. Nick also showed that after he meet him he realized that Gatsby sat back in the party and didn’t drink but watched everyone else drink.
    2. I believe that Gatsby does not drink because he always seems to be working. He very seldom engages in a discussion because at any time his butler seems to come and say someone is on the phone to talk to him. I believe that this makes him a very hard workingman and he doesn’t quite know how to split fun and work. Based on chapters one through three I think that Gatsby works for his money and will throw a party but is very quite about his life, kind of like Boo Radley in “To Kill A Mockingbird.”
    3. I believe that the social hierarchy in the 1920’s depended on how much money you had or who you are friends with. Other people brought a lot of the guests because they were friends but the other was not invited. Fitzgerald’s mood about the 1920’s is that it is high end, if you didn’t have money or weren’t invited/brought to parties you were a nobody and you couldn’t work your way up.
    4. Gatsby is a hard working man and that is how he gets his riches which gives him characteristics of the West Egg but he also has parties and can spend his money well which is like those of the East Egg.
    5. Gatsby’s smile more than understanding. He seemed to face the whole world then focused on you. It made Nick believe in himself and assure him. It infers that he is trying to set something up for Nick because he wants to gain a friend.
    6. Jordan is sweet but then Nick realizes that she is a compulsive liar.

    Essential Questions
    1. The book was written in the 1920’s so readers now can’t quite understand what the times were like back when the book was written. In Nick’s eyes the 1920’s was a time where people were respectful but when they could they would drink and party. It also shows that people are either rich by nature rich by work or nothing. For me it makes me think that people were very judge mental.
    2. In the present day I believe that Fitzgerald’s point is lost because we cant quite understand how life was in the 1920’s because we don’t live there and we never have. People these days cannot imagine what it was like without technology.

    ReplyDelete
  6. 1.In Chapter 3 one of the girls in the yellow dress says that they heard that he had killed a man once. This infers that he could be a murderer and adds to the mystery. Later on in the conversation, another guest says that they heard that Gatsby was a German spy in the war.

    2.I think that Gatsby sits back because he doesn’t want to be involved in the chaos. He likes to watch the chaos but doesn’t want to be in the middle of it. He doesn’t want to get drunk and hang out with other people that he doesn’t know. I think that if he got drunk often, then his life would be less of a secret. Gatsby doesn’t like to share his secrets and if he only tells certain people his secrets, then they have more value. He might be waiting for someone to trust with his life memories.

    3.A lot of the people that have money don’t mind spending it. They like to buy toys, cars and blow their money on fancy things. The way that Fitzgerald describes the 1920s shows that everybody has parties and it is a very social era.

    4.The part of the East Egg that sticks with Nick is that he has a big house and is wealthy. Because Nick earned his money and that he lives in West Egg is how he is associated with West Egg.

    5.Nick is fascinated with Gatsby’s smile because it is very uncommon, something you only see a few times in your life. This could infer that Gatsby puts a lot of time into his personality just like he does in his smile.

    6.As a person who sometimes lies to get out of certain situations. Nick’s interest in Jordan shows that he likes and can fit in with east coast people.
    Essential Question:

    1.Because this was written in the 1920s, we really get a sense of what the social life and the parties were like. Instead of somebody now writing about parties that happened ninety years ago, the author actually participated in these parties. We see the 1920s social life through Nick’s eyes, which are actually Fitzgerald’s eyes.
    2.It is lost because we are in an economic depression and can’t blow our money on fancy things like they could in the 1920s.

    ReplyDelete
  7. 1. We begin to learn about Gatsby in chapter 3. There are several details relayed through indirect characterization. Provide two examples.

    One guy said he was a spy in the war for the german side.

    The other guy said that cannot be because he was fighting on the American side.

    2. Regardless of his lavish parties, Gatsby doesn't drink. Instead, he stands back and watches the guests at his parties, preferring to be in the background. Why do you believe he does this? What inferences can you make about Gatsby based on what you know from Chapters 1-3? What predictions?

    I believe he stands in the background to leave him as a mysterious person and keep people wondering about him. My prediction he is just a normal guy who is living the lavish life style .and likes to keep his life a mystery because he might have come from a poor background like the guy in winter dreems.

    3. Ch.3 brings the 1920s glitz and glamour into focus. What do you notice about the social hierarchy? How is Fitzgerald's mood of 1920's America depicted?

    The 1920’s is shown as a 12 hr party ,12 hour repair and repeat the process. The mood is a very happy party mood.

    4. Gatsby is said to be an enigma....a cross between East and West egg, what characteristics make him part of both?

    Gatsby has the new wealth with the old wealth style


    5. Describe Gatsby's smile. Why is Nick so fascinated with it? What is the inference?

    It’s the smile you could trust and you would 4/5 times in a life time.

    6. How is Jordan depicted? What does Nick's interest in her infer about his acclamation to the East Coast?

    Jordan is depicted as a dishonest golfer. Nick is interested in the materialistic and egotistic part of life.

    Essential Question:
    1. How does the historical context of when the text was written, or the historical setting of the narrative affect current readers' interpretations? I.E. Based on the 1920s social world and what Fitzgerald illuminates within the novel, how did he interpret the 1920s via Nick Carraway's eyes? How does this affect you as the reader?

    He portrays the 1920’s as a party town. It’s a stuck high society, that affects the reader by showing the the glits and glamour of the 1920’s.

    2. To what extent is Fitzgerald's message sustained or lost to the present-day reader?

    Because you weren’t in the 1920’s and don’t understand the glamour of the 1920’s.

    ReplyDelete
  8. 1. One example of indirect characterization towards Gatsby in the chapter is when one of the women in the group says that he was a German spy. Another example is when another woman in the group adds on to that by saying that he killed a man once and that you can see how it could be true if you look at him.
    2. I believe he doesn’t drink and prefers to watch to watch his guests because he would rather not be seen and swarmed by people, but rather view what is going on. An inference I can make about him is that he lives to make others happy and a prediction is that he will continue to stay away from drinking.
    3. I notice that the more money you have, the higher up you will be obviously. Also that people aren’t given much of a chance if they grow up somewhere where they aren’t given an opportunity to succeed. Fitzgerald’s mood of the 1920s is depicted as fun and lively in my opinion since there are a bunch of parties that occur.
    4. Some characteristics that make him part of the East Egg is that he is rich and has a very nice house like most of the people over there. But on the other hand he is part of West Egg because he prefers not to seem rich so people don’t judge him, and just think of him as average.
    5. Gatsby’s smile is according to Nick more than understandingly, and is a rare smile that you only see four or five times in life. He is fascinated by it because it leaned all prejudice in his favor and it showed that Gatsby understood him and believed and reassured him. An inference is that Gatsby has a way of making people feel great about themselves and that’s why they come to his parties.
    6. Nick depicts Jordan as very dishonest, and that might be the reason why she has won so many golf tournaments. Nick’s interest in her shows that he now has a reason to stay on the East Coast rather than moving back to where he is from.
    Essential Questions:
    1. The historical context affects the current readers’ interpretations because it makes us have to change our thoughts to thinking of how a 1920s person would interpret it. In Nick Carraway’s eyes the 1920s are kind of crazy considering he always seems to be dreading going to whatever party he is at. This affects us as a reader because there are two different interpretations of how the 1920s were.
    2. I think that Fitzgerald’s message is somewhat sustained to the present-day reader because there are many people in this country that do spend money and just try to live life to have fun as if they were in the 1920s.

    ReplyDelete
  9. 1. We begin to learn about Gatsby in chapter 3. There are several details relayed through indirect characterization. Provide two examples.

    One man said that Gatsby was a German spy during the war but a young woman opposed saying that wasn’t possible because he was said to be in the American Army.


    2. Regardless of his lavish parties, Gatsby doesn't drink. Instead, he stands back and watches the guests at his parties, preferring to be in the background. Why do you believe he does this? What inferences can you make about Gatsby based on what you know from Chapters 1-3? What predictions?

    I believe that Gatsby doesn’t drink and prefers to be in the background at his party because he is looking for someone in particular and he can’t do that drunk or being the center of attention. Gatsby throws these big parties hoping that who he is looking for will just show up uninvited one day like most of the guests. I think that Gatsby will form a plan to get who he wants at the party without being so direct.

    3. Ch.3 brings the 1920s glitz and glamour into focus. What do you notice about the social hierarchy? How is Fitzgerald's mood of 1920's America depicted?

    The Jazz Age part of the 1920’s really comes out in chapter three. Parties are also very big. They party from afternoon till early morning and.

    4. Gatsby is said to be an enigma cross between East and West egg, what characteristics make him part of both?

    Gatsby inherited his money, which would mean he should live in the East Egg but instead he lives in the West Egg because he has worked for some money.

    5. Describe Gatsby's smile. Why is Nick so fascinated with it? What is the inference?

    Gatsby’s smile is one that you could trust and one you would only see four or fives times in a lifetime. It seemed to focus on the world but still on you all at the same time.


    6. How is Jordan depicted? What does Nick's interest in her infer about his acclamation to the East Coast?

    Jordan is depicted as incurably dishonest. Nick is becoming more materialistic and egotistic falling into acclamation to the East Coast.

    Essential Question:
    1. How does the historical context of when the text was written, or the historical setting of the narrative affect current readers' interpretations? I.E. Based on the 1920s social world and what Fitzgerald illuminates within the novel, how did he interpret the 1920s via Nick Carraway's eyes? How does this affect you as the reader?

    In the 1920’s going to parties from afternoon till early morning was not uncommon. In fact going to the parties made you very “popular.” Listening to Jazz music was also very big too. Young women wore shorter dresses and guys dressed more fancy like.

    2. To what extent is Fitzgerald's message sustained or lost to the present-day reader?

    Fitzgerald’s message is sustained to this day because going to parties and music is still big to this day.

    ReplyDelete
  10. The Gatsby Façade
    1. One indirect detail about Gatsby was that he is a very outgoing, popular, people-person that likes to host parties for people. We know this because Nick tells us that he has parties nearly every weekend and when Nick finally attends one, he sees how exciting and big the events are. Another detail is that Gatsby has lived quite the life. When Nick and he were first introduced, we learn that he was in the war as was Nick, and also that he lived in France for some period of time. This infers that he is wealthy, which is apparent by his house and the number of parties he’s had, and that his life has been filled with interesting events.

    2. I think Gatsby stands back at his own parties and watches because he may enjoy hosting people and likes people to have a good time. Also he may host the parties for a particular reason or to meet someone. I think Gatsby is a wise man and that there’s more to him than people perceive. He’s obviously so mysterious and strange for a reason just no one knows what it is yet. I think Gatsby has so many parties because he anticipating something or looking for something or someone.

    3. People in the 1920’s social hierarchy were kind of crazy and wild. Nick describes the guests at Gatsby’s party to be somewhat crazed even though they were all having a good time. The social hierarchy is a very high end and public appearance is a big deal. Fitzgerald gives the mood of the 1920’s in America as a very exciting and bustling atmosphere. There were many things for the quests to do such as swim, dance, eat, sing, drink, etc. He used to hate all the glitz and glamour of the hierarchy society but yet now he is become apart of it and taking part, which questions his truthfulness.

    4. Although West Egg is the lower end of the two Eggs, Gatsby’s place is an extravagant, colossal estate right next to Nick’s dinky little shack. East Egg is the most fashionable of the two and while his home and personality may belong in East Egg, he brings people to West Egg and lives there for a certain reason. He is very wealthy and popular man, which would infer he should live in East Egg, but his true characteristics and persona allows him to fit into the adjacent neighborhood.

    5. Nick always describes Gatsby’s smile as one that is so rare you may only come across it a few times in your life, one that would make you feel like the rest of the world is nonexistent, and like you have importance and makes you feel relevant to something bigger than yourself. His smile gave Nick the feeling that he had significance is being the last one to leave the party. It infers Gatsby may use his smile to get what he wants or to kind or maneuver people.

