Compare and contrast
any two places in The Great Gatsby, explaining how the places differ, what each
place symbolizes, and how each reflects the society of the times and the
morals and values of its inhabitants.
I think that Gatsby’s house was on of the most important places in the book. I think that it symbolized pride, money, and how far a man will go in order to get the girl that he wants. I think that Gatsby’s life was full of lies and misunderstandings that he could not stop from spreading. The house that Gatsby lived in was just to show Daisy how rich he had become. I think that he is a very greedy person and just expects more and more from the people and the things around him. The house was very big and was the party house for the summer. The book was set in the 1920’s and the parties consisted of a lot of drinking. This was a big deal to the people back then because it was around the time of the prohibition era and big parties tried to stay under wraps. Gatsby hardly knew any of the people at the parties, but I think that this symbolized careless because he really didn’t care. The only thing that Gatsby cared about was having Daisy fall back in love with him and leave Tom. I think that another place that was very important to the story was New York City. It seemed to be the place where everyone went when they wanted to get away from reality. Tom took Myrtle there in the beginning of the story because they had been seeing each other for a while. Nick, Jordan, Daisy, Tom, and Gatsby all go to New York City one afternoon because Daisy suggested that they all get out of the hot house for a while. Once they got to a hotel, the book started to take a turn. I think that New York City symbolized the climax of the story because this was where we found out that Tom had been investigating Gatsby and found out that he sold grain alcohol illegally. Gatsby then tries to get back at Tom by saying that Daisy never loved him and she had always loved Gatsby. I think that this was a time when society was really changing in history. Divorces weren’t common, but it wasn’t long after that divorce rates started to rise. I also think that the society had a lot of bootleggers at this time period because of the probation. People really wanted the alcohol and the only choice they had was to make and sell alcohol illegally. New York City had a lot of crimes like this because of how big it was and all of the clubs that it had. This is why New York City really had a big effect on the book. Gatsby’s house and New York City had some similarities. They both seemed to attract some negative situations. New York was where everyone seemed to spill their secrets and the group started to get very angry with each other. Gatsby’s house was where he and Wilson died. I also think that both places represent very different things. Gatsby’s house made people jealous. It was a very big and beautiful house that made Gatsby look like a very happy and rich man when he was really just trying to impress a girl. New York City was a place of desire. People went there to fulfill what they didn’t have in their own life. Tom went there to get away from Daisy, while Daisy took the whole group there because she wanted something to do. I think both of these places helped to mold the book into one of the greatest stories ever told.
Camille, I really like the opinions you have on these two places in the novel. Gatsby's house was a place of desire and it seemed like all dreams could come true there. I think your ideas about New York was a good place to consider and think about. A lot of confrontation and discoveries were made in this area. The time period is never really discussed in the book. Your ideas about the prohobition were not mentioned a lot either, but we realize that that is an underlying theme that is being portrayed wen we learn that Gatsby was once a bootlegger. We also do not think about the divorce as a problem as much because of the time period we are reading in compared to the time period in the story. Back then, divorces were a huge deal and could quite possibly ruin a person. Today, it seems like almost every other person has suffered from a divorce. The only problem with this is that I did not read the rest of the book just yet so I already know the ending! But your comparisons are very well written and I agree with how great of a story this really was.
Camille, I agree with you in that Gatsby house was one of the most important places in the book. I feel like Gatsby house showed a sign of wealth and power he had over the other characters in the book. Also at the house many min parts of the book happened. I feel like this is where everything started the first night that Nick was invited to the parties. Also i think New York was another good one to pick. Like you said everyone would always go to New York to get away from their problems! this didn't not work all the time we found out. I also feel like New York was a sign that something bad was going to happen because when ever someone in the book took a trip to New York either their or on the way home something bad happened to them. I feel like this was just giving us a foreshadow of what was going to happen next in the book. Another thing that is the same about both that you picked is that. major things happen in both places. Gatsby and Tom get in a fight in New York and then Gatsby ends up getting killed at his House. I feel like you made very good points in your blog this week about the book.
