Week 7- December 10, 2007

The last chapter is written two years after Gatsby's death, or I guess one would say murder. The press fill the area surrounding Gatsby's mansion, and outrageous rumors begin to go around about how Gatsby was murdered and his "relations" with Myrtle and Wilson. Nick attempts to give Gatsby a large funeral, but all of his friends fail to show up. I think that this shows that Gatsby didn't really have any friends. The people he knew only liked him so they could go to his parties. Tom and Daisy also move away. The only people who do show up at his funeral are Owl Eyes, some of his servants, and Gatsby's dad from Minnesota.
Nick later breaks up with Jordan and moves back to the Midwest. This disappointed me because I thought that Jordan and Nick were good together. I thought that she meant more to him than just to leave her. Why didn't he bring her with or at least offer to? Before he heads back, he meets up with Tom in New York City. Tom tells Nick that he was the one who told Wilson everything and that Gatsby deserved to die. Nick decides to himself that Tom and Daisy, both, are uncaring people who destroy other's and their things, using their own money to get out of anything they need. Nick begins to remember life in the West, and thinks that compared to the East, it is full of Christmas spirit, whereas the East is very distorted.
On the night before he moves back to Minnesota, Nick lays on the beach and looks at the sky and the moon rising. He compares the dreamers and explorers trying to find America to Gatsby searching for Daisy. He imagines America's green plains and the green light from Daisy's dock. Gatsby was living the "American dream" with all of his wealth and success, but he didn't realize that his dream was over and that his goals were nothing without Daisy. Nick thinks that people are moved by their own dreams, and pictures it as boats moving across the water; struggling.

Week 6- December 5, 2007

I found this a very exciting chapter. In the beginning, Nick goes and visits Gatsby to see if there is anymore news about the day before and tells Gatsby that he should just leave Long Island so he doesn't get into trouble. Gatsby refuses to leave Daisy behind. He reveals to Nick that Daisy was the first girl that Gatsby felt really close too, and that he lied to her about where he grew up and went to school just so she would like him; and so he would feel like he measured up to her standards. He goes on to tell Nick that Daisy had promised to wait until he came back from the war, but she ended up marrying Tom. Then the gardener barges in and tells Gatsby that he had planned to empty the pool and wanted to know if he was going to. He tells his gardener not to drain it fore he hasn't even gone in it yet. Since I have already read this chapter, I know that this is forshadowing something big to come. Nick leaves because he doesn't want to be too late for work and says to Gatsby that he is worth more than any of his friends including Tom and Daisy.
Nick falls asleep while he is at work, and is awakened to the ringing of the telephone. It is Jordan, and her and Nick get into a fight because he is too distracted to even go on a date with her. I would be mad if my boyfriend did that too. Think about it, wouldn't you want your boyfriend/girlfriend to talk to you about whatever is on their mind. Jordan just wants to be filled in on the personal information in Nick's life, but Nick does not seem to be a very open guy. He keeps to himself a lot, at least with his thoughts anyways.
The book then tells us of what happened after Myrtle was killed. George Wilson stayed up talking to Michaelis, the restaurant manager. He told Myrtle that he knew about her affair and that she could not keep this sin from the eyes of God. Then the next morning when Mr. Wilson wakes up, he sees the sun shining down on Doctor T. J. Eckleburg's eyes, and he believes that they are the eyes of God. He then decides to himself that whoever killed Myrtle must have obviously been the person she was having an affair with and sets out for revenge, little does he know that he is completely wrong about who her lover is. He first looks for Tom, but knows that it could not have been Tom because Tom arrived in a different car after the accident. Wilson eventually THINKS that he figured everything out. He goes to Gatsby's mansion to get his revenge for Myrtle's death. At the mansion he see Gatsby laying on an air matress floating in the pool. Wilson shoots Gatsby and then shoots himself.
Nick quickly get back to Gatsby's, only to find Gatsby floating in his pool dead with a, I guess you would say, puddle of blood around him. Nick tries to imagine Gatsby's last thoughts, meaningless without Daisy in his life. Then he finds Wilson on the ground not to far from the pool. What I don't understand is why did Wilson kill himself? No one would have found out that he was the one who killed Gatsby, or was it because he felt guilty?

