Hi Everyone:
On our first day of class, I suggested
that the most difficult or seemingly odd scenes in a book can often be a
route to some of the book's deepest meaning. We also noted that The
Great Gatsby is unique in how restrained and mysterious the language of
the text can be. And today (Friday) we discussed what seem to be the
conflicts and tensions that haunt the book.
In this blog post, describe the strange scene that you selected and (using your notes)
explain how this scene may connect to one of the conflicts or tensions
that we noted in class. You can also write about why the scene is so
different or unusual -- what sets it apart? You can speculate or offer
several alternative interpretations; keep in mind that you are not
expected to explain precisely and definitively what everything means, as
long as you offer some possibilities and impressions. Look at the "Advice for Annotation" page for guidance.
The scene I didn't get was when Nick met Gatsby. Gatsby was aloof and didn't really stand out at his parties. Gatsby came off as eccentric. When Nick met Gatsby, he seemed really outgoing and confident, but the weirder side was that he didn't know any of his guests. He would throw lavish parties, but didn't know anyone! I think this scene relates to Gatsby putting a facade up and hiding his real self. It is later revealed throughout the book that Gatsby was poor and got his money through corrupt means. I think that Gatsby wanted to create his own fake persona because he wanted to feel important and special, unlike the poor Gatsby, and so people wouldn't suspect his corrupt means. Also, Gatsby is excessively generous to people at his parties. In the book, it is noted how Gatsby didn't want to cross anyone, probably in fear that his secrets would be revealed. He was probably excessively friendly for that reason too. At the very end of the book, Nick reveals that Gatsby was in debt, but kept up his rich image. I think the whole conflict that scene enhanced was about putting up a facade to hide one's true self. Other characters seem to have facades too, and you can't take them at face-value either. The scene where Gatsby and Nick meet shows the reader his facade before his secrets are revealed.
ReplyDeleteThe scene I did not quite understand, was the scene where Jay Gatsby dies. At first, I thought Gatsby had killed Wilson, but the opposite was true. This scene, and book, truly epitomizes obsession. Gatsby was obsessed with Daisy. He had unconditionally loved her for five years without even laying an eye on her. He tried to go back to the town where he had first met her. He looked for weeks, but it was too late. She was married now. Gatsby never gave up. He ultimately bought this luscious, magnificent house right across the bay from daisy. After numerous attempts to wait for her arrival at one of his infamous parties, he had nick bring her over for tea. They fell in love once again. He had to keep seeing her. She went over his house every day, he invited her to his parties, and he took the blame for the murder of tom's mistress, Myrtle. Daisy, Jordan, Nick, Tom, and gatsby were all returning from a heated argument between tom and Gatsby. Gatsby let Daisy drive, but daisy was so emotional and distraught, that she accidentally ran over Myrtle, as Myrtle was trying to get help. They drove off. Myrtle's husband Wilson, remembered Gatsby's yellow car that Tom was driving the day they all went out to the city. He tracked it down for hours until he finally confronted who he thought was to be tom, but instead found gatsby. Wilson killed Gatsby, and then himself. Poor gatsby never even committed the crime. His powerful love for Daisy, ended his fascinating life. This scene is very different from the rest. It shows us death which I thought I was not going to see in this book. The scene boasts a great deal of confusion more than emotions. No one really came to Gatsby's funeral. He was such a complex person that he never bothered to make friends with any of his guests. Gatsby's obsession killed Gatsby.
