1. Identify and briefly define important words, terms, concepts, or characters.
--Jay Gatsby who’s legal name is James Gatz, which he had changed when he was seventeen. When he was young he was poor, and his parents were unsuccessful farm people, though in his mind he didn’t want to accept them as his parents. At seventeen he was a clam-digger and a salmon fisher; he didn’t want to end up like his parents. The truth about Gatsby is revealed in chapter 6.
Dan Cody was 55 years old at the time Gatsby was trying to get his life in order. He helped him out. Cody was known as a product of Nevada silver fields. This made him a many times millionaire. Dan liked to drink and one night he died while he and Gatsby were on ship together. This being said is why Gatsby hardly drinks.
2. Summarize the main idea, theme, action, or event of the reading. Be sure to include quotation that best captures the overall feeling or mood of the reading.
--In chapter 6 James Gatsby’s real identity is unfolded, and we find out his past. Tom begins to tell Jordan how much he despises Gatsby and that he is running an investingation on him, because he feels everything he has been saying about himself is a lie, and he wants to prove this to Daisy. Along with this in chapter 7, Tom questions how close Daisy and Gatsby really are. He speaks to everyone at the table and states “I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife. Well, if that’s the idea you can count me out…” (Fitzgerald 130) Daisy is getting all worked up because she is afraid of what may be said next. As time passes Tom and Gatsby get into an argument as Gatsby states to Tom that Daisy was never in love with him and she never loved him even when they married. He also said that she was in love with him and has been all her life and they have been seeing each other behind Tom’s back for five years. He tells this to Tom and Tom asks Daisy if this is true and she agrees, although when Gatsby tells her to tell Tom she cannot because she actually did love him at a time.
3. Formulate a question for discussion. The question should be relatively substantial, based upon a specified passage or scene from the text, and capable of sustaining a thoughtful discussion.
--Why do you think that F. Scott Fitzgerald decided to explain Gatsby’s past such as his childhood and the struggles he had, towards the middle to end of the novel? Do you think that putting Gatsby’s past life in chapter6 and chapter 7 was appropriate?
3 comments:
I think it was a good idea to put Gatsby's past toward the middle and end of the novel because it gives the reader a chance to create their own feelings and opinions of the type of person Gatsby is. By doing this, the reader is not subject to judging Gatsby right away, and gives them a chance to get to know him as the person he has made himself to be over the years.
I thought it was a great idea putting Gatsby's past life in the middle because in the beginning of the few chapters, you could characterize and predict how Gatsby's personality was. But, right in the middle of the chapters, you start to understand who and how Gatsby's present and past life really was.
Starting the novel at some specific point, and coming back later on to explain what happened seems quite a common idea for writers. Authors use that writing style to attract people into the story. Feelings can be developed freely with all the senses including intellectual and emotional play, although it might not appeal to impatient readers. Fitzgerald's idea mentioning Gatsby's past in later chapters appears to be a good idea to me as it is a way of giving the readers some time to create their own imagination toward this character, otherwise it might be a boring story like a report.
- Kristen
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