Interpreter of Maladies
By: Jhumpa Lahiri

In this short story, I noticed how often Lahiri used details that appealed to the senses.  There was effective imagery in every paragraph.  For example, on page 147 Lahiri describes "it was a dry, bright Saturday, the mid-July heat tempered by a steady ocean breeze, ideal weather for sightseeing" (Lahiri).  This quote appeals to the sense of feeling.  Readers are able to imagine feeling the heat of the sun and the smooth ocean breeze. On page 148 is another example of imagining feeling.  "...Mr. Das squeezed hands like an American so that Mr. Kapasi felt it in his elbow" (Lahiri).  I was able to imagine Mr. Das' firm and strong handshake with this quote.  We are also able to picture things based on the imagery presented, such as that on page 148.  "The family looked Indian but dressed as foreigners did, the children in stiff, brightly colored clothing and caps with translucent visors" (Lahiri).  I was able to easily visualize Tina, Ronny, and Bobby.  Their outfits were brightly colored and showy.  Another sense that is appealed to in this story is taste, which is exemplified on page 153.  "As soon as Mr. Kapasi put the gum in his mouth a thick sweet liquid burst onto his tongue" (Lahiri).  This description makes readers imagine the taste of a fresh, minty piece of gum.  Overall, Jhumpa Lahiri has no trouble engaging his readers into his short story.  He uses imagery so much that readers can imagine being thrust into the scenes that he describes.

Mr. Z
By: M. Carl Holman

I found this poem to be kind of confusing at first.  However, after reading it a second time, I found that is pretty simple to understand.  After figuring out Mr. Z's race, I really was able to understand the point of the poem.  Line 1 opens the poem by saying "taught early that his mother's skin was the sign of error" (Holman). From this quote, I discovered that Mr. Z is biracial.  His mother is African American, and I am assuming that this poem was written during times of discrimination if her skin was a "sign of error."  Mr. Z's father, on the other hand, is Caucasian.   I learned this when Holman mentions "firmly seized whatever ground was Anglo-Saxonized" (Holman).  Mr. Z apparently rejected his culture.  He rejected African American foods like cornbread, yams, and collards.  Mr. Z marries a former Jewish woman who now rejects the culture she was raised in, too.  The couple tries to avoid situations that associate them with their cultures.  Overall, I think that M. Carl Holman wrote this poem to express the difficulty one lives with when he/she wants to separate from the culture he/she was born into.  However, he wants to give hope to those that do reject their cultures.  Mr. Z was a very successful man.  I think that this detail helps bring a more positive attitude to the poem.

Hazel Tells Laverne
By: Katharyn Howd Machan

I honestly enjoyed this poem.  Katharyn Howd Machan puts her own twist onto the classic fairytale of The Frog Prince.  In the poem, the narrator describes her encounter with a talking frog.  She was innocently cleaning one evening; suddenly, a frog appeared in the toilet.  When the frog tells her that kissing him will turn her into a princess, the narrator thinks the idea is completely absurd and ridiculous.  Twice in the poem she says "me a princess," as if she still cannot wrap her mind around the idea.  As the narrator continues to recount the story, I came to the conclusion that she was uneducated.  She uses informal words such as "musta," "flushm," and "hitsm."  In addition, this poem contains no capitalization or punctuation.  I think that Katharyn Howd Machan did this to make the poem more casual and humorous.  Also, it makes it seem more realistic; readers can imagine the story being told personally to them.  I liked the surprising twist to this poem at the end.  Instead of the ending that is commonly known, the narrator explains that she "hitsm with my mop an has ta flush the toilet down three times" (Machan).  By this ending (and the situation overall), it is not hard to see that Machan had the intention to entertain her audience with a funny poem.  In my opinion, the lack of formal grammar achieved Machan's goal.

