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Chapter 9: Money in The Great Gatsby (6/9)

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Chapter 9: Money in The Great Gatsby (6/9)

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Money, the single most valuable resource in the world. In a book taking place during an economic boom, there is no doubt that it is prevalent. In The Great Gatsby, money is everything. The representation behind new money and old money is most likely linked to the birth of America. East Egg represents old money and the people of America early in its development. Expansion west is represented by West Egg, the new money being the new opportunities in the west for settlers. Another example of money’s significance comes when Nick meets with Meyer Wolfsheim. When Nick asks “did you start him in business?” Wolfsheim responds with “Start him! I made him”(Fitzgerald 171). This gives us insight on Meyer’s view of money, associating it with success. Attraction to money can also be used to explain why hardly anybody showed up to his funeral yet hundreds came to his lavish parties. Money is everything in The Great Gatsby. I feel Fitzgerald wanted to show that Materialistic pleasures are short lived and over valued. Money does not directly associate with success.

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Though not direct, the issues of credit card debt and student loans are similar to the issues presented with The American Dream in the book.

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As I wrap up reading The Great Gatsby, I reflect upon its theme and representation of The American Dream. First we need to define The American Dream. It is a belief that anybody of any class race or culture can come to America and become successful, given they work hard. The personification of The American Dream is shown in Gatsby, a resident of West Egg and owner of new money. Gatsby’s American Dream is getting back together with Daisy through wealth and flash. Gatsby talks about how he thinks “she never ever loved him” when conversing with Nick on Tom and Daisy”(Fitzgerald 152) expressing his denial regarding who Daisy loves, a symbol of his unwillingness to accept that he will never get Daisy back. The necessity for money corrupts Gatsby’s dream. Though often switched around, wealth and success are not the same thing. I also feel the dream is corrupted by predominant issues in America, such as racism and sexism. These themes are evident in the first chapter as Tom speaks of white supremacy. I feel the book expresses that The American Dream is complex and easily undermined by greed as well as other social issues. What seems so simple at the surface is actually much more complex, full of many exceptions that go against the detention of The American Dream.

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Towards the end of the chapter we get a more in depth look at Wilson as a character after the death of his wife Myrtle. Michaelis stays with Wilson as others leave his side at the garage. He is in shock and appears to be broken by the incident. He begins to speak irrationally, talking about how “he killed her” and how he has “ways of finding out [who]”(Fitzgerlad 158). The sudden death of his wife has deteriorated Wilson's mental health, leading him to need a person to blame the accident on. His rush to find somebody to blame lead to his drastic solution of killing Mr. Gatsby. Despite repeatedly being told that it was an accident by Michaelis he had already come to his own conclusion. These drastic measures and irrational thought processes express his deep love for Myrtle. Her death has tremendously impacted him, not to mention him having to deal with the fact that she was cheating on him. I feel bad for Wilson, having to go through so much grief and being pushed off the edge.

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When looking at the cover of the book I immediately notice the pair of eyes and the mouth. The lights of New York on the bottom are highlighted by the deep blue hue of the sky. Interestingly, the face seems to melt into the background of the cover. The eyes reflect a supreme being, as If to represent a god. Appearing over and over again throughout “The Great Gatsby” are the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg. In the chapter, they are mentioned once again as Wilson reenacts his conversation with Myrtle. The author writes “Michaelis saw with a shock he was looking around the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, which had just emerged pale and enormous from the dissolving night”(Fitzgerald 159-160). The part of the quote relating to the eyes in the dissolving night is directly coordinated with the cover of the book. The connection between God and the eyes is confirmed when Michaelis calls it “just an advertisement”(Fitzgerald 160) and Wilson continuous on. The eyes watch over the lack of morality of man as Myrtle cheats on Wilson and Wilson reacts poorly. Another interpretation of the eyes could be the rich and how they are examined throughout the book being stripped of their wealth so we can see who they really are, relating to the non existent other parts of the character on the cover. For example, Jay Gatsby as we find out more about what kind of person he is and how he became as rich as he is. Another example is Tom as we learn about his mistress and then to his real move for Daisy.

