The Great Gatsby Read Along: Chapters 7 to Finish

With the release of The Great Gatsby movie tomorrow, I had to pull it together to get our final discussion up for the novel.  Today my AP Literature students took their AP test, so I'm praying that I stop dreaming of sonnets, thesis statements, and the best way of teaching iambic pentameter.  Seriously.  The other morning I woke up reciting types of poetry, "Elizabethan Sonnet, sestina, ballad, ode, elegy..."  It was maddening, and has left me exhausted.  I have had a really great group of students this year, who worked like crazy.  I'm sure they did great.

So, back to Gatsby and his crazy life.  What's not crazy about these final chapters and why did I love it so much?  It's not that I love to see things fall spectacularly and dramatically apart, but that I love to see the mind of an author throw down on the page.  What can we say?  Fitzgerald royally threw down on the page and left it all there for us to mull over for years to come.

How much do I recount from these final chapters?  Do we talk about Daisy icing Gatsby out?  Do we talk about why Gatsby stuck around and didn't see the writing on the wall?  Do we talk about Tom's crazy lover, Myrtle, and her date with a speeding car?  Do we dive into the crazy jerkish person Tom is, who seems more lacking in conscience than any character we've encountered?  Or, do we look at Nick one last time and ask how much of all of this his narration shaped for us?  I don't even know.  I can see that any one of these could make for a full and exhaustive post.  Instead, here's what stood out to me:

• Mr. Wilson. 
  
  He seemed so pathetic and sympathetic all at the same time.  His massive panic over his wife's affair and determination to take her away from that crazy place was understandable.  I think we can all see that Myrtle wanted to escape her mundane life with her mechanic, gas station owning husband, but Mr. Wilson seemed like a truly pathetic character that I finally saw with new eyes.
• The color blue.  Back in my post "The Great Gatsby Read Along: Chapters 3 to 4," I mentioned the strange use of the color blue to describe the yard.  Here in the final chapter of the novel, Nick comments, "So when the blue smoke of brittle leaves was in the air and the wind blew the wet laundry stiff on the line I decided to come back home" (176).  I get that smoke can be blue, but the way Fitzgerald has used it on several occasions in the novel has left me thinking about its significance--if any.  I just haven't pictured lawns or yards as blue.
• The fact that Gatsby admits he originally only got together with Daisy because he wasn't sure he could, and then only wanted to get what he could for a time.  In the end, he didn't expect to fall in love with Daisy.  I don't remember Gatsby being a playboy.  No judgment here.  I just didn't remember that detail from his story.
• Nick's soft spot for Gatsby.  After the dirty business with the murder, Nick is the one who finds him.  Nick is the one who feels it deeply that Gatsby should not be alone in his death.  Nick is the one who recalls telling Gatsby, after a party, "'They're a rotten crowd,' I shouted across the lawn. 'You're worse the whole damn bunch put together.' I've always been glad I said that" (154).    Nick saw something in Gatsby, perhaps as the true tragic, mislead figure in the whole story?
• Zelda.  Yes, I thought about Fitzgerald's wife Zelda, who was supposed to have suffered from schizophrenia and whom he supposedly fashioned his character Daisy.  Was there a twisted sort of love/hate relationship with Daisy and Zelda?  On page 179, Nick reflects, "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy--they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let others clean up the mess they had made..."  Having had a relative with schizophrenia, parts of these lines resonated with me with a frustration that I wondered whether Fitzgerald might have been dealing with?
• The past.  This theme, reliving the past or facing the past, runs through the novel until the very end.  I love the last two paragraphs of the novel and their final dealings with Gatsby's desire to relive the past or to recreate it.  Maybe it's something we all want, because we idealize the past in some way?  In reality we can't escape the past, because it is our present, and yet we also can't relive it.  How ironic.  As Nick concludes, "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back carelessly into the past" (180). Beautifully thought provoking.

So what stood out to you in these final chapters? Does the title then tell us that Nick put aside the tall tales of our main hero and found him to be "The Great"?  I kind of like to think so, but wonder what that then says about the other characters that brought about Gatsby's demise. 

Anyway, here are a few questions:

1. What do you think happened to Daisy after the "accident" with Myrtle?  What conversation do you think happened between she and Tom?
2. Was the laser-point focus of Gatsby his own sick fault, or did he ever have a real chance with Daisy?  Could they have ever had a life?
3. What is it about the past that we somehow can never escape it or relive it?  Or can we actually relive parts of it, and so that gives us some sick hope?
4. What most stood out to you in these final chapters?
5. What do you most look forward to seeing in the film?