Everyday Use
By: Alice Walker

After reading this short story, I came to the conclusion that Maggie, Dee, and their mother are African American women.  I figured this out on page 175, when the mother explains that her school was closed down as a child.  "Don't ask me why: in 1927 colored asked fewer questions than they do now" (Walker).  An important literary device that I noticed Walker frequently uses is indirect characterization.  She describes things in great, specific detail.  Personally, Walker's descriptions of appearances and actions of the characters helped me better comprehend the situations taking place in the story.  The mother is a large woman. She is able to survive in tough conditions, which helps her work as hard as she does.  Dee, the oldest daughter, is described to have "nicer hair and a fuller figure" (Walker).  She seems to be a lot more independent and a bit high-maintenance.  Her sister Maggie is more shy and reserved.  Part of this is because of a fire that burned down their old house, which heavily affected the younger daughter.  Just by Walker's descriptions, readers are able to picture what the characters look like.  Knowing what they look like assists us in understanding their actions.  Dee seems like she is very concerned with preserving her heritage in the constantly changing world.  She has a strong desire for quilts that her grandmother made years ago.  She gets a little bit possessive and selfish over them, though.  This is where I came up with my thought that Dee is somewhat high-maintenance.  By the end of the story, it seems as though the mother has suddenly started acting differently.  When she denies Dee the two quilts, everyone in the scene acts shocked.  I assume that the mother is normally a push-over and wants to always please her daughters.  In addition to the mother's sudden change of character, Maggie has a slight change of attitude.  She sincerely smiles to her sister when she leaves, and Maggie is normally very awkward and standoff-ish.  She wouldn't even get into a picture with her mother at the beginning of the story.  By describing the looks and actions of the characters, Alice Walkers helps readers understand the different personalities of the women.

Dream Deferred
By: Langston Hughes

In this poem, Langston Hughes questions what happens when we put off a dream.  Does it eventually just go away?  Or is it possible for it to occur later?  Hughes gets his purpose across with the use of literary techniques, such as rhetorical questions, similes, and rhymes.  All of these are weaved throughout the poem, and they make his short poem carry a much deeper meaning.  The rhetorical questions cause readers to consider what does happen to dreams that are put off.  The similes are very descriptive and make readers really understand the possibilities.  Hughes uses the similes "like a raisin in the sun," "like a sore," "like rotten meat," "like a syrupy sweet," and "like a heavy load."  All of these similes are unique and cause readers to think more deeply about Hughes questions.  In addition to these techniques, Hughes uses rhymes.  Lines 3 and 5 complement each other by rhyming the words "sun" and "run."  Lines 6 and 8 do this with "meat" and "sweet."  Also, lines 10 and 11 are a couplet, ending with "load" and "explode."  I think that Hughes did this to emphasize his rhetorical questions.  By rhyming lines, he keeps readers engaged and interested in his poetry.

Perrine Poetry Blog Entry

As I first read page 1 of Perrine's article regarding his belief on interpreting poetry, I completely disagreed with him.  I did not agree that only the author's interpretation of his or her poetry was the only correct one.  Surprisingly, though, I ended up agreeing with Perrine.  I agree that we only are truly correct when we interpret the same as the author. We will never fully understand a poem if we try to alter the details of it to match our thoughts.  When Perrine said that we "must be able to account satisfactorily for any detail," I found this to be really surprising.  I had never thought of this when I have interpreted poems.  However, I honestly agree with him on this.  Adding in our twist into a poem alters the author's purpose, and we have no right to change what the author was writing about.  After reading this article, I have noticed that I do not sufficiently interpret poems.  I often would read it and guess what it meant, adding in my own details that never were actually mentioned in the poem.  (I did exactly what Perrine described in the example of wrongly understanding Emily Dickinson's poem about a sunset).  Hopefully after reading this, I am able to more closely interpret poems.  I think that it will cause me to take longer in searching for an understanding of them, but I really think that it will help me be more accurate in doing so.

One thing that struck me in this article was how off I was in my interpretation of Herman Melville's poem titled "The Night-March."  I assumed that it was about an army, similar to Walt Whitman's poem that was paired with it.  I obviously did not pay close enough attention to Melville's details.  As Perrine explained, Melville included multiple words to hint at the fact that he was writing about stars.  However, I showed a lack of attention to this, and I was very off in my understanding of the poem.  When we discussed these poems in groups last week, not one person in my group correctly interpreted this poem.  I think that this further proves that students do not recognize the best way to interpret poems.  Because two poems that we assumed to both be about armies were grouped together, we did not read deep enough into Melville's poem.  Readers must pay closer attention to details of poems; most authors do not make their poems easy to understand.  They require deep thought and imagination.  Authors put much effort into writing quality poetry; we should put equal effort into understanding their works.