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In chapter 7, we finally get to see the epic face off between Tom and Gatsby. Comparatively, Gatsby and Tom are very interesting. Each represents a distinct group of wealth, Gatsby representing new money and Tom with old money. Gatsby resembles more of a tragic hero, motivated by his love for Daisy while Tom appears more similar to a villain, cheating on his wife while also mistreating and undervaluing her. Despite these differences, they are not as different as one might think. They are both motivated by greed and selfishness, evident through their need for love. They are arrogant, Tom more so than Gatsby. Jay’s true feelings are revealed once and for all when he says, “Your wife doesn’t love you […] she never loved you”(Fitzgerald 130) while talking to Tom. They bicker over Daisy, Tom also revealing that he loved Daisy despite his undervaluing of her. Personally it is hard for me to root for any particular one in the race to finally win over Daisy becuase I find both characters unlikable.

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Love isn’t always a straight road. It is often confusing.

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Chapter 7: Love in the Great Gatsby (6/2)

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Chapter 7: Love in the Great Gatsby (6/2)

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This chapter was full of many interesting details and moments, it being my favorite chapter of the book so far. To me I think it is obvious Gatsby loves Daisy. As mentioned in my previous blog, his whole motivation stems from getting back together with Daisy. Initially I thought Tom had written off Daisy and didn’t really appreciate her. Tom questioning if Daisy ever loved him changes my opinion though. The author writes, “Not that day I carried you down from the Punch a bowl to keep your shoes dry?” There was a husky tenderness to his tone. “Daisy” (Fitzgerald 132)? Though only a short quote, I do feel it adds to the fact that Tom also loves Daisy. This is also supported by his reluctance to break up with her and go off with Wilson’s wife Myrtle. Regarding Nick, I am not sure as to who he loves if he indeed loves anybody in the book. As a static character I don’t really get to see Nick grow into a relationship or attraction. In previous chapters, he appears to be simultaneously attracted and disgusted by Jordan Baker. Throughout the book, I feel the different relationships are chaotic and lively. I feel Fitzgerald is trying to portray love as unstable and often lopsided. The love by each partner is not always equal, demonstrated by many of the couples in the book.

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Chapter 6: Gatsby and his selfishness (5/31)

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Chapter 6: Gatsby and his selfishness (5/31)

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As talked about in the previous blog, Gatsby appears to be very selfish. Throughout we notice he doesn’t pick up on social cues, such as when Mrs. Sloan invites him to a party only to be polite with no real intention of taking him there. Tom says, “My god I believe that mans coming” while later questioning “Doesn’t he know she doesn’t want him”(Fitzgerald 80)? Gatsby’s ignorance exemplifies how he thinks for himself. This behavior is also portrayed in another moment later in the chapter when he converses with Nick about how Daisy didn’t like the party. He wants things to go back to the way they were in the past, confronting Nick when he says that that’s impossible. He says “She’ll see” when talking about how everything will be great if the past is repeated (Fitzgerald 85). Gatsby’s drive comes from a selfishness for everything to be perfect, specifically the past when he fell in love with Daisy. He is motivated by the best time of his life, when he fell in love.

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Gatsby’s ability to recognize social cues

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Chapter 6: Gatsby compared to Nick (5/31)

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Chapter 6: Gatsby compared to Nick (5/31)

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As described in the book, Gatsby made his own money.  After the death of  his role model Dan Cody, Gatsby became motivated to work for his money. Cody also left many impressions on him, such as when Fitzgerald writes “for himself he formed a habit of letting liquor alone” (Fitzgerald 77). The quote represents his urge to remove alcohol from his life. Compared to Nick, Gatsby is not raised easily. Throughout the book, Nick is very observant of things going on around him, noticing things like changes in Gatsby’s mood. Gatsby meanwhile is oblivious to many cues when conversing with others, demonstrated when he accepts an invitation to eat lunch with Tom despite the invitation only being used as a polite thing to say. Although he loves Daisy, he seems to be focusing more so on himself, claiming she had fun at the party (he definitely had fun) despite her obviously not having fun.

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Throughout the chapter, we see evidence of Daisy's growing attraction to Gatsby. We notice things like flattery towards Gatsby when she says “the huge place THERE?” (Fitzgerald 70) when talking about his house. She is also seen wrapping her arm around Gatsby’s. In general Daisy seems to be impressed by Gatsby’s life. She is happy that thy were able to reconnect and seems to remember the days when they were falling in love before the war. Their chemistry only seems to improve throughout their conversation, comparing the awkwardness around them when they first met again to their vibrance when Nick come into the room after leaving for a little bit to see them.