    6. Jordan is an incurable liar, which tells us a lot about her character. She constantly lies about any little thing that doesn’t matter. This is strange because as Nick goes on about how he is ‘the most honest person he knows’ and yet he’s dating such a dishonest girl which questions Nick’s actual credibility.

    Essential Questions:
    1. Fitzgerald interprets the 1920’s in the novel through Nick’s eyes initially as he despises how judgmental everyone is and that the high society is shallow and so are the people in it. Later on through the story Nick actually begins to take part and hang out with the high-class people, which contradicts his first opinions. We see the 1920’s through Nick’s point of view and get to experience it first hand as he socializes with people like Tom and Gatsby.

    2. Things have changed a lot since the 1920’s, which may limit the reader’s comprehension of the language, and the way things worked back then. Nick does a good job at allowing us to experience it although it can be hard to understand at times. Fitzgerald’s story is the same today in some ways but in others it has changed from almost a century ago.

    ReplyDelete
  11. 1. Throughout this chapter, there are many indirect details. One of them would be that he always calls people “old sport.” By him saying this, it makes him sound like he knows everyone really well. It’s almost like a nickname that he would give friends. Since he calls just about everyone, this it implies that he is friendly. Another indirect detail would be that he doesn’t drink at these extravagant parties. He provides plenty of alcohol for his guests, however he never drinks it himself.

    2. I think the reason why Gatsby doesn’t drink at his parties is because he realizes how ridiculous people look at his party. I don’t think he wants people to see him out of control like his guests. For example, the lady who starts crying while she is singing would be one of the out of control guests. She looked like an idiot. He doesn’t want to be portrayed like that.

    3. Fitzgerald depicts the 1920’s as a careless time. People just do whatever they want, whenever they want. Nobody cares what happens. Especially, when it comes to automobiles, even if it could end up being extremely dangerous. People get into cars wasted and think they can drive perfectly fine.

    4. Gatsby is considered am enigma because he did inherit money from his family, but he did make a lot of his own money. His family was very wealthy. Just because he started out with money doesn’t mean he can’t work hard to make more.

    5. Gatsby’s smile was a very rare smile. According to Nick it is one that you only see five times in a lifetime. It has the quality of ‘eternal reassurance.’ Since Nick didn’t recognize Gatsby, Gatsby’s smile reassured that it was all right and that he forgave him for not recognizing him.

    6. Jordan is depicted as very dishonest and careless because of her golfing scandal and her refusal to drive correctly. The more he is around Jordan, the more materialistic he becomes he is more like the people in the East Coast.

    Essential Questions:
    1. Fitzgerald interprets the 1920’s as carelessness and wealth. As Nick goes to these parties thrown by Gatsby, he witnesses both wealth and carelessness. Most of the guests are very wealthy and as the evening goes on, they become more and more careless. They get into vehicles completely drunk and don’t care how dangerous the situation could be.
    2. Fitzgerald’s message is lost to many present day readers because we didn’t live in the 1920’s so we don’t exactly know how it was. Since then we have had similar economies, but we still wouldn’t understand because we haven’t lived in a time where we can just blow money on expensive luxuries

    ReplyDelete
  12. 1. From Chapter 3, I see indirect characterization about Gatsby when one of the girls in the yellow dress says that he killed someone or was a German spy. This could mean what they say but I think it makes him mysterious. Also, Nick characterizes Gatsby when they are talking but Nick doesn’t realize that it is him. It shows that he does not stand out from the crowd by the way he dresses or acts.
    2. I think Gatsby stands back and does not drink because he does not want to become like the other people. Nick talks about how they put on fake personalities and get drunk at the parties but Gatsby does not want to be like that. From this, I predict that Nick will talk about more parties that Gatsby holds. This is because that detail about Gatsby seems important to the story.
    3. After reading chapter 3, I think that a person’s popularity depends on what parties you go to and how you dress. Nick talks about how people go and meet new people, but immediately forget their names. This shows that people just want to make an impression or appearance in order to be considered as part of the higher society. I think Fitzgerald sees this decade as somewhat superficial. It shows that people get caught up in everything that goes on around them.
    4. Gatsby is part of both the East and West eggs because he is very rich. Like the people of the East egg, Gatsby has a lot of money and likes to have fun by throwing parties and buying things. However, like the people of the West egg, he is a hard worker who has most likely come up in society by himself.
    5. Gatsby’s smile seems sincere. Nick talks about his smile as one that is directed specifically at him. Because of his smile, Nick knows that Gatsby forgave him for not recognizing him when they first met. It also is one of those smiles that you only see a few times in your life.
    6. Jordan is explained as a compulsive liar. Nick says that she can’t resist the urge to lie in order to get out of a situation. We see this when Jordan leaves the rental car out in the rain when the top was down. Nick also thinks that she surrounds herself with people who point out her best qualities and won’t challenge her actions or opinions.
    Essential Questions:
    1. Because the book was written and set in the 1920s, people who read it now have to change their thoughts to fit the perceptions of Nick. People during this time are used to or okay with men hitting or cheating on their wives. When this happens in front of Nick, he has no strong reaction that conflicts with his strong set or morals.
    2. Fitzgerald’s message about living life with no worries and having fun by spending money is sustained. Gatsby throws huge parties and buys new things whenever he wants because he is rich and does not think twice about it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. 1. One example of indirect characterization for Gatsby would be that he killed a man. Another example of indirect characterization for Gatsby would be that he was a spy during the war.
    2. He might do this because he wants to keep himself separated from his guests and he wants to protect his image in front of his guests. I can infer that Gatsby likes to keep the mysteries about himself out there. He could easily put the rumors to rest, but he chooses to let them circulate.
    3. I notice that the social hierarchy of the 1920s was all about the parties. People would show up at a party they hadn’t been invited to and attach themselves to someone they know. If you weren’t a part of this group then your life would be very hard. Fitzgerald’s mood of the 1920s in America is depicted in the way he presents the characters and the parties that happen every night. He also suggests that if you weren’t a part of the higher class, you never could be.
    4. Characteristics that make him part of the West Egg would be that he comes from old wealth and still makes more money for himself, and he has a way of acting that makes him different from those around him. The fact that he doesn’t ever seem to work makes him a part of the East Egg too. Most people there have their money handed to them without having to work for it.
    5. Gatsby’s smile is very understanding and rare. It has a way of facing the whole world and then focusing in on the person with him. It understands the person as they wish they could be understood, and it believes in the person. It makes the person feel like they’re being looked at when they’re at their very best. Nick is fascinated with it because it conveys all these wonderful things and then it vanished in the next instant, in a way that makes you wonder if it happened at all. You can infer that Gatsby has spent a lot of time perfecting this smile and that he’s using it for a reason.
    6. Jordan is depicted as being put off to the world but a different person once you get to know her. She is also not a very honest person; she can’t stand being at a disadvantage. She is also depicted as being careless. Nick’s interest in her infers that his opinion of New York changes and improves as he gets to know her.

    1. Fitzgerald interprets the 1920s as a time of fun and partying for everyone. Everyone during this time was either rich by work, rich by inheritance, or they were nothing. It gives us a view of how the 1920s were for those that were there by seeing events through Nick’s eyes. As readers we can see how the wealth of those living during this time made them think that they were better than others and it makes us feel like we're there too.
    2. Fitzgerald’s message is sustained today because we still have many rich people who live to party and we have those who are less fortunate who struggle to get by and through this, we can relate to the characters. Since we didn’t live in the 1920s though, some things are lost and there are things that we can’t understand based on the technology driven society we live in.

    ReplyDelete
  14. 1. “Somebody told me they thought he killed a man once.” (page 44) There are stories all about Gatsby that aren’t exactly true. Another, “…it’s more that he was a German spy during the war.” (page 44)
    2. I believe that he stands in the background because he wants to know that his guests are having fun. He might, also, do it because he maybe doesn’t feel comfortable. At the end, you could tell that he wanted the people to leave and was getting tired of the company. The inferences would be that Gatsby may not be someone for huge crowd. Because of most of his guests just inviting themselves, his parities have become bigger than what he expected. He is a people watcher; he likes watching the reactions of others.
    3. You notice the social hierarchy by how Nick describes them. He describes the people as owning big businesses and having more than enough money to spend. However, there is a big difference between Gatsby’s party and Tom and Myrtle’s party. There are big, important people at Gatsby’s and then just people that want to party and become out of control at the other. The mood is shown though the parties. There is dancing, singing, drinking (much of that), smoking, mingling, and people just having a good time. In the 1920s, with the money that the people had, no one cared what was happening, no one cared if husbands were cheating on wives- it didn’t matter, they were having a good time.
    4. Gatsby is said to be mysterious or puzzling because no one really knows who he is. He is talked about greatly but they are only rumors and hearsay of who Gatsby really is. He Is apart of both East and West Egg by his money. He lives in West Egg, which is the place where the new money is and the East Egg is where the old money is. He did inherit money, which shows the characters in East Egg but he also earns his own money. This plays into West Egg.
    5. Gatsby’s smiled “-and suddenly there seemed to be a pleasant significance in having been among the last to go, as if he had desired it all the time.” Nick is so fascinated with it because Gatsby was recognizing him as a friend and he felt more “special” than the other guests.
    6. Jordan is depicted as a little Gossip Queen. She is always in someone’s business. However, she is known by everyone for being a golf star. In some ways I think that Nick likes the attention of her because then he is becoming more “famous”.
    *Essential Questions:
    1. The historical context affects the reader by how when the reader imagines the parties and living styles through past background knowledge and what we see the 1920s as. He interprets it as a wealthy society. He finds himself at high class parties and dinners. This may affect the reader in a good and bad way. The reader only sees the perspective of Nick and no one else. He is the narrator but you don’t hear insight from other characters unless speaking.
    2. Repeated from class, some students are never taught about the 1920s. So the result is no knowledge of what the 1920s was like. The real point that Fitzgerald may be writing might never be understood by students now; so his message is somewhat lost.

    ReplyDelete
  15. 1. One example of indirect characterization is that the one girls dress is torn at one of the parties before and Gatsby buys her a new dress that is worth 265$ to replace her torn one. Another example of indirect characterization is one of the girls say that Gatsby doesn’t want any trouble with anyone.
    2. I believe that Gatsby stands in the background and dose not drink because he wants everyone to think he’s a respectable man. Also so that he can watch over the party. The inferences I can make about Gatsby are that not many people know him well. He dose not have problems with anyone, and he is a generous and kind person. I can predict that he will have more parties, he will buy people more things, and he will become good friends with nick.
    3. What I notice about the social hierarchy is that everyone in it are rich and have power. Fitzgerald’s mood of the 1920’s in America is depicted as a rich and poor time. And the people that have money also have power.
    4. He has the new wealth but uses it in the old wealth style. Like he was said to have inherited his money but he also works hard to make more money.
    5. Gatsby’s smile is one of those rare smiles that has a quality of eternal reassurance, and you may only see it four or five times in your life. Nick is so fascinated with Gatsby’s smile because it is different from everyone else’s. The inference is that you will only see this kind of smile four or five times in a lifetime.
    6. Jordan is depicted as a liar and she gets away with everything. Nicks interest in Jordan infers his acclimation to the east coast because now he thinks that the people of east egg are all liars.




    1. The historical context of when this book was written affects current readers interpretations because many things have changed since the 1920’s also because some readers do not know about the 1920’s. The way that Fitzgerald interpreted the 1920’s in nicks eyes was by having poor and rich people. And then the rich people had two different groups, the west egg and the east egg. The west egg people had earned all their money. In the east egg the people had inherited their money. This affects me as the reader by nick being able to show both the west and east side eggs and how the people live.
    2. Fitzgerald’s message is sustained if the reader has background of the 1920’s so that they can understand the book. His message is lost because some people may not understand the book because they live in a different time. Also some people may not understand some of the vocabulary used.