Camille, I agree with you about Gatsby's house being a big symbol in the book. It symbolizes his wealth and power in the book. His power and how he had so much desire and ambition to get Daisy back. I never considered New York City being a symbolism. From what you described that is a really good one. I think that all the crimes and the problems that happened in New York City did foreshadow and tell us that something bad is going to happen in the book.
Gatsby built his house around the money that he earned. The house turns out to be a big party house with roaming partygoers and strangers almost always present throughout the summer nights. The house is a scene for good times and enjoyment for the guests who find their way to becoming guests, but Gatsby does not partake in all of the festivities that happen in his own house. The house symbolizes a fun-loving, materialistic view on life, even though Gatsby does not participate in the main activity of the house, drinking alcohol. The true reason for constructing a place like his own was to win back the love of his life, Daisy. His hopes were to build such a lavish house and throw so many parties that resembled his new extravagance so that Daisy would one day wander over and witness herself how much he has earned for himself and how much he changed for her. The house that Tom and Daisy live in together was also built around the money that they both had together, and both liked to talk about. However, Tom and Daisy used their home with different views than Gatsby did. Tom and Daisy were not as social as Gatsby and did not have as many friends or acquaintances, resulting in less parties than Gatsby. The scenes that take place at Tom and Daisy's include many introductions to characters throughout the novel and also many confrontations and discoveries. The house holds much hostility and secrets that are held between both Tom and Daisy. Here holds the struggle of many relationships that develop and change as the novel goes on. Tom and Daisy's house symbolizes the conflict of relationships in the book, leaving the two people with the most relationship secrets alone together to deal with each other without interruption. Gatsby's house and Tom and Daisy's house are very similar in ways that are very materialistic. Gatsby wants to show his house off to Daisy so that she sees everything that he has become. Tom and Daisy like to talk about their riches and where all of the lavish parts of their house came from. However, the two scenes also differ from each other. Gatsby's house is a place constantly full of people and partying while Tom and Daisy's house is a place more used for solitude and a struggling couple to be more by themselves. I think both of these settings provide necessary places for action in the book to take place and mold the great novel together.
Carli, I think the same thing with Gatsby house. It was made to have fun parties so he could win back his true love. I feel it did not fulfill those standards though. In the end we see that Gatsby ends up dying before he can have Daisy. Also i think that Tom and Daisy house was a good one. Even though much of the story does not take place there it is still very important in the story. Many events happen t the house that are important to the story. In the beginning we find out lot about the main people at dinner that first night everything seemed to start. I feel like you picked two good places to talk about in this weeks blog.
Carli, I don't agree with the point you made about Tom and Daisy not being as social as Gatsby. I think that Gatsby had more parties and knew more people but even though this happened, he really didn't socialize with many people. I feel like Tom and Daisy went to fewer parties than Gatsby, yet they associated with more people unlike Gatsby who sat off to the side most of the time. I never really thought about Tom and Daisy's house the way that you did. I never really realized that the house could have any meaning at all because it wasn't really mentioned a lot. I agree with your statements though because Gatsby's house was a place for parties, happiness, and excitement throughout the whole course of the novel where as Tom and Daisy's house wasn't a very happy place at all.
I think that two places that show a lot of significance in the book for this weeks blogs are Tom and daisy house and Gatsby house. Both of them I feel were very important in the book. Without having the parts in the book that happened at these places we would not get the full story. Even though lot of the story did not take place at Tom and daisy house the parts that happened there were very important. In the beginning of the book we found out a lot about all the characters in the book and their importance of the story. I feel like unlike any other place in the book this is where they gave a lot of detail. Also whenever the house was brought up I felt like we were going to find out something new about on of the charters during the chapter. Also the events that happen at the house with Tom and Daisy baby show a lot about how both of them only care about themselves and aren't ready to take responsibility for anther person because they can hardy take care of themselves. Also this was one of the places where money wasn't being flaunted at other people as much as other parts in the book. Gatsby house was another place in the book that showed a lot of importance thought out the plot. Gatsby house was a sign of power and wealth. With all the parties and festivities going on all the time and through out the summer. I think it showed how a lot of people in that time period lived or tried to fake that they lived that way. Another reason for the house was that Gatsby wanted to show daisy that he was rich and he was going back for. I think he realizes that just having a nice house and money , even though it was a big deal with Daisy, that is not all she cares about. I feel as thought thats why he fires all his servants. this is how i think that this was a significant place in the story.
