#reading-log

I’m not sure if I would handle having to organize a funeral as well as Nick did.  The arrangements themselves and calling up people to attend could easily be done, but I probably would have been a lot more emotional than Nick was portrayed to be.  I liked how Gatsby’s father talked about what his son could have become had he not died, as shown when Mr. Gatz says “If he’d of lived, he’d of been a great man.  A man like James J. Hill.  He’d of helped build up the country.” (160). It showed that despite Gatsby ignoring where he came from in order to build the new life of his dreams, he still somehow remained to keep a good relationship with his father and by extension I assume the rest of his family as well.

It upset me that no one else came to Gatsby’s funeral.  The number of guests were as I had expected, however, I was upset that I was right.  Even until the end I was hoping that there would be one more person who cared enough about Gatsby to at least say something to Nick about how he handle the death.  Nick seemed to be all Gatsby had left in the end besides his family and Meyer Wolfshiem.  The person that pleasantly surprised me was Owl Eyes, when he showed up to Gatsby’s funeral.

Although I liked how it showed Nick talking with Jordan and Tom after everything had settled down, I wish there could have been a scene where Nick talked with Daisy as well.  It would have been interesting to be able to compare the narrator talking with all three of the remaining main characters, rather than just two.

“She thought I knew a lot because I knew different things from her” (143), is my favourite quote from the book so far.  It shows that there are different kinds of intelligence, and that just because you are smart in one specific area, does not mean you are smarter than another person who is intelligent in a different area.  This quote is soon followed by another line that I enjoy from the novel, “What was the use of doing great things if I could have a better time telling her what I was going to do?” (143).  I really like this quote because it shows that you can reach the top of your respective field and achieve all the great things you would like, but there is no point if you would feel happier doing something else, especially if you weren’t able to share these great things you had achieved with someone that you cared about.

From the way Gatsby’s backstory was written, it seems that it was intended to make us feel sorry for Gatsby.  I felt sorry that he had missed out on Daisy, but when he started to mope around Louisville I found it sort of pathetic.  Rather than make himself feel gloomy, drive himself further into depression, and spend the last of his money, he should have been making use of his time and done something with himself.  If he really wanted to try and win Daisy back, then perhaps he should have thought of his situation more logically and should have been plotting how to make himself suitable and able to support her rather than feeling sorry for himself.

There were a couple different things that struck me about this chapter.  The first was Gatsby’s shock at Daisy’s child.  Sure, he had never met the girl before, but he seemed surprised that she actually existed and wasn’t just a figment of his imagination.  The parallels between Tom and Wilson, as pointed out by Nick on page 118, and when Nick’s faith was renewed in Gatsby on page 123 were two other events that I liked about chapter seven.

I think Myrtle’s death was intended to be the biggest event of the chapter, however, it didn’t really have as big an impact on me.  The racist comment “and next they’ll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white.” (124), made by Tom was what impacted me the most in this chapter.  I know in the 1920’s there was definitely much more racism, it still surprised me that Tom would make a comment like that.  Despite this, I found Jordan’s response to the statement really entertaining.  Pointing out the obvious, in what I envisioned would be a moment of silence, seems like something I would do if I were in her situation.

I thought it was refreshing and helpful that in this chapter the narrator clarifies Gatsby’s past.  He takes a timeout from the plot line to explain the truth of what happened to Gatsby.  This was helpful to me as a reader because throughout the previous chapters, there are various rumours and false pieces of information about Gatsby that we read, and until proven wrong I simply took these rumours as truths, having nothing else to go on.

When Tom and his two companions enter the scene in this chapter, from the manner in which they are presented to us and from the reaction their presence evokes from Mr. Gatsby, I got the impression there were going to be some punches thrown and a fight started before the chapter ended.  The whole feel of their encounter was like they were clashing as the tension built.  This situation felt like the characters were back on the playground in grade school.  The bully, Tom, and his entourage walking threateningly towards the victim, Gatsby, and his friend, Nick, who would probably end up being beaten up as well just for being friends with Gatsby.  “As though they care!” in response to Gatsby’s polite welcome is what cemented my view on the situation.