    ReplyDelete
  16. The Gatsby Façade
    1. Discussed in class
    2. I think he does this because he is he doesn’t wan to be the center of attention at his own party. I inference that Gatsby is mysterious and is keeping things from people that he doesn’t want them to know about him.
    3. I notice that the 1920’s was a socially inclined part. People had parties and Gatsby wasn’t ever seen outside of his house.
    4. The thing that makes him both part of West and East Egg is he was born into money, yet he still made more money somehow.
    5. Nick is fascinated with Gatsby’s smile because it makes him think he understands Gatsby. This infers that Gatsby has something that will be revealed later in the story later on.
    Essential Questions
    1. The 1920’s was socially inclined so Nick represents being apart of everything in seeing the world.
    2. There were many things that happened back then and we don’t really see any of them today.

    ReplyDelete
  17. 2. Gatsby doesn’t drink at his parties because he wants to be aware of his surroundings. If he gets drunk, he might not be able to control what he says and private information about him might slip out. I make the inference that Gatsby has secrets he doesn’t want anyone to know. He does his best to hide them, and this is what makes him mysterious. Everyone knows that he has secrets but they don’t know what the secrets are so people make up rumors. I predict that someone is going to find out Gatsby’s secrets and try to tell everyone about them, but since there are already so many lies, no one will believe it.
    3. In the 1920s, people are judged based on how much money they have. The rich are considered better than the poor. The mood of the 1920s is fun for rich people but difficult and exhausting for poor people. The rich people don’t have to work for their money and the poor people work so much for nothing.
    4. Gatsby has lots of money and this is what makes him part of East Egg. The fact that he is alone and doesn’t fit in with the other rich people makes him part of West Egg. The people of West Egg are left out from the rest of the world, like Gatsby is.
    5. Gatsby’s smile is reassuring but frightening. It seems like Gatsby is using the smile to hide from his past. He uses the smile to use people and to trick them into thinking that he is a good guy.

    1. In the 1920s, people were known for being conniving and full of lies. Having Nick as the narrator limits the information we get about the story. We don’t get the point of view of others, only what they say, which might not always be true. Nick thinks that everyone around him is lying and that they know something but isn’t telling what it is.
    2. In present day, we don’t fully understand what it’s like to live in the 1920s. We don’t know what it’s like to live next door to a mysterious man in a giant mansion. Not being able to relate to the issues in this book might make Fitzgerald’s message difficult to understand.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Gatsby likes to keep people distracted with their attentions away from him he doesn’t want people to notice him and he also doesn’t want people to be curious about his unsocial nature. He does this because he is hiding a something of an unsavory nature involving or entirely revolving around him. I think he is involved in the mafia he has enough good booze not crappy bathtub gin or small still moonshine he has champagne and whiskey, vodka and a whole list of others and he doesn’t just have a limited supply he seems to have an unlimited amount which he gives from opulently he knows very powerful people

    In the 1920s the rich population is growing poor population is shrinking and the upper middle class is starting to emerge as more and more of the poor grasp on and do whatever they can to become rich.
    Gatsby seems to be accomplished in the American dream he doesn’t come from a rich family but there are rumors going around he was an inheritor of money he sits on both sides of the fence.

    Gatsby’s smile is explained as infinitely reassuring to everyone in a room and so unique you would see one four or five times in a lifetime.

    Nicks fascination with Jordan is interesting he has gotten used to lying untrustworthy selfish misinformed hollow careless people. It’s very similar to winter dreams


    He interpreted the 1920s as the greatest amount of opulence and hedonistic social degradation it can still be related to today where this once small occurrence has now grown into a public monster enveloping everyone many can relate to Gatsby

    It’s lost in the fact that there is no true privacy anymore but it is retained as warning of what taking things to far can do.

    ReplyDelete
  19. 2. I believe Gatsby stands in the background because he’s an observer. He likes to listen to what people are saying about him, and watch the people at his party. Gatsby is very reserved and quiet, and although he is the center of attention in most conversations, Gatsby himself does not like to be. I predict he will be like this though out most the novel until one rumor goes too far and everything blows up.
    3. The people at Gatsby’s party are supposedly the rich of the rich. Anyone who is anyone is at his parties. Even if you were not invited if you were someone who wanted to be important, you found a way to get into this party. Fitzgerald’s mood about the 1920’s seem to be that parties and gossip were all people cared about. That the American Dream was a lie, that if you were anyone you inherited your money.
    4. Gatsby is an enigma because he has traits of both the West and East Egg. He is rich which gets him into the Eggs. But then there is a rumor that he inherited his money from someone, but he might have worked for his money. This combines the inheriting side, the East, with the American Dream side, the West.
    5. Nick describes Gatsby’s smile as understanding, it had eternal reassurance in it, and concentrated on you. His smile could be taken as too real. Nick says you only come across a smile like Gatsby’s five or six times in your life. It infers that he is hiding something; there is something he’s not telling people.
    6. Jordan is depicted as dishonest. Nick realizes this a little before they start dating, yet he still dates her. It’s his way of socially getting into the East Egg. With her he is socially acceptable. This might change Nick’s personality because he’ll have to change to fit in with the rest of the East Eggers.
    Essential Questions:
    1. Fitzgerald tells us this story though Nick’s eyes. Which means it’s Nick’s opinion. This affects me as the reader because opinions, just like rumor can change a story entirely. So what Nick is telling us might not be the exact events taking place. The way Nick sees it everyone is dishonest. They do whatever they have to do to get to the top. The 1920’s are classy during the day and a wild party at night.
    2. Fitzgerald’s point in well sustained in our modern life. Everyone wants to be at Gatsby’s party, because it was Gatsby’s party. Just like the party’s in Hollywood today. It’s all about the people there, and the people you know. Information gets around a lot faster now a day, which makes it worse for modern day celebrities, but it is still the same concept.

    ReplyDelete
  20. 2.) At Gatsby’s Party, Gatsby doesn’t drink, which is strange since it is his party and he is supplying a large about of alcohol to his guests. Gatsby is probably one of the only people that does not drink at his parties, this makes the reader think that there might be a reason why he doesn’t. He might do this to stay reserved and not do anything that could be twisted into gossip later. A different reason Gatsby does not drink could be because of past secrets or maybe that he is a gangster involved in the smuggling of alcohol if the reader used the gossip the guests say about him throughout the story.
    3.) The higher up on the social hierarchy the character is, the more famous they are and the more people want to go see them, or for Gatsby, go to his parties. Gatsby is one of the celebrities of the 1920s and has rumors circulating all around him. I believe the rumors and Gatsby are Fitzgerald’s way of showing how idolizing people for their social hierarchy isn’t good for either the person being the celebrity or the person idolizing the celebrity. Fitzgerald is showing how the 1920s were the start of something that isn’t very good for society.
    4.) Gatsby is apart of both the West and east Egg because he still has the traits of what the East Egg consists of. On the East Egg they are all wealthy, high class, people who inherited their money and never work. While on the West Egg, it consisted of people who prospered from the American Dream and earned their wealth. Even though Gatsby lives on the West, he apparently inherited his money, making him part of the East Egg, but he also seems to work because of him constantly having to take phone calls, making him apart of the West Egg as well.
    5.) Nick described Gatsby’s smile to being incredibly genuine and one you’d only see a couple times in a life. He said it was an eternal reassurance. This is very interesting coming from the man people said to have killed a man and was a gangster. This makes me think that maybe the rumors are not true at all and that Gatsby isn’t a horrible or bad person at all.
    6.) After Nick starts dating Jordan, he discovers he is quite dishonest and very reckless. He depicts her as someone he doesn’t get along with or really like, but still dates her. This makes me believe that he is only dating her to further establish himself in the East Egg, since she wealthy, beautiful and from the East Egg. Jordan helps him be part of the East Egg and will lead him to more of the lifestyle and People that involve the East Egg.

    ReplyDelete
  21. 2. Gatsby is not a very social host. He does not drink, or even mingle with his guests at all. I think he prefers to avoid any confrontation he can. Maybe he simply considers himself above all the chaos. Also, he really doesn’t know anyone at his parties; I think Gatsby is a lonely person.
    3. In the 1920’s, everyone seems to dance and drink, regardless of what it is they are drinking, and especially gossip. If you have information about rumors about anyone (especially Gatsby) then you instantly become popular. Fitzgerald depicts the 20’s a superficial, vain time to live in.
    4. There is a rumor about Gatsby that his money was inherited from wealthy relative, Kaiser Wilhelm. This puts him into the “old money” category that is the East Egg. I am not sure I believe that rumor. I think Gatsby has somehow worked his way up the social stepladder and achieved what Fitzgerald would call “the American Dream” perhaps through crime. These characteristics make him a part of the West Egg.
    5. Nick describes Gatsby’s smile as being “rare” and “eternally reassuring”. A smile that “concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor”. I think this gives Gatsby confidence. He is able to make the people around him feel appreciated and also comfortable…perhaps a little too comfortable.
    6. Jordan Baker is dishonest, gossipy, and shallow. However she serves Nick’s purposes well, she is beautiful, rich, and popular among East Egg residents. All the things he needs to be able to move to East Egg and retire to a more fashionable life. Jordan is to Nick as Judy Jones is to Dexter: a trophy.

    1. The 1920’s represented a major boom in fashion, parties, music, and the vanity and materialism of the American people. Gatsby is like a modern day celebrity, the man everyone wants to be like and be with, that is why people he doesn’t even know flock to his parties. Seeing this through the perspective of Nick Carraway, a man who is truly experiencing these changes as they happen, helps us gat a more personal look at everything as it goes on, almost as if we are really there.
    2. I think the message itself is sustained, people understand that our obsession with celebrities is ridiculous, but do they care? Fitzgerald’s message to the modern reader has not been lost, but it’s impact has.

    ReplyDelete
  22. 2. I think that Gatsby doesn’t drink and stays more or less in the background because he doesn’t want to have even more gossip about him and is more of an observer of the party than the main event. I think Gatsbys personality is very secretive and reserved, and an inference could be made that he is hiding something about his past or what he has done. A prediction I could make about this behavior is that Gatsby will trust Nick enough to tell him more about his past and why he acts this way.
    3. The social hierarchy is based mostly on status. People date others and go to parties simply because of who they are, not because they like them. Fitzgerald’s mood toward this age is almost scornful, because he seems to know the outcome of these behaviors.
    4. Gatsby is part of both because although his home is in the ‘American Dream’ West side where people there work for their riches, he attracts the East Egg side of inherited riches because of the lavish parties that he throws and his mysterious air.
    5. Gatsby’s smile is depicted as being very honest and open, which fascinates Nick. You could infer that his smile has been practiced to create this feeling.
    6. Jordan is later depicted as being careless and dishonest, like the epitome of the 20’s. I think the Nicks attracting to her says a lot about his assimilation into this culture; and that he is dating her not because he likes her, but because of her status.

