The Exquisite Gatsby Blog by Boushra Bettir https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk Made by Boushra en-us 2021-04-02 19:02:27 UTC 2021-06-16 21:09:32 UTC hello@padlet.com Time Ticking Tom - 4/11 bbettir2022_3 https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1402909241 Tom Buchanan isn't the type where you would ask for directions on the street. He is a very large and masculine man, which isn't as intimidating as you would think. However, he acts in a way of being aggressive or hostile. Some words in the excerpt such as 'supercilious matter' and 'effeminate swank' can visually show how interesting his personality is. 'Supercilious matter' means behaving as being better or superior to others. 'Effeminate swank' is in the quote targets his clothes. Even if he wore his clothing which looked very feminine, it couldn't hide his supercilious and rough persona. 
Honestly, his character is really what I was expecting. Anyone with money and power has an intimidating persona. I don't like it at all, but I personally think he will change. 
The different colors throughout the excerpt from Chapter 1 can have endless meanings. For instance, red is mentioned and the meaning could be when Daisy's finger was bitten. Since Tom Buchanan is an athlete, that can ultimately lead to another meaning of blood for the color red. There are other colors such as yellow or gold, white, and dark red.
  
]]> 2021-04-10 17:46:03 UTC https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1402909241 Colors Can Feed into One's Vast Imagination - 4/11 bbettir2022_3 https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1402965185 Colors, colors, colors can twist and turn into your head to create a painting beyond imagination.  
The author really loves to implement the usage of colors to visualize the story even more. The more colors that were placed in the story, the more I slowly visualized the scene in my imagination. Color can do so much and without it, we would be living in a black and white world.
I relate to the author in a sense because whenever I write, I am very detailed. It gives me joy and satisfaction. In fact, when I do include these details when it comes to colors or any other thing, I try to visualize it in my head. Considering what I do, I have a feeling the author did the same thing. 
All in all, the author adding colors and details was an eye-opener for me and to many other readers as well. 

]]> 2021-04-10 18:25:16 UTC https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1402965185 Chapter 2: Teachers Choice Differences - 4/18 bbettir2022_3 https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1428785844
Alright, we got four different locations: East Egg, West Egg, Valley of Ashes, and New York City. The East Egg and West Egg are very lavish and rich, however the Valley of Ashes and New York City has ashes all over. Very interesting to see the how different these are, right?!

Well, long story short, Myrtle and Nick go to New York city for their affair...yeah. What a whirlwind! There is absolutely so significance to this besides it is just shocking. I do think that the characters do not change in each settings. However it would be quite interesting, wouldn't it be?

]]> 2021-04-17 21:04:53 UTC https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1428785844 Chapter 2: Student Choice "Eat the Rich!" - 4/18 bbettir2022_3 https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1428792329 "Eat the Rich!". What a common saying, isn't it? Let me tell you what I mean.

I found the East Egg and West Egg very interesting. There, people lived lavishly, and most people do not work for what they earned. This reflected to my life heavily. I have met so many people that haven't worked for what they earned, and in fact, they show their lavish life. They aren't afraid to hide it.

I, myself, am not rich or wealthy. Nor do I show my wealth along with my non-existent ego, which shows a lot of the book. As I was reading the book about it, I did not like it and my feeling of disgust came once again. So, Eat the Rich, Eat the Rich, Eat the Rich. ]]> 2021-04-17 21:11:41 UTC https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1428792329 Chapter 3: Teacher Choice Ignorant Freaks - 4/25 bbettir2022_3 https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1455201707 Once Jordan said, "'They'll keep out of my way,' she insisted. 'It takes two to make an accident.'", I immediately felt this awful feeling throughout my entire body. 

Jordan mentioning that it immediately shows how careless she is. Money equals power...along with ignorance. This also fuels one's ego. These characteristics perfectly describe Jordan, a wealthy person who has a tendency to show her ignorant side.

