Jacob Foltz's Blog by Jacob Foltz https://padlet.com/jfoltz20231_1/us6ibyhmo87t92s9 The Great Gatsby Blog en-us 2022-05-09 23:01:00 UTC 2026-02-12 05:48:52 UTC hello@padlet.com Chapter 1 Blog jfoltz20231_1 https://padlet.com/jfoltz20231_1/us6ibyhmo87t92s9/wish/2177911529 Chapter 1 
5/9/22

Tom Buchanans is previously known to be “Her husband, among various physical accomplishments, had been one of the most powerful ends that ever played football at New Haven — a national figure in a way, one of those men who reach such an acute limited excellence…” So in his earlier years he would play football for New Haven and this would entail he would most likely be a very rich person and someone who is highly respected and famous throughout the town, so thinking of this he would be described as the color red. When I think of red it’s a very formal color, such as formal events or the red carpet or Emmy’s. “He had changed since his New Haven years. Now he was a sturdy straw-haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner. Two shining arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward. Not even the effeminate swank of his riding clothes could hide the enormous power of that body — he seemed to fill those glistening boots until he strained the top lacing, and you could see a great pack of muscle shifting when his shoulder moved under his thin coat. It was a body capable of enormous leverage — a cruel body.” this quote would entail that he is still a very large and muscular man and has a very demanding and assertive look to him. 
]]> 2022-05-10 16:21:57 UTC https://padlet.com/jfoltz20231_1/us6ibyhmo87t92s9/wish/2177911529 Chapter 2 Blog jfoltz20231_1 https://padlet.com/jfoltz20231_1/us6ibyhmo87t92s9/wish/2182283155 The four major settings in the book are East Egg, West Egg, The Valley of Ashes, and New York City. West Egg is where both Nick and Gatsby live, they are neighbors, but this is the place where the newer rich people would move to or live in. Over in East Egg, Daisy and Tom Buchanan reside here. East Egg is a place for people who have wealth but don’t show off that they do, they are generally considered old aristocratic families. Next is The Valley of The Ashes, this is where the poor live, such as George Wilson and Myrtle, this is shown that in chapter 2 as Wilson would act as a servant to Tom Buchanan as Buchanan would ask Wilson to grab them sparkling water and chairs, however Myrtle is the woman Tom is having an affair with. Lastly New York City, this city is more of a sketchy and business area, this is also where Mr and Mrs. Mckee resides in the story. 
While Tom is in New York with Myrtle they got to visit Mr and Mrs. Mckee at their home and tom seems to act less professional and acts more demanding. This is shown towards Wilson when Tom says “Get some chairs, why don't you, so somebody can sit down.” Fitzgerald, 22. Otherwise Tom seemed to be very quiet and kept to himself when he is not around Myrtle. 


]]> 2022-05-13 03:26:17 UTC https://padlet.com/jfoltz20231_1/us6ibyhmo87t92s9/wish/2182283155 Chapter 3 Blog jfoltz20231_1 https://padlet.com/jfoltz20231_1/us6ibyhmo87t92s9/wish/2192053948
Jordans take on car crashes is that she believes that it takes two people to create a car accident, this is stated in the quote saying “it takes two to make an accident. I don't like careless people, that's why I like you.” Fitzgerald 47, that not only one person may cause a car accident to occur. She also seems to think that other people should be more careful regardless of the fact she is a careless driver herself. For her belief and opinion on careless people, she does not have a liking for them and she also expects everyone to be careful about everything while she on the other hand is careless about much, which could show that she does not have a liking for herself as she can be careless at times. Jordan lives in west egg which would be considered the older rich people, however she acts very snobby and uptight and acts like she owns everything, however she doesn't act very snobby like this around Nick because she likes him. Social class is represented in the novel by different areas, it seems as it is shown is a segregated society as the poorer people live in one area and the richer in another, there is no area where they are living in the same area or town. I believe that one character would be able to pass as more than one social class. One person would be Myrtle, the only reason i say this is because she lives in the valley of ashes however is having an affair with Tom who lives in East Egg, this is the older and richer area. 