The thing that stands out most to me in this chapter is the awkward tension that occurs between Nick, Daisy, and Gatsby, before Nick leaves the two of them alone for a while.  When this scene starts on the bottom of page 83, Nick feels the unspoken tension between Daisy and Gatsby, and doesn’t really want to be there due to how awkward it is for him.  This was the first time in the novel where I have been able to connect normal experiences of my own to one of the events in the novel.  I have been in the situation Nick faced in this chapter, knowing there is tension between the two people you have brought together and now that they are face to face, wanting to escape the awkward and uncomfortable moment.

I connected a second time with the book through the character of Gatsby, the fangirl within me resonating with way he views Daisy after Nick returns and the awkward tension had been resolved.  Jay gazes at Daisy with a sense of wonderment, like he can’t believe that he is once again in the presence of a women with the beauty and grace that Daisy possesses.  Not only that, but she is enjoying herself and the time she spends with him, giving him an even further elated sense of happiness, reveling in each positive reaction she displays.

This chapter spends the first to pages (60 and 61) listing various names of people who visited Gatsby’s house that summer.  A brief point may be mentioned about them, such as “Edgar Beaver, whose hair, they say, turned cotton-white one winter afternoon for no good reason at all.” (60)  What I’m wondering is, why do this?  We don’t hear about any of these characters throughout the rest of the chapter, and I highly doubt their names will be mentioned again somewhere in a later chapter, so why spend two whole pages listing insignificant names of characters and some random information about them that contributes little to none of the plot and who we have never heard of before and will never hear of again?  Plus most of the names are obscure and difficult to pronounce.  The only name mentioned among these that I suspect may contribute to the story at some later time is Klipspringer, who visits often enough as to become known as “the border” in Gatsby’s home.

After getting past the pointless first two pages, there were some parts of the fourth chapter that I enjoyed and thought were well written.  The first was on page 64 when Nick was analyzing what Gatsby had said, or more importantly the way he said it, for example “He hurried the phrase ‘educated at Oxford’, or swallowed it, or choked on it, as though it had bothered him before.” (64)  I also liked it when Nick had to restrain his laughter because Gatsby’s phrases “were worn so threadbare that they evoked no image except that of a turbaned ‘character’ leaking sawdust at every pore as he pursued a tiger through the Bois de Boulogne.” (64)

Another positive about this chapter was the style of writing displayed during Jordan’s monologue spanning pages 72 to 76.  This is the only time throughout the first four chapters that I have enjoyed the novel for the high quality of writing that everyone acclaims Fitzgerald for having.

This chapter has been my favourite so far.  Unlike the chapters before it, Chapter 3 takes place in the exciting setting of Gatsby's mansion.  The in depth description of this enchanting scene allows the reader to create a bright and magical setting for the first time in the novel.  The reader can now let their imagination wander and fantasize about the various enchanting, intriguing, and mysterious elements that shroud Nick as explores the vast party and meets the various uninvited guests.

Another aspect of this chapter that I liked was the way the author introduced Gatsby.  For the first two chapters we have heard only rumours about this mysterious and alluring character and now that we meet him , we don't even know it's happening until it is pointed out to us.  My favourite descriptor that Fitzgerald has added about Gatsby is the line "It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five time in your life." on page 49.  It gave the impression to me that there were more characteristics about Gatsby than just his smile that you would not find in many men.  I also liked that Nick didn't just fall in love with Jordan, but rather  he "felt a sort of tender curiosity." (58)

Up until I read the line “Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand.” on page 39, I had found the chapter to be uneventful.  Aside from introducing us to the character of Myrtle, I had felt the chapter lacked important happenings up until that point.  Chapter 2 of The Great Gatsby introduced us to many new characters whom I can't see being very important at all, save for Myrtle.  I agree with Nick when wondering what Tom Buchanan's reasons were for suddenly introducing his wife's family member to his mistress.  I wish that we would have been given a better explanation than "I want you to meet my girl." (27) and "The supercilious assumption was that on Sunday afternoon I had nothing better to do." (27) on why Tom wanted Nick to meet Myrtle.

My first impression of Mrs. Wilson is that she wants to be controlling of every situation, as shown by how she treats over her daft and passive husband.  However, she doesn't really have much control over anyone but him.  Myrtle affection for her lover is one-sided.  She has a strong desire to be with Tom which contrasts greatly to his feelings towards her.  Mr. Buchanan treats Myrtle no more than a mere object who needs to know where her place is.