ReplyDeleteThe difficult and odd part of The Great Gatsby that I chose was when Daisy ran over Wilson's wife, Myrtle. This corresponds with our class conversation pertaining to Gatsby's dreams. All that Gatsby wants is to connect with the love of his life, Daisy. Because of this, Gatsby creates a role that isn't his and creates a wealthy identity for himself. Gatsby throws glamorous parties and makes several attempts for Daisy to appear at them. This ties into our class discussion about money and how it effects people and their relationships with each other. Money slithers into the heads of people and makes them change and let money surround their lives, much like Gatsby did by creating this identity for himself because of his overbearing compassion for Daisy. Although Gatsby applies to a side of money where he doesn't have 'honest money', Daisy is in love with Gatsby's financial situation and Gatsby is in love with Daisy. Because Gatsby is so in love with Daisy, he takes the blame for killing Myrtle. Once Wilson is informed of his wife's death and is aware of 'Gatsby' killing her, he is obviously angry and hurt which results in him killing Gatsby. Gatsby let money and his identity get the best of him because of his passion for Daisy which resulted in his death. So, in this scene of The Great Gatsby, everything connects extremely well to our class conversations about Gatsby's dreams, creating a different role, how money effects relationships and dishonest money.
ReplyDeleteThe strange scene that happened to stick out among the others to me is the scene in which Tom Buchanan (sorry if I'm spelling that wrong) brought Nick out to meet his mistress. The way the book explained it, I was thinking that it was just a friend of Tom's. It took me awhile to fully understand what was going on in the scene when they were all in the hotel room, but fortunately after awhile I caught on. The scene really embodies the selfishness and lies that are strewn into the characters in the book. Tom obviously only thinks about himself and what he wants, which is both Daisy AND Myrtle. At the same time. Tom is willing to lie to as many people on the way without giving a second thought to their feelings or lives. Nick, however, is at least a bit less selfish, by thinking about how what Tom doing was wrong, and not wanting to be a part of it at first. Unfortunately though, he eventually gets dragged into the whole encounter. Lying is a big part of the book, considering Tom is not the only one doing it. Daisy does it when she is having an affair with Gatsby, Nick does it when he is trying to get Daisy over for the first time to see Gatsby again, Myrtle does it to her husband when asked about the jewelry, and for the most part Gatsby is also lying to himself. He has a fantasy world in which everything is going to be perfect, the perfect life with Daisy. Which also shows the selfishness he encompasses. Tom is also selfish, with his money and his wife, only ever putting himself first and no one else. Not really giving a thought to anyone. Gatsby only thinks about his life with Daisy, not really her feelings on the matter he just wants everything for himself. I feel as though Nick is the least selfish person in the book. However, the aura of selfishness and lying, I think, is the biggest theme of the book in general.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThere are many strange scenes in The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. A scene in chapter six that shows significance to this novel would be when Nick says to Gatsby, “You can’t repeat past”, but then Gatsby replies “Why of course you can”. This scene shows how Gatsby wants to return to having Daisy in his life but, is having a hard time realizing he has to let go of her. Once he is able to connect with Daisy he feels it will complete his American Dream. Gatsby’s hope to connect with Daisy is shown many times in the novel. Every party Gatsby ever had thrown was for Daisy, hoping that she would wander into one so they could meet again. As well as towards the beginning of the book when the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock becomes important. This green light is very important to Gatsby because it represents his dream to meet Daisy and his desire to repeat the past. The first time that Nick gets to see Gatsby is when he stretched his arm out to somewhat try to “reach” Daisy and his dream. Also the way Gatsby listens to Daisy when she talks and acknowledges her, shows how much he cares for her, but Gatsby isn't able to control himself and takes it too far which causes some conflicts in the book. In this book something that is very threatening would be money and the desire to be wealthy. Because of this there are many tensions and affairs in couples relationships which happens a lot. There are many thoughts from people who have read this book that Daisy left Gatsby for Tom’s money and now five years later Daisy may have wanted to leave Tom for Gatsby’s wealth. All these conflicts started with Gatsby’s wish to repeat the past.