The Great Gatsby (Blog 15)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

This book, along with The House of Mirth, shows that one can never truly achieve happiness by living the "American Dream."  It seems like this dream leads to the downfall of characters like Jay Gatsby and Lily Bart.  "I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all-Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life" (Fitzgerald, 176).  All five of these characters in The Great Gatsby were trying to live the "American Dream."  However, they never really fit into the lifestyle of the West, and this eventually destroyed all of them.  Gatsby was killed.  Daisy will probably never find happiness, especially now that she is staying with Tom.  Jordan and Nick do not end up together.  All of their lives are left empty and unhappy.  Nick eventually decides to avoid West Egg on Saturday nights, as it is too hard to remember the parties at Gatsby's.  "I spent my Saturday nights in New York, because those gleaming, dazzling parties of his were with me so vividly that I could still hear the music and the laughter, faint and incessant, from his garden, and the cars going up and down his drive" (Fitzgerald, 179).  I think that this quote proves that Gatsby had a greater impact on Nick's life than he could have ever imagined.

The American Dream that was so appealing
to the characters of this novel led to their
corruption and unhappiness.

Overall, I actually thoroughly enjoyed this book.  Unlike Edith Wharton, Fitzgerald was able to consistently keep me engaged in this book.  It was simple to understand, and there were not any parts that I found to be completely boring.  I definitely enjoyed this book a lot more than The House of Mirth!

The Great Gatsby (Blog 14)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Nick describes what it was like after Gatsby's death.  Nick tried so hard to contact a lot of people about the incident, and I found it upsetting that only a few people showed up to Gatsby's funeral.  I feel like all of the people just used him to go to his parties because they clearly didn't care enough about him to show up to his funeral.  They all made up excuses to not come.  I think that this shows that, besides a few people, Gatsby was ultimately a very lonely man.  I was shocked when Mr. Gatz, Gatsby's father, arrived; I had no idea that his parents were even alive.  When Mr. Gatz walked around Gatsby's house, I liked to see how proud he was of his son.  "He had reached an age where death no longer has the quality of ghastly surprise, and when he looked around him now for the first time and saw the height and splendor of the hall and the great rooms opening out from it into other rooms, his grief began to be mixed with an awed pride" (Fitzgerald, 168).  It seems like Gatsby's father had never been to his son's house, so he was not aware of how successful his son had become.  I expected Mr. Wolfsheim to come to the funeral, but he seemed to be too caught up in his work to care.  He said that he was extremely upset about the news, but I think it is a shame that he didn't show up to the funeral of his closest friend.  Another person that I expected to show up to the funeral was Daisy.  Nick never got a hold of her, yet I still think it's sad that she wasn't there because Gatsby really was in love with her.  When Owl-eyes showed up to the funeral, I honestly didn't even remember who he was at first.  I think this further proves that none of Gatsby's "friends" were sincere, but at least Owl-eyes made an effort.  I think that he really just had a desire to become close to Gatsby, which is why he probably showed up to the funeral.  Ultimately, I feel sorry for the lonely life that Gatsby lived.  I didn't realize how alone he must have been until Nick explained his funeral situation.

The Great Gatsby (Blog 13)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

After a sleepless night, Nick gets up very early to talk to Gatsby.  Nick tells Gatsby that his car will be easily traced, and he suggests that Gatsby leave West Egg immediately.  Gatsby ends up telling Nick of he and Daisy's past in Louisville.  At the time, Gatsby was not wealthy; this was the reason that Daisy did not marry him.  "However glorious might be his future as Jay Gatsby, he was at present a penniless young man without a past, and at any moment the invisible cloak of his uniform might slip from his shoulders" (Fitzgerald, 149).  After talking for awhile, Nick realizes that he must leave in order to catch his train.  "'They're a rotten crowd,' I shouted across the lawn.  'You're worth the whole damn bunch put together'" (Fitzgerald, 154).  I thought this was nice of Nick because, as he mentions, he never complimented Gatsby.  Meanwhile, back in the city, Wilson is struggling immensely with his wife's death from the previous night.  Honestly, he kind of goes crazy.  He starts saying that he knows Myrtle's lover is the one that killed her.  He begins a search to find Tom Buchanan, who he thinks will help him identify the car.  (Little does he know that Tom was Myrtle's lover.)  Tom tells Wilson that Gatsby was the driver.  Enraged, Wilson heads to Gatsby's West Egg mansion.  When he arrives at Gatsby's, he shoots Gatsby in the pool.  He then kills himself.  Both are dead by the time Nick arrives at Gatsby's house.  I could not believe this!  I didn't expect either of these men to die, especially not Gatsby!  This ending is already depressing, and I wonder how Nick is going to cope with the death of his good friend.  I also am curious to see how Daisy handles Gatsby's death, since she chose Tom over him the night before.