Well, thank you to all who joined in on the Read Along!  Now I hope we can all get to the movie this weekend and have one last Gatsby chat.  Thanks again!  Don't forget to leave a comment with a link to your post, if you choose to participate.  

The Great Gatsby Read Along: Chapters 5 and 6

Not a lot of reading for this week, but some pretty serious development happened.  Rather than a chapter by chapter run down, I wanted to maybe focus in on the multiple perspectives at play in the story.  We have Gatsby's perspective, Daisy's perspective (of sorts), and Gatsby and Daisy as a couple perspective--well, and we always have Nick's perspective as our narrator.  Let me explain what I mean here.

Gatsby's Perspective:  Gatsby really reveals himself to be this insecure little boy behind the big money bravado.  It seems that no amount of power or money can hide him from his insecurities about Daisy.  We get that they have a past, but what in the world happened between these two to cause him to be so completely insecure?  That is the question that these chapters seem to be highlighting with greater and greater emphasis.

Gatsby's eagerness in chapter 5 to learn whether Nick has talked to Jordan Baker about Daisy, is palpable.  Gatsby won't come out and ask, "He waited, looking at me with suppressed eagerness" (82).  It is the great unspoken plea, to which Nick reassures him that he will set it all up.  And yet, Gatsby highlights through his protests, just how much he does want Nick to invite Daisy in his line, "'Oh, that's all right,' he said carelessly, 'I don't want to put you to any trouble'" (82).  This feels like it needs a Gertrude line from Hamlet ("The lady doth protest too much") to explain it.  In what Gatsby dances around in these chapters, he paints a more delicate and insecure portrait of himself than any narrating of his woes to the audience.

Gatsby has SO many moments of complete emotion-filled vulnerability, that I could fill paragraphs with his behavior and words.  He is antsy, sleepless, and "bored" one moment, only to frantically second guess himself and berate himself for what he believes Daisy feels (or doesn't feel).  On one hand he plays it cool, while on the other he reveals just the opposite (Hello!  Showing her clippings about her life?).  Jay Gatsby is on a mission, and that mission is Project Get-Daisy-to-Leave-Tom-and-Marry-Me.  Or, as he remarks at the end of chapter 6, to repeat the past.

Daisy's Perspective:  Does anyone really know what she is thinking?  I think it's easy to jump to a hatred of Daisy, but I keep coming back to all we've learned about her.  A seemingly unhappy (at best) marriage to Tom (loveless at worst), an acceptance of her fate with Tom out of a need for security (financial AND social?), and a recognition of her dependence on men as a woman (thinking back on her "little fool" comment from earlier), all leave me believing that she is reacting from a place of hurt and fear.  Maybe it might be easiest for her to ditch Tom to return to Jay?  It seems that might be what she has in mind from her behavior around Gatsby.  And yet, she hasn't made a move to remove Tom from her life.  Would she dare?

Gatsby and Daisy Perspective:  There are these moments in the story that struck me.  When they were together, Daisy shed tears over their past,  Gatsby revealed he'd followed her life, Daisy acted much calmer, and Gatsby could back off and be a bit more subtle in his pursuit (the music wafting from the doorway after the party, "...in the very casualness of Gatsby's party there were romantic possibilities absent from her world.  What was it up there in the song that seemed to be calling her back inside?"). 

In Summary:  I love the multiple layers to these characters.  There is a lot of acting going on at a surface level--which we all do, while the real vulnerability hovers just under the surface to pop up and reveal itself.  As Nick says, Gatsby has an "appalling sentimentality," that grabs at all of us.

Line I Snickered At:  After Gatsby and Daisy reconnect at Nick's house, Nick excuses himself so they can talk in private.  On his way back in, he states, "I went in--after making every possible noise in the kitchen, short of pushing over the stove--but I don't believe they heard a sound" (89).  Yea, I can't help but picture Nick bumbling his way back into the house.  What did he think they were doing, anyway...  Too funny.

Okay.  I've rambled on way too much as it is!  There is so much I could go back to say in these chapters, but I'm looking forward to now finishing it up so that we can pull it all together.

Here are some of my questions for this week:

1. I'm reminded of a psychology lesson I once learned, that states that the person with the least interest in the relationship, controls it.  Is that person Daisy?  Is she so "secure" with Tom that Gatsby could be no more than a momentary diversion from her unhappiness?  
2. Did you have any lines that jumped out at you in these chapters?
3. How has your opinion of Gatsby and Daisy changed now that they have finally met again?

Well, thank you again for joining me!  This has been fun to revisit. 