Week 5- November 28, 2007

On a very hot day, Nick travels to Tom and Daisy's house for lunch. He is somewhat surprised to find Gatsby and Jordan there as well. While they are talking over lunch, their nurse brings Daisy's baby girl. Gatsby is shocked to find out that she has a child. This also surprised me because I actually forgot that Daisy and Tom even have a child, so I couldn't imagine how much it stunned him to find this out.
Later that afternoon, Gatsby's and Daisy's love for one another becomes obvious for Tom when Daisy asked Gatsby if he wanted to go to the city with her. After Tom figures this out, he says that maybe they should all go to the city together. I found it weird that Nick, Jordan, and Tom ride in Gatsby's car, and Daisy and Gatsby ride in Tom's car. Why didn't they just take their own vehicles? I also don't think that this helped with the fact that Gatsby and Daisy are trying to hide their "relationship" because this only makes it more apparent to Tom that they are in love. They all stopped at Wilson's for gas. At this time, they find out that Wilson knows about Myrtle's affair, but he does not know who her secret lover is. Nick realizes that Wilson and Tom are in the same situation because both of them know that their wives are having an affair. Also, Tom and Gatsby are in the same situation because they are the secret lovers that Myrtle and Daisy are attempting to hide. So I don't think that Tom has the right to do anything about Daisy and Gatsby even though he knows about it because he is doing the same thing.
They go to a suite at the Plaza Hotel, and it is there that Gatsby reveals Daisy and his relations. He says to Tom that Daisy loves him, not Tom. Also Nick realizes that it is his 30th birthday. On their way back to East Egg, Nick, Tom, and Jordan come upon a car accident. The Greek guy who runs the all-night restaurant beside Wilson's tells them that Myrtle was in it. It was a hit-and-run. Nick thinks that she was probably hit by Gatsby and Daisy coming back from the city in Gatsby's car. Tom assumes that Wilson will remember the yellow car and that Gatsby was the one driving.
At Tom's house, Gatsby is hiding in the bushes, and he tells Nick that Daisy was driving and hit Myrtle. I think that Daisy hit Myrtle on purpose because she knew about her affair.

Week 4- November 20, 2007

In chapter 6, we finally learn the truth about Gatsby. He was not what everyone expected him to have been. Gatsby grew up on a farm in North Dakota. He went to school, but soon dropped out because he had to do janitor's work to pay for college. The next summer, he worked fishing for salmon and digging for clams. I didn't that would be such a bad job. I mean seriously, getting paid to fish. That would be awesome. One day, he rowed out to a yacht to tell the man that a storm was coming. The man that owned the yacht made Gatsby his personal assistant. Gatsby soon became wealthy, and he absolutely loved it. Also, Gatsby had to watch his "boss" while he was drunk so he didn't do anything stupid. This caused Gatsby not to drink. His boss died and left Gatsby quite a bit of money, but was not allowed to claim it due to the man's mistress. Gatsby then decided he was going to become a successful man. I did not expect that Gatsby was from such a poor family. I figured that he was born that way and had everything since he was young. He seems like a very elegant guy for growing up poor.
Nick goes over to Gatsby's house and finds Tom there too. But Tom is only there because he was out riding around with the Sloanes, and they stopped at Gatsby's. He invites then to dinner, but instead he ends up going with them out to eat. What Gatsby does not know is that Tom is becoming suspicious of Daisy seeing Gatsby so much, but he does not realize their love YET.
The next weekend, there is another party at Gatsby's. This time, Tom and Daisy attend. Tom merely went to keep an eye on Daisy and Gatsby. Nick does not have a good time and neither does Daisy, and this make Gatsby feel bad. Gatsby says that he wants everything to be the way it was before he went to war. He wants Daisy and Tom to break up so he can be with Daisy. Nick tells him that he can't bring back the past, but Gatsby says that money can do anything. I didn't like when Gatsby said that because money doesn't bring true happiness. True happiness comes from love, and love cannot be bought.

Week 3- November 14, 2007

In the beginning of chapter 5, Nick returns home after another wonderful date with Jordan. Gatsby's mansion is very brightly lit up, yet no one seems to be in it. As Nick is walking up to his house, Gatsby scares him. Gatsby seems to be in a good mood, or at least a very good mood towards Nick. Nick finds out that Gatsby is being this nice to him because he wants Nick to set up a tea date and invite Daisy over. Ecstatic that Nick will go along with him, Gatsby offers Nick a chance to make some money, but Nick declines. I think that this part shows a side of Gatsby that is sensitive and somewhat overwhelmed with feelings for Daisy that he has not been able to let out for a long time.
The day that they have tea, it rains. I think that this is foreshadowing something terrible to come. That Gatsby and Daisy meeting again is a bad idea. Then when Daisy arrives, I don't understand why does Gatsby leave and walk around the house in the rain just to come in the front door. I found that quite unusual, unless he wanted it to seem like he was just stopping by for a visit and Daisy happened to be there at that particular time.
At first, Gatsby thought that this "reunion" was a terrible mistake because everything seemed to be going wrong. Then after the rain stops and Nick leaves, Daisy and Gatsby have a great time. I think that the rain stopping is a sign of hope. That there is hope for Gatsby and Daisy still being together. Gatsby invites Nick and Daisy to his house and tells Daisy of the nights that he dreams about being with her and being happy for the rest of his life. They listen to the piano, and Nick leaves, realizing that he has been forgotten. He leaves Daisy and Gatsby alone. I think that this part of the book is a major turning point because I think that this will be the cause of many major events to come.