When it comes to social class, there is a clear line between the rich and poor. In fact, this rich and poor scenario is talked about more often than I expected. Jordan crashing the car was like losing a key or losing an item. Cars in fact are expensive, and her not giving one care about that car shows her persona well. Seeing as this is how she acts, I doubt any other character will be able to pass more than one social class. 

You may already know what is coming up. Jordan is ignorant, as expected.]]> 2021-04-24 21:09:15 UTC https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1455201707 Chapter 3: Student Choice The Glorious Gatsby not being so Glamorous - 4/25 bbettir2022_3 https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1455225199 In Chapter 3, I finally, finally, got to really know who Gatsby was in his own house. He isn't who I expected.

Everyone was trying to find the host, or in this case, Gatsby. Off the bat you can tell that Gatsby isn't the type to host parties well. In fact, he fits in so much to the extent where he blends in too much with the crowd. Well, that was my initial thought.

After reading through, it's not that Gatsby blends in too much, but he is simply an awkward standing in the corner, watching everyone enjoy their time. It's interesting to think that Gatsby is sort of the outsider, trying not to ruin everything, and viewing what's going on. He is completely clueless as well!

Anywho, let me know what you guys thought about Gatsby. I know that I was completely shocked. 


]]> 2021-04-24 21:33:25 UTC https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1455225199 Chapter 4: Teacher Choice Different Views - 5/2 bbettir2022_3 https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1481301808 There are rumors. Besides the rumors being true or fake, most of the time fake, there are different views. Let's check it out.

Gatsby mentioned to Nick that he is an Oxford graduate, and grew up in the Middle West. He showed him his awards highly. Gatsby is clearly trying to prove to Nick that he is a man of intelligence and try's to portray this persona of hierarchy in a way.

Mr.Wolfsheim on the other hand gives us a quite interesting line when speaking to Nick.

"Fine fellow, isn't he? Handsome to look at and a perfect gentleman."

This definitely is similar or compares to the type of persona Gatsby is trying to put out there. There are some contrasts when it comes to how mysterious Gatsby is, but that of course doesn't apply now. Overall Mr.Wolfsheim, who is either a business friend just a friend, has a similar thought of Gatsby as Gatsby himself. ]]> 2021-05-01 19:28:16 UTC https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1481301808 Chapter 4: Student Choice Lingering and Upsetting Love - 5/2 bbettir2022_3 https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1481335209 Okay, who else feels terrible for Gatsby? I mean Gatsby is a quiet man, as seen at his party, and also a man that creates his persona of hierarchy. However, I definitely think he has some lasting love for someone special that he met; and that is Daisy.  

Yes, Daisy is married to Tom, and Gatsby still clearly loves her. Heck, he even got a house right next to hers. Now, why doesn't Gatsby just tell her that he loves her? Well, they did. When they met at the war, as mentioned by Jordan, they had major feelings for each other. However, Daisy chose to marry for...materialistic goods. Yes ladies and gentlemen, materialistic goods.

That's pretty disappointing. Throwing out true love for some materialistic goods such as a fancy car or pearl necklace is upsetting and wrong. So, Gatsby! I am sorry for you and hope you get with the one who you loved the most. ]]> 2021-05-01 19:59:18 UTC https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1481335209 Chapter 5: Teacher Choice Green Gatsby - 5/9 bbettir2022_3 https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1505274643 What is the first thing that we as humans think of when we think of green? There are quite literally, so many objects, or things are associated with the color green. In our culture, we know that the first thing that comes to mind is money, and this relates to Gatsby quite some bit.

Money being associated with Gatsby is so obvious. He has a luxury house, car, and inherited his money; from what Gatsby said from his family. The first thing that I think of about Gatsby is money, because boy does he have a lot of it.

Along with this, green can also mean inexperienced, or newbie. I definitely consider this to be Gatsby because when he met Daisy, he literally was all over the place. ALL over the place. He was soaking wet from the rain, he was pale, sweating, and so much more. He clearly doesn't know how to talk to a women...the women he loves. 