Hayley, I totally agree with you about Gatsby's house. I also picked his house as one of the places in the book where I felt a lot of situations that took place. I like your point about Gatsby's house being a symbol of power and wealth. Just those two words alone explain Gatsby's personality perfectly. The only thing that he wanted in life was for Daisy to love him and he felt that having a big house would prove to her that he is rich. I also like your idea of his house being like a big party. I thought the same thing about how back then everyone wanted to show that they had money. I had never thought about Tom and Daisy's house as being significant to the story until I read your blog. I like how you pointed out that there were very important parts to the book that took place there, such as the personalities of the characters. I really like the two places that you chose.
Hayley, I like the places that you chose, especially since I chose the same ones to write about. Both of these settings provide so much information throughout the story. i liked how you pointed out that even though Tom and Daisy's house were not featured that much throughout the story, we almost always knew a secret or discovery would be revealed when the characters were placed in this setting. I also like the part that you added about the baby. Our class has been having much controversy over this baby, and we realize that she suffers from neglect. This neglect that you speak of proves how self centered the characters really are. I think when dealing with the Gatsby house you explained the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy very well. The only suggestion i can think of would be to include more differences and similarities in a side by side comparison. Good insight into the novel!
Hayley, I feel the same with your blog as I did for Carli's. I never really looked at Tom and Daisy's house as a place with a significant meaning. I think that everything in the book had a special meaning or significance to it, once we look more in depth on it. I agree with your statement about the baby. The baby suffers so much neglect throughout the course of the story. It shows that Daisy, along with other characters, are really self centered. They only care about their money and their social status. I think that you could have added a bit more detail into your blog, but other than that I think it was very well written.
Gatsby's house and the dock are two main places that have a lot of symbolism. They both symbolize money and fortune. The house symbolizes fortune because of its size and appearance and all of the parties that go on there. The dock symbolizes fortune because when they are where people park fancy boats. When Gatsby throws those parties to lure Daisy into his house, he is trying to win her by his fortune and money. The house becomes empty, not like a home anymore once Gatsby dies. It went from being someones home to just being a house. It symbolizes emptiness. Same with the dock because when Gatsby stares at the dock it symbolizes his emptiness to not have Daisy. They can both symbolize love in some ways also. The house symbolizes Gatsby's love for Daisy by having all his parties to try to impress her. Out of love he throws these parties because once he does win her back, he stops throwing these parties. The dock symbolizes love because when Gatsby stares at it it's because he loves Daisy and that is Daisy's dock, he dreams of her while staring at it. He dreams of his love for her. Differences between them is that the dock symbolizes the fact that it is unknown, dark, and scary. It's limited and it can't go on forever. The house can be made into another persons home, so it is able to go on. Also, the dock symbolizes Gatsby's longing for Daisy. The house symbolizes what men will do to get the girl of their dreams and fortune itself. He stares longingly at the dock because he wishes Daisy was his. The green light can symbolize Gatsby's hope for Daisy. His hope to win her back. The house and dock value popularity and money. Both of them make a person look better. They value looking good whether it be to have big parties at your nice home or having a nice dock. In this book there is no work ethic. It is all about popularity, love, hatred, and betrayal. The values in this book aren't like the values we have in our life.
Leah, I had never thought about the dock being a symbol of the book. I really think you did a good job of picking something out of the ordinary that wasn't a big part of the story, yet it almost explains the story. I had never thought of the dock symbolizing love. You had a very good point when you said that it showed how Gatsby still loved Dasiy even when they didn't see each other. It gave him a type of closure that he had been searching many years for. Also, good job on saying that the dock symbolized money because of the types of boats that were parked there. I think that a lot of people are going to pick Gatsby's house because a lot of the story took place there. It symbolized greed and power because Gatsby was just trying to get Daisy by showing he had money. I think that popularity was also a good word to describe Gatsby's house. I really liked your thoughts on the book Leah.
