Who is Jay Gatsby?

Right now I am on chapter ten in The Great Gatsby. I have not used the blogging prompts sheet that Mrs. Bross gave us at all yet, so I am going to use it now. I am going to answer the question, “What is the most important line from that chapter?” I think the most important line from chapter ten is “The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God- a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that- and he must be about His Father’s Business, the service of a vast, vulgar and meretricious beauty. So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to invent, and to his conception he was faithful to the end” (Fitzgerald 104).

            Just read this line. One, maybe two more times. Who says stuff like that? Apparently Nick does. This is his most descriptive and evidentially truthful description of Gatsby that I have heard through-out the whole book. This line is not only important in understanding the chapter, but also the book. This section shows how the whole book is about Gatsby and how mysterious he is. It is over 100 pages into the book and people are still making accusations about Mr. Jay Gatsby. I can’t help but wonder, who is Gatsby?

 

Is This History in the Making or History Already Made?

Gatsby and Daisy. Daisy and Gatsby. I don’t know how they prefer it but I bet that it has been asked before. What do I mean by this you might ask? I mean that in what I have read so far in The Great Gatsby, I can tell that there is something between Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan. Of course, Fitzgerald has not just come out and said what their history is but there have been several hints. Like when Daisy said to Gatsby, “’I certainly am awfully glad to see you again’” (Fitzgerald 91). Other hints have been the way Gatsby acts when her name is mentioned or when he wants to see her. He acts like the middle school cliché group. The guy who is always asking his friends to find out if a girl likes him. He is too nervous, but not to ask someone else to do it for him. Like when Gatsby indirectly asks Nick if he would “’invite Daisy to your house some afternoon and then let him come over’” (Fitzgerald 83).

            I predict that Daisy and Gatsby are top secret spies. They are always nervous that someone will discover their true identity. And they are investigating Nick because they think he is some kind of bad guy! No… I’m just joking! I don’t think Daisy and Gatsby are some creepy spy team. I think they have some type of romantic history. They both always jump up when they hear the others name in a conversation and they were both glad to see each other again and they went over to Gatsby’s house and did not even notice when Nick left. I could go on and on, but I don’t want to bore you.

            Whenever I hear people talk about The Great Gatsby I always hear them say they don’t like Daisy. From this I can infer that she will do something non-likeable… no duh right. I cannot think of a reason why everyone would not like her. Maybe it is because she does something awful to Gatsby or maybe she leads him on thinking that they will be together but never really do. But instead of hearing my boring old predictions how about you just go read it and make your own!

The Great Gatsby- narrator

When you hear The Great Gatsby and you read the back of the book, would you think this book is all about? Gatsby, right? Well yes and no, Gatsby is the focus of the book, but not the narrator. Confused… you should be.

            Nick. He is the narrator of this book. However, he is not the focus of the story. Nick is like that awkwardly quite kid that barely says anything at the lunch table. Nevertheless, he hears everything. Nick is always at the events, but he never really says much.

            A great example of this is chapter five. Nick invited Gatsby and Daisy over for tea because Gatsby asked him to. Gatsby needed an excuse to see Daisy. However, the whole chapter Nick only says like three lines. He just describes their actions and dialogue. Almost like, he is writing a story. After Gatsby took a phone call, he quickly abandoned it when Daisy said, “’Come here quick!’ cried Daisy at the window. The rain was still falling, but the darkness had parted in the west, and there was a pink and golden billow of foamy clouds above the sea… ‘I know what we’ll do,’ said Gatsby. ‘We’ll have Klipsinger play the piano.” (Fitzgerald 99). This is just parts of a long conversation between Daisy and Gatsby. As you could see in the middle with Nick narrating, he had great description of the rain and clouds.

            Nick may not be the main character of the book, but he is still that character that brings it all together. He is the person that is watching all the dramatic things happen. Who is the Nick in your life?