]]> 2022-05-19 22:39:13 UTC https://padlet.com/jfoltz20231_1/us6ibyhmo87t92s9/wish/2192053948 Chapter 4 Blog jfoltz20231_1 https://padlet.com/jfoltz20231_1/us6ibyhmo87t92s9/wish/2196552691 In chapter 4 we meet a new character, Meyer Wolfsheim, he is an older friend of Gatsbys who dabbles in the life of a mafia member. Wolfsheim later on in chapter 4 says “I understand you’re looking for a business gonnegtion.” Fitzgerald, 55. This could entail that Gatsby is setting someone up with Wolfsheim for some sort of deal or for some illegal sort of work. This also gives a picture that Gatsby could be attached to the mafia just like Wolfsheim is as Gatsby is trying to protect him in a way, this is shown in this quote “Meyer Wolfsheim? No, he's a gambler.” Gatsby hesitated.” Fitzgerald, 57. Gatsby acting this way with Nick could say that he is hiding more than has been mentioned to anyone before. However Gatsby is trying to show that he is just a normal person and just like everyone else in West Egg. But from what people say he makes himself sound like some sort of secret agent who potentially killed someone. He then proceeds to tell Nick that everything that people have been saying is false and he explains who is and who he used to be, yes he was an Oxford man however it doesn’t make sense and doesn’t line up where he is from, he says he is from the Midwest and lived there but went to college in Oxford while living in the Midwest, this is something Nick catches onto and questions who he really is ]]> 2022-05-23 22:01:06 UTC https://padlet.com/jfoltz20231_1/us6ibyhmo87t92s9/wish/2196552691 Chapter 5 Blog jfoltz20231_1 https://padlet.com/jfoltz20231_1/us6ibyhmo87t92s9/wish/2201390990 Gatsby explains that the green light at the end of the dock represents Daisy to him and how earlier in chapter 1 Nick had seen him standing in his window staring at the green light with his arms out “...he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and far as I was from him I could have sworn he was trembling.” Fitzgerald, 19. This is a clear sign that Gatsby still knows of Daisy and misses her after the five years they haven't seen each other. I believe that the light stands for positivity and wealth, when I think of green I generally think of money or wealth but also happiness. The color green reflects on Gatsby because he is wealthy, as he lives in West Egg, however he is also considered new money. The main reason it seems that he became wealthy is because of his love for Daisy. Over the five years they were not together he was still clearly in love with her and became wealthy and rich as to that is what she is correlated with as she lives in East Egg. So this is to show that Gatsby’s plan was to become wealthy, the color green, to get the attention of Daisy which he later does in Chapter 5 as an old flame is relit and their love for each other is shown. 