Well Gatsby, you are pretty green if I don't say myself!


]]> 2021-05-08 17:25:04 UTC https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1505274643 Chapter 5: Student Choice Just Remove Daisy - 5/9 bbettir2022_3 https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1505306222 Okay, who else is annoyed by Daisy? I mean, oh boy, she was definitely sweet, but now she is just annoying. Let's get started.

As much as Daisy is such an important character in the Great Gatsby, if we just removed her all would be good. Gatsby wouldn't be freaking out over a girl that only has interest in his money (that is what we think). 

Anyways, Daisy is just annoying due to the fact that she is having difficulty with finding love. Yeah sure, that could be difficult but her issues are first world problems! She is crying that Gatsby is now super rich, and could've stayed with him. Oh wow, so difficult. Come on Daisy, you only want Tom because of his money. You want Gatsby because you may genuinely love him. What is so hard to figure out?

Anyways, my point is hopefully shown. Daisy is really annoying to the extent that I get frustrated. ]]> 2021-05-08 17:51:50 UTC https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1505306222 Chapter 6: Teacher Choice Different Gatsby bbettir2022_3 https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1527973701 Was anyone else shocked when we found out the true reason why Gatsby doesn't speak to his family?

When Gatsby brought up that his family passed away and that he inherited all his money from them, it was believable. Heck, even I believed it. Later we find out that his parents are farm workers, and he completely removed them from his life. What a lie right?

Gatsby must have thought this entire thing through, making sure there were no open cracks in his lie. Going on to another similar topic, this brings up a lot about Gatsby. Gatsby is a natural liar. Besides his family, he lies about his money, love life and even more! I do not think he does this on purpose, but is just a very, very normal and natural thing that just comes out from Gatsby. 

I wonder, was he born like this, or did he act this way over time? ]]> 2021-05-16 06:58:35 UTC https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1527973701 Chapter 6: Student Choice Acceptance bbettir2022_3 https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1527981819 When I found out that Gatsby basically lied about his ENTIRE background, I did some digging on why he did such. Hear me out.

A lot of teenagers and/or adults tend to lie about their past. This is due to the fact that they may be unhappy, embarrassed, or genuinely not accept the fact that they were born and raised in such environment. Gatsby clearly does this. Why would you not accept your family, especially your parents? Well it could be many things such as the environment you were raised in, relationships, family issues, money, and so much more. Besides this, his lying traits continued. Here is why.

I find it hard to believe that he is doing this on purpose for several reasons. One of them being that he is just bringing harm to himself. Every time a lie finds its actual truth, Gatsby brushes it off; making it no "biggie". Quite interesting, don't you think? ]]> 2021-05-16 07:04:46 UTC https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1527981819 Chapter 7: Teacher Choice Love Life bbettir2022_3 https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1551640404 Honestly, now that I have read until Chapter 7, it has been  whole ride. Specifically, about love. These people are quite grown, and they still can not figure out their love life. Fitzgerald does give a huge message about love here. Let me get started.

I think the meaning about love in this book is that you have to leave your past in the past, as their is a reason to why it is in the past. For instance, Gatsby wanting to recreate his love life with Daisy as it was many years ago is wanting to basically recreate your past. Of course we see Nick mentioning this to Gatsby, that he can't recreate his past. 

Overall, I think that the author is telling the audience that if your love life that did not go right, or went south, should stay in the past. Even if you end up with that person once again, your life won't be the same. Of course, this is a case to case relationship, but that is the message that the author is overall trying to convey. ]]> 2021-05-23 18:18:45 UTC https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1551640404 Chapter 7: Student Choice Um...Daisy? Tom? Myrtle? Gatsby? What is Going On? bbettir2022_3 https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1551656984 So are we NOT going to talk how Daisy just ran over someone? Yeah, and killed them as well. If you have been living under a rock, Daisy ran over and killed Myrtle. Instead of stopping, she continued to drive, until Gatsby took over and drove away. 

