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.