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Post by Mr. Thomas on Mar 24, 2014 12:03:50 GMT -5
The fallout from Myrtle's death.
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Post by johnmarano on Mar 24, 2014 14:21:14 GMT -5
John Marano
Mr. Thomas
English 11
March 24, 2013
C. What just happened?? I am so confused. One, why doesn’t Daisy keep her promise and wait for Jay? This could have changed the entire story if she had stuck to the plan and married him after the war. Two, how does Gatsby just get shot and die like that? There wasn’t even profound evidence that he was the killer behind the wheel. Why would Scott Fitzgerald make the death of Gatsby happen like this? It kind of reminded me of how Mark Twain ended Huck Finn. Did Scott just run out of ideas? I didn’t see this coming in the slightest bit and I just don’t understand how he is killed solely based on what Tom had said. Doesn’t the people in the town know the Tom isn’t the most honest guy?
D. One quote that really grabbed my attention was when Gatsby said, “I don’t think she ever loved him.” I thought this was important because I disagree. I feel like no matter what Tom puts her through, she still loves him. I also feel like Gatsby has this feeling that he knows she loves him but he can’t come to admit it. It reminds me of the fact that he can’t escape the past or even the truth.
F. I would like to point out how the relationship between Nick and Gatsby had grown. In the beginning of the story, it seemed that Nick was being used and the relationship wasn’t truly genuine. Now we see a great change. He runs to Jays house and warns him. He wants to make sure his friend isn’t going to get in trouble. Even though this is legally wrong of Nick, he still makes sure his friend will be kept safe.
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Post by frankclarke on Mar 24, 2014 19:20:14 GMT -5
Francis Paul Clarke Junior
Mr. Sean Thomas
English 11
24 March 2014
D. “He wouldn’t consider it. He couldn’t possibly leave Daisy until he knew what she was going to do. He was clutching at some last hope and I couldn’t bear to shake him free.” This, my friends, is the power of love. Nick cannot shake Gatsby free because his love for Daisy reigns supreme over everything else in his life; including his safety. Any man in his correct state of mind would realize that he could potentially be in danger, or possibly even come clean that it was Daisy who had ran over Myrtle and not him, would leave or confess these atrocities. But, no. A man in love does anything for his lover, whether it hinders him, greatly or not, and in this case it does so immensely.
B. One could argue that the second paragraph on page 149 summarizes this story up pretty dang well. Firstly, Nick states that Gatsby has given Daisy a false sense of security, that his good-natured self was corrupted by his present and past dealings with Wolfschien. He had created an aura around him that promised good will and potential, but deep down it was corrupted by evil acts. Second, Nick states that Gatsby was not reliable; because he had no family. Daisy had no one or nothing to fall back upon if she had ran away with Gatsby. Ultimately, Gatsby misled Daisy into believing he could provide full stability.
E. Clearly the most important part of this chapter is when Wilson realizes that Myrtle has had an affair with a wealthy man, and Tom points him in the direction of Gatsby. Wilson then goes over to Gatsby’s house and bang bang he is dead!!!! What the author here is trying to tell us is that when you are faced with such adversary, don’t fall in love.
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Post by eointunney on Mar 24, 2014 19:53:44 GMT -5
Eoin Tunney
Mr. Thomas
English 11
24 March 2014
E. This was a very interesting chapter, especially because it has many contradictions. In the first chapter of this book Nick tells us how much he admires Gatsby and how Gatsby is this amazing person that no one else could ever be. Nick tells Gatsby that he is better than everyone in the crowd (Tom, Jordan Daisy) combined. But then Nick goes on to say that he disapproved of Gatsby from beginning to end. I don’t know if these means that he doesn’t like Gatsby or just doesn’t approve of his actions but would still like to live how he lives.
C. The only question I have about this chapter is why did the author would make Gatsby’s death so unexciting? After all of the action of chapter 7 I really expected a better ending to Gatsby’s life. I thought he would get into another argument with Tom over Daisy and then eventually get murdered by Tom or even Daisy in some crazy tragic ending. Also Gatsby never tells us all about his life and how he makes his money, so hopefully that happens in the next chapter.
D. In this chapter we see how fed up Nick is with Tom, Daisy, Gatsby, and Jordan. This is especially seen when he pretty much brakes up with Jordan and tells us that he disapproved of Gatsby the whole time. It seems that Nick has had enough of all this drama and wishes that he had never got stuck in the middle of it. I think Gatsby’s death is more of a relief for Nick than anything else.
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Post by Sgarlato on Mar 24, 2014 20:24:11 GMT -5
Stephen Sgarlato
Mr. Thomas
English 11
3/24/14
A. I like how they describe kind of the social problems why Daisy married Tom. He had high-class social stature and her parents approved of him. While when Gatsby was off in war Daisy married Tom and kind of forgot about him. This part just reminded me of how parents would choose the men their daughter would marry and how they would only choose men that were like Tom, smart, high class people.
I. I would like to agree with Eoin’s question about why Gatbsy’s death was so short and unimportant. Not that it was unimportant but that it was so easy and quick. Like, what was the build up to it. Wilson just went to Gatsby’s house and shot him and then himself. I thought there would have been some sort of bigger action to it.