ReplyDeleteThere were a few select scenes that were difficult in the Great Gatsby, and one of them was in chapter 7 when Tom and Gatsby got in an argument over Daisy’s love. The battle between them had a slow start, when Tom noticed the gentle stare that lingered between Gatsby and his wife. It started off simple like that, but after Gatsby refused to argue on a personal level, it escalated quickly. Daisy had been acting so infatuated with both Tom and Gatsby for what the beginning of the book showed, and seeing her have to be stuck in the middle of their girl’s much-wanted love was so interesting and complicated that it also got quite confusing to me. The way that they butt heads obviously made everything very tense, which added detail and made it more complicated. Although the scene is mostly just Tom and Gatsby arguing, I thought Daisy’s reaction was what made it more confusing to me. Gatsby can say things and name situations between the two of them that can make her want to say that she never loved Tom, while Tom can do the same but with memories of their wedding and places they went. Daisy’s switching back and forth in her own uncertainty made the scene harder to comprehend. The scene is even more stranger, and also more intensified, when you consider how not only Daisy is questioning herself on her answers, but also Tom is probably questioning the things he says to win this argument, since his affair with Myrtle was going pretty strong at that point. When you think about who can tell a simple and honest truth in this situation in the book, it seems to make it more difficult and interesting. Maybe it was made to help the reader view Nick as more of an honest character, like he claimed he was.
ReplyDeleteThere were many strange scenes in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald that I did not quite understand thoroughly. But, one of the main scenes that was confusing to me was when Daisy had a breakdown over Gatsby’s shirts. Nick had Gatsby and Daisy over for tea so Gatsby and Daisy could reconnect. The reunion is very awkward when Daisy first arrives but then it gets better once Nick leaves them alone for a while. Gatsby then invites them over to his house, where he shows them his possessions. Daisy gets so overwhelmed by his wealth. Once he shows her his entire collection of expensive shirts sent over from England Daisy breaks down into sobbing, while she holds one of his shirts up to her face admiring its beauty. Why does she do this and over react so much? I find it very weird. I thought a lot about it and I came to a conclusion that she does this because she wants to be a part of Gatsby’s wealth and she regrets choosing Tom rather than waiting for Gatsby. It frustrates her a lot that Gatsby is now very wealthy. She wants to be a part of his luxurious life style but she is now married to Tom. Throughout this entire novel she is torn between her love of Gatsby and her marriage to Tom.
ReplyDeleteA scene in The Great Gatsby that I found difficult but connected to the conflicts and tensions of the novel was in chapter five when Gatsby showed Daisy his room. Gatsby dozed off for a minute, thinking about Daisy who had been looking at his gold dresser. A quote from this part of the scene is, “He had passed visibly through two states and was entering upon a third. After his embarrassment and his unreasoning joy he was consumed with wonder at her presence. He had been full of the idea so long, dreamed it right through to the end, waited with his teeth set, so to speak, at an inconceivable pitch of intensity. Now, in the reaction, he was running down like an over-wound clock.” I found that this scene connects to the conflict of how Gatsby has trouble letting go of the past. He thinks he is about to get something he’s been working on for years, being with Daisy, but what he doesn’t realize is that some things aren’t meant to happen and some things that happen in the present are never as good as your past self dreamed it would be. Now that Gatsby would finally have the chance to be with Daisy, he doesn’t know what to make of it because the Daisy he loved five years ago is not the same Daisy now.