 Please share if you would like!  Whether you've drafted up a blog post with your thoughts (which I hope you'll link), or you share some of your thoughts in the comments, I hope you jump in.

Just as a reminder, this coming week we'll be reading from Chapter 7 to the end.  Happy reading!  I hope to see what you're thinking!

The Great Gatsby Read Along: Chapters 3 and 4

Thanks for your patience this last week.  Midterms and prom really kicked me in the behind.  I don't think life is going to slow down much until the end of May, but this last week was just a bit crazier than normal, so thanks again for waiting on me!!!

Let's talk Jay Gatsby!  We know that he is the central character of this novel, and yet we don't learn much about him until Chapter 3.  It seems to me that authors usually like to introduce that main character to us much earlier than we see here.  In some ways, holding off until this third chapter added this element of mystery that has been built around him.

Right off, I have to say that I loved the descriptions about the party.  Maybe it's the foodie in me, but I love some good food references along with the style, fashion, and mood of the scene.  The mention of the oranges, the baked meats, and varied liquor all gave it that extra luxurious feel.  Fitzgerald didn't have to tell us Gatsby was rich, he SHOWED us in the most alluring ways. 

The one thing I noticed outside of the visuals created by the party was the references to colors, "his blue gardens" (39), "yellow cocktail music" (40), and "a uniform of robin-egg's blue" (41).  These interested me mainly because I couldn't quite put together why certain colors matched what it was describing.  I can see the uniform being a blue color, maybe as a certain stand out color, but gardens that are blue or music that is yellow?  I've been mulling that one and have only determined that they lend a certain tone and interest factor to the scene.

What descriptions most stood out to you as you read these chapters?

Gatsby definitely has charisma and charm, which is reflected in chapters 3 and 4.  One moment in chapter 3 especially made me want to understand Gatsby, and that is after he initially introduces himself to Nick and admits that he is not the best host.  He gives Nick a look:

He smiled understandingly--much more than understandingly.  It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance over it, that you may come across four of five times in life.  It faced--or seemed to face--the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor.  It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, hoped to convey. (48)

I loved this description of Gatsby, and have to say that besides feeling somewhat sad for him for not being involved in his own parties, I also can see how his actions and descriptions like this make us want to know Gatsby's background so we can understand him better.  What kind of sadness lurks behind a facade like this? 

So, what is Gatsby's story? He pulls Jordan Baker aside, which Nick later learns has to do with her connection to Daisy.  He hears rumors of Gatsby being a bootlegger and a German spy.  Then, in chapter 4 Gatsby, himself, introduces Nick to Mr. Wolfsheim--the guy who fixed the 1919 World Series?!?  All of the stories, and Gatsby's own "side-eyed" account of his life at Oxford, in the Great War, and awarded a medal of honor from places like Montenegro, all seem too colorful to believe.  If true, what a colorful and interesting character.

Once again, I find Nick an interesting observer in all of this.  Is Gatsby's interest in Nick just because of his connection to Daisy, and the fact that he is Gatsby's next door neighbor?

 My favorite part of the reading for this last section was Jordan Baker's reminiscences and story.  We finally get to hear about Daisy's early connection to Jay Gatsby prior to the war, followed by her marriage to Tom--who cheats on Daisy within a week of their marriage.  After telling Daisy's story, Jordan reveals her sympathy for all Daisy has put up with in Tom and tells Nick, "There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired.  And Daisy ought to have something in her life" (79).  In other words, she wants Nick to host Daisy at his home so that she can look onto Gatsby's property. 

These are interesting turns in the story, and I really was left wondering how Nick is supposed to feel about all of this.  Isn't he being pulled into a drama that can only be bad news?  These are high-rollers he's associating with, who are "cheating" in their personal and public lives.  At this point in the story, let the drama ensue!

We're obviously setting the ground work for additional drama to come.  Here are just a few questions I wanted to pose and have been considering:

1. What do you think of Gatsby's absence from his own parties?
2. Is Gatsby a character you feel sympathy or cynicism towards?
3. Are we supposed to feel for Daisy as Jordan does, and if she really wanted to meet up with Gatsby again, wouldn't she already have done it?
4. Is there anything else that stood out to you or you questioned?

Please share if you would like!  Whether you've drafted up a blog post with your thoughts (which I hope you'll link), or you share some of your thoughts in the comments, I hope you jump in.

Just as a reminder, the next couple of days we'll be reading Chapters 5-6.  Happy reading!  I hope to see what you're thinking!