Jay Gatsby- his character

Well it happened, I finally met Jay Gatsby. He is quite an interesting character. I really enjoy the way his character talks and the certain phrases that he has. For example, he always calls Nick “old sport” like four times each paragraph. “Good morning, old sport,” (Fitzgerald 68), “Look here, old sport,” (Fitzgerald 69), “Then came the war, old sport,” (Fitzgerald 70). This is how he begins every conversation when he is talking to Nick. I wonder why…

I have a guess but, I could be wrong. I think that it is just the way that Gatsby talks to people informally. It is just how he shows people that they do not intimidate him. If he always addressed people as Sr. or Miss, then it would appear as if he thinks he is below everyone. By saying “old sport” he is not showing like he thinks he is above anyone, just that he is more experienced than others. Just like when your grandparents call you “sweetie”.

Jay Gatsby is very unique. In the book there are so many rumors about him. One was that he killed a man or that he was a descendant of Von Hindenburg. But, when he goes to get Nick for lunch, he explains to him about how his family is all dead, he came into his wealth, and that he served in war. He is unique because he carries around souvenirs of his, we will call them adventures, in his pocket like chewing gum. But, I guess you have to do that when the whole town thinks you’re are a crazy person! I don’t think Gatsby is crazy, not yet anyway… I really like it so far!   

The Great Gatsby- character voice

Okay, I know that my last post probably left everyone a little confused on my opinion of the book. Actually, I doubt half of you actually even read it. But, I just want to clarify…

I am really enjoying this book. There are definitely a lot of words that I do not know but I feel like it is extending my vocabulary. What I really like about this book is how real the characters feel. Fitzgerald makes the characters seem both real and not. I know, confusing, but it is true. The voices of the characters is old timey, but the conversations they have make them more realistic. For example, “’There’s something funny about a fellow that’ll do a thing like that,’ said the other girl eagerly. ‘He doesn’t want any trouble with anybody.’ ‘Who doesn’t?’ I inquired. ‘Gatsby. Somebody told me----‘” (Fitzgerald 48). They use words like “fellow” and “inquired”. But the fact that the two girls are gossiping makes them seem so real. We hear and participate in gossip all the time.

Once again, I really enjoy the book so far and definitely recommend reading it before we are going to have to read it for school. It is definitely a high reading level book and at least I have time to learn what they are saying. When you read a book for school you are going so fast that it is hard to have time to stop and think!

The Great Gatsby- descriptive writing

           The Great Gatsby is an extremely descriptive book. I am on page 50 and F. Scott Fitzgerald is still introducing the characters. I have not even really met Gatsby himself yet. But, I think that is the point. The narrator of the book, Nick, hardly ever talks. Just listens. You don’t even really know what he looks like. I still really like the book; it is not like what I am used to reading.

Nick describes people in really specific ways. Not just, “the boy had ocean blue eyes”. When he is meeting new people he usually describes each one of them. Like when he describes Catherine, “The sister, Catherine, was a slender, worldly girl of about thirty with a solid sticky bob of red hair and a complexion powdered milky white. Her eyebrows had been plucked and then drawn on again at a more rakish angle but the efforts of nature toward the restoration of the old alignment gave a blurred air to her face. When she moved about there was an incessant clicking as innumerable pottery bracelets jingled up and down her arms” (Fitzgerald 34). Believe it or not, that was not even the whole description. Also, you probably noticed that there are a lot of big, fancy words in the description. That has caused me to actually have to look things up. I know, that is absolutely crazy, right. I actually have to do work. ;)

Starting Gatsby

I just started The Great Gatsby. I know what you are thinking, but just because I am a freshman does not mean I can not read it. I have always thought that schools kind of ruin books for you. I feel so strongly about this that I even did a whole presentation on it for ECA. My plan is to read the book now so that I can actually enjoy it instead of taking notes and quizzes and skimming  the book.
I am only on page 11, but so far I really like the authors writing style. He does not ramble on, but he is also very descriptive. Right now in the Book he is still giving you some insight on the characters and time period. Since I am not that far, I cannot give a great summary of what itisaboutjust yet. But I will keep peddling through the Book and tell roughshod it is actually good or just "school" good!