Wednesday, 5 December 2012

The Great Gatsby - Chapter 3

As you begin reading the chapter you are introduced to the extravagance of Gatsby's Parties and his lifestyle. Nick describes to us the setting of the garden, one quote mentioning the "blue gardens". Me and my group discussed this quote and came up with the idea that the phrase represented the blur blood of royalty therefore suggesting that the guests or host himself were royalty, whereas, they are not - this is just the way they consider themselves.Within this scene we get our first impression of Gatsby, "he smiled understandably..."
One scene in particular made me think that Gatsby thought of his life as perfect, so perfect that it seemed almost unreal.

Again in this scene we notice how observant Nick the narrator is. He notices all the colors of the outfits people are wearing and he analyses everything he sees. Especially when hem meets Gatsby for the first time and he begins to learn more about him, it makes him eager to know more about the man and his background/past.
We also realise that, although Nick has been part of many busy scenes, he is infact lonely. On page 57 he says that he likes to "pick out romantic women from the crowd and imagine that in a few minutes i was going to enter their lives". It makes him  seem alienated as though hes always on the outside looking in than on th inside looking out. This gives me the idea that, when he is around all his 'friends' he isnt really as confident as he seems and that hes trying to please them.
One quote gave me the idea that Nick, in order to become more popular, was influenced by Tom when he was mentioning his affair.

We learn more about three character within this scene;
  1. Jordan - shes a cheat, she gets what she wants, rumours
  2. Gatsby - important
  3. Nick  - Confident, Influenced by Tom (looks up o him?) 

The Great Gatsby - Chapter 2

Tom and Myrtle (Mrs Wilson) are having an affair.


Strong us of adjectives;
  • "the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic - their retinas are one yard high"
Within this chapter we learn lots about nick. Nick is an extreme observer, he takes in all of his surroundings and every little thing is significant to him.  Nick is also extremely judgmental as he always has something to say about everyone he meets;
  •  "a thickish figure of a woman blocked out the light from the office door."
  • "the only car visible was the dust-covered wreck of a ford"
  • "he was a blond, spiritless man, anaemic and faintly handsome"

The Great Gatsby - Chapter 1

Within the first chapter we find out the narrator is Nick, one of the characters. Nick begins explaining himself, also telling us a little of Gatsby. We start to learn a little about the life of Nick; where hes living, where he works etc. We also begin to see that Nick is unlike the other people that he lives around and converses with, he explains his area as home to the "new rich". Nick explains his connections to people living in East Egg. Nearing the end of the chapter Nick sees his neighbor, Gatsby, for the first time