ReplyDeleteOne of the parts that seemed confusing in The Great Gatsby, was the library scene at one of Gatsby’s parties. At first it was confusing to think as to why the character Owl Eyes would think Gatsby would have cardboard books in his library. This scene, seeming unimportant to the story, actually has some significance if you read deeper into it. Owl Eyes points out to Nick and Jordan Baker who end up in Gatsby’s library that the books in it are real and not fake cardboard ones. This scene is significant to analyze Gatsby’s character. For Gatsby this scene in the book displays that he wishes for people to think he is well educated and wise by having real books instead of fake ones for show. This could play into the idea that Gatsby isn’t who he really says he is. There have been many stories of Gatsby at this point in the book from all that party chatter and no one knows what truth is. It is apparent from Gatsby’s lavish parties that he wishes to be seen as a prodigious person and so things like his library full of real books is one of his many possessions that help him achieve his goal. The fact that he needs such things to help him seem so great could prove that he’s trying to trick people into thinking he is something that he is not. This is a possible description for the meaning of this part in the book written by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
ReplyDelete-Nicolette Mason
In my opinion one of the most awkward scenes in the “Great Gatsby” was when Nick met the owl guy in the library. First off, how did Nick even end up in the library? Wasn’t it only his first time there? How did he manage to find one library in a giant mansion? More odd than that though, was the drunk guy in the library. He must’ve been placed in that scene for a designated purpose, because realistically people don’t usually spend that much time alone at parties. Another irregular factor was that the owl guy was continuously mentioning books. I feel like this was put in for two different reasons. The first was to illustrate that the average-Gatsby- party attender did not know anything about Gatsby. The second was to display that an average person in the 1920’s presumed that the upper class was arrogant and shallow. The owl guy also seemed remarkably surprised that the books weren’t made out of cardboard. He like many others would have thought that the upper class prioritized appearance before intelligence. However, maybe the owl guy was on to something. Are we ever going to know if Gatsby really reads or is it just another future exhibit waiting for Daisy? Gatsby did admit he only uses one room and one bathroom out of a whole mansion. Probably to make sure everything is perfect, just incase Daisy ever happened to show up at a party.
ReplyDelete~Alexia Marnoto
One of the more confusing parts of the book for me was right at the beginning when Nick first sees Gatsby reaching out to Daisy’s green light at the end of her dock. This later makes more sense and ties in with some of the major themes of the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fiztgerald. This was confusing at first because neither Nick nor the readers know what the green light means or that it is Daisy’s dock. Nick describes his neighbor reaching out to this light. We later learn that Gatsby and Daisy met when Gatsby was in the war and Gatsby had fell in love with the rich and elusive Daisy five years before. Also, Daisy promised to wait for Gatsby, but went on to marry Tom. Gatsby however did not move on and now spends his days throwing parties every weekend hoping to attract some attention or even a visit from Daisy. After learning this information it becomes clear that Gatsby is reaching out across the water to the idea of finally having Daisy and achieving this goal that he has set for himself to have Daisy and be rich. I think this also ties into one of the major themes of The Great Gatsby which is the American dream or the decline of the American dream. At the beginning it would seem that the main theme is the American dream but towards the end it becomes clear that the opposite is true. Gatsby dent end up with Daisy (and ends up being killed because he took the blame for her), Tom and Daisy stay in an unhealthy relationship together where neither of them are happy, and Nick decides to just go back home because of the things he has seen while originally coming to work with bonds.
ReplyDeleteThe scene I didn’t get was the scene where the drunk man was driving and his wheel fell off. When that scene happened I thought I had missed something. I figured I had had to have missed a few pages of the book because it was just out of nowhere. This scene seems very irrelevant to the rest of the plot. It also doesn’t seem to connect to any of the conflicts we talked about in class but it is certainly an odd scene and definitely stands out. I think what makes it stand out as much as it does is just the extreme oddity of the scene. One minute everything is fine and then a drunk man is attempting to drive a car with no wheel. The drunk man not being able to understand that he can’t drive may be representing all of the characters relationships with each other and the fact that they can’t keep lying to one another. Gatsby for example can’t keep lying about being some magnificent person who is well educated, a war hero, etc. Tom, as another example, can’t keep lying about his affair with Myrtle. This is the same for others in the book as there are multiple affairs.