    Essential Question:
    1. At first Fizgerald conveyed the 20’s through Nicks eyes as scornful and dishonest without any depth. But as Nick becomes more assimilated in the culture and social life, he begins to lose those assumptions and is caught up in that living high lifestyle. As a reader and remembering Nicks pervious views on this culture, I see Nick falling deeper and deeper and losing his values. I think it’s funny how in the end of Chapter 3 Nick comments on his ability to be honest, but he seems to be less judgmental (or honest) and less honest with himself and his actions.
    2. I think this message of the social hierarchy is even more relevant now than it was then. What Fitzgerald is displaying is the corrupted social order of this city and how people move off of gossip and social status. The allure of Gatsby is still present too, like any celebrity that is constantly talked and written about adds a deeper curiosity about them.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Rhett Bratton
    Black B
    12/6/11

    2. I am not too sure why Gatsby doesn’t drink at his party. I think he doesn’t drink because he doesn’t want to ruin his reputation from being a nice and well thought about guy to an irresponsible idiot. Sure he likes to have a good time and wants everybody else at his party to have a good time, but he believes drinking isn’t the only answer. Also, money may come into affect because Gatsby and Jordan went for a long talk, and she seemed to like him, so I think he may end up getting her in the next few chapters.
    3. Being in the hierarchy during the 1920’s would be much easier then not. You would also have the life because during this time it was black and white; either you had money or you didn’t and Gatsby at this time did. Fitsgerald believes that he is much better then everybody else and doesn’t even consider how the “lower class” must feel. He is up and beyond from his perspective, and that may end up biting him in the end of the novel.
    4. Gatsby is considered to be an enigma because he is very wealthy, but yet he lives on the West Egg and acts like a very humble, unlike the East Egg residents.
    5. Gatsby smile is, in a way, one of a kind. His smile as Nick would say is “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”. I find it interesting that the author finds a way yo mention a persons smile very often.
    6. Jordan is depicted because of the whole golfing day. She cheated and wanted to nothing else but talk to the men. Nick can’t get over Jordan even though he should have no just by the way she is, but he is now becoming more okay with New York, just because of her.

    1.Having this book wrote in the 1920’s, we really got the true feeling of what the social meetings and parties were like. The author may have participated in some of these parties so he gave us a true meaning of how they were.
    2. It is lost because we are in economic depression and can’t blow our money like they could in the 1920’s. These days we actually have manage our money.

    ReplyDelete
  24. 2. I believe that Gatsby doesn’t participate in his parties because he’s extremely reserved, mysterious, and secretive. He overlooks the parties without becoming intoxicated, dancing, and hardly socializing. The inference I can make from chapters 1-3 about Gatsby suggests that he’s hiding something. Although he disguises his true self, when talking to Nick he seems to be extremely understanding, reassuring, and a genuine person. It’s hard to pinpoint who Gatsby truly is and his motives.

    3. Gatsby’s party is overall over the top. It’s very glamorous and extravagant. The party includes a bar, buffet, orchestra, and dancing. The majority of the people attending the party weren’t invited. The wealthiest, well-known people all attend Gatsby’s parties, even those from the East Egg. All people who attend Gatsby’s parties go to them for their personal social status, rather than going to them for enjoyment. The guests at the party were all wealthy, whether they are from West or East Egg. The mood in the 1920’s is very fun. The people were thriving and enjoying themselves greatly. The 1920’s were immensely social and money seemed to be abundant.

    4. Gatsby is said to be an enigma because he lives in West Egg, which is known for “new money”. This means that his money was earned recently or quickly. Though he’s from West Egg, personally I believe his personality portrays one from the East Egg. His personality is very reserved, proper, and has self -control.

    5. Gatsby’s smile was described to be very understanding. The genuine quality of his smile was rare and had unending reassurance in it. Nick explains that his smile felt as though Gatsby understood, believed, and looked for the best in him for a first impression. Nick is so fascinated because he explains that Gatsby’s smile is a rare one that he’ll come across four or five times in a lifetime.

    6. Jordan Baker is described as highly dishonest and reckless. Though Nick and Jordan Baker are completely opposites regarding personality, he likes her. However he’s not in love with her. I also believe that he takes interest in her because she’s beautiful, wealthy, well known, and most importantly lives in East Egg. From Nick’s interest in her I can infer that he wants to use her for his social gain and acceptance to East Egg.

    1.The 1920’s in the book are overall described as extravagant, rich, fun, and everyone enjoyed themselves. The 1920’s lifestyle regarding Nick has changed his lifestyle. At the beginning of the book he explains that Gatsby is everything he scorns about New York. In chapter 3 we see that he becomes fascinated with him. This shows that the people Nick surrounds himself with has changed his lifestyle. He now is attending parties, socializing with people from East and West Egg. Nick represents the 1920’s by engaging in the stereotypical activities during the 1920’s. Nick becomes caught in the middle of the lavish lifestyle of the 1920’s and begins to assimilate.

    2. Fitzgerald’s message is sustained in present day because in the book Gatsby was the “celebrity”. Everyone wanted to know him and go to his parties. Present day we have an obsession with celebrities, like Gatsby. Fitzgerald was hinting that there will always be a “Gatsby” in society. There's always that person or people who everyone is infatuated with and yearns to know them.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Abigail Schneider
    12/6/11
    Orange A


    1. –“Gatsby killed a man once.” was said by one girl from the party.
    –“Gatsby grew up in Germany.” was stated by the woman’s friend.
    Although the women say these things of Gatsby, they don’t actually know him, which is somehow off.
    2. I think Gatsby just enjoys watching others have fun, and doesn’t believe he needs alcohol to enjoy himself. I think Gatsby is a very generous man, but I also think he is a puppet master. It seems as though once he meets someone, he has a plan or and idea for them.
    3. In the 1920’s it seemed as though the most popular people were the ones with money, who put out. If Gatsby didn’t throw lavish parties, people wouldn’t notice him as much. One of the women received a dress from him because her other one had torn at his party, and that was a topic of conversation that was apparently astonishing, and made Gatsby very popular.
    4. Although the West Egg was the less fashionable, the parties Gatsby threw there seemed to be the most fashionable than any we have seen so far in the novel. Gatsby was born into wealth, but he seems to have prospered on his own as well since he had to take so many calls throughout the evening.
    5. Nick is so fascinated by Gatsby’s smile because it is so completely reassuring. When Gatsby smiled at Nick, Nick felt understood which infers that Gatsby is an understanding person.
    6. Nick says that Jordan is a very dishonest person, yet he gets more and more attracted to her throughout the chapter. Jordan was a part of the social scene, and Nick wanted to be a large part of that scene as well. I think Nick wants to be a part of the East Egg, and is using Jordan to get there.

    1. Fitzgerald shows his opinions through Nick that he didn’t enjoy the social life of the East Egg people, but that style of life pulls you in and holds you in and entices you. Somehow it makes you feel the same way. Fitzgerald explains the downsides of the 20’s, yet you can’t help but to be held up in the glitz of the time.
    2. The message is somewhat lost since every other book and movie shows the 20’s as the best time period there was. The 20’s is told to be fun, where everyone was rich. Although we can relate to what Fitzgerald is talking about, our perception of the 20’s is difficult to change.

    ReplyDelete
  26. 2. At Gatsby’s parties he isn’t drinking, when everyone else is, I believe he does this he seems as a rather reserved and when he doesn’t drink he isn’t in the spotlight therefore he is more comfortable. I can infer that Gatsby is a mob boss because he never has trouble with the cops at his parties and is serving alcohol during prohibition. I can also infer that Gatsby is amused by this life style of ravish parties but simply does not enjoy them, but enjoys being a celebrity. I can predict that Nick will be shown Gatsby’s power, and connection in the police force or in the “underground” world.

    3. I notice that the 1920’s hierarchy is rather egotistical and selfish they seem to not have a care in the world because they are all drinking which is illegal and they don’t care. Also Nick Says that everybody is introducing each other and everyone forgets what they heard within tree seconds. Gatsby is at the top of this hierarchy because everyone is doing what every it takes to get into his party. Fitzgerald’s mood of the 1920’s is almost like he is ashamed of America by the way he shows in chapter 2 how the upper-class (tom) was really picking on the lower class (Wilson).

    4.Gatsby is a cross between the east and west egg because the east egg is “old money” inherited wealth, which is higher in class, and west egg “new wealth” which is America’s high middle class. Gatsby lives on west egg but has old wealth and is of a higher social status, which is why he is a cross between both east and west egg.

    5.Gatsby’s smile is understanding, it has the quality of eternal reassurance, it seems to have faced the whole external world but then focuses just on you but only for a moment, and Nick is fascinated by it because it’s the type you only see once or twice in your life time. It infers that Gatsby has this smile that is practiced and he uses it to get many things that he desires.

    6.Jordan is a dishonest person and is very reckless. Nick’s interest in her infers that he is assimilating into that east coast high-class culture, that at the beginning of the book he said that he despised and hated so much.

    ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

    1.Fitizgerald through Nick’s eyes shows you a higher class of the 1920’s and shows you how classy and the glam of it, but at the same time he is showing you what’s bad about the 1920’s by the people in the valley of ashes. This affects me as a reader because I can see how the social and cultural differences about the 1920’s and it really helps me to understand the novel.
    2.Gatsby’s message about celebrities and people being obsessed with them is sustained because people are obsessed with celebrities today just like how all of the people at Gatsby’s party are absolutely obsessed with him.

    ReplyDelete
  27. 2. I believe that Gatsby likes to be in the back of the room and just in the background of his parties because he likes to watch people. Inferences I can make about Gatsby from chapters 1-3 are that he likes to see people, and watch what they do. I can also infer that he is a very intelligent man.
    3. The social hierarchy of the 1920’s depicted in chapter 3 is that if someone doesn’t fit into the same social class as you then people didn’t hangout with them. Fitzgerald’s mood of the 1920’s is depicted as though he believes that all the stereotypes and judgementalness of the people is child-like.
    4. The people from west egg think that he has worked hard to earn his money and he built his house there. The people in east egg think that he has inherited his wealth from a family member. We don’t really know where Gatsby got his money from exactly.
    5. Gatsby’s smile is described by Nick as one of those smiles that is approving; a smile that is only seen 3 or 4 times in a lifetime. Nick is so transfixed on his smile because it seems very genuine and that it is meant to tell you that he is “proud” of you and will always accept you the way you are. The inference here is that Gatsby really does care about every person he comes in contact with.
    6. Jordan is depicted as a very talent golfer, but she is depicted by Nick as a liar. Nicks interest in her infers that he is just going to be with her so he can move up in society and live in the east egg.

    Essential Questions
    1. I think that nick views the 1920’s as a place where the people are respectful, but always want to part and drink. He sees people as either rich through work, rich through family, or nothing at all.
    2. I think that Fitzgerald’s message is lost in today’s readers. We weren’t there in the 1920’s to really know what it was like. I also somewhat think his message is sustained today because people go out and drink and party all of the time.

    ReplyDelete
  28. 2. I believe that he doesn’t drink because he’s trying to hide something that if he does drink might slip, plus it keeps his mysterious circus act in play still, if he was drinking along with them it would give him a sense of belonging to these people, his mystery simply does not fit to this. Beyond that he may simply just enjoy watching the intoxicated escapades of others as they attend his party.
    3. The mood Fitzgerald depicts a society, one of distasteful rumour and shallow ideals. The simple notion of social status being all that matters right down to where you get your money from defining your very existence is sickening yet present in his depiction. The novel clearly exhibits the people of the party gossiping about everything, not even able to hold anything they say as any semi-realistic truth they start every phrase of conversation with what they have heard from other idle gossips. It shows the face of the 1920’s society as one akin to our own today, a society built on the spreading of lies to tarnish the name of some big time celebrity.
    4. Gatsby’s character crosses between the two sides due to his shadowed realm of truths. He builds this enigmatic shell of rumours around his very being to the point where people on the East egg believe he got all his wealth from his uncle while the people of the West believe his money is all earned by a determined and successful young man whom has worked for every penny. This allows him to freely float between the two groups of guests at his parties.
    5. Gatsby’s smile is described as understanding, as if it smiles upon the whole world and then turned right to you as if with an extreme prejudice in your favour. This being a fairly loose quotation of the book it still illustrates the point that Gatsby appears to be very sincere with his smile. It fascinates Nick, as it’s so uncommon, many people smile in a very different way, a sort of awkward and faux presentation to alludes one to believing they are smiling in this way, but Gatsby’s smile is true to this form and that is what Nick is fascinated by.
    6. She is described as a liar, a cheater, yet she is always bored with everything, I believe that this is why Nick is interested in her, not because of this dishonesty but because of her intelligence. She is smart enough to be able to be dishonest and cheat her way through things which not anyone can do, her character is portrayed as shallow and bored with everything at first and then she’s given a real light shone on her deceitful nature.