C. Another question I had with this chapter was why Gatsby wanted to go to the pool knowing that his pool guy said the leaves would clog the drain. Did he want to go swimming for another reason? Maybe he wanted to be outside in the open waiting for someone, like Wilson.
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Post by matthewsegarra on Mar 24, 2014 20:57:49 GMT -5
Matthew Segarra
Mr. Thomas
English 11
24 March 2014
A. In this chapter Wilson seems to be a darker version of Gatsby; he represents the more menacing aspects of visionary dreaming. Like Gatsby, he changes his life by giving symbolic significance to something that has litle to no meaning. Gatsby's thing is Daisy and her green light, and Wilson's are the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg. Both of them love women who love Tom, and they both love women who are above them. While Gatsby is a successful American dreamer, Wilson displays the destiny of the failed dreamer, whose poverty has caused him to lose hope.
C. Why can't Gatsby accept the fact that he will not get Daisy? There is a point where you have to say enough is enough. Even on the verge of his death he still holds on to the belief that Daisy will come around and love him back. Is the fact that Daisy does not love him back what killed him? They say the dreamer cannot live without a dream. Daisy was his dream, and he could not fulfill it. Maybe he could not take the anguish and felt he had no other reason to live.
I. I think the reason does not wait for Gatsby is because she cannot feel gestures of love. Since her whole life she has been receiving empty gestures of love, she does not know what the real thing feels like. Also for the same reason, I feel it has bound her to Tom. She has become used to being used as an item and is fine with Tom's mysogynistic behavior. I think Daisy is just like today's “broken" teenage girl who can't find true happiness.
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Post by fotia15 on Mar 24, 2014 21:12:28 GMT -5
A. I kind of feel bad for Gatsby... after all of that... he was willing to through everything away for dasiy. He was ready to run away from long island and never come back. All for his love. But in truth daisy has no intention of being with him, she still with tom. I guess his death was kind of coming. He already dead internally. his one true love was ripped from his life. So his physical death is close to unimportant. If he was to continue his life without his love makes his real life pointless.
C. i dont understand the importance behind behind how he was going to drain the pool the pool and then ends up dying in it? Its strange, did he plan his death out a little. He want the pool to be empty because he felt empty? Why would he want to kill him self when he was so rich and gifted. He had so much going for him, why throw that away?
E. POOR NICK!!!! this poor kid is just loosing everything. Daisy i doubt is going to want to see him. Toms going to hate him. He lost his only friend. Has a shitty job. He just has nothing anymore. Live long and prosper nickey boi!!!
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Post by danokeefe15 on Mar 24, 2014 21:15:05 GMT -5
Danny O'Keefe
Mr. Thomas
English 11
24 March 2014
C. I understand what happened during the chapter, but I just don't understand what Daisy is doing. Everything with her and Gatsby is perfect and she seemed happy with him, I don't understand why she would choose Tom over him. Is it because of what Tom said about how Gatsby earns his money because that is what I think it is and if I'm correct than their is something seriously wrong with her and I still don't get the relationship between Tom and Daisy because in the beginning of the book it seemed as if they didn't like each other and that they were only together for someone weird reason that was never really explained.
E. What I liked about this chapter was seeing how far Nick and Gatsby's relationship has come and what they mean to each other because the day after the accident and the argument between Tom and Gatsby, Nick went over to see how Gatsby was doing because he actually cared about him and was trying to look out for him. Nick was the only person that found out about Gatsby's life before the riches and how he got his money and he still didn't care about it. Out of everyone in the story Nick knows Gatsby best and that's why there friendship is very important.
D."We shook hands and I started away. Just before I reached the hedge I remembered something and turned around.'They're a rotten crowd,'I shouted across the lawn. 'You're worth the whole damn bunch put together.'" I liked this quote because I agree with him. Despite the fact that he earned his money in an dishonest way at least we worked for it. Tom and Daisy were handed their money they didn't earn it, Gatsby had a goal of becoming rich and getting Daisy back and he sort of accomplished I. He is worth more than them and is better than them.
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Post by scanley73 on Mar 24, 2014 22:01:30 GMT -5
C. For a character like Gatsby I imagine he could have been killed in some more extravagant or flashy way. I mean the man lived an incredibly interesting life so I would think he deserves a more exciting death. He could have died when his past caught up with him or Tom’s rage causes Tom to seek vengeance on Gatsby. Why would the author choose such a boring death? Granted he was still murdered I just feel like it could have been done so much better It’s like having superman get killed because he choked on his cape or something like that. It just seems like a missed opportunity that could have been done so much better.
I. In response to Danny’s confusion on Daisy’s decision I feel like she chose Tom because he was more familiar to her. She had known Tom a lot longer and better than she knows Gatsby. Also, she once loved Tom. We saw that when she couldn’t lie to Tom for Gatsby and say she never loved him because there was a time when she truly did love him. She probably felt like she could still find that love she once had deep inside her. Also, at this time divorce was not as acceptable as it is today. Those are most likely the reasons she chose Tom.
