https://padlet.com/kbrown159/x4i379jx16dw en-us 2019-05-28 14:05:07 UTC 2019-06-04 02:31:22 UTC hello@padlet.com tfoster19 https://padlet.com/kbrown159/x4i379jx16dw/wish/364029272 Gatsby and Tom act as foils for each other, as they represent the conflict between old and new money. Tom represents the former, showing hollow aristocracy, and is easy disliked. "His acquaintances resented the fact that he turned up in popular restaurants with her and, leaving her at a table, sauntered about, chatting with whomsoever he knew." (28). While Gastby showing the latter, the corruption of the American dream, and is more liked. "...looked at Daisy while she was speaking, in a way
that every young girl wants to be looked at sometime..." (80).]]> 2019-05-28 14:10:58 UTC https://padlet.com/kbrown159/x4i379jx16dw/wish/364029272 kbrown159 https://padlet.com/kbrown159/x4i379jx16dw/wish/364029722 These seasons are symbolic of hope, renewal and growth. Gatsby has hope for a future with Daisy and during the spring/ early summer their relationship reaches it's peak. These seasons are spent partying and Gatsby is trying to fulfill his huge dream. But sometimes during the summer it get's too hot for some people to handle. Examples of this would be when Tom smacked Myrtle, Tom and Gatsby's confrontation in the hotel and when Daisy hit and killed Myrtle with the car. ]]> 2019-05-28 14:12:10 UTC https://padlet.com/kbrown159/x4i379jx16dw/wish/364029722 kbrown159 https://padlet.com/kbrown159/x4i379jx16dw/wish/364032179 However for the other seasons, “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” (TGG, page 125). Everything is much more calm and this is a time for new beginnings and to forget what happened in the previous seasons. It is also a time for the leaves to die, much like George killed Gatsby, and then took his own life. In the Great Gatsby, winter is a time for reflection. The novel opens with Nick after he moved back west and it is winter. He is reflecting on his experience from years before when he moved to West Egg. ]]> 2019-05-28 14:18:44 UTC https://padlet.com/kbrown159/x4i379jx16dw/wish/364032179 kbrown159 https://padlet.com/kbrown159/x4i379jx16dw/wish/364184323 In this scene in the hotel room, Gatsby and Daisy's affair is brought to light. Tom accuses Gatsby of being a common swindler and calls him out on the legality of how he has gained his wealth. This makes other characters and the readers question his status. For much of the book, Gatsby is portrayed to be flawless but he snaps out of character in this scene. He loses his position of control and power and shows weakness when Daisy admits that she did once love Tom. During this scene Tom knew he had won Daisy and this is shown towards the end of the novel. Unpleasant aspects of Gatsby are revealed when he screams at Tom and this scene ends up damaging Gatsby and Daisy's relationship. 

]]> 2019-05-28 23:43:42 UTC https://padlet.com/kbrown159/x4i379jx16dw/wish/364184323 alejohnson https://padlet.com/kbrown159/x4i379jx16dw/wish/364184509 The Great Gatsby takes place along a corridor that stretches from New York City to West and East Egg. The land linking the suburbs to the City consist of various social classes. Midway between Manhattan and the "Eggs" is what's known as the "valley of ashes". This valley is evident of poverty; the people who live here are not wealthy. To illustrate, "About half way between West Egg and New York.. Desolate area of land. This is a valley of ashes-a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens, where ashes take the form of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air" (Fitzgerald, 27). Whereas, the city contains old and new wealth. 

]]> 2019-05-28 23:45:04 UTC https://padlet.com/kbrown159/x4i379jx16dw/wish/364184509 kbrown159 https://padlet.com/kbrown159/x4i379jx16dw/wish/364187351 When Tom had stopped in the valley of ashes on his way into town on one hot summer day, George has Myrtle locked upstairs because he found out she was having an affair, but she saw the car he was driving. They were getting ready to move and Tom was slowly losing his mistress and his wife. Tom was driving Gatsby's yellow car when going into town, but Gatsby and Daisy had left the hotel after the confrontation in the same yellow car. Myrtle managed to get away from her husband and went running into the road. This was when she was struck and killed by Gatsby's car. Although few people find out, Daisy was driving the car but Gatsby took the fall for everything. Tom's anger only grows more towards Gatsby. Gatsby is exposed in this scene even though none of it was true. This illusion of Jay Gatsby comes tumbling down along with his dream of being with Daisy. His dream must be maintained at all times or else he isn't himself, so he keeps holding out hope that Daisy will call him. 