    Essential questions:
    1. The context is important because like anything if it wasn’t a problem of the time and relatable to that time it was written than no one would be able to understand it, it’d be like if you wrote a book about people who are starving to death in a city where everyone is rich and has enough money for everything, they wouldn’t have the proper context to portray the message. Now if you take that same idea and wrote it into a context where it makes sense, people starving in the slums of New York, then it makes much more sense. Context isn’t just relative to location either; it applies to any aspects of the story that have to apply to a specific setting.
    2. Fitzgerald’s message is retained to day through the fact we are still in this state of mind. People obsess to the point of killing them selves and ruining the lives of themselves and others to know about these oh-so-important celebrities. They are willing to wait in lines for days to see a movie or sell their home to see a concert or meet a celebrity. They’d sell their own family if it meant they could go to the house party of some famous social icon. It applies to a much greater degree today than before.

    ReplyDelete
  29. 2) Gatsby stands in the background at his parties because he is the host. He does this so that he can make sure that nothing bad goes down to where there will a lot of trouble. In chapters 1-3, we hear a lot of stories about Gatsby. We don’t know which ones are true or which ones are lies. He is someone that is very polite and acts friendly towards everyone because he has something to hide. We don’t what it is but there is something there but in the next chapter I think we will find out the true story behind him.
    3) The social aspect about the 1920’s is all about who is the most popular and what not. It is all about the status of everyone and not about who they really are. Gatsby is at the very top of the social hierarchy. He is the person that everyone wants to know about and go to his parties. Fitzgerald’s mood about the twenties is about how all of this is going on around him in real life. It shows that the twenties are spiraling downward thanks to all of this social statues and stuff.
    4) On the West Egg he is seen as someone who as worked really hard for his money and built his house where it is now because he can. On the East Egg he is not seen very successful but all his money comes from either he’s cousin or nephew.
    5) Gatsby’s smile is an understanding smile. He shows with his smile that everything is okay and he doesn’t think you’re an idiot. With this smile it reassures everyone that he is a good man and won’t hurt anyone even though he has a mysterious past.
    6) Jordan is shown as a person that everyone knows. She goes out to Gatsby’s parties because she is also high up there in the social ladder. She is shown as someone who is very social and knows just about everyone. Nick almost falls in love with Jordan as he spent time with her but she is the exact opposite of him.

    Essential Question
    1) Based on this time period everything is different compared to today’s world. So we have a different point of view because of the time we all live in than what they all did back in the 1920’s. Having the story being told through Nick’s eyes gives the impression of what the twenties are like from first hand experience. This affects us because we are only getting all of our information from secondary sources.
    2) Fitzgerald’s message is lost in today’s world because he wrote this back in his time period which is different from our world today.

    ReplyDelete
  30. 2. I think Gatsby doesn’t drink because he does not want to get caught and thrown in jail even though he is still serving it. I also think he is hiding something so he doesn’t want to make a stupid mistake. I predict that he will still throw parties and end up getting caught not for only drinking but for something he has done wrong.

    3. I notice that social hierarchy is that the west side people have their own click with each other and the east side is kind of a dump and doesn’t have a social hierarchy. Also, the west is the ones who think, man that east side sure is full of dirty people. Fitzgerald’s mood is that west side is better than the east side.

    4. The characteristics of Gatsby having a cross of the east and the west side is that he is a very quiet man who doesn’t show himself much to the city. Also, that he was a spy in the war. Usually it seems like men after the war go and live in a poor part of the city.

    5. Gatsby’s smile is a rare smile. Nick is so fascinated with his smile because he actually recognizes it. The inference of this is that Nick remembered that they served in the army both as spies together. This is when they start to talk and when we sort of meet Gatsby.

    6. Jordan is depicted from a round of golf she cheated at. Nick’s interest in her infers that she is a cheater and not a well-trusted person. Nick says that he pretty much is an honest person so this does not go well with Nick if she actually cheated because it fazes Nick as a dishonest person.

    1.It affects us by us being a little confused at times because we don’t exactly know what they are referring to. When he talks about Gatsby having a huge mansion and then to Tom who lives in ashes and is a dirty person. Then with Nick’s eyes when he says they are like owl eyes. That is a term we usually don’t use so we have to stop and think about it.

    2. It is sustained or lost to the present-day reader is when he mentions the owl eyes. Also, when he talks about how rich Gatsby is.

    ReplyDelete
  31. 1. I think Gatsby sits in the back because he doesn’t want to give people more rumors to say about him. Gatsby is a very well known, wealthy man. He is very careful about what he does around people and what he says. He doesn’t want to owe anyone anything, so if something happens at his house, he finds a way to repay him or her or make it seem like it never happened. I think Gatsby will turn out to be the opposite of who people think he is.
    2. Everyone wants to go at Gatsby’s house. They don’t care if the were invited or not, they just care if they are seen at his house. This shows that he is very high up in the social status and everyone wants to be seen with him. People go to his parties just to make an impression and not to make friends. They dress nicely to show they are part of the higher social status. The people who attend go and “meet” new people, but a few minutes later, they have already forgotten their names. The Jazz and the live orchestra at the parties show the mood. Gatsby also has to make everything perfect so he can impress his guests.
    3. Gatsby lives in the West Egg, but has the money like the people in the East Egg. People who live in the West Egg work for their money and are living the “American Dream.” The people who live in the East Egg inherited their money and didn’t have to work for it. People think Gatsby works for his money because he lives in the West Egg, but others say he inherited it.
    4. Gatsby’s smile is very unique. It is his own and that is what makes it so interesting. Nick is so fascinated by it because there is no other smile like it. Nick noticed that it is a very forgiving smile because when Nick said he hadn’t seen Gatsby yet when he was talking to him, Gatsby smiled and make a joke about it. This shows that Gatsby is a light-hearted man and he doesn’t take offense to most things, like others would.
    5. Jordan first comes off as a snotty little rich girl, but once she opens up more, you see she isn’t really like that. When Nick sees her at the party, she is willing to stay with him the entire night, even though she had an escort. Nick’s says he thinks he is in love with her, and then he remembers she is not an honest person. This shows he has changed his morals because he just wants to be accepted into the East Egg.

    Essential Questions
    1. With the setting being in 1920, it accentuates the social statuses. It shows how someone who doesn’t have very much money can “lie” and be accepted into the East Egg. If the book were through someone else’s point of view to would be different because someone who didn’t have to work for his or her money would most likely write it. This would change the story because the people wouldn’t have to try to figure out how to fit in with society they would already fit in.
    2. This is still prominent in the world today because there are many celebrities that people would love to be able to say the went to their house. This is still sustained and it will live on as long as there is a higher social status than yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  32. •Gatsby doesn’t drink, I believe, because he wants to be completely sober and ready for anything unusual that might happen at his parties. Also, I believe that he might take advantage of some of his guests with the knowledge that they are intoxicated. But that’s just my honest thought. The inferences I can make about Gatsby that he is very polite, eccentric and pleasant compared to the majority of people in this story. But I believe that this is only a façade. I truly think he has something to hide.
    •I notice that the inhabitants of the West and East Egg don’t mingle together as one big group. The citizens of the West Egg don’t associate with the people of the East Egg. This is most likely because of the different ways the cities make money. The people of the East Egg inherit their money, so they are all born into riches. The people of the West Egg started from the bottom and worked their way up to riches. Fitzgerald’s mood of the people of the 1920s in American suggests that these people are very narrow-minded. Each person dreams to be apart of a glamorous society, and anything that isn’t compatible with this dream is eliminated.
    •Gatsby is a part of the East Egg, because he is very well known, has a mansion, hosts big glamorous parties, and has an elegant demeanor. People of the East Egg assume that he was born into his riches because of this. Gatsby is also part of the West Egg, because that’s the egg in which he lives. People of the West Egg assume that he worked very hard in order to have wealth.
    •Nick is very fascinated with Gatsby’s smile, because he says in Chapter 3 that his smile is “very reassuring, the type of smile you only come across 4 or 5 times in a lifetime.” My inference on Gatsby, knowing this fact, is that he has a very trustworthy and genuine demeanor.
    •Jordan is depicted as being very beautiful, but dishonest is every way. She cheated at her first gold tournament, and lies to many people. Nick knows this very well, but he’s almost in love with her. Nick is slowly becoming the person he used loath. People in the East Egg are elegant, glamorous and beautiful. But knowing how Tom Buchanan is like and the bad tendencies of Jordan Baker, it’s safe to say that most of the people in the East Egg are dishonest.
    •The historical context of this novel affect the reader’s impression by making it seem like everyone in the 1920s was blind with glamour and envy. Nick says in Chapter 3 “he’s the most honest person he’s ever known.” In this novel, most of the characters are made out to be very untrustworthy and judgmental through Nick’s eyes.
    •Fitzgerald’s message has sustained since the 1920s. In this novel, the craze was Gatsby and his parties. Today in this society, it’s Justin Bieber and the Twilight saga. History repeats itself.

    ReplyDelete
  33. When Gatsby is at his parties, it is shown that he does not drink though he freely socializes with his guests. I believe that he does this for two reasons, the first off which being that he wants to retain the ability to control what he says. It is common knowledge that alcohol hinders ones ability to control themselves in all manners especial when it comes to speech. So by not consuming alcohol he is more able to what his behavior. The second reason that I believe that he acts as he does is that he wants to learn about his guests, and what they are saying about him possibly. By watching more than he presents he is able to learn a great deal about those who attend his parties for knowledge is power.

    Chapter three reveals the social pecking that society set up. The culture decided to set the value of a person based on how much money he had, how many people where below him and how many people they were able to entertain. Of all these Gatsby appears to be the leading candidate. This social hierarchy that Fitzgerald depicts shows the mood of the wealthy as enticed by glamour and with out a care in the world. These people with such low regard for all other people were on a set path of destruction that they did nothing to stop.

    Mr. Gatsby is an enigma of both east and west egg because he has an ambiguity about himself which hides the truth of which social class he is truly part of. Rumors are spread that he was born into wealth and continued to receive it from an uncle but his location and actions hint that he truly works hard for everything that he does, including setting up false images about himself.

    Mr. Gatsby’s smile is described to inspire such feelings of happiness accomplishment and honesty about it. His smile alone was enough to send Nick on a tangent of description which created such an image in the mind that one could imagine it clearly, even though few physical details where given on its appearances. From his description of the smile we can see that nick has a clear fascination with Gatsby himself, which allows us to infer such things that Gatsby as extensive practice with captivating his audience with nothing more than the looks he gives.

    Jordan Baker is described with such endearing terms as un-honest and careless. But never the less Nick remains to be taken by her for reasons that escape any mind but his own seeing as the have little to nothing in common. From his efforts at building a relationship with her we can see that he has begun to become accepted to the culture of the east. If he hadn’t started to be accepted than relations with Jordan would not be any option for Nick.

    The Historical context of the text affects the reader in many ways. We are forced to think of things in the book in a different way than if it were happening to day since the times and customs are different. But the differences in the times make the lessons that are shown stronger because even though the times are different the context is still relevant to all readers.