Leah, your choice of places is something I never thought of and you did a very good job explaining them. I had thought of the dock representing Gatsby's love for Daisy, but didn't recognize it as well as you did. Your explanation of Gatsby using his money to get Daisy was very good and I really enjoyed reading your blog.
The places in the novel that really stuck out tome are East Egg and West Egg. East Egg is a place where people lived who had been born into money. Daisy and Tom are examples of East Eggers. The people from East Egg are careless. They only care about themselves. This is present when Daisy was driving and she hit Myrtle after she had been warned earlier about being a careless driver. To this she responded that she wasn’t careless and that everyone else should watch out for her. It is also present in the neglect that she shows her baby. She doesn’t even take care of her own daughter. I feel as though she never even wanted the baby in the first place. When she doesn’t want to take care of her daughter, all she does is give her to the nurse. The people of East Egg are only concerned their money and they don’t care about the fact that they may be hurting others. The people of East Egg are portrayed as being very classy and amazing compared to the people of West Egg who are portrayed as being vulgar and have no taste. West Egg is a place where the newly rich live. I think that the people of East Egg view the people of West Egg as trashy. I think that a lot of people from East Egg think the people of West Egg all earned their money from doing illegal activities such as bootlegging. The people of West Egg however, seem to care more about others than the people of East Egg do. Even though Gatsby gained his wealth from illegal activities, he has a huge heart. His death was the direct result of his huge heart because instead of telling that Daisy was the one that hit Myrtle with the car, he took the blame for it. He also stood outside Daisy’s window to make sure Tom didn’t hurt her once he found out about the affair. I feel as though people from East Egg wouldn’t care enough about people to do something like this and the people of West Egg such as Gatsby and Nick, would do anything to help out another person.
I think you over generalized the towns. You used more of an opinion than real logical facts out of the book. I agree that West Egg and East Egg are different in some ways like how one is looked higher upon than the other, but these aren't a very big part of the book. A lot of these people don't fit into one town, they may associate with one town but they fit in with both. Gatsby is a big one that is on the line. Your blog was a little hard to follow at points and used a lot of anaphora. Other than that your blog had a lot of important facts that I didn't consider about each place.
I completely agree with your blog, and it is what I wrote about also. I got a little confused while reading your blog, but I got the main points. Some of the ideas you had listed were some I never thought of. Good job interpreting the book with the symbolism! I couldn't do that as much.
West Egg and East Egg are the two places that stuck out to me in the book, “The Great Gatsby.” West Egg is where Nick moved to, where he lived next to Gatsby. This area is where people who are newly rich move to. East Egg is home to Daisy and Tom, who symbolize a wealthy couple who are very aristocratic. We never got to see anyone else who lived in that area, so I picture East Egg to be a very stuck-up and rich community. Tom was very racist and full of himself, and Daisy was an airhead who just went with what was going on. I don’t find this group of people to be very social, and try to stick with people of “their class.” Nick and Gatsby associate with everyone around and Gatsby has parties with a ton of people. Nick and Gatsby also are very caring and try to help as many people as possible, whereas Daisy and Tom were focused on themselves and didn’t care about the welfare of others. This really shows when Daisy hit and killed Myrtle and didn’t even stop. Personally, I didn’t find many similarities between the two and just found all differences.
Nicole, I found it very interesting how you didn't find any similarities between these two places. Both were full of rich people, even though they came across wealth in different ways. I felt that Gatsby was also showing off his wealth to others by having these great parties. I never really thought about how they could be different in how Gatsby had parties and was very social compared to Tom and Daisy, who just wanted to mingle with people of their social class. This was really good. Great job of the blog.
Nicole, these places may sound the same, but they are not similar at all. I thought it was interesting that the story never mentioned anything in the two cities besides the normal characters. There really were not any new characters that introduced in the middle or end of the story. This does not happen very often in my opinion. The people in the two cities were different. One of the cities had people that were stuck up and full of themselves, while the other was very social and cared for everyone around. This is why the only major parties occurred at Gatsby's house. That is exactly why Daisy did not stop when she hit Myrtle.