The Great Gatsby (Blog 12)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

I honestly could not put this book down while I read chapter 7!  It was so eventful, and I didn't expect any of this to happen.  On what is said to be the hottest day of the summer, Nick, Gatsby, and Jordan join the Buchanan couple at their house for lunch.  There is much tension building up during this lunch.  Daisy and Gatsby do a terrible job of hiding their love for each other.  As a result, Tom sees Daisy tell Gatsby that she loves him.  "She had told him that she loved him, and Tom Buchanan saw.  He was astounded.  His mouth opened a little, and he looked at Gatsby, and then back at Daisy as if he had just recognized her as some one he knew a long time ago" (Fitzgerald, 119).  Tom is infuriated, and he tells everyone that they are going into town.  Once in town, they decide to go up to a suite in the Plaza, where matters only get worse.  Gatsby has the nerve to confront Tom about his wife.  (Bad idea, old sport.)  As if he isn't already crazy enough, Tom explodes and goes off on Gatsby.  He says that Daisy does love him, and no one can understand their relationship.  I was so shocked when Daisy defended Tom!  News flash, Daisy: your husband is crazy, and everyone hates him.  Just earlier in the afternoon, she was telling Gatsby how much she loved him.  Make up your mind, Daisy!

After leaving the hotel, Nick, Tom, and Jordan notice that someone has been struck and killed by a car.  A man named Michaelis informs them that Myrtle Wilson is the victim.  It was a hit and run accident, so the scene is especially hectic.  Nick quickly connects the dots and discovers that Gatsby and Daisy were the ones that hit her.  After leaving the tragic scene, Nick returns to the Buchanan's house.  Gatsby tells Nick what happened.  Daisy was the one driving, but Gatsby says that he is going to take the blame.  I would say that this chapter offered a lot to take in!  I think that Gatsby will come forth and confess to the crime for Daisy.  This will probably land him in jail.  I also am predicting that Daisy and Tom are going to be fine again.  This is because Daisy was acting completely normal while talking and eating with him in her room after the accident.  I am not a big fan of Daisy Buchanan anymore!

P.S.  I love Nick Carraway's sense of humor!  "Angry as I was, as we all were, I was tempted to laugh whenever he opened his mouth.  The transition from libertine to prig was so complete" (Fitzgerald, 130).  This was Nick's description of witnessing Tom's crazy outbreak.  I thought this quote was really clever and funny!

The Great Gatsby (Blog 11)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

In chapter 6, Nick goes to Gatsby's house one evening after not seeing him for weeks.  When he gets there, he sees Tom Buchanan and Mr. and Mrs. Sloane.  Gatsby tells Tom that he knows his wife, which creates an awkward situation.  Tom seems concerned after learning about this.  "'I wonder where in the devil he met Daisy.  By God, I may be old-fashioned in my ideas, but women run around too much these days to suit me.  They meet all kinds of crazy fish'" (Fitzgerald, 103).  The following Saturday, Gatsby holds a party at his house.  Unfortunately, Daisy brings Tom with her.  Tom apparently did not trust Daisy to come to the party on her own.  "Perhaps his presence gave the evening its peculiar quality of oppressiveness-it stands out in my memory from Gatsby's other parties that summer" (Fitzgerald, 104).  Tom's presence at the party made it seem different from Gatsby's other parties, according to Nick.  Nick had a premonition that something bad could happen because of this.  I feel like Daisy acted a little bit different around Gatsby at this party.  She just seems like she is afraid of Tom (and I can't blame her).  However, she does get a short amount of time with just Gatsby.  "Then they sauntered over to my house and sat on the steps for half an hour, while at her request I remained watchfully in the garden" (Fitzgerald, 105).  Daisy wanted to spend time with Gatsby alone; however, she feared her husband's reaction.  She had Nick keep an eye out to make sure Tom didn't see them.  Nick realizes that Daisy has not enjoyed herself at all at this party, besides the 30 minutes she had with Gatsby.  Later on in the evening, Nick chats with Gatsby after the Buchanan couple has left.  Gatsby is very upset to notice that Daisy didn't seem to enjoy herself.  "He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say 'I never loved you'" (Fitzgerald, 109).  I hope that Daisy does build up the courage to end her marriage with Tom; however, she is so afraid of him that it is hard to predict whether or not she will.  Also, Tom just annoys me and I cannot stand him at all.  Daisy was right...she was crazy to marry Tom Buchanan.