    Fitzgerald lesson is fully sustained into today’s culture because the problems that are shown in the story still exist maybe even in a greater level today.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Gatsby Questions:
    2. 2. I think that Gatsby stays back and watches his guests because he thinks it’s interesting. He might just want to observe them and watch how they act. He probably likes to hear everything that his guests make up about him because of lack of knowledge of his life. The inferences you can make about Gatsby Is that he doesn’t see to care about what all these people think about him. He seems to be quiet but everyone wants to talk to him and be near him. He probably has gotten sick of everyone wanting to talk to him so he became more reserved then he was. You can predict that Gatsby has a very mysterious past maybe even dark.
    3. 3. The social hierarchy of this place is that the people who live in the city of ashes practically don’t matter to the people of East Egg who inherited all their money and haven’t had to work a day in their lives. The West Egg is full of people who know what a long and hard workday is like and they can appreciate their wealth because they earned it all. Fitzgerald’s mood of the 1920’s is that he knows everyone is obsessed with money and they cant get enough, but the people who do work and get little money, are pretty much out of luck.
    4. 4. Gatsby fits into both the East and West Egg, which is strange and people don’t know what to make of his situation because nobody knows where his money came from. He fits in to the East Egg because, as some people say, he inherited his money from a rich uncle who died which is exactly how the East Egg citizens got their money. He fits in to the West Egg because he is not the “party-all-night” type of person and he may have the huge parties but he’s not the one getting drunk and acting crazy. He is also chivalrous which we can’t say about most of the East Egg men.
    5. 5. Gatsby has a smile that Nick can’t find anything wrong with. He can’t find anything hiding behind his smile, which is contrary to the rumors spread about him. It makes him seem almost scary good at hiding absolutely everything from people and putting on a good face to make people believe he has nothing to hide.
    6. 6. Jordan is depicted as a woman who is clearly from the East Egg. She has money and popularity and she goes with a fast group of people who are constantly searching for more. Nick says she is a clean hard and limited person who has dealt with universal skepticism. She spreads rumors too and all of these things reinforce her background of growing up in the East.
    Essential Questions
    1. 1. Since Fitzgerald is showing us the view of the 1920’s is being shown through Nick Carraway’s eyes, we see the 1920’s with a certain perspective. We don’t get the overall look of the 1920’s from a view that's not opinionated.
    2. 2. Fitzgerald’s’ message kind of disappears when he tries to explain something in the 1920’s time and we can’t relate or comprehend what it was really like from our point of view in the 21st century. A lot is different now from what it was back in the 1920’s so he loses present-day readers there. The message however, sustains itself still because no matter what, people are people and we go through most of the same things. Each generation is different from the next but we still understand each other and our circumstances.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Orange Day A-block
    Jordan says during the party “I’ll bet he killed a man” This shows that Gatsby could be dangerous but it is all just rumors and should not be taken seriously with no evidence. Also, “I got a package from Croirier’s with a new evening gown in it.” This part infers that Gatsby is the type that doesn’t want to anger anyone but he is studying the people and seeing which people he can use to further his own ends. I think his façade of generosity, buying the guests new dresses when ripped, and modesty is a cloak that hides his manipulative side. The reason why he stays in the back is evidence of him watching the guests like a shark that’s lying in wait for the next gullible “fish” to scheme. I am worried about Nick because I fear that he may become a pawn for Gatsby so that he may use him at will. The glitz and glamour of the party is showing off the new fashions and immersing you in the party and getting completely drunk. Fitzgerald’s mood of 1920’s is depicted as willing to be a part of the party but also being disgusted by the partiers and how irresponsible and idiotic their actions are. Gatsby is a part of West Egg because he lives there and he acquired his wealth through his own means instead of inheriting it. He is part of the East Egg because he is so wealthy and he enjoys the luxuries of life. I see the smile as of one found on a hyena, simple and happy on the outside but tricky and clever on the inside. Nick seems to realize this and tries to guard himself. Jordan is depicted as Nick’s link to the East Egg with the fancy objects and large wealth. She is his bridge to the upper class and he seeks to go there much like the main character in Winter Dreams.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Orange A

    1. Nick says Gatsby is an elegant young roughneck that Nick meat unexpectedly. Another example of indirect characterization of Gatsby is when Lucille said that she ripped a dress at the last Gatsby party she went to and got a new dress in the mail a week later from Gatsby
    2. Gatsby likes to not drink and just watch his parties because he likes to watch the parties and know the joy he brings to the people there. You can make an inference about Gatsby, saying he’s a kind man that doesn’t like to get messed up but likes to keep his elegant attitude and watch over the drunken people at his party. I predict that Gatsby will have more parties but you will not really see him fully open up at the party.
    3. The 20s show that elegance of parties and then culture that people go to parties and drink but have to keep some what of a cool. Fitzgerald’s mood is very calm and nice and just like stuff be stuff and its kinda a change from Nick when you see Garsby just kinda being there and it’s a nice change.
    4. He lives in west egg and has a really nice house when Nick describes the party it seems like it should be in east egg because of how nice it is. Gatsby has a house and parties like he should like in the east egg but being is the west egg shows that true not caring and just living anywhere that Gatsby has.
    5. Gatsby’s smile is one of the rare smiles you only see a couple times in life. When you look at him a warming feeling comes over you. Its kind of keeping Gatsby a mystery.
    6. Jordan is depicted as a liar and kind of cocky. Nick said he was a good person in the beginning so when he finds out Jordan’s a liar and a cheater and he still likes her it just shows he’s falling for her just to be excepted in the East egg and move up in the world.
    Essential Questions
    1. During that time the social class meant a lot to people and it matters what you did and wore and said. So seeing the book through Nicks eye shows what it meant and was like to being living in that time. In know a day life you cant really fell what it would have been like to be in that time period and with Nick you get to see it as if your there.
    2. You get a lot of what Fitzgerald was trying to say but many things he try’s to pass through do not work in today’s life and are not understood by everyone as it would have been then.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Black B
    2. I believe that Gatsby stands back and watches his guests at the parties because it is more entertaining for him. While they are having a good time he can watch them with a clear mind watching how they interact with people. It may also seem to show his guests that he is a respectable man in society by obeying the drinking law of prohibition however; the alcohol he serves counters this. Based on the information in chapters one thru three we can make the inference that while Gatsby is a celebrity he is very reserved. He does not party and stand out as many might think he would. At the end of chapter one we see him longing for something, a green light, symbolizing a distress in the his life.
    3. During the party scene at Gatsby’s house in chapter three the reader notices a social hierarchy. I notice that the guests at the party establish this on their own. They separate into groups based on what they are comfortable with or those similar to them. Gatsby is on the top of the pile as he is the host however he does not make himself know and blends into an upper-class group. This shows the mood of the 1920’s by the understanding that this was a time to get rich and a time to have fun. It was a rebel time full of law breaking and fun. Everyone is in love with riches and elaborate things as some rise above where they were and others live off of other’s success.
    4. Gatsby is part of the East Egg civilization due to the fact that he can spend his money, as he likes. He doesn’t have to work for what he has and he doesn’t have really a care in the world. He can do what he likes and not have to work all of his time to do so. East Egg residents tend to live their life off of inheritance and not have to work. This however, is where Gatsby becomes and enigma due to the fact that it is said that he worked hard to be at the social standing he is. This would place him into the West Egg community who live out the American dream daily. They work their way to the top and, while the still live extravagant lives compared to those who live in the valley of the ashes, they work for their current position as opposed to being born into it.
    5. Gatsby has a smile that is unlike most. When he smiles it is said to light up the whole room, thus giving off a friendly glow. Nick finds this fascinating to the fact that it does not seem in the slightest bit evil. An inference I can make on his smile is that it is a mask. It seems as if a way to hide from the rest of the way.
    6. Jordan is described as a careless person. She is all ways dishonest and a huge part of gossip around the town. As Nick begins to grow fonder with her he also grows fonder of her life style. As she is on the east and he is on the west it is not surprising that he is drawn to the east coast way of life. We can infer, however, that his love for the east is due to the relationship that began with her at Daisy’s house.
    Essential Question
    1. The historical aspect of the book is a guide to the readers’ interpretations. If you know the history it helps direct your train of thought by being able to compare it to the time frame that Fitzgerald wrote the book for originally when people were more accustom to that way of life. In this way he can show us the 1920’s thru Nick. He can show Nick as a contrast to the partying and rebellion. As a reader this makes it harder to analyze the book because we are not as knowledgeable about the time frame as Fitzgerald would have been.
    2. I think that due to the lifestyle of the majority of the world, which in many ways relates to the 1920’s, much can be sustained. However while the partying and rebellious aspect is still in place from that time frame, there are things that are lost. The present day reader will never know how it felt to live in that time frame. While we can make comparisons we will never be able to fully understand. In that regard I do believe that some of his story is lost.

    ReplyDelete
  38. 2.) Personally, I believe that Gatsby doesn’t drink or participate in his lavish party festivities because he likes to remain mysterious. I think that Gatsby enjoys hearing the rumors and speculation that occurs at his affairs because it might be somewhat like a game to him. Based on chapters one through three I infer that Gatsby is a man who many people fear, yet who aspire to be. He is said to have killed a man and might have been a German spy so both of those rumors create a fearful vicinity around him that people do not want to be tangled into. For example, The Great Gatsby takes place in the 1920s, which was during the Prohibition, which means that alcohol was band from the public but during Gatsby’s parties almost every guest at least has a sip of an intoxicating drink. Even though all of this drinking is going on, not a single police officer shows up. I almost want to think of Gatsby as some kind of mobster because of the fear that everyone has of him. I think that there is still so much to learn about Gatsby that there is still an endless number of possibilities for his true identity.
    3.) Gatsby’s party truly brings the glitz and glamour into focus because it symbolizes everything about the 1920s. During this time I noticed that social hierarchy is a large role in the story because it keeps being mentioned. The East and West Egg are fabulous examples of this because of there different social status. The East Egg is where your family name has already been established and life has already taken it’s course and has already been planned for you where the West Egg is a place of new beginnings and where you have to create your own pathway. Even though Gatsby lives in the West Egg he is the top of the social change and people would kill to invited to his parties. Fitzgerald’s mood of the 1920’s America is depicted to be very glamorous and exciting. He persuades us to believe that it was the time of the century and that is was full of parties and drinking.
    4.) Gatsby is an enigma because he lives in the West Egg but he is rumored to have received his money from his cousin or his uncle (I can’t remember which) and because of this he is able to jump back and forth from either one. Also what makes him apart of both is that even if he isn’t present at the party, he is always apart of the gossip that occurs at parties on either side, west or east.
    5.) Nick notices Gatsby’s extraordinary smile when they first meet and says that it is a smile that you will only see once or twice in your entire life. “One of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it.” is how nick described Gatsby’s smile. I think that this infers that there is something much deeper to Gatsby than what we all see on the outside.
    6.) Jordan Baker is described as being highly dishonest, very reckless, and even a cheater during her first gold tournament. Despite the drastic difference between their personalities and morals, Nick likes her. I think Nick likes Jordan because it’s his way of being apart of New York City. She is wealthy and beautiful and someone he normally would never go after which makes me believe this.
    1.) The historical context of the text affects the reader in many different ways. I do believe that because we aren’t reading this during the 20s this is changing the lesson of the story. Fitzgerald so far has mainly shown us the glamorous life of the 1920s and only a glimpse of the rough life that was also taking place during this time. So far this is making me believe this was a wonderful time period to live in and that most people lived a life full of glitz and glam.
    2.) Personally I believe that this can be argued from either side because yes the message is lost to some because of the difference in the time era but yet the message can still be sustained because we still have similar situation today.

    ReplyDelete
  39. 2. My inference is Gatsby does this is because someone could catch him doing something ridiculous and it will spill everywhere, like how he tells someone a detail and it turns into a huge rumor and it isn’t true. He would rather see his guests make fools of themselves instead of him doing something bad. I think another reason why he does this is because its his party for his guests to get crazy and drink, it’s not for him to go around drinking and let something bad happens. There were a bunch of rumors going around that his money was inherited, he killed a man, he was a spy, he is a mysterious man, and people don’t know much about him that’s why they make things up about him. I predict that Gatsby is an intelligent, caring man that knows what to do when something bad happens, and he keeps it to himself so no one else leaks another rumor.