ReplyDelete-Benjamin Hunter
In the book "The Great Gatsby" there are many unexpected scenes that display the underlying conflicts and tensions within the story. The scene that was most prominent to me was after Daisy and Gatsby had tea at Nicks cottage and they all went over to Gatsby's house. Gatsby goes around showing off his possessions to Daisy. Gatsby was so concerned with trying to impress her. I found that the more Gatsby demonstrated his wealth the more Daisy seemed to be attracted to him. Then when he shows her his shirts she starts to sob. At first I was confused by her over reaction, but then I understood what was happening. It seems silly to cry over shirts. It was not the shirts themselves that overwhelmed her but what they symbolized. She could have had Gatsby in the past but chose Tom instead because of his wealth. She only seems to really regret her decision when she sees how rich Gatsby is. This shows that Daisy is superficial and selfish. Later in the book Gatsby yells at Tom and says, “She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me.” (page 102). This brings up the theme of wealth and also the theme of wanting to relive the past. He wants to live the past but without all the problems that caused them to be where they are now. Gatsby wants more than anything to have the chance to get Daisy back again, but he can’t. He creates this lifestyle to try to win her over. He does this by throwing extravagant parties and getting wealthy in illegal ways. Which creates a sense of isolation and loneliness. He is surrounded by all these people but really just wants to be with Daisy. His belief is that if he gets Daisy then he will finally be happy. I think that is not the case though. Both Gatsby and Daisy have a dissatisfaction towards what they already have. They want the next best thing. None of the characters are happy. They are all dissatisfied with their life in one way or another. It seems as if it’s impossible for them to settle on what they already have. Instead, they create chaos trying to make themselves happy. All in all, the part in the book "The Great Gatsby", when Daisy cries over Gatsby's shirts reveals a lot of themes and essential conflicts.
ReplyDelete-Sally Lambert
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOne of the scenes i found most confusing in The Great Gatsby was when Gatsby and Tom start arguing about Gatsby’s affair with Daisy. This scene confused me because everything spills out into the open at once. Everyone starts to feel uncomfortable as Tom and Gatsby argue that Daisy never even loved the other one. While Most of the book deals with inner conflict this scene deals more with outer conflict. While most scenes give hints to how the character is feeling inside, in this scene everything is put out there and obvious. All of Gatsby’s and Tom’s inner conflicts come out in the open. By the end of the scene Tom feels he has established that Daisy is his, whether she loves Gatsby or not Gatsby realizes that his belief that Daisy never loved Tom and never could is wrong.
ReplyDelete-Micah Sidell
There were many scenes in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald that seemed odd or out of place, but there was one that I found especially peculiar. During one of Gatsby’s parties, there is a man sitting in a library, far away from the loud noise and ruckus of the party. The man is middle aged and has huge owl-eyed glasses, giving him the nickname Owl Eyes. Owl Eyes says that he has been drunk for a week and believes that being in a library will sober him up. He seems to be mystified that the books are real, not just cardboard made to look like books. This struck me as bizarre because Owl Eyes is a strange character with seemingly no relation to Gatsby, other than the fact that he’s attended at least one of his parties. However, during Gatsby’s funeral we see that very few people show up. One of the people that showed up was Owl Eyes. This could mean that he was connected to Gatsby in a way that the book never explained. Another thing worth noting is that Owl Eyes’s spectacles are similar to the ones on the T. J. Eckleburg billboard that oversees everything. The billboard is always in the background and doesn’t have much significance in the characters’ lives, although it is extremely important to the book. Perhaps this means that Owl Eyes may have been important to Gatsby, though not as important to Nick Carraway and the story he tells.
ReplyDeleteMarybeth Colby
DeleteIn the book The Great Gatsby there were difficult and odd parts of the book that didn't seem to fit. A difficult scene I choose was when Daisy ran over Myrtle, Wilson the mechanics wife in Gatsby's car and drove away. Gatsby wants to go back to the past to be with Daisy and pick up where they left off. Others in the book want to escape their past and live in the future. Gatsby wants to be with Daisy so badly that he doesn't show the other characters who he really is. Gatsby pretends to be wealthy and has parties that everyone goes to even if they don't know him. Daisy only loves Gatsby for his possions and money. Gatsby loves Daisy because he thinks they could be as good as they were in the past and he wouldn't accept that there are more girls in the world not just Daisy. He fought so hard for his relationship with Daisy even though she was married to Tom. He ended up being killed for Daisy's crimes. All because of money. If Gatsby didn't have dishonest money and showed that he wasn't rich then he never would has caught Daisy's eye. Also, Gatsby wouldn't have to lie about everything; he might have had a possibility to have some friends to have attend his funeral. That is the difficult scene I picked from The Great Gatsby by: F. Scott Fitzgerald.