The Great Gatsby (Blog 10)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

What is it about Mr. Jay Gatsby that
motivates people to make up so many
rumors about him?

Jay Gatsby seems to have a ton of rumors made up about him.  Early on in the novel, Nick was informed that Gatsby was rumored to be a murderer.  Another rumor about him was that he was a foreigner.  When chapter 6 opens, a newspaper reporter shows up at Gatsby's door to interview him.  Gatsby, caught off guard, has no clue why this man is at his home.  In my opinion, the most recent rumor about Gatsby sounds completely ridiculous.  "Contemporary legends such as the "underground pipe-line to Canada" attached themselves to him, and there was one persistent story that he didn't live in a house at all, but in a boat that looked like a house and was moved secretly up and down the Long Island shore" (Fitzgerald, 97).  I don't really understand what makes Gatsby so susceptible to rumors.  Is it because he doesn't try to defend himself when he learns of them?  Is it because he is shy and doesn't bother to bring attention to himself?  I don't really understand it, but I am curious to see if any of the rumors mentioned so far end up being true.  I also am wondering if Gatsby will build up enough courage to defend himself against all of these rumors.  Unlike many other wealthy people, I feel like Mr. Gatsby tries to remain more quiet.  Because he keeps to himself more than others, I think that people prefer to make up rumors about him since he probably won't defend himself.

The Great Gatsby (Blog 9)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

In the second half of chapter 5, Gatsby takes Daisy and Nick to his estate to give Daisy a tour.  I don't think that he necessarily was showing off for her.  Daisy is extremely impressed by Gatsby's belongings.  I thought it was sweet how glad Gatsby was to see Daisy again.  "He hadn't once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes.  Sometimes, too, he stared around at his possessions in a dazed way, as though in her actual and astounding presence none of it was any longer real" (Fitzgerald, 91).  I liked this part because Gatsby was so intrigued by Daisy's reactions to his belongings that he even started to admire all of his possessions.  Seeing Daisy interested in all of his belongings must have given Gatsby great satisfaction.  Gatsby eventually brings his friends to his bedroom, where he shows them all of his beautiful clothes.  "Suddenly, with a strained sound, Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily" (Fitzgerald, 92).  She tells Gatsby that she has never seen shirts so beautiful.  I believe that Daisy was overwhelmed with emotions already.  She was experiencing great joy to see Gatsby again, and she was now trying to take in all that he was showing her in his mansion.  Later, Gatsby takes them downstairs to have Mr. Klipspringer play them a song on the piano.  Soon, Gatsby realizes that his presence is no longer recognized; he decides to head back over to his house for the night.  Overall, Gatsby and Daisy clearly had a successful reunion.

The green light on Daisy Buchanan's dock represented
the distance that once separated them.  However, Gatsby cannot
see it through the rain the night they are together again.  This
is because there is no longer any distance between them.

One element of this chapter that I really liked was when Nick explained the symbolism of the green light at the end of the Buchanan's dock.  I honestly probably would have never even thought of this if Nick hadn't explained it to the readers.  "Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever.  Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her" (Fitzgerald, 93).  Before he reunited with Daisy, Gatsby could always see the green light on the dock.  It represented the distance between them.  The night that they are together, it is raining heavily when Gatsby looks out towards the dock.  Because of the rain, he is unable to see the green light.  This is symbolic of how no distance separates the two anymore.  Daisy is with Gatsby now.