    3. I notice that when people have money they are at the top and everyone is obsessed with them and don’t want to move their attention to someone else. They want to brag that they were at so and so house this weekend and did so much. Fitzgerald’s mood of the 1920’s America depicted is showing the icon of the time and making sure everyone wants to be the icon of the time. They are obsessed and envy the star because they want to be the one on the top. The painted picture of the one on top is the person with the huge house, everyone’s friend, party animal, and very wealthy.

    4. The characteristics that Gatsby has are that he has the money and he doesn’t act stuck up like the other people on the east side of the eggs. He goes back and forth from the west to the east. He is a hard working man which gives him the right to go on the west side of the egg because everyone there works hard for their money unlike the people on the east side all their money was handed to them by someone in there family. So Gatsby has the characteristics of a hard workingman and being social.

    5. Nick is fascinated with Gatsby’s smile because it’s inviting and rare, he says its and understanding smile. It made nick believe in himself and assure him. It’s inferring that Gatsby is trying to do something nice for him because he is trying to gain a friend.

    6. Jordan is a dishonest girl who goes on about things and some of the things are true or not because she is such a liar we don’t know the truth or the lies from each other. Nick is becoming more materialistic and egotistic falling into the east egg.


    Essential Question:
    1. Fitzgerald interprets the 1920’s as the time for wealth and fun, everyone is having a good time whether they are poor or rich. That’s what he is telling us no matter what economical status your at it’s just about having a good time.
    2. I think it’s lost because we don’t have money like how they did. We are in an “economical depression” we don’t have the money to spend on nice expensive things how they did in the 1920’s.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Valerie Williams
    Black B
    December 6, 2011

    2. I think he just sits back and watches because he doesn’t want to do something stupid like most people when they are drunk. It also could be like when a drug dealer won’t do the drugs so he could be like an alcohol dealer. Inferences I can make are that he could have inherited his wealth from who could be his cousin or uncle Kaiser Wilhelm. A prediction I have is that we will find out half of the rumors that everyone is saying are lies and he just likes to stand back and see what people act like to what they think of someone to how they act to someone they know the truth about.
    3. The social hierarchy is based on the social status. The rich are the main people who have all the power. The wealthiest people go to Gatsby’s parties and hang around others like them so they stay on the high social status. They never really go to these parties to have fun and enjoy themselves, its all for the status. Fitzgerald’s mood is depicted to be very exciting. He wants everyone to follow the icon (Gatsby) and party and drink like everyone else.
    4. He is both parts because he could have inherited his wealth which is were the inheritance part which is the East Egg and he could also be in the West Egg because he is rich and high in the social class and the West Egg is the high social class part.
    5. Gatsby’s smile in a one-of-a-kind smile and very genuine. Nick is fascinated because all the rumors about him being in the military and he still has that genuine smile with him.
    6. Nick depicts Jordan as very dishonest and an incurable liar. Nick becomes more materialistic and is a lot like the people in the East Coast.

    1. Everyone wants to be where Gatsby is if they know his location. In Nick’s eyes the 1920s was all about being around Gatsby and knowing who he is. Everyone wants to go to his parties and be around him.
    2. It is kinda lost a bit because we see this everyday and don’t even realize it. Fitzgerald’s message is about how people act toward celebrities. I compare Gatsby to Taylor Laughtner because if Taylor was in Casper I would always want to be around him and know where he is.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Great Gatsby – Lisa Vega 12-5-11
    1. Nick says that Gatsby smiled understandingly much more than understandingly saying that Gatsby had feelings. Also what Nick realizes too is that Gatsby walked around talking with his guests but he didn’t drink and he watched everyone else drink. An indirect characterization is when the two girls and Jordan leaned together confidentially and said “Somebody told me they thought he killed a man once.”

    2. Gatsby doesn’t drink and he stands back and watches the guests at his parties so he is capable enough to observe his guests and see what is happening around him. Also I think that he doesn’t want to ruin his reputation among his guests and wants to look his best. When he sent one of his workers to get Jordan so he could talk to her I thought he liked Jordan and he wanted to take him away from Nick.

    3. What I noticed about the social hierarchy is that they are all very arrogant and they drink. Also at the beginning of the chapter Nick starts describing the party and by his descriptions this party was an arrogant party where very well dressed men and women went. Fitzgerald’s mood of the 1920s was depicted in way where it was all about the parties and looking very good and drinking.

    4. Gatsby is between the East and West egg because we know that he has money and in the East Egg is where all of the rich people live. Also Gatsby is a hardworking man and he has the class of an West Egg resident that’s how he is part of the West Egg.

    5. Gatsby’s smile was understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. Nick says that it seemed to face the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. Nick was fascinated with this because it was an arrogant smile and sometime before he introduced himself Nick had a strong impression that he was picking his words with care. Nick is surprised he has a genuine smile after all the rumors being said about him.

    6. Nick says that she was golf champion and everyone knew her name. Also that he was starting to fall in love with her. That she was instinctively avoided clever, shrewd men, and that she was incurably dishonest and a liar. Nick is starting to act like the people from the East Egg and he doesn't want to change that.


    Essential Questions:

    1. The historical context affects the current readers’ interpretations because we live in a very different generation then what Fitzgerald and he lets us know how it was about parties and fun and how the people in that time period acted.

    2. Fitzgerald’s message is sustained because we fight for who we love no matter what the consequences are or the circumstances. He fought for this woman that she loved in a way where he didn’t harm no one but in today’s world some people fight in a violent way but they seem to show more respect then back in the 1920s. Also we don't have the money that they used to have back in the days and today we are in the economical depression.

    ReplyDelete
  42. 1. One detail of indirect characterization for Gatsby is the fact that many people gossip about him. Everyone seems to be very intrigued and somewhat obsessed with Gatsby. Gatsby provides a mystery for everyone. He could have a secret, because no body seems to really know where he came from and who he is. Another example could be how Nick saw Gatsby’s smile. He describes it as understanding and trusting, a smile that you only see a few times in your life. It was a smile that concentrated on you as an individual. This has made me think that Gatsby is a nice man.
    2. Gatsby’s actions at the party make me think that Gatsby prefers to be a mystery to everyone that comes to his parties. Maybe he wants to be gossiped about, because these people become obsessed with him.
    3. Fitzgerald’s mood of the 1920’s really comes through in chapter 3. The party is exciting, and there is a lot going on. He describes the scene as having many people drinking and dancing and talking. There is an orchestra.
    4. Gatsby is like the East Egg in the way he is very rich. He is like the West Egg in the way that he has worked for his money; it wasn’t all just given to him. He isn’t arrogant and full of himself like many people of the East Egg are.
    5. Nick describes Gatsby’s smile when he first meets him as very understanding. It was one of those smiles you only come across a few times in your life. Gatsby’s smile faced the whole world for an instant, and then concentrated on you. The inference is that he was picking his words with care.
    6. Nick says that Jordan is a golf champion and everyone knows her name. Nick started to think that he was falling in love with her but then he found that she is a liar. Nicks interest in her infers that he is becoming more egotistical and falling into the way people act in the East Egg.

    Essential Question:
    1. Fitzgerald illuminated the 1920’s world as a world not only of glitz and glamour, but also false hope. There is the very wealthy, whom most have inherited their money, and there is the people working hard everyday for a better life- their American Dream. The historical context of the novel shows how many people were prospering back then, and the economy was booming.
    2. It shows that now days there isn’t as much of the exciting, prosperous lifestyle. More people are struggling to get jobs. So, i think that Fitzgerald's message is lost, because the economy is very different today.

    ReplyDelete
  43. 12-6-11

    2.) I believe that Gatsby does not drink at his parties because I he does not want to have anything happen at his party while there are guests there always watching him. I think that he has so many parties is to let people into his home to shoot some of the rumors down. So the less attention that he creates for himself would be better for him. He also doesn’t seem like a real sociable person. I mean he talks to people, but he isn’t used to having to speak to so many people. So staying in the background gives him a chance to observe what he can’t or doesn’t want to do him self. I predict that he will try to get to know Nick better and Jordan. I think that there will be some type of love triangle formed around the three of them that will eventually cause some kind of chaos within the story. Gatsby might get more attention than intended.
    3.) I notice that there are people from the west egg and east egg at the party. This happens because Gatsby is liked or known by both types and fits in with both. The people from the east and west divide themselves at the party. The east associates with the east and the west with the west. The mood is shown it is a very exciting party. There are lights everywhere and people are all over the house. People are either arguing or just having a good time. The people are drinking and laughing hysterically.
    4.) Gatsby is part of the West egg because the people there believe that he worked for his money and that he built his house on the East egg because he could. The East egg, believe that he inherited all of his money and just live off what his family has left him.
    5.) Gatsby’s smile was very reassuring. Nick was so interested in his smile because it reassured him that everything was okay. It was one of those smiles that you see two or three times in you lifetime.
    6.) Jordan is depicted as a very lazy dishonest person. She cheated at her first golf tournament and she is very careless. She wants someone that will take care of her. Nick finds himself somehow in love or very aquatinted with her. HE knows that she is dishonest, but he is realizing that a lot of the people on the east egg are dishonest, sneaky, or cheaters.

    Essential Questions:
    1.) The1920’s was a totally different era. It helps understand the story and people during the right time period. Certain actions would be understood in a time period. The story through Nick’s eyes shows why he is acting the way he is at the party. Who is associating with who and the way that all the people are dressed. This helps the reader because the story is being described by someone in that time period so the readers can picture it.
    2.) It is somewhat there and lost. The message is being lost in this time period because it completely different from what they have at the time. We don’t have the same opinions or thoughts as the 20’s.

    ReplyDelete
  44. 2. I think he doesn’t drink at his parties because he doesn’t want to say something that will let other people know more about him. I also think he doesn’t want to drink because he does then he might do something that will cause more rumors to circle around. I think Gatsby is very reserved, and I can infer that he his hiding something that could cause more rumors to spread. A prediction I have is that eventually Gatsby will tell someone about his past.

    3. I notice that it is mostly based on status. They go to the parties not because they enjoy them but because of whom they are. Since they are portrayed as the wealthy and they can afford to have they alcohol and the fancy things to host them. His mood towards this is more or less contemptuous because it appears that he knows what the outcome will be.


    4. Gatsby is apart of both because even though he has an ‘American Dream’ house on the West Egg side where people work for what they receive, but he throws the fulsome parties that attack the East Egg people that inherit their money.



    5. Gatsby has a smile that lets everybody know that he is very honest and kind, which makes Nick almost fall in love with the smile. You can infer that he has worked very hard have his smile be his emotions.

    6. Jordan is depicted as a dishonest and carefree person. Nick’s attraction to her shows how he is merging into the new culture. It demonstrates that he is dating her not because he likes her but because of her social status.


    Essential Question
    1. Fitzgerald conveyed the 1920’s through Nick’s eyes as fraudulent and cunning. As Nick continues to live there he becomes more worried about living up to the social standards. At the beginning of the story he was very honest and judgmental, and as I continue to read I can see how he starts to lose his original views and becomes more dishonest with himself.

    2. I think Fitzgerald’s message is not only sustained but it is even more significant because in the book Gatsby is the celebrity, everyone knew his name and who he was, and today we have many more than just one celebrity. Fitzgerald was foreshadowing that there will always be a celebrity, or icon that everyone is obsessed with.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Questions
    2. I infer that Gatsby stands back from his party and watches so he can learn more about the other people and what they think of him; I don’t think that he wants to party and get drunk, I think that he just wants to observe. I predict that Gatsby Is looking for someone or something, because he just stands at his parties and watches he doesn’t do anything or join anyone in the partying. He calls for his chauffeurs to send for people and he talks to some of them individually, I’m not really sure why Gatsby does this but he may be trying to get information about what people have been saying about him, or he could just be learning about the person.