Within the Great Gatsby, the characters seem to move around to different places that all symbolizes something. One of these locations includes Gatsby mansion. Gatsby home was used to show off his wealth to his young love, Daisy. Throughout the novel Gatsby’s home is full of life and spirit. In my opinion Gatsby’s parties showed me PART of his personality. To me Gatsby is a caring person, who would do anything to meet someone’s needs, BUT there is another side of Gatsby. Usually during the parties Gatsby seems to be missing or on the phone. This draws the question, where did his wealth come from? Gatsby’s house for me resembled wonder. Another location in the Great Gatsby that had great significance was Tom and Daisy house. Although this house is not mentioned too often, it showed great symbolism. Tom and Daisy lived in East Egg. East Egg is a community for the upper class or rich people. In the novel Nick refers to Tom and Daisy taking part in a secret society. After reading this novel I believe that this secret society involves Tom and Daisy’s household and Tom’s mistress’s home. Tom and Daisy’s house is large and grand. This house also represents their wealth. Throughout this house many of littlest features have meaning. For example at the end of Tom and Daisy’s dock is a flashing green light. This green light is seen across the waters by Gatsby. For Gatsby this light symbolizing his longing and desire for Daisy. Gatsby sees it as that he is so close to her, but yet so far away. Also Tom and Daisy’s personalities are revealed by the occurrences within the house. Daisy has a little girl, but it seems as though she doesn’t care for her as much as a mother should. Instead the little girl is always with her nurse. This event reveals how careless or clueless Daisy is. As for Tom, he receives mysterious phone calls (like Gatsby). These phone calls reveal that Tom has a second life. In a way Gatsby and Tom both share some of the same qualities. Tom’s anger management issues are also revealed within the household. Tom and Daisy’s house has great significance and reveals many of the characters morals. Finally I felt as though that I could not end my blog without mentioning one more object. This object is seen throughout the novel, and kept wondering what its significance was. This object is the billboard of T.J. Eckleburg. The most noticeable about this billboard was its eyes. These eyes were always staring and watching the actions of everyone. In the eighth chapter Mr. Wilson, the husband of Tom’s mistress, reveals the billboard’s symbolism. The eyes on the billboard represent the eyes of God. God is always there watching everything and everyone. This symbolism, in my opinion, was the greatest throughout everything in the novel.
Marla, i totally agree on how you said that the house of Gatsby shows wonder. I also feel that it shows a sense of arrogance. I felt that Gatsby might have been showing off all of his riches which would be kind of annoying if i was a part of his time. I also feel that Tom and Daisy's house was very similar to Gatsby's because they were both very rich, but they were different because Gatsby wasnt born into wealth while Tom and Daisy were. Maybe you should have compared these two places more in your blog, but all in all it was really awesome how you picked these two places because they show so many simiarities.
Your the first person I have heard who talks about Gatsby's house as a mansion. I think it is better as a "masnion." Itis more descriptive of how I think his house would appear. It gives a great idea of how the house appears and what it symbolizes.I have not thought about it showing wonder, but I think you are right in saying it. It does make one wonder about Gatsby. Personally, I think Gatsby is a much less caring person than you said, but you were right on with the idea of "showing wonder." I also agree with the idea of the green light symbolizing Gatsby's longing for daisy. It seems weird that he would stare across the water at the light, but as the book has progressed we have seen what he thinks about, nonstop. Now it is no surprise that he would look at that light often. Well done with the blog!