A. The whole thing about Daisy waiting for Gatsby when he left for the war reminds me of that short story where the nurse and the soldier fall in love and then they get separated when the soldier goes home
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Post by bourdonm15 on Mar 24, 2014 22:02:15 GMT -5
Matthew Bourdon
Mr. Thomas
English 11
3/24/14
B. Wow, something that I as the reader would never think would occur which is the death of Gatsby. “A new world, material without being real, where poor ghosts, breathing dreams like air, drifted fortuitously about… like that ashen, fantastic figure gliding towards him through the amorphous trees.” (Page 161) Gatsby taking the blame for killing Myrtle was not such a good idea after all. This is really the end of the book in all honesty because Gatsby was the main character. I still feel as if we are still missing who Gatsby genuinely was , there were still many things left unanswered like what type of bootlegging was he doing, etc.
A. I related the death of Gatsby to karma. The same way Gatsby was lying and doing malfeasant activity on the side to gain his wealth dishonestly that all caught up to him. He thought that this double life he was leading was going to work and it backfired on him. Gatsby’s death is all Tom’s fault though since he was the one that was having the affair with Myrtle. Wilson came after Gatsby because he thought he was the one that was having an affair with his wife Myrtle. This was a very gruesome and unnecessary end to Gatsby’s life.
I. I agree with Eoin’s comment on Nick. He does make these contradictions and it really shows and emphasizes how dysfunctional each and every one of these characters really are. This is a dysfunctional society in general.
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Post by rodriguezj15 on Mar 25, 2014 0:43:17 GMT -5
Joel Rodriguez Mr. Thomas English 11 March 25, 2014 The Great Gatsby #8 I. Matt Segerra brings up a good point about why Gatsby can’t accept the fact that he would never get Daisy. Daisy was a dream, as symbolized by the green lights, to Gatsby. You chase dreams. But it must have killed Gatsby inside and ironically physically, the fact that she was literally in the grasp of his hands, but he still can’t have her. But Gatsby doesn’t let go, and even though this is modernist story, you can see this as a Shakespeare tragedy. Ambition was Gatsby’s hamartia. It was what allowed Jay Gatsby to rise from James Gatz, but was also his tragic flaw, that led him to throw the life he made away. D. I think what led to Gatsby’s death was the fact that he never really lived in the present. He was always thinking of what he had with Daisy and what he wanted to do with Daisy. He never thought of the now with Daisy or really anyone around him. He was oblivious to anything that current went on around him. For example the fact that someone is dead! He lived in his own little world that he built off regret of the past and walled himself inside this world with these fantasies of the future. C. What did Nick really mean with, "You're worth the whole damn bunch put together.” Also his reference to the “holocaust” when he saw Gatsby’s corpse has some deeper meaning, but what? |
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Post by georgebaroudos on Mar 25, 2014 12:41:15 GMT -5
George Baroudos
Mr. Thomas
English 11
25 March 2014
A – The rich stereotype I think is further enforced in this chapter. Gatsby talks of his pool that he hasn’t used all season. This speaks to the common theme that it seems that the privileged are not grateful for all of their possessions. Truly I do not believe this to be true. I have a pool and I do not use it everyday in the summer. After a while it gets played out. However, I am grateful to have my pool and I will always cherish the memories I have in that pool. I do not think it is Gatsby being ungrateful I just believe he is a busy man.
D – “I told her she might fool me but she couldn’t fool God.” (159). We can fool everyone but God. Often times we can even fool ourselves, but we will never fool God. God will always watch over us and it is impossible to fool Him. Through all of this, this is the first reference to God within the novel that we have seen. I think a big missing factor within their society is God. I believe that they believe they are a society of faith, but they do not actually have that faith. I do not see their faith nor do I see their trust within God. Considering they live in such a fake society they all fool each other, but they cannot fool God.
I – Nick claims he has disapproved Gatsby from beginning to end. The compliment he did give Gatsby was a nice one, but Nick also claimed he is the most honest man in the world. But he just lied; when he first met Gatsby he was practically drooling at the man Gatsby was. Nick is lying, he is not the most honest person in the world if he just lied. Did his opinion change, yes, but that opinion was not always a negative one. As the novel developed Nick was exposed to the true Gatsby and he did not like that. But at their first meeting Nick loved Gatsby.
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Post by epoccia on Mar 25, 2014 21:41:47 GMT -5
Eddie Poccia
English 11
Mr. Thomas
3/25/14
The Great Gatsby Chapter 8
Gatsby's death is very anticlimactic. After everything that has happened in this book, he dies an insignificant death. He is killed by a regular guy who thought that he was having an affair with his wife, Myrtle. I just felt that it should have been a more dramatic death but I'm sure the author has his reasons for it.
It is easy to see that Tom is behind everything. He has the power to pull the strings in this situation and make people do whatever he wants. I have really despised Tom ever since he was introduced into the book. He does all that he can to hurt Gatsby and he gets away with everything.
Gatsby's death is also somewhat appropriate. He was basically already dead. His life had no meaning knowing that he could never have Daisy. His dream was shattered and if he continued living, it probably would have resulted in him going insane or becoming depressed. It seemed as if he was living an artificial life and dying put him out of his misery.
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