]]> 2019-05-29 00:04:36 UTC https://padlet.com/kbrown159/x4i379jx16dw/wish/364187351 alejohnson https://padlet.com/kbrown159/x4i379jx16dw/wish/364188929 At the end of Daisy's dock there is a green light that is often referred to throughout the novel. “If it wasn’t for the mist we could see your home across the bay,’ said Gatsby. ‘You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock’,”(Fitzgerald, 98). The light symbolizes Gatsby's hopes and dreams for his future with Daisy. Throughout the novel he tends to reach out to the light, as if he wishes to hold it. Similarly to how he wishes he could grasp a life with Daisy, but it's just out of reach. ]]> 2019-05-29 00:15:15 UTC https://padlet.com/kbrown159/x4i379jx16dw/wish/364188929 kbrown159 https://padlet.com/kbrown159/x4i379jx16dw/wish/364191369 All the blame for the affair and death of Myrtle was put on Gatsby. Tom and Daisy had left town but "He couldn’t possibly leave Daisy until he knew what she was going to do. He was clutching at some last hope." (TGG, 155). Gatsby's life was over once he lost his chance with Daisy. He has spent his whole life trying to become worthy enough for Daisy and now once his dream has almost become reality, everything was falling apart. Gatsby had been asking too much of Daisy in his extravagant dream and it simply could not come true. Tom had led George to believe that Gatsby was having an affair with Myrtle and that he struck her with his car. This made George go to Gatsby's house and kill him, then kill himself. Tom and Daisy were both at fault for Gatsby's death, even though his life would have been over because without his dream or Daisy, Gatsby had nothing else to live for. 

]]> 2019-05-29 00:28:39 UTC https://padlet.com/kbrown159/x4i379jx16dw/wish/364191369 kbrown159 https://padlet.com/kbrown159/x4i379jx16dw/wish/364899960 When Gatsby and Daisy first met, they were both young. Daisy was popular and Gatsby was about to go overseas to war. After he left Daisy "didn't lay eyes on him again for over four years" (TGG, 80). Gatsby's goal was to make himself worthy enough for Daisy. He wanted to be able to comfortably provide for himself and Daisy. Gatsby gained his wealth in an illegal way, but this was the start of his vast dream. He threw many lavish parties hoping that Daisy would make an appearance at one of them. He only returned back into Daisy's life when he had his life planned out. But no matter how much money he had, in the end Daisy didn't end up with him. Gatsby isn't himself if this dream didn't turn into a reality. But Daisy ran off with Tom and left Gatsby alone, taking all the blame for Myrtle's murder and the affair with her. Another example is with Tom. He was born into a rich family and he still almost lost both Daisy and Myrtle. On Daisy and Tom's wedding day she was hesitant to marry him. Also when Gatsby came back into her life she was distancing herself from Tom and having an affair. With Myrtle, she was locked up by George and he was forcing her to move west with him because he discovered she was having an affair. This central idea mostly regards Daisy and Gatsby but can be seen throughout the entire book with other characters as well. ]]> 2019-05-31 14:08:58 UTC https://padlet.com/kbrown159/x4i379jx16dw/wish/364899960 alejohnson https://padlet.com/kbrown159/x4i379jx16dw/wish/365156900 Myrtle:
Myrtle is married to George, but was having a affair with Tom. She desperately wants to improve her life and social status but is treated as an object by Tom. She wants to be seen as sophisticated and wealthy despite her humble roots. She sometimes mistakes her importance to Tom and doesn't realize that she is just another one of his mistresses. She has an affair with Tom because she is disappointed by her and George's lack of cash and social status. It is obvious that she loved George when she married him but in the novel she seems to feel stifled in her marriage. When Nick, the narrator, describes Myrtle he often only talks about her physical appearance. This implies that he doesn't see much more to her than just her looks. This implies that she lacks intellect and personality. In the end of the novel, Myrtle is hit and killed by a car, which Daisy was driving. She thought it was Tom and ran in the road hoping to be saved from her abusive relationship with George.