The Great Gatsby Read Along: Chapters 1 & 2

The opening of novels is all the same--establish setting, characters, and situation.  Sometimes that opening feels like it drags along, especially if you have to learn a whole new language of sorts, like when I read a dystopian novel and have to figure out the rules of the world.  In the case of The Great Gatsby, we are obviously introduced to West and East Egg, as well as a complex collection of characters who start to build their back story so we can catch up with the present.

For our first two chapters, I wanted to look at what we ran across and get your own two cents and feedback.

Setting:

Set on Long Island--West Egg and East Egg, to be precise.  Separated by a "bay" of water, West Egg was the poorer, less socially affluent side of the bay, while East Egg supported the richer, more connected side of society.  Our narrator, Nick Carraway, lives on West Egg in a small rental cottage between two larger mansions.  One of these mansions is owned by none other than Mr. Jay Gatsby.  The other main characters, Daisy and Tom Buchanan, live in East Egg in a giant mansion of their own.

What is the significance of this setting?  Is the proximity to New York City significant to the tale?  How do the size of the homes and location all play into the social hierarchy being used by Fitzgerald?

Obviously, at the end of Chapter 1, we see that Gatsby must be yearning for whatever is across the bay from him--at the Buchanan's mansion:

"...--fifty feet away a figure had emerged from the shadow of my neighbor's mansion and was standing with his hands in his pockets regarding the silver pepper of the stars...I didn't call to him, for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone--he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling.  Involuntarily, I glanced seaward--and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock..." (20-21)

I loved this conclusion to the first chapter, since I kept reminding myself that Nick was the narrator, so everything is filtered through his own sense of curiosity.  His lack of omniscience here adds a nice foreshadowing and a longing that echoes through this conclusion.

Also, I think that you can never quite discount the social divides that are set up in a novel.  Knowing who has money and where those with money live or don't live is important to keep in mind.  As always, money talks.  It doesn't always say very sensible things, but the desperation of folks either not having it or having too much of it can make for a tricky and interesting side narrative.

Characters:

Point of View--We know that Nick Carraway is telling the story.  What do we really learn about him?  He comes from a "Middle Western city," where his family was of some prominence.  After WWI, Nick moved to the East to study the bond business.  In some ways, Nick sets us up to believe he is a humble, young character; he is living in a humble little cottage of sorts and is not set up like his neighbors.  And yet, isn't he also able to easily mingle in rich society pretty easily and quickly?  His relation to Daisy Buchanan might be part of it, but even that might suggest he comes from at least enough money to set him on the path that others might only dream about.

Should we question our reading of the characters in the novel since Nick is the narrator?  Aren't we getting everything filtered through Nick's point of view?

Tom Buchanan is Daisy's ex-football hero husband, said to have had his glory days playing his football, only to find he could never reach those heights again.  He is described as being almost a brute of sorts: "supercilious manner," "shining arrogant eyes," "a cruel body," and "his speaking voice, a gruff husky tenor" (7).  Then, he seems to say to the reader and to 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."  (7)

 Um, can we say he's kind of an arrogant pig?  He not only can't live down his glory days, but he also has to continue to prove he's a bigger and badder man than anyone else around him.  Nick notices how he interrupts Daisy continually throughout their first night when Nick comes over, and we end Chapter 2 with Nick's introduction  and night in the city with Tom and his mistress.  Maybe a thing of the times, and maybe Daisy needed a break, but we have to see Tom as a pretty puffed up character who it will be easy to want to see fall from his high horse!

Daisy Buchanan is Tom's wife and Nick's cousin.  Nick describes her as having, "a conscientious little laugh," and that she laughed, "as if she said something very witty," with a "low, thrilling voice."  He also added depth to his descriptions by showing that, "Her face was sad and lovely, with bright things in it," and that, "...there was an excitement in her voice that men who had cared for her found difficult to forget" (9).

Does this mean that's how she really was, or just how Nick perceived her?  Is Daisy this flirting, trilling little character that is laced with a certain amount of sadness?  Well, it would certainly seem so by our introduction to her and Tom in these opening chapters.  Tom spends his time cutting her off, and it is suggested that she knows about Tom's mistress, Myrtle.

There's so much we could talk about in these chapters!  I could go on and on!  I don't even want to dabble in the bit with the mistress just yet, mainly because I keep mulling over our main characters and their lives.  I think that one of the most famous, and poignantly sad moments comes when Daisy tells Nick what she felt at the time of her daughter's birth, saying:

"She told me it was a girl, and so I turned my head away and wept. 'All right,' I said.  'I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she will be a fool--that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.'" (17)

 These lines really strike me, because they say a lot about Daisy and the head space she is in here.  This doesn't seem like a flippant comment to me, but one from a place of despair and personal experience maybe?  I think Daisy understands her world a bit too well.