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Chapter 5: The Green Light and Gatsby (5/26)

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Chapter 5: The Green Light and Gatsby (5/26)

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In chapter 5, Gatsby and Daisy reunite after 5 years apart. Incredibly nervous, Gatsby stresses out about the arrival of her. When they meet, Gatsby extremely awkward. Throughout, the weather seems to mirror Gatsby’s mood. When it rains, Gatsby is stressed out and nervous. As Nick walks in to find Gatsby has changed, the author writing about how Gatsby “literally glowed” (Fitzgerald 69). Similar to Gatsby’s change in mood, the rain has cleared up and the sun is shining through the window. Later when going to his house, he mentions a green light that came from across the bay at Daisy’s house. I think the green light represents Daisy as well as vibrance. The author writes about how the lack of a green light represents “the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever” (Fitzgerald 72). The color represents the birth of a new era in Gatsby’s life. The green could also be seen as jealousy when she married To and his reconnection with Daisy has lead to its disappearance.

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Chapter 4: Daisy and Her Connection to Gatsby (5/23)

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Chapter 4: Daisy and Her Connection to Gatsby (5/23)

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Towards the end of the chapter, we get a flashback from Jordan Baker’s perspective regarding Daisy. She goes into detail on how she met Daisy and what she was like during their teenage years. She talks about an officer (Gatsby) who looked at Daisy in a way that “every young girl wanted to be looked at sometime” (Fitzgerald 59) while they were at a Red Cross center. Daisy later married Tom Buchanan and left on their honeymoon. Daisy seemed to be paranoid when Jordan met her in Santa Barbara, always questioning Tom’s disappearance when he left her. This mistrust supports the development of a  connection between her and Gatsby that is still lingering. It is later revealed that Gatsby bought the house in West Egg so that Daisy would only be across the bay. His invitation towards Daisy for tea seems to imply that he is trying to pick up where things left off.

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In chapter 4, Gatsby takes Nick to lunch to meet a friend of his named Meyer Wolfsheim. Wolfsheim is described as “a small, flat-nosed Jew”(Fitzgerald 54) by Nick. He begins talking to Gatsby about all sorts of things before asking Nick about a need for business. Wolfsheim exclaims, “I understand you’re looking for a business connection.[…] “Oh no” he [Gatsby] exclaimed. “This isn’t the man”(Fitzgerald 70). This quotation paired with Wolfsheim’s shadiness in the chapter (Mentions of fixing the 1919 World Series) implies that he is asking about illegal business and Gatsby’s response implies that he is in on it. Compared to Gatsby trying to project his status and incredible feats in the past, this makes him seem like a liar and an untrustworthy character. I think his lies relate to impressing other around him. He wants to win back Daisy, the back of the book saying that he will do anything to get her back. Could lying to Nick be a part of this plan?

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The meme represents Gatsby as he watches over the crowd looking around for who knows what, if anything at all.

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Chapter 3: Questions the Mysteries around Gatsby (5/19)

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Chapter 3: Questions the Mysteries around Gatsby (5/19)

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As I read chapter three, many questions about Gatsby arise. Rumors go around, one guest stating “I think he killed a man”(Fitzgerald 39). Despite being closer than ever to meeting him, Nick hears the mysteries behind Gatsby growing rapidly. He is a hard man to track down, not to mention his subtle withdrawal from the party. The author writes, “Just as it began, my eyes fell upon Gatsby, standing alone on the marble steps and looking from one group to another”(Fitzgerald 40). He seems to be spectating the party viewers, as if he is looking for somebody or admiring the mass of people. He also is getting important calls at 2:00 in the morning regarding business. Could this mystery behind Gatsby be related to the mysterious phone call that took place after the party? Why is Gatsby watching everybody at the party? These are all questions raised after reading the chapter.

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Not only does the balloon represent money, but ego as well. As the balloon grows bigger and bigger, so does your ego.

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Chapter 3: Jordan Baker and Social Classes (5/19)

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Chapter 3: Jordan Baker and Social Classes (5/19)

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Towards the end of the chapter, Jordan Baker defends her driving skills by saying other people are careful and how “they’ll keep out of my way”(Fitzgerald 47). I feel this portrayes her as a lazy character because she does not take responsibility to correct her mistakes. Similar to the TED talk we watched in class, I feel like wealth has inflated her ego. The example of eating more pretzels as the dominant player in the video from class  is similar in that with wealth comes less of a dependence on other things, leading to her laziness. I think social class in the setting of the book is represented through different locations as mentioned in my previous blogs. We have East and West Egg, the rich part of the setting. We also have the Valley of Ashes, a place described as bleak and dark. I feel like there are characters that can pass in multiple social classes, like Gatsby. For example, he’s hidden and hard to find at the party despite him being the host. He is also a very intriguing character, leading me to believe his status is flexible.