Two places in the book that really stuck out to me in comparison to each other was the Wilson's house and Buchanan's house. These houses were both full of similarities and differences that showed the characteristics of the people living there and what was taking place within those two house holds. Where Myrtle and George Wilson lived was in an apartment above their car garage that George Wilson owned. The house was on a street located in the city of New York. Unfortunately, George and Myrtle didn't make much money off of their car garage business, so they were not very wealthy. Also, Myrtle was having an affair with Tom Buchanan, which plays a part in the similarities of the two houses. Tom was also married to Daisy. During is marriage he was having an affair with Myrtle Wilson. Both Daisy and George didn't know either of their spouses were having affairs until the very end of the book. Tom and Daisy were very different to the Wilson's in how they lived. They lived in an are outside of the city were they were both born into wealthy families. They lived in East Egg, which was very different compared to where the Wilson's lived because people who lived there had nice elegant houses that showed their wealth to surrounding people. The symbolism that played between these two places is that the East Eggers symbolize the people that only care about themselves and what they have. If they have more money they are the happiest, while George Wilson, to me, symbolized poor people that don't have to have money to lead a happy life. In conclusion, these two places showed very different characteristics of each other on who lived there and how much money these people own. The similarities were that the people in these two houses intertwined in some parts of the story. They were also similar because one person from both houses were having affairs without the spouses knowing.
Emma, before this blog I never really thought of many symbols within the two places. Myrtle had an affair with Tom, which had a major connection between the two houses. I thought that it was interesting that Tom tried to hide his secret relationship with Myrtle. If Daisy would have known of this before, she probably would have left Tom for good. Tom was very good at hiding stuff from people. It was an extreme difference that George Wilson did not have as much money as Tom. They were not even close to the amount of money they had. Overall a good blog showing the differences between the two places.
Emma, I never really thought of there being a connection between the two locations in the novel. There was definately a connection between Tom and Myrtle, but I really like how you pointed out the connection between Daisy and George. Both of these spouses were being lied to. Tom was lying to Daisy, and Myrtle was lying to George. Tom's house could symbolize his wealth and power over others, and George's home could show how you do not need wealth to be happy.
Emma, I never thought of the Wilson household being symbolic. I agree with you that Buchanan household symbolized wealth. I like how you incorporated the two couples marriage and affairs, but what does this symbolize? Unhappiness? I wish you would have linked these two different places with a reoccurring theme such as deception. Your descriptions of the two households are correct and are very informative. Also with using these two households you could have incorporated how the secret society was put into play.
Emma, good idea with the Wilson home! George Wilson, to me, demonstrated the morals of that era. Although it was a wild time in history, people were far more morally inclined then they are today. George truly loved his wife and we could tell that he worked hard to support her. Of course killing Gatsby was moral at all... so he loses points for that. However, Tom had more to do with Gatsby's death than we first expected. George, although his motives didn't make the crime right, he was doing it for his wife. Tom basically sent George to kill Gatsby. He caused Gatsby's death. He did this for no reason other than revenge. He'd already lost his mistress, he couldn't deal with the fact that he might lose Daisy too.
Gatsby’s house is my first topic for the most symbolism in the story. It symbolized many things. One of the things being money. Gatsby and Wolfsheim got their money by setting up drug stores in Chicago and selling over-the-counter drugs. We did not know this fact until later in the story. Gatsby’s house was described as being very large and beautiful, this is because he had much money from working at the drug stores with Wolfsheim. Some of us thought that Gatsby received his money from Wolfsheim, who was involved in a scandal of the World Series. Gatsby was not always wealthy, he grew up without a lot of money actually and then inherited it from his job. The second thing that Gatsby’s house symbolized was love. In the second or third chapter, Nick saw Gatsby looking out into the sky and then seeing a green light across from his house. This was the light that was on Daisy’s dock. It reminded Gatsby of all the love that he had for Daisy before he went off to war. Whenever Daisy went out to Gatsby’s house, they expressed love for each other too. These two pieces of symbolism from Gatsby’s house were the most significant in the story in my opinion. My second topic for symbolism is the Buchanan household where Daisy lived. Whenever Gatsby went to Tom Buchanan’s house, Tom tried to keep his eye on them, but when he slipped away, they express their love with a simple kiss on the cheek. This place symbolized both love and hatred. Tom did not like Gatsby because he was trying to take his wife away from him. Tom did not think that was fair. Daisy and Tom had a child together so they should have loved each other but Daisy later claimed that she only loved him for a little bit. She thought of Gatsby a lot. The two houses are connected in a secret way because of the green light that shined off of Daisy’s dock. Whenever Gatsby saw the light, he immediately thought of Daisy, and that expressed love of its own. The Buchanan household was an interesting place in the story because it had opposite symbols, love and hatred. This is a characteristic that is extremely unique.