This chapter was unexpected. I mean, when I read it I had to stop the audio book and re-read the couple paragraphs a couple times. In the book it states that Myrtle ran out thinking it was Tom. We all know that Tom's side chick is Myrtle. Now I am wondering, why did Myrtle need to talk to Tom? Was it urgent? There could have been so many reasons why. 

Finally, now that Gatsby took away Daisy and Myrtle is dead, Tom is alone, right? When Gatsby told Tom that he is taking away Daisy, he refused getting mad. Now Tom is alone, and I don't really feel bad for him. He did cheat after all.

Anyways, this chapter was shocking. There were so many things happening at once I was shocked. ]]> 2021-05-23 18:34:29 UTC https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1551656984 Chapter 8: Teacher Choice Key Aspects bbettir2022_3 https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1571891402 Alright! Honestly, we see some key aspects from the book cover that are similar to the story. 

For instance, we see on the bottom right many different bright colors. They are so bright to the extent where we can't really see the exact building. This reminds me of when Nick, Daisy, and Gatsby go to Gatsby's home. At first Nick thought Gatsby's home was on fire because it was so bright. Later Nick realizes that it was just the bright lights at his home. This is a very clear similarity between the two.

The way Nick describes Gatsby is clearly the eyes in the cover of the book. A small, but also very large detail seen in the story, which is quite interesting!

There are probably way more, let me know! ]]> 2021-05-30 18:44:14 UTC https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1571891402 Chapter 8: Student Choice How the story dynamically changes bbettir2022_3 https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1571898791 Can we PLEASE just take a chill pill and discuss what just happened to Gatsby and how George is literally an idiot?

First off, Gatsby died. Why? George thinks that Myrtle is having an affair with Gatsby (which is not true), and leads to believe that he was the one who murdered Myrtle. WHAT? I would like to preface this, if they did not switch cars, this wouldn't have happened. JUST SAYING!

It is interesting, to be quite honest. Myrtle was running towards Toms car, thinking it was him, but it was Gatsby and Daisy. Daisy was the one who actually killed Myrtle. Now Gatsby and Daisy were going to leave Tom, which would inevitably leave Tom alone in the dark. However, George tries to do his research and finds out that Gatsby was the one having an affair and killed Myrtle. Which then he goes and kills Gatsby, but now Tom and Daisy will be staying together. 

What a story. WHAT A STORY!]]> 2021-05-30 18:50:55 UTC https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1571898791 Chapter 9: Teacher Choice The American Dream bbettir2022_3 https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1579433255 From what I can see, the book is telling us readers that so many people are caught up in the American Dream. So much so that we put our life on pause.  In this instance, it revolved all around Gatsby.

When Gatsby died, it was a shocker. In fact, I STILL can't recover from that. It hurt my heart when Nick was trying to find people to attend the funeral but no one, not even Daisy, arrived. Daisy went back to Tom, in order to stay wealthy, or maybe we don't know the true reason why they are together again. 

Wolfsheim was the most shocking when it came to his reason why. In the letter he states,

"[...]I cannot come down as I am tied up in some very important business and cannot get mixed up into this thing now."

Business is more important than your friend, a friend who you have known for many many years. How pathetic. Nick was the only one, besides the weird eagle glasses man and servants, that was by his side. All I will say is this. 

When one passes away, people halfheartedly leave their condolences and go back to life working with business, in order to achieve the American Dream. How sad, isn't it?]]> 2021-06-02 13:21:03 UTC https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1579433255 Chapter 9: Student Choice Gatsby's Father bbettir2022_3 https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1579506589 Is anyone else trying to wind down from this book but it keeps getting more, and more hectic? Yeah, me too.

Can you believe that Gatsby's father visited his home? Imagine if Nick wasn't there. Gatsby's father would be alone in his home. I find it quite cute but sad how his father was showing Nick all of Gatsby's little things such as a schedule notebook.