The Great Gatsby (Blog 8)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

I think that the rain in this chapter symbolized the
conflict that Gatsby faced in reuniting with
Daisy.  He was unsure of how she would
react; in addition, he didn't know if their
relationship could be rekindled after 5 years.

I expected Jay Gatsby to act cocky to try to impress Daisy when they were reunited over tea at Nick's house in chapter 5.  However, I was shocked to see that he acted completely different from this.  (I have only read half of this chapter so far, though!)  He was so nervous and practically had a breakdown before Daisy's arrival.  Two days before the event, Gatsby offers to have someone cut Nick's grass.  The day that Daisy is to come over, Gatsby sends a gardener with flowers and a man to mow the lawn.  He seems so serious about this event, which is the reason I did not expect him to get so nervous.  When Nick brings Daisy into the house, Gatsby is nowhere to be seen.  He emerges and looks almost ill.  "Gatsby, pale as death, with his hands plunged like weights in his coat pockets, was standing in a puddle of water glaring tragically into my eyes" (Fitzgerald, 86).  I think that Gatsby was afraid that he and Daisy could never be the same.  Because of this, he turns the whole situation into an awkward mess.  Nick leaves the room for a brief period of time to leave Gatsby and Daisy alone.  "While the rain continued it had seemed like the murmur of their voices, rising and swelling a little now and then with gusts of emotions" (Fitzgerald, 88-89).  Once he re-enters the room, Nick is relieved to see the two reconnecting and happy to see each other.  It had been raining the whole day, but it stopped when the awkwardness between Gatsby and Daisy ended.  I think that the rain symbolized the conflict that Gatsby faced.  He didn't know how Daisy would react to seeing him after 5 years.  Furthermore, he was terribly worried that their relationship could never be the same.  When the rain stopped, I think that it symbolized the peace of mind Gatsby was now experiencing.  He and Daisy were talking and were emotional to finally see each other again.  In the end, the problems cleared (like the sky cleared of rain).  I believe that Gatsby and Daisy's relationship is going to progress from this point forward.

The Great Gatsby (Blog 7)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

I was shocked to learn about Gatsby and Daisy's past in chapter 4!  The "secret" that Gatsby built up was not anything as serious as I thought expected it to be.  When Nick makes Gatsby go with him to greet Tom Buchanan at the restaurant, I was confused as to why Gatsby got so embarrassed that he walked away.  Nick seems just as surprised as I was when Jordan Baker tells him the whole story of Gatsby and Daisy.  Jordan noticed the way that Gatsby looked at Daisy the first day she saw him.  "'The officer looked at Daisy while she was speaking, in a way that every young girl wants to be looked at some time, and because it seemed romantic to me I have remembered the incident ever since.  His name was Jay Gatsby, and I didn't lay eyes on him again for over four years-even after I'd met him on Long Island I didn't realize it was the same man'" (Fitzgerald, 75).  When Jordan proceeds to explain Daisy's meltdown before her wedding to Tom, I instantly figured that she must have realized she was really in love with Gatsby (although she hadn't seen him in years).  Jordan also mentions Daisy's reaction to Nick's speaking of Gatsby when he visited the Buchanan house in East Egg just six weeks earlier.  "'...-I was half asleep-she said in the strangest voice that it must be the man she used to know.  It wasn't until then that I connected this Gatsby to the officer in her white car'" (Fitzgerald, 77).  I found it interesting that Gatsby never gave up on reconnecting with Daisy; he constantly hoped that she would end up arriving at one of his parties.  He even bought his house in West Egg to be closer to her.  When he asked his guests if they knew her, he was excited to find that Jordan did.  This is the long conversation that the two must have shared in solitude at his party.  Daisy seems extremely lonely in her marriage, and I do not think she is happy at all.  (Not to mention, Daisy's husband is a complete jerk!)  Gatsby also seems like he isn't completely satisfied with his life.  I really would like to see the two of them find happiness together!  I have regained respect for Jay Gatsby at this point in the book.  In addition, I hope his reunion with Daisy at Nick's house goes well.

Side Note:  I was really surprised and excited at the sudden change in Jordan and Nick's relationship!