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Myrtle is attracted to wealth and status, represented by the image

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Chapter 2: Myrtle Wilson as a Character (5/12)

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Chapter 2: Myrtle Wilson as a Character (5/12)

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In the chapter we finally meet Tom’s mistress, Mrs. Wilson. She is a woman in her middle thirties and full of life, different from her husband's bleak description as somebody who was described as being made up of dust that bleak ended everything in the vicinity except for his wife. It is surprising, seeing her in The Valley of Ashes because she kind of stuck out. She wants to escape her life in the middle class, thinking Tom will give her that life as he buys her gifts like the puppy on page 23. When questioned about why she married Mr. Wilson in the first place, Myrtle (Mrs. Wilson) says “I married him because I thought he was a gentleman” (Fitzgerald 29). She then proceeds to make fun of him for borrowing a suit on their wedding day, another way of her saying she doesn’t appreciate his financial situation. To recap, Myrtle seeks wealth in Tom Buchanan and wants to escape the poverty she lived through in the Valley of Ashes.

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The divide between money/big houses and the smaller houses with rain represents the difference between the bay and The Valley of Ashes.

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Chapter 2: Looking at the setting presented (5/12)

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Chapter 2: Looking at the setting presented (5/12)

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Throughout the chapter we learn more on the setting and the characters that make up F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Introduced in the first chapter is the dynamic between East and West Egg. Our narrator Nick Carraway is introduced as a resident of West egg along with Gatsby who is rumored to be “a nephew or cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm’s” (Fitzgerald 27). East Egg is viewed as the more fashionable of the two sides of the bay. Its inhabitants are rude and a little bit full of themselves, like Tom Buchanan (see first blog). The Valley of Ashes is described as “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens” (Fitzgerald 20). It is bleak and grey, completely different then the bay where Nick lives. Two of its inhabitants introduced in the chapter are George B. Wilson and his wife who also happens to be Tom’s mistress. George is poor and nice, almost paralleling the description of the Valley of Ashes implying its symbolism in poverty as a place for the lower class. New York is busy and loud, proven by the fact that Tom doesn’t have to hide the fact of his relationship with his mistress while in the city. Compared to The Valley of Ashes, it is easier to blend in.

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I think the comparison between new and old music is a great analogy for East and West Egg. Old music is greater a different way and has a different genre than new music, similar to the old and new money mentioned in the next chapter (I read ahead a little bit). Both are music, just as both sides of the bay are rich.

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Chapter 1: The Setting of The Great Gatsby (5/9)

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Chapter 1: The Setting of The Great Gatsby (5/9)

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The setting of the chapter takes place on two land masses close to New York called West and East Egg. West Egg is described as the least flashy of the two, the author writing, “I lived in West Egg, […] the less fashionable of the two, though this is a more superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them”(Fitzgerald 7). This also seems to imply the two are similar in their wealth status. The people of East Egg seem to be spoiled and snotty as shown by the others at the party Nick attends. Their conversations are shallow and the characters are snobby, shown at the dinner. This leads me to question how the inhabitants of West Egg act since in general, West Egg isn’t mentioned throughout the chapter.

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Chapter 1: The Color Red and Tom Buchanan (5/9)

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Chapter 1: The Color Red and Tom Buchanan (5/9)

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Throughout the chapter, the color red is used as a symbol to represent Tom Buchanan. Tom was born into a wealthy family, appearing to have everything he needs. He is described by his wife as a “brute of a man, a great, big, hulking physical specimen”(Fitzgerald 12). Despite these positive characteristics, he has been spoiled, leading him to a path of  bigotry and sexism, an overall bad person. He also cheats on his wife as demonstrated as the author writes, “Tom’s got some women in New York”(Fitzgerald 14). I feel Tom is represented by the color red because he isn’t in control of his emotions, sticking to his beliefs and wants despite how terrible they are. a quote regarding his physical features also gave me the red feeling, the author writing, “Two shining arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward”(Fitzgerald 8).