    3. I noticed that a lot of people in the hierarchy go to a lot of parties, even if they aren’t invited to these specific parties. Fitzgerald’s mood is very exciting and happy, he makes it seem like everyone wants to be at the parties instead of everyone just going to them because other people are going to them.

    4. Gatsby is part of both the West Egg and the East egg, because in the West Egg you don’t get your money from your family, and you work and live the American Dream. In the East Egg you get your money from family Inheritance. Gatsby is from both the East and West Egg because he does work and try to earn his money and he lives on the West Egg, but he also has the characteristics of the people that live on the East Egg because he receives his money from his dead family members, or it is taken like he receives his money from family members because that is what the rumors say.

    5. Gatsby usually smiles in an understandingly way, like he already understands what you say or what you are talking about without asking any questions. Nick is fascinated by Gatsby’s smile because he says it is a rare smile that you only see four or five times in life, and is very uncommon. It made the smile seem very understanding like he already knew exactly what you were saying; like that smile meant the world to Nick. My inference is that Gatsby already knows how people react to certain things with him and he already knows what is going to happen.

    6. Jordan is depicted of being the center of attention, like she is a very famous trophy girl. She is heard to be very dishonest, unreliable, careless, and reckless. Jordan is also very popular because she won the Golf Championships and she is very gorgeous. I think the Nick wants to be with Jordan because she is like a trophy wife or in this case girl friend but he sees this as a way to become part of the hierarchy.

    Essential Questions.

    1. Fitzgerald kind of describes the 1920’s as full of lies, and lots of parties with many different views on people, there are a lot of rumors that get spread around about Gatsby. We get a lot of views from other people so its like a telephone game were a lot of things can be untrue or heard wrong. Fitzgerald used the 1920’s by way of Nick because Nick is said to always tell the truth or he is a very honest man so we have a reliable source.

    2. In the Great Gatsby, Gatsby is famous Fitzgerald makes it so that everyone fantasizes over Gatsby, and always gossip about Gatsby. I think that Fitzgerald is foreshadowing and saying that there will always be a popular person or celebrity that people talk about. Although today we have many celebrities that every one gossips about.

    ReplyDelete
  46. 1. Done in Class
    2. I believe Gatsby is reserved and enjoys being alone. He seems to be the huge celebrity for people from all over knows his name and want to be at his parties. He may find the attention and stories people conger up to be overwhelming. Often times when some one is as popular as Gatsby rumors begin to spread and give that celebrity, in this case Gatsby, a bad image. I feel that Gatsby is to reserved to correct that image and would rather sit back and listen and maybe even find entertainment in the stories then to persuade them differently
    3. I believe the social hierarchy is mainly based on status and money. Only the rich can go to these luxurious parties and partake in the alcohol and other illegal actions. Even the two towns, west and east egg, are divided by the status of money. Through Fitzgerald’s eyes the 1920’s was a huge glamorous party if you were on the top and had the wealth.
    4. I definitely see Gatsby as an enigma of the two eggs. He lives in west egg were people have worked to earn their riches and strive for that modern looking atmosphere. However Gatsby does not fit either of those criteria. He is believed to have inherited his wealth and his home is gothic style. He portrays the life style of the east egg but lives in the west.
    5. Gatsby says his smile is one of those smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it. Gatsby sees nothing fake about the smile almost like its been practiced over and over again. I feel like his smile is hiding something maybe sadness and loneliness. Gatsby throws these huge parties and still he keeps to himself not socializing with his guests. I think he is a lonely man but its scared to show he is unhappy.
    6. Jordan is depicted as a very shallow girl. Nick thinks she is dishonest and selfish however he is still drawn to her. Nick is assimilating into the rich and glamorous style of life. He knows Jordan will not be a good wife however she would be a good trophy and that is why he is drawn to her, he wants to be high-class.
    1. Nick begins the story by describing himself as nonjudgmental and very honest. He has a pure hatred for the glam and fast life of the 1920’s however the more he is involved with the people he lives around the more he become infatuated with the life style. As he attends the parties and involves himself in the lives of others he begins to want the wealth and high status. He is letting the 1920’s life style change him make him dishonest.
    2. I believe it is very sustained to us as readers. Gatsby was a huge celebrity, everyone wanted to be around him and everyone knew him. Fitzgerald made a huge foreshadow here about what life would be like today with the glam and celebrities. We have tons of American heartthrobs such as Justin Bieber. Gatsby was surrounded by rumors about him life and his past the same thing happens to our celebrities today.

    ReplyDelete
  47. 2.Gatsby enjoys seeing his guests drinking and giving a good time. He doesn’t drink because he doesn’t want people all around him. I believe he is looking for someone or something to just show up to one of his parties sometime.

    3.The 1920s is party on the weekends and work on the weekends. In less, you’re like Gatsby who just has money running out of his pockets. In the 20s the more money you had the higher up you were. That is kind of like society today if you think about it. People who have money are praised today.

    4.People say that Gatsby belongs between the two eggs. This is so because, apparently Gatsby inherited some his money and made the rest on his own. The west egg is the egg that makes there own money and the east inherited it.

    5.Gatsby’s smile is a smile you only see a few times in a lifetime. Nick believes that it is a smile that you can trust and that’s why people attend his parties.

    6.Jordan is very dishonest and the complete opposite of nick because nick is apparently the most honest person according to himself. This might be the reason Jordan wins all of these golf tournaments.

    1.Because this book was written in the 20s, we really get a good idea of how was life was and how much people partied. Men and women didn’t really care if their wives and husbands cheated on them. We see this through Nick’s eyes, which are basically Fitzgerald’s eyes.

    2.I think Fitzgerald’s message was lost because we can’t really blow our money on just anything today. This is so because; we are in an economic crisis.

    ReplyDelete
  48. 2. Gatsby throws lavish parties, but doesn’t drink. He watches his guest and stays in the background. I think he does this because he likes hearing what everyone is saying about him. Nick says that is one thing he loves about Gatsby is that he hears all these rumors, but doesn’t say anything. I also think Gatsby wants people not to know much about him.

    3.If you were not at the top if the social hierarchy, then you were kind of an outcast. If you were at the top of the social hierarchy, then you were also at the coolest parties and getting drunk. They didn’t really care what happened.

    4. Gatsby is a part of the east and west egg because he was born into money, but he lives in the west egg which is more of people from the American dream, the ones who earned there money.

    5. Gatsby’s smile is a rare smile according to Nick. He said it is one that you will only come across a few in a lifetime. It worried Nick because there was no fake part about it, the smile looked real.

    6. Jordan is depicted as not loyal and dishonest. Nick believes that she surrounds herself with people that make her best qualities stick out.

    Essential Questions:
    1.Fitzgerald interprets the 1920’s as carelessness and wealth. Nick goes to parties that Gatsby throws and sees both of those things. The guest get drunk and don’t care what they do.
    2.The story is still the same , but readers today might not fully understand the reading because of when it was written, they may be confused of the vocabulary.

    ReplyDelete
  49. 1.) So far, there are many rumors about Gatsby. One rumor is his money is all inherited from a wealthy cousin or uncle named Kaiser Wilhelm. Another rumor is Gatsby is a Russian spy and that is where his money comes from.
    2.) I believe Gatsby stands in the background and doesn’t drink, because he does not want to start any more rumors about himself that are incorrect. I think that since there are so many people at the party, he feels he needs to be responsible and be able to take care of any problems that might happen. Inferences I can make about Gatsby are, he really is not the man that many people make him up to be. Also, I infer that Gatsby has a really sensitive side to himself. I predict Gatsby will become really good friends with Nick. Also I predict Nick will be the only one who really knows Gatsby.
    3.) I notice that the social hierarchy is shown very well in the book. The people that are higher in social life are very easy to pick out. The social hierarchy has very stereotypical levels. Fitzgerald’s mood of the 1920s is America Depicted because this really is how America was in the 1920s. He really captures the exciting lives of people in America 1920.
    4.) Gatsby is a part of both the East Egg and West Egg, because he has an ‘American Dream’ like house in the West Egg, but his money is inheritance and he throws many parties, which make him part of the East Egg.
    5.) Gatsby’s smile is described as a reassuring smile. Nick is fascinated with the smile because it is very mysterious.
    6.) Jordan is depicted as a very dishonest person, yet she is very beautiful. Nick’s interest infers his acclamation to the East Coast because she is very high in the social standards and this is what Nick wants. Jordan would help Nick’s social level.

    Essential Questions:
    1.) The historical text affects readers current interpretations because they have to think in a little different way then they would right now to understand exactly what is going on. He intereprets the 1920s in Nick Carraway’s eyes as a major time involving the ‘American Dream.’ This affects me as a reader because I need to think a little more about what is going on and really think about how things were in the 1920s compared to modern days.
    2.) When Fitzgerald wrote this book, it was not set in the modern days. Things are a lot different now than they were then. As a present day reader we do not have all the information about what exactly was going on in the 1920s.

    ReplyDelete
  50. 1. Chapter three is where the narrator, Nick, officially meets the main character Gatsby. Their meeting is short and polite to the extent that Nick still doesn’t know much about his neighbor besides the roomers he hears. Two examples of this being… one: While discussing their hostess at his weekend party one of the guests informs Nick that the reason Gatsby doesn’t want to be on bad terms with anyone is because he killed a man once. Two: Another woman disagrees with that statement and instead says that it’s because he was a German spy in the war. These are both rumors and reactions from other characters in the book, which do not know the whole mysterious truth of The Great Gatsby.
    2. I think the reason he makes sure to stay sober at his parties is so that he can observe. It seems to me that Gatsby is a Mysterious man and what he enjoys is making other people happy. When a guest ripped her dress for example on a chair he went out of his way to order a new one for her. I think he enjoys watching people celebrate and be joyous at his expense. Another thought is that not only does Gatsby seem to just disappear into the background at these parties but also it seems as though he is looking for someone in my opinion. This is entirely speculation but he’s always scanning the room as if counting or taking note of the people there.
    3. Gatsby is rich and lives in a glamorous mansion where he holds parties every weekend. Gatsby is also part of the East Egg where they seem to inherit their money whereas the West Egg worked for it and started out with nothing. The author implies through the mood of this chapter that the people of the 1920’s were very narrow minded especially going off the fact that the neither West nor East Egg even talk to each other. This proves that the American dream is such a prominent goal that any person incompatible to this such as the East Egg is a lower class.
    4. He has the wealth of the East Egg and the class of the West Egg. For example at his parties people from both sides of the bay are invited or else just show up either way. He has relations with both classes.
    5. Gatsby has a charming smile that is in a way reassuring. Gatsby overall just seems to be a gentleman and this is implied by the author through Gatsby’s smile. He was fascinated with it because it was rare and “understanding” in a way.
    6. Jordan is depicted as a somewhat reliable and friendly person who, he doesn’t quite know why yet, he approves of. The same can be said about his opinion of the Eat Coast... he is gradually starting to accept everything.

    Essential Question

    1. This book so far seems to be based off a theme founded on rumors. The social world back then seemed to be more than anything a scam and the lives people pretended to lead was more of a cover up for their reality. The American Dream was so fascinating that people would fake it by leading happy and flawless lives on the outside while in reality, for example, a woman’s husband could cheat on her while she would say nothing on the sidelines accept fake a smile and keep up the show. This is my interpretation of the novels idea so far and what exactly the author was trying to get the reader to understand.
    2. I think Fitzgerald’s message is still relevant today in the fact that it’s still happening. With the pressure of stereotypes and judgmental people we each host a story on the outside of the perfect American home as if we are living the American dream while on the inside we are still suffering the reality. We still have issues today and in fact their probably worse but we don’t go and publicly advertise it usually, we just fake a smile and let on that we’re fine.

    ReplyDelete