The Great Gatsby (Blog 6)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

In my last blog post, I showed favor towards Jay Gatsby; however, I am not so sure how I feel about him after continuing my reading into the first half of chapter 4.  In chapter 3, I thought the rumors of Gatsby being a murderer were completely ridiculous.  I still do not see him as one, but the whole secret with Jordan Baker is getting me kind of confused.  When he and Jordan were away from his party for over an hour, I was a little bit lost on what had just happened because they were acting very suspicious.  Now I am starting to think that they were just talking about Gatsby's "secret" that he needs Nick to be aware of.  I think it's a bit cowardly that he is making Jordan tell Nick.  Shouldn't he own up to this secret and tell Nick himself?  "'You see, I usually find myself among strangers because I drift here and there trying to forget the sad thing that happened to me'" (Fitzgerald, 67).  Stop building up the suspense, Gatsby!  I just want to know what the secret is!  Even Nick is getting annoyed with Gatsby over this matter.  He even starts to regret getting to know Gatsby.  "I was sure the request would be something utterly fantastic, and for a moment I was sorry I'd ever set foot upon his overpopulated lawn" (Fitzgerald, 67-68).  Nick is already to the point of not wanting to associate with Gatsby due to the annoyance this issue is causing him.  Gatsby (NOT Jordan) needs to tell Nick the truth because he is making himself sound very suspicious!  I am questioning what Gatsby is really like at this point in the novel.

P.S.- At first I thought he was just trying to be friendly by calling Nick "old sport," but Gatsby says it so often that I am starting to wonder why he attaches this phrase onto the end of EVERYTHING he says to Nick.

The Great Gatsby (Blog 5)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

As random as this is, I pictured this library from Disney's
Beauty and the Beast when Nick described
Gatsby's library in this chapter.

Well, it's about time that we are introduced to Mr. Jay Gatsby!  Besides characters mentioning him briefly prior to chapter 3, it was difficult to know much of anything about Gatsby.  However, now that I have learned more about him and actually know his character, I really like Gatsby!  He seems to have more money than he knows what to do with, and he throws some very extravagant parties.  Aside from this, he seems like a genuinely nice person.  For example, at Gatsby's last party, a young girl named Lucille had a small incident that involved the dress she wore.  "'When I was here last I tore my gown on a chair, and he asked me my name and address-inside a week I got a package from Croirier's with a new evening gown in it'" (Fitzgerald, 43).  I thought that this was so sweet of Gatsby because at least he is willing to use some of his money for others.  I also liked that Gatsby was so interested in getting to know Nick.  I really like Nick Carraway, and he seems like he could get along with Gatsby well.  One thing that I thought was strange, though, was that most of Gatsby's guests either don't know him or just don't see him the whole time they are at his house.  I think that Gatsby at least makes an effort to try to associate with the people, but he kind of comes off as a shy and standoff-ish man.  For example, when the band was playing Jazz History of the World, he was just standing on his porch watching everyone.  "The nature of Mr. Tostoff's composition eluded me, because just as it began my eyes fell on Gatsby, standing alone on the marble steps and looking from one group to another with approving eyes" (Fitzgerald, 50).  I think that maybe Gatsby just stood back to make sure that his guests were all enjoying themselves, but I am not really positive.  Overall, I appreciate Gatsby's character as he comes off as a kind and genuine man.  Hopefully he continues to act this way throughout the rest of the novel!

The Great Gatsby (Blog 4)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

This picture depicts Jay Gatsby's house in the
film adaptation of The Great Gatsby.