Okay.  Enough from me on these opening chapters!  I can't say enough how much I'm loving this reread.  It's been way too long since I last read The Great Gatsby, so I've forgotten so many key details!  Now it's your turn.  Share with us!

1. What role(s) do you see for the setting in the novel?  Do you like this setting, and does it affect the way you read the story?
2. Since Nick is the narrator in this story, do you think it's possible he might be setting us up to like or dislike certain characters?  Do you trust his retelling?
3. What do you think of Tom, Daisy, and Myrtle?
4. What else stood out to you in these opening chapters?

 Please share if you would like!  Whether you've drafted up a blog post with your thoughts (which I hope you'll link), or you share some of your thoughts in the comments, I hope you jump in.

Just as a reminder, this coming week we'll be reading Chapters 3-4.  Happy reading!  I hope to see what you're thinking!

The Great Gatsby Read Along: Starting Line!

Today we're starting off on our reading of The Great Gatsby.  If you missed signing up or just want to join, here's the link, and here is the reading schedule:

•  4/10 to 4/17  Chapters 1-2  (40 pages)
• 4/17 to 4/24  Chapters 3-4 (47 pages)
• 4/24 to  5/1  Chapters 5-6  (34 pages)
• 5/1 to 5/8  Chapters 7-End (72 pages)
• 5/10 --Go see the movie!

In preparation for today, I went to find my old, annotated copy of the novel on my bookshelves.  To my horror, it was nowhere to be found!  I tore through all my shelves at home, went through my books at work, and back through any closet or work bag I owned, but couldn't find it anywhere.  I'm so sad that I couldn't find it.  Losing an annotated copy of a novel kind of feels like losing a journal! Thankfully we had a textbook company send us an extra permabound copy at work, so our librarian was nice enough to give that one to me so I can start over.  It's time to "re"annotate, as well as reread!

Well, to get us going today, I thought I'd post a link to F. Scott Fitzgerald's Biography from bio.com.  The site includes a nice video about Fitzgerald and some great pictures that I thought you might be interested to check out.

Finally, to get started, I'd like to know about your background with The Great Gatsby.  Below are some initial questions about Fitzgerald and the novel:

1. When did you first read The Great Gatsby? 
2. What was that first reading experience like?
3. Have you read any of Fitzgerald's other works?
4. Similar to other famous authors, why do you think Fitzgerald's work received more attention and acclaim after his death than before?

Respond in the comments below, or if you have a post up, post a link to your blog post so we can drop by!

For this first week we have a pretty easy read of just the first two chapters.  Start reading and drop by if something cool stands out to you!  I'm going to get reading and might be back to post an update or respond to my own questions.  :)  Good luck, and happy reading!

Fiction to Film: The Great Gatsby Read Along is Here!

Like many avid readers, every time I see a trailer for The Great Gatsby, I can hardly stand it.  Any time there is a great novel made into a big budget film, I get a little excited and nervous to see how it turns out!  Well, after some chatting on Twitter after a certain Louisville vs. Wichita State game, Trish got me to thinking about a possible Read Along to go before the film.  Honestly, what better time to reread--or read for the first time--the awesome novel that is The Great Gatsby?!?

Here's the deal.  I've never ran a Read Along, but I thought I'd give it a try.  Besides, we have the movie to look forward to at the end of all of this!

DETAILS

Book Length:  My copy comes in just under 200 pages
Chapters:  9
Time to Read:  1 month, with weekly check-ins
End Goal:  To reread Fitzgerald's famous novel & then go check out the movie!

If you're not convinced, check out the movie trailer and then tell me you don't want to reread this gem?!?

If you want to join in, here are the reading details for the coming month:

•  4/10 to 4/17  Chapters 1-2  (40 pages)
• 4/17 to 4/24  Chapters 3-4 (47 pages)
• 4/24 to  5/1  Chapters 5-6  (34 pages)
• 5/1 to 5/8  Chapters 7-End (72 pages)
• 5/10 --Go see the movie!

If you think you can join or just want to jump in on the discussions, grab the button (pardon my button-making), and then post a blog post that you can link back here to the Mr. Linky.  If you just want to join in with us, you can do that as well down in the comments below.

Why don't we get started with a little Initial Post Survey: 

1. Have you read The Great Gatsby before?  If so, what did you think of it the first time you read it?  If not, what do you most look forward to?
2.  Have you seen any other film version of the novel?  What did you think?
3. What do you think of the new film coming out?
4. Any other thoughts on The Great Gatsby you want to share...

Well, let's get a copy and get going!