]]> 2022-05-26 22:08:57 UTC https://padlet.com/jfoltz20231_1/us6ibyhmo87t92s9/wish/2201390990 Chapter6 blog jfoltz20231_1 https://padlet.com/jfoltz20231_1/us6ibyhmo87t92s9/wish/2202571941 Gatsby had originally said that he was an Oxford man and was in the military which this was all true however in chapter 6 we learn more about his earlier years. We learn that he had been working with a man called Dan Cody on his yacht, during this time he had become very close with Dan Cody and was even put in the will to receive $25,000 however he was then murdered by Ella Kaya and she had taken all the money that everyone in the will was supposed to recieve, millions of dollars. But we learn that this is how Gatsby became professional and proper, that by spending this time with Dan Cody, Gatsby most likely started saying “old sport” due to those years working on a yacht together. His actions as a young man reveal that he wanted to be perfect for Daisy and that is most likely why he adapted to acting and becoming more like Dan Cody as he was more professional and he knew that Daisy liked that kind of style in a man, this is most likely the main reason that Gatsby is how he is at this time of the story. Over these 5 years, he was trying to become good enough for Daisy and tried to become recognized by her as he did now in chapter 6.]]> 2022-05-27 21:05:49 UTC https://padlet.com/jfoltz20231_1/us6ibyhmo87t92s9/wish/2202571941 Chapter 7 Blog jfoltz20231_1 https://padlet.com/jfoltz20231_1/us6ibyhmo87t92s9/wish/2210325008 Gatsby does love Daisy a lot as he waited five years for her return and for her to realize who he is. Daisy also does love Gatsby very much too, this is shown in chapter 7 with the following quote “Their eyes met, and they stared together at each other…” Fitzgerald, 91. However we know that regardless of his affair, deep down Tom does still love Daisy as he had heard Daisy say that she loved Gatsby, “She had told him that she loved him, and Tom Buchanan saw. He was astounded.” The fact that Tom was so shocked and this affected by learning Daisy is in love with Gatsby now shows that he still has feelings for her and is still in love with her, this is perhaps another reason he cannot divorce her to be with his affair. Nick however does not truly love anyone however he does have something slightly going on with Jordan as they both have feelings for each other but I think that Nick honestly doesn’t expect anything to come of this. Fitzgerald seems to show that love in the novel is unnecessary and seems silly most times and that what is the point of loving someone if you are just going to leave them regardless. Why love somebody when in the end you’ll leave them for another woman? That seems like a question that Fitzgerald is trying to portray within the story. ]]> 2022-06-03 15:38:42 UTC https://padlet.com/jfoltz20231_1/us6ibyhmo87t92s9/wish/2210325008 Chapter 8 Blog jfoltz20231_1 https://padlet.com/jfoltz20231_1/us6ibyhmo87t92s9/wish/2214021358 The image on the cover is very interesting. It was the face of what could be a woman crying with fire in her eyes. But in the bottom of the cover there is a city it seems to look like, unfortunately we don't know what city it could be but it is very well lit up. Lastly the background is dark blue which could entail it giving off a night time sort of feeling. The girl on the front of the cover, that is if it is a girl, could be either Daisy or Jordan, however I feel that it would be more of Daisy as she is closer to Gatsby. The fire in her eyes could resemble her fiery love for Gatsby. Next I believe that the city would be West Egg as the two main characters in the story do live there. In the city there is some sort of blue tower and a ring of lights in front of it. This could be a ferris wheel perhaps or some sort of building with a circular light pattern. To the left of this light pattern are some buildings which perhaps could be Nick or Gatsby’s homes or maybe even both of them. Lastly, the dark blue background. This could entail that the author wanted to give the cover a sort of calm and lush look to the cover. ]]> 2022-06-07 19:30:14 UTC https://padlet.com/jfoltz20231_1/us6ibyhmo87t92s9/wish/2214021358 Chapter 9 Blog jfoltz20231_1 https://padlet.com/jfoltz20231_1/us6ibyhmo87t92s9/wish/2217719736 The novel says a lot about the American dream. Mainly the two aspects of love and money being the most largest. But the American dream is also very different for everybody however still the same, everybody either wants love or everybody either wants money. This is shown with almost every character, Gatsby and Daisy want each other however Daisy wants a man with money, Myrtle wants Tom but only for his money, and Nick originally wanted to be with Jordan but things eventually had fallen out. So in the end things mainly come back to being about money. Now in the end of the novel all fall apart, and all the love in the story dies, Gatsby is killed by Wilson, Myrtle is killed by Daisy who was driving Gatsby's car, by the end of the novel the only love left was Daisy and Tom’s. “She was the first “nice” girl he had ever known.” Fitzgerald, 114. This is a sign of love coming from Gatsby, that Daisy was the girl he had loved for five years, and he had waited years for her while he was at war and then he eventually found her again and they had their time and in the end it was all over when she had left Gatsby, fixed things with Tom, and in the end, Gatsby had died. ]]> 2022-06-10 17:38:14 UTC https://padlet.com/jfoltz20231_1/us6ibyhmo87t92s9/wish/2217719736