Although I am not very far into this novel yet, I have already frequently taken note of Fitzgerald's excessive use of imagery.  He fabricates some really elaborate pictures for his readers.  When I first began chapter 3, I was really impressed with how much I was able to envision the extravagant parties at Gatsby's that Nick Carraway described.  Early on in the novel, the description of Gatsby's West Egg mansion helped paint a vivid picture in my mind; however, now I am able to envision more little details about his house.  Also, I am able to try to picture what his parties and guests looked like.  "On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains.  And on Mondays eight servants, including an extra gardener, toiled all day with mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammers and garden-shears, repairing the ravages of the night before" (Fitzgerald, 39).  This thorough description proves that Gatsby goes all out for his parties, and he certainly invites a large number of people (although, Nick says that most people show up without an invite).  It also sounds like a great deal of drinking occurs at Gatsby's parties.  "The bar is in full swing, and floating rounds of cocktails permeate the garden outside, until the air is alive with chatter and laughter, and casual innuendo and introductions forgotten on the spot, and enthusiastic meetings between women who never knew each other's names" (Fitzgerald, 40).  Apparently so many people show up at Gatsby's that it is impossible to remember everyone's names.  Nick does end up mentioning that he was actually invited to one of Gatsby's parties.  "I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby's house I was one of the few guests who had actually been invited" (Fitzgerald, 41).  I am only a couple pages into this chapter, but I find it interesting that Gatsby invited Nick, considering they have never formally met.  When Nick described how he got invited, I was pretty surprised because it seemed so random.  However, I feel like Nick is going to become good friends with Mr. Jay Gatsby, even though he criticized Gatsby's showy way of life at the very beginning of the novel.

The Great Gatsby (Blog 3)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Tom Buchanan just gave me better reasoning to hate him!  When I read chapter 1, I sensed that Daisy Buchanan feared her husband, and I can't blame her!  In chapter 2, Tom takes Nick into town, where he introduces him to his lover Myrtle Wilson.  I haven't decided how I feel about Myrtle yet; however, I feel awful for her after what Tom did to her at the end of chapter 2.  Tom, Nick, Myrtle, Catherine (Myrtle's sister), and the McKee's are having a "party" and drinking heavily in the apartment.  Based on how much they were drinking, I knew something bad was going to happen, and my assumption was correct.  Tom and Myrtle were arguing about whether or not Myrtle should be allowed to mention Daisy's name.  "'Daisy!  Daisy!  Daisy!' shouted Mrs. Wilson.  'I'll say it whenever I want to!  Daisy!  Dai-' Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand" (Fitzgerald, 37).  Tom Buchanan is CRAZY!!!  I cannot believe that he would even think to hit a woman, and I do not think that saying he was extremely drunk justifies his action.  I hope that after this Myrtle realizes that Tom isn't as good to her as she initially thought.  She explained to Nick and Catherine that she was crazy when she decided to marry her husband, but I think it would be even crazier for her to stay with Tom after he broke her nose.  I am guessing that Tom is going to continue to give me reasons to dislike him.  Also, I am thinking that this event was not Tom's first time hurting a woman.  To put it simply, Tom Buchanan is a jerk.

The Great Gatsby (Blog 2)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Although I do not know much about any of the characters yet, I do not like Tom Buchanan at all so far.  In chapter 1, Jordan Baker informs Nick that Tom has been unfaithful to his wife.  I think Tom is way too caught up in his riches, and he is completely disrespectful towards his wife Daisy.  He is having an affair with a woman in New York, and he doesn't seem to be very private about it.  However, I can't tell if Daisy really knows about the affair or if she is just suspicious.  When Tom leaves the dinner table to answer the phone call from this currently unknown woman, Daisy rushes to try to listen in on the conversation.  Towards the end of chapter 1, I began to feel much sympathy for Daisy.  She does not appear to be happy with her current life at all.  She talks with Nick on the porch and expresses her frustrations in her life.  She opens up to Nick about how her lifestyle has changed who she is.  "'Well, I've had a very bad time, Nick, and I'm pretty cynical about everything'" (Fitzgerald, 16).  In this quote, Daisy confesses that she has become a more negative person since she has been married to Tom.  I found this sad because it doesn't seem like Tom and Daisy really even love each other.  Another topic of discussion between Nick and his cousin is about the Buchanan's infant.  Daisy tells Nick a story about when her daughter was born, which I was actually kind of confused about.  She tells Nick that when she found out she had a baby girl she said, "'I'm glad it's a girl.  And I hope she'll be a fool-that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool'" (Fitzgerald, 17).  After reading this, I was confused because I honestly have no clue what Daisy means.  Overall, though, I have found that I like the character of Daisy Buchanan thus far.  Although she gets to enjoy everything she could possibly want, she seems to be kind-hearted.  I am predicting that her relationship with Nick is going to evolve into a much stronger one as the book progresses.