Thoughts on the Great Gatsby.

'I'm right across from you',very obvious to say- use of language throughout this chapter remains descriptive and also has imagery.

- Nervous Gaiety?  - why would this be said to decribes how the character feels- how can a person be nervous about being joyful and why?

• nick almost feeds tension into the story in how it's told, he controls the narrative, how its told and there you could argue creates the layers in how the story unexpectably evolves inthe end.

Main Narrative points
- Materialism
-Use of time
-Colour
-Emotion
-Repetition
-Dialogue
-Dramatic moments tension arises.

Form
use of personifiication - Cars are expectant and sulky
use of telephones to tel the story - a way of structuring the dialogue through conversations
Use of futer dramatic moments
Nick iis crafting the story acting as the novelist building, setting up the narrative and the way we read it.
Fitzgerald as a writer states delicately what and how love seems to be an important part of the story.
Hyperboles - use of exaggration not to be take literally.

The great Gatsby Chapter Four

Chapter Four

·         How to portray The great Gatsby

-         Chapter Four

·         Why would Gatsby be the type of character to throw lavish Parties? But wants discretion with the type of work he does as we later found out though the story as it unfolds.

Thoughts – this would be the type of question I would ask myself, as to why Gatsby has a contradicting and contrasting personality. Gatsby is a quiet person and yet manages to throw the most lavish parties within his big extravagant mansion; thereby society’s entire elite make an appearance. There are such contradicting sides to Gatsby as Fitzgerald portrays him as a quiet character in the way he also achieved his success in dodgy dealings.

Q. But then how long can that go on when you let everyone who you don’t know into your house – making assumptions and speculating about the type of person you are or where you come from – which brings the point of wanting secrecy come with a lot of discrete dealings I.e. – not drawing attention to yourself- so why would you risk all of that is another question I would ask myself.

·         Nick didn’t expect Gatsby to ever make an appearance to him in particular.

·         I suppose you could argue that he always remained a mysterious person people gave him the reputation of being quiet a respectable “Rich” man, even though behind his back people are talking about him and judging him without knowing him

·         ‘Good Morning, Old sport. You’re having lunch with me today and I thought we’d ride up together’

·         The fact that Gatsby approached Nick, surprises him when Gatsby asks nick about ‘how nick finds him?’ I find it very interesting and unexpected as a man with that much to his name and status would not ask anybody what they think about him – he wouldn’t even care – This is the part where I really find Gatsby interesting as it is again unexpected.

·         ‘What’s your opinion of me anyhow? ‘Well, I’m going to tell you something about my life’, he interrupted’. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea of me from all these stories you here’.

·         Q. why does Gatsby want Nick in particular not to have any wrong impressions of him? At this point there seems to be a sort of ‘proving’ if you will not just to Nick but to society as well that he is genuinely the person he presents himself to be.

The Great Gatsby - Chapter Three.....

Chapter Three

·         Starts with the sound and imagery of a picturesque Setting.

·         Describing the Guests as ‘Driving’ seems to me as they are swarming towards Gatsby Metaphorically speaking.

·         Again Materialism – Motorboats, Roll Royce, servants- ‘An extra gardener – ‘Toiled all day with mops and scrubbing Brushes- Repairing the ravages of the night before’ – makes Gatsby’s character seems so powerful – wants everything to always look up to standard.

·         Get a sense of time – the schedules everything to its own time/day.

·         Every Friday five crates of oranges and lemons arrived – Every Monday these same oranges and lemons left- pulped halves. – as sense of how engrossed Gatsby is to every detail of finery as is Nick in the way he observes Gatsby  and the way the happenings are in his household.

·         ‘By 7’oclock the orchestra arrived etc. – again sound, the extravagance of a big band – showing power in the ability to order such a band.

·         The glamour and splendour painting a picture of materialism a description of sound ‘the air is alive with chatter and laughter.

·         Scenery – meetings between women who never knew each other’s names – seems like the place to be to meet societies Elite.

·         Nick again coming across as being very attentive with the goings on of Gatsby’s house.

Questions to ask myself

·        Why is Nick so Attentive and observant about a person he doesn’t even know about, why does it matter to him, and yet it seems that the ones that do come and visit Gatsby in the interim of the story, he knows only a bit about them yet does not go into much detail, but focuses ONLY on Gatsby, Even though Nick is the narrator of the play who you would also assume to be the protagonist of the  play, in relation to the title of the Book, I would actually argue and say the Character of Gatsby as essential as he is in the whole play, as it is about him and his lifestyle, I would say that he is the true Protagonist if the play

Continuation of Chapter Three

·         Nick becomes somewhat elated that he is personally invited to Gatsby’s party

·         Also even though they are thought to be societies elite their conduct within the party wasn’t. ‘Once they were introduced by somebody who knew Gatsby and after conducted themselves according to the rules of behaviour associated with an amusement park’ –Which contrasts with how society’ elite is supposed to act.

·         By Gatsby Saying ‘Little Party’ he tries to shadow the fact that isn’t that but a big party.

·         All the guests especially are interested and curious about the character of Gatsby!? , Which I find really amusing as it shows how human curiosity can play on the mind, making people assume, curious etc.