George:
George, Myrtle's husband,  is a owner of a run down garage in the Valley of Ashes. He is explicitly tied to the Valley of Ashes. George and his wife are very different people. Myrtle is seen as outgoing and desperately wants to be wealthy. George on the other hand is seen as shy and bland and seems resigned to his average working class life. He adores his wife, even to the point of becoming physically "sick" when he realizes that she was having an affair behind his back. George seems more into Myrtle and the marriage than Myrtle is and that is often shown in the novel. He struggles with power due to his societal status and lack of motivation. This eventually leads him to murder Gatsby and then kill himself at the end of the novel. 

Tom:
Tom is shown as a powerful man, coming from an old aristocratic family, with a sturdy body, and his speech being both racist and sexist, he represents "old money". Tom is described very in depth about his physical appearance. He is masculine, aggressive, dangerous and is most certainly not described as sympathetic. Tom and Daisy were in love right when they got married, however as soon as they got back from their honeymoon, Tom was cheating on her. Daisy's love eventually fades for Tom as well and she suspects his affairs sometimes. Tom is not loyal at all and has a number of different mistresses. He has a pattern on infidelity that we see throughout the whole novel. Tom and Daisy have a child but she is barely shown in the novel. Tom seems distant from her and we never hear of Tom and his daughter spending time together in the novel. Tom is friendly with George, Myrtle's husband but never tells him that he's having an affair with his wife. Even when Myrtle was killed, Tom never confessed. He let George think that Gatsby was Myrtle's secret lover. He also helped Daisy get away with murder and let Gatsby take the fall for that. This affair that he was involved in ended up being fatal for many people involved, but Tom never took the blame for anything.

Jay Gatsby:
Gatsby is a mysterious man who is in his thirties. He rose from a poor family to become extremely wealthy. However, nobody really knew exactly how he got all of this money. It was revealed that this came from organized crime. From his youth he disliked poverty and craved wealth. Though he always wanted this wealth, his main motivation was his love for Daisy Buchanan whom he met before leaving to fight in World War 1. It was love at first sight for Gatsby, he ended up lying about his background to persuade Daisy into thinking he was good enough for her. Unfortunately for Gatsby, she married Tom Buchanan in 1919. From that moment on Jay dedicated his life to winning back Daisy. His millions of dollars, the huge mansion on West Egg, and his extravagant weekly parties were all done to attract Daisy. His life would not be fulfilled until he repeated history and got Daisy back.

Daisy:
Daisy Buchanan is a young woman from Kentucky. She is Gatsby's main priority and the one he loves most. To Gatsby she was perfection. She had the wealth, charm, and sophistication he so dearly loved. Although she's charming, her true colors shine around Chapter 7 when it's noticed how shallow of a character she really is. When she picks Tom over Gatsby, and then allows Gatsby to take the blame for killing Myrtle even thought she was the one driving the car. In addition, she didn't even stay for Gatsby's funeral. She left; as she seems to do often. Daisy is in love with materialistic things, She can show affection but will not remain loyal. Daisy is the representation of lacking moral.

Nick:
Nick Carraway is a quiet, reflective man from Minnesota who traveled to New York to learn about business. He lives in West Egg and is next door neighbors with Jay Gatsby. He is also cousins with Daisy, allowing him to be the perfect narrator of the novel. He is a very open-minded and non judgmental person in addition to being a great listener. Because of this, many people share secrets with him. Throughout the novel he isn't seen initiating events, instead he sits back and commentates. However, there is inner conflict. He is attracted to the New York lifestyle but also finds it repulsing. After the craziness of the city and dealing with a hectic life for years he returns home to Minnesota in search for a more relaxed life with "traditional" moral values.

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