Week 2- November 7, 2007

At the beginning of Chapter 3, Gatsby throws another party like he does about every weekend. But what I don't understand is that if Jay Gatsby has so many parties and a lot of people come to them, then why does nobody really know anything about him? I figure that he must be really secretive or not very social even though he is the host of the parties. I don't know, that just confuses me. But I am guessing that a lot more about Mr. Gatsby will be uncovered because of all of the speculations and rumors going around about him.
Nick gets invited to one of his parties. At the party, he meets up with Jordan Baker whom he met when he went to the Buchanans'. Later that night, Nick and Jordan are sitting at a table outside when the man sitting next to Nick say that he recognizes him. Nick finds out that it is Jay Gatsby, and they serve in the war together. They talk for a long while, and Nick becomes fascinated with Gatsby. I found this very ironic because earlier that evening Jordan and Nick went looking for their host to see what he is like, and later they meet him anyways. I guess it's just one of those things that was meant to happen.
In chapter four, Gatsby tells Nick about his life. He says that he is the son of wealthy, deceased parents from the Midwest. I didn't understand this part because he says that he is from the Midwest, but when Nick asks him what city, he says San Francisco. The last time the I checked, San Francisco wasn't in the Midwest. So does this mean that Gatsby just doesn't know his places or does it mean that he is actually lying?
As Nick and Gatsby are driving through the valley of ashes, a policeman pulls him over for speeding. Gatsby shows the officer a white card, and the officer apologizes and allows them to continue driving. After eating lunch with Gatsby and his friend, Meyer Wolfshiem, Nick sees Jordan. She tells him about her mysterious talk with Gatsby. She said the Gatsby told her that he is in love with Daisy. Gatsby tells her that Daisy was a beautiful girl in Kentucky and that all of the military men were in love with her, but Daisy fell in love with Jay Gatsby. After Jay left for the war she chose to marry Tom. Jordan also added that Gatsby bought his mansion on West Egg only to be by Daisy. At the end of this chapter, they plan to reunite Gatsby and Daisy.
This was a lot of information to take in and comprehend, in what seemed like such a short amount of time. For some reason it made me somewhat suspicious of Gatsby because it seems to me like he made up everything. I don't know why, but I don't believe a lot of what he says because if what he says is true then how come nobody else knows anything about him?

Week 1- October 31, 2007

"Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had." This quote, by the narrator's father, will be significant throughout the entire book. In my opinion, it means that just because someone doesn't have as many material possessions as you do, does not mean that you should make fun of or comment about them. In speaking about them, all you will do is misunderstand them.
In the beginning of the book, I was very confused. I didn't begin to understand the book much until I read the first chapter. Then it became a little easier to follow. Nick Carraway, the narrator of the book, tells us that in the summer of 1922, he moves to New York from Chicago to work in the bond business. He lived in a house located in West Egg, which is on Long Island. Unlike East Egg, West Egg was for people who weren't familiar with the area or the people. Nick knew many of the people from East Egg and graduated from Yale, yet he still dwell in West Egg. This house that Nick lives in is neighbor to the Gatsby mansion.
Nick goes to visit two of his friends, Tom and Daisy Buchanan, that live on East Egg. When Nick arrives there, Tom is on the porch, and Daisy and her friend, Jordan, are sitting on the couch. They have dinner, and as Nick is leaving, Tom and Daisy hint for him to get together with Jordan. When Nick gets home he sees Gatsby standing on the lawn reaching for the water and a green light towards the end of the dock.
As Tom and Nick are on the train to New York City, Tom gets Nick to follow him at on the the stops. He leads Nick to George Wilson's garage. Tom's lover is George Wilson's wife, Myrtle. Tom makes fun of Wilson, and then Tom, Nick, and Myrtle take the train the rest of the way to New York City to an apartment that he keeps for his affair. While there, the couple that lives downstairs, the McKees, and Catherine, Myrtle's sister join them. They drink a lot and Nick says that it is the second time that he has ever gotten drunk. Nick then tries to leave, but becomes fascinated by the way the others are acting. Myrtle becomes very loud and obnoxious, and she begins to talk about Daisy. Tom tells her to stop, but Myrtle says that she will talk about whoever she wants whenever she wants and repeats Daisy's name. Tom breaks her nose, and this ends the party immediately. Nick leaves drunk and takes the train back to West Egg on Long Island.