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3 comments:
Gatsby is a highly mysterious character defined by the people that “know” him and those who aspire to be like him. From the beginning of the book, his character is built up without ever formally introducing him. We know his house neighbors Nick’s and by judging him from the outside he obtains a lot of money; but besides being able to see him from the outside we know nothing about him on the inside. Throughout the first three chapters Gatsby becomes some sort of a legendary titular figure – the Great Gatsby – with dark secrets the reader can only imagine. All of the information we know about Gatsby comes from other people – Nick’s speculations, Jordan’s opinions of him, and all of the rumors spread by his guests. Guests speculate things about Gatsby, like the fact that he may have killed a man or that he might have not truly gone to Oxford, but those facts are irrelevant. What’s important is that there is something very romantic and enigmatic about him, and we never know what he’s really like as a person. What we do know about him is incredibly defining. He has money and everything that is associated with having a lot of money – a giant mansion, butlers, fancy cars, yachts, etc. Owning the only ‘classy’ house on West Egg and having this kind of money allows for him to throw extravagant parties and show guests what he is all about. He is the definition of high society; however, there is something that separates him from Tom, who is also very rich. Gatsby, when we do meet him, is shown to be a very giving and amiable person. He contradicts all of the dark rumors people spread about him. It can be said that Gatsby is an extremely wealthy man while Tom is an extremely rich man. Gatsby’s wealth is at the forefront of his character, but unlike Tom it does not define him entirely.
Important Quotes:
“I decided to call to him…but 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…I could have sworn he was trembling” (p. 20).
“When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished, and I was alone again in the unquiet darkness” (p.20).
“We all turned and looked around for Gatsby. It was a testimony to the romantic speculation he inspired that there were whispers about him from those who had found little that it was necessary to whisper about in this world” (p. 44).
“He smiled understandingly – much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it” (p. 48).
“’Who is he?’ I demanded. ‘Do you know?’ ‘He’s just a man named Gatsby’” (p. 48).
“I would have accepted without question the information that Gatsby sprang from the swamps of Louisiana or from the lower East Side of New York” (p. 49).
First, let me say thank you for the time, effort, and energy that you put into these responses.
I agree whole heartily with your declaration that Gatsby is a character defined by his mystery. I truly enjoyed how you brought up the fact that Gatsby is a character known at first only by his outside veneer--his inside personality and the motives behind his actions are, and perhaps for the rest of the book, will remain a mystery. However, I wonder why you think Gatsby formulates his character in this manner? His actions seem so calculated--thus, why does he choose to live in this manner?
One thing I would challenge you on is the statement about how the mystery surrounding his character is irrelevant--it seems to me that those 'dark' secrets that define his character are the most important things about him. Thus, I am left with the question--why are these secrets 'dark?' How is killing a man different from attending Oxford? By attending Oxford doesn't that mean he has killed someone's dram of going the university? Perhaps, he keeps who he really is hidden because he knows that his 'real' persona will not be accepted or welcomed in the rich/wealthy (I am not sure if there is any difference) in the inner circles of East Egg--the one place the green light shines?
I am also left wondering and hoping that you explain how Gatsby is different from Tom--keep going with this idea. In this response you only scratch the surface, and I hope you continue to dig and examine how Gatsby might be a man who embodies, if not defines, the American dream.
In my humble opinion, the last quote you cite is the most important--think about how it might tie back to what Nick says on the second page of the novel.
I thank you for this response. And I curious about how you would grade this response and how you grade your work as a group--please let me know what you think.
Thank you for sharing.
Best,
AK
Grade: 87
Gatsby is a character that lives in the past. He lives in the past with Daisy by his side and the two of them are in love. In the past Daisy got away from Gatsby and now it is Gatsby’s goal to get her back. He will do anything he needs to do in order to get Daisy back and love her completely. He won’t give up on Daisy until she is in his arms and living with him. Gatsby is a persistent character and will do anything to get his way. Throughout the book we have gotten to know him better, being able to come to the understanding that he is just like us or that he possibly is us. We spend too much time thinking about what we did in the past or what we should have done in the past, then wasting our time in the present talking about what we would have done differently. He is like many of the characters we’ve seen in other books we have read this year, therefore allowing for the reader to feel like they are connected to and know Gatsby. He is still somewhat mysterious in the fact that we never really know when he is telling the truth and when he is not. Gatsby’s life is defined by what he has and the possessions he flaunts. He is only defined by these things because the people that look at him from the outside assume that these things are important to him. Truly the only important thing to Gatsby is loving Daisy and the only way he knows how to do that is by providing her with the lifestyle she is used to and the possessions that she needs. Gatsby will be a character that we will forever connect with, yet still feel like we do not understand him completely all the time.
More quotes
p. 90 “’I keep it always full of interesting people, night and day. People who do interesting things. Celebrated people”’.
p. 91 “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”.
p. 91 “His bedroom was the simplest room of all”.
p. 98 “It was James Gatz who had been loafing along the beach that afternoon in a torn green jersey and a pair of canvas pants, but it was already Jay Gatsby who borrowed a rowboat, pulled out to the Tuolomee, and informed Cody that a wind might catch him and break him up in half an hour”.
p. 98 “The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God”.
p. 87 “Gatsby got himself into a shadow and, while Daisy and I talked, looked conscientiously from one to the other of us with tense unhappy eyes”.
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