I notice that as a child, Gatsby was very motivated. He woke up early in the morning and slept early in order to have enough hours. However, it seemed Gatsby was so caught up in the American Dream, he was trying to find the fast way out of things. 

All in all, I hope Gatsby's father was able to remember any piece he does about his son, and hopefully he knows that Nick was a true friend. Not one of those friends who use others for their own benefit. ]]> 2021-06-02 13:43:37 UTC https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1579506589 Text-To-Self bbettir2022_3 https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1608263168 In the text, money, and status is mentioned quite frequently throughout the entire book. When reflecting on that aspect in the book to my own life, it is quite similar. Nowadays, your status is judged based on how much money you have, and your grades. The less you have the lower your status is, but the more you have the more control you have over others. I have always had this mindset of money is power, and usually, it is. Including this, I always tend to talk about money and how much I'd get in a paycheck when I work in my future home. 

The first thing I say when I do get my paycheck is to buy materialistic goods. When I reflected on myself, I realized that Daisy has the same attitude throughout the entire book. She loves materialistic goods and money. Seeing a connection between the two, I came to the conclusion that I kind of resemble Daisy in a way when it comes to her actions. Personally, I do not entirely view myself as her since she is more mellow, quiet, and confused about her love life. Fortunately, this does not reflect me. ]]> 2021-06-15 18:37:27 UTC https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1608263168 Text-To-Text bbettir2022_3 https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1608285165 This movie reminds me of songs or specifically artists. When it comes to songs it can differentiate from either love, happiness, or money. From my experience, money is a very common topic when it comes to songs. The entire song doesn’t necessarily have to be based around money, but there will be lyrics here and there that mention status and wealth. This also happens to artists. Because of these songs, artists have become wealthy, but they're still is a social status ladder. One artist will less popular than the other. In this case, they try to use another wealthy person to climb up the social ladder. All of these are relevant to the book. From my experience, many female singers talk about being drowned with money or being lost in love. Love is a very common topic too when it comes to music. Of course, it depends on the artist, but viewing songs by Taylor Swift or others that are common, their song lyrics revolve around love and sometimes money. 

Different types of texts include different things but sometimes revolve around the same topic. Even though a book and a song lyric are different, they can sometimes have the same moral of the story. There was a manga that I read, and it revolved around a teenage girl living a poor life, and every girl in the city lived a lavish, rich life. This story reflects on the values of a dollar bill. ]]> 2021-06-15 18:50:14 UTC https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1608285165 Text-To-World bbettir2022_3 https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1608323342 Not only does the American Dream exist in America, but this piece of American culture has spread throughout the entire world. In terms of the past, in America there were slaves or in other words the poor, and then the rich. There was little to zero middle class, which clearly reflects the world of the book. During COVID-19, it has been very difficult for the middle class to maintain their status, some of them even losing that title. Whilst the rich, or celebrities, live a lavish life, going to parties, posting on social media as nothing is happening, it clearly is similar to the text. 

In the future, there will be a larger gap between the poor and rich. Similar to the text, where everyone works really hard in Valley of Ashes but they don’t end up as nearly wealthy as Gatsby or Tom. Including this, at the end of the book Gatsby passes away. No one ever attended his funeral, even the ones he was once close with. Everyone continued life, trying to make sure their money is still rolling, and ignoring the past. This reflects life in a bit because even though people mourn or pretend to mourn to others, they end up going back to their everyday life. If they don't they either end up homeless; or maybe they just don't care? 

]]> 2021-06-15 19:12:21 UTC https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1608323342 The Great Gatsby Final!!! bbettir2022_3 https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1610821654 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1f-XMuw9H9sbsGXk7nYQDlHO_tI2ijB7qqq25a7Ix1CU/edit?usp=sharing]]> 2021-06-16 20:58:35 UTC https://padlet.com/bbettir2022_3/bo084wccaaqchsjk/wish/1610821654