·         Description of Gats by as a character comes to light, even though they know nothing about him I find this part very intriguing to read.

·         Word of mouth – Facts – Insinuations – Assumptions etc.

·         This chapter seems to be the chapter that introduces Gatsby ‘ Man of the hour’

·         A sense of wanting to impress – Nick in particular – as Nick looks at the collection of books within Gatsby’s library – ‘They’re absolutely real. Pages and – Here! Lemme show you!

·         Scenery again ends with - describing that there was dancing now on the canvas in the garden.

The Great Gatsby Chapter Two....

Chapter Two

·         At the start of chapter two a scenery is set ‘The valley of ashes’ a morbid setting far from the Fashionable palaces of East Egg, which sets the contrast between glamour and a ‘certain desolate area of land’ as Nick so describes it.

·         You also get how the contrast starts to make the reader aware of the descriptive surrounding narrated by Nick.

·         The starting of chapter two is just very morbid, with the use of colour to describe his surroundings, you get to see how everything changes from being in ‘Deep Summer’ in Chapter One to how everything seems grey, ‘a fantastic farm, where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens’.

·         Everything suddenly changes in mood.

·         ‘The Eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg’, which Nick emphasises within the story and object personified, he makes the sign board seem so real in the way he described it, as if the eyes are always watching everybody, but that he gives it human significance – ‘ But His Eyes’.

·         The point where we find that Tom has a mistress – which tells us that wealth alone doesn’t make person happy.

·         Tom’s mistress is the wife of a mechanic, which is an important factor as it shows how materialism easily fits in- a person easily impressed by riches. Mechanics would have at that time had to scrape by and not afford that which Tom possesses.

·         But that even in being with the mechanics wife he is still has carries his dominating character - ‘No he doesn’t,’ said Tom coldly. ‘And if you feel that way about it, maybe I’d better sell it somewhere else after all.’

·         you also get the sense that myrtle as a women has authority over her husband when she orders him,- as women of that time would get servants to do it for them if well off, or they’d do the chores in the house themselves if not so well off –‘Get some chairs, why don’t you, so somebody can sit down’. ‘Oh sure,’ agreed Wilson hurriedly.’

·         Also contradictory to the events happening where he says ‘He’s so dumb he doesn’t even know he’s alive.’ And yet even after saying that he still ‘Waited for her down the road and out of sight.’

·         We also get the feeling that Myrtle seems to have power in the sense that she gets whatever she desires in chapter Two as she becomes the one who decides what she wants.

The Great Gatsby Chapter one....

The Great Gatsby

·         The book starts with the opening of reflection, the start of descriptive imagery.

·         - Seems to be thinking of the past, informing us of his childhood, Nick as we come0to find out throughout the book becomes the first voice of the whole story the narrator telling us the incidents within the story.

·         There is also that distinctive divide between the rich and the poor, which is very detailed in the way its described I.e. West Egg- Being the poorer side, East Egg – Being the richer side of the two -‘Across the courtesy Bay the white palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered along the water’.

·         A show of Materialism again very descriptive in that there is segregation, wealth

·         The character of Nick very quiet observant.

·         Chapter One generally focuses on the imagery of story which find Nick narrating to the readers, mainly about his father though, which suggests the string paternal link between them but also what type of man his description of his father, suggesting what type of character Nick has evolved to become through the course of the book.

·         There is the fascination with judging the characters of people within the book yet at first he started with advice from his father years ago ‘Whenever you feel like criticising anyone,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had’. But having said that he ‘reserves all judgement’, it comes to question the people he comes across with throughout the book.

·         The Starting of Phase one in the section of the book begins with descriptive imagery again Nick describing the type of family he came from and how highly sought within society they were.

·         In order to fit into the norms of society he had to become something everybody else was that he knew, - ‘So I decided to go east and learn the Bond business. Everybody I knew was in the Bond business’.

·         Also that Time is an essential component in this section of the story Nick is always using time ‘Spring of twenty-two, Graduating from New Haven in 1915’.

·         But one begins to wonder him talking about the Prominence of his family and yet moves into a ‘Weather-beaten cardboard bungalow at eighty a Month’?

·         How Nick compares himself to the people he comes across with, their wealth and his, houses, money- again description of materialism, superficiality of society and the glamour people ignorantly would show off in society.

You almost get the feeling that Nick the character feels sorry for himself that he hasn’t attained all that which he admires the most, the worldly possessions which he doesn’t have that people of his age have, and example being Toms, daisy’s husband and Nick’s cousin.- ‘It was hard to realise that a man in my own generation was wealthy enough to do that’.

Get a sense of the rich having some underlying power over the poor, showing Toms’ authority and dominance when he first meets Nick

-‘Now, don’t think my opinion on these matters Is final,’ he seemed to say, ‘just because I’m stronger and more of a man than you are’.

Use of words linked to Toms Character – A national figure, physical accomplishments, powerful.

His use of character description is also a way of telling the story, and the description of character voices – ‘his voice, a gruff husky tenor’

Imagery creating the scenery of the story -