Andrew, I like how you connected the two houses. I agree that the green light connected them, but I also feel that the light symbolized how they were not together at all. I feel that the light could have also symbolized Gatsby's desire for Daisy; how Gatsby could be so close to Daisy, yet he still kept apart from her. I never would have thought of Daisy's house and Gatsby's house of being similar. It was a good idea of this connection because it isn't until later in the story that there really is any connection between Gatsby and Daisy.
Andrew, you chose two very symbolic locations in this novel to describe in your blog. I especially liked how you brought to attention how and why Gatsby’s house was an example of symbolism. The look of Gatsby’s house shows the readers Gatsby’s wealth, but love was a deeper symbol. Gatsby’s dazing at the green light every night proves your statement about the house symbolizing love. Also your statement about the Buchanan household caught my attention. I never thought of the house symbolizing both love and hatred. You are absolutely correct!!! Great job.
Two locations that really stuck out to me in the story were Gatsby’s house and Nick’s house. Even though the two men were neighbors in West Egg, Nick never really knew his neighbor up until the day he died. In the beginning of the book, Nick had just moved there with very little money. The family he grew up with wasn’t wealthy, but Nick was better off than others. When Nick moved to West Egg, he moved there to get a job in the city and make a living. I think that reflects itself into his home. Nick lived in a small, modest home that was just large enough to live alone. It served its purpose for a place for him to eat, sleep, and live. Nick lived the modest of all the characters in the book and of all of them, Nick stayed true to him the entire way. His home symbolizes Nick’s role in the story. He wasn’t corrupt or greedy, and was there for Gatsby until the day he died. Nick was honest enough to tell us that he had only ever been drunk twice in his life, and never once did he lose himself at any of Gatsby’s parties, where the rich and powerful East Eggers simply came to party and use Gatsby. Nick never used his friend, and even welcomed him and Daisy into his home. Unlike Nick, Gatsby moved to Egg for his own reasons; he moved there to prove his wealth and power, and hoped to win back the love of his life. It first made me wonder why Gatsby would live in West Egg when all of the rich and Daisy lived in East Egg. I feel it was so that his house would stand out even more compared to homes like Nick’s over in West Egg. Gatsby’s house can easily compare to him as a person. It was vast and mysterious, and we began to hear more and more about it throughout the book just as we began to learn more and more about Gatsby. Gatsby’s house symbolized the wealth and fortune that he claimed to have, but he still separated himself from the rich of East Egg. This, to me, shows that Gatsby not only wanted to be rich like those in East Egg, but he wanted to show that he was better. This is why he threw huge parties that everyone wanted to attend. I think the location of the mansion also gives insight into the mystery of the character. Gatsby’s house was open for all to party and see, but he still only ever showed Daisy and Nick his smaller living space. Also, I feel that the lake between Gatsby’s house and Daisy’s house had a strong meaning, especially the green light at the end of the Dock. It symbolized that no matter how rich Gatsby would portray himself to be, there would always be something keeping Gatsby and Daisy apart. To compare the Nick’s house and Gatsby’s house, there are some big differences between the two friends. Nick’s house was always there to serve its purpose, and Gatsby’s house was never a home at all; it symbolized the lie that Gatsby lived and the desire to be someone he wasn’t. Nick’s house was honest; there were no closed doors, room for secrets, and he didn’t try to impress anyone. Gatsby’s house simply served for nothing but impression. It was simply a lie so that Gatsby could try to be someone he would never be.
I agree with the idea of Gatsby's house being a major part of the story. I also agree with the way you stated that it symbolized wealth and riches that he supposedly had. I completely agree with what "little world" Gatsby is living in. His world of lies and what he wants others to think he is is represented well in his house. Nick's house seems to be the polar opposite of others. Nick is not hiding behind any lies, and he seems to care about others genuinely. You portrayed this well in your blog. Great Job!
Of all the characters in the book, Nick is probably the only one that does not have an over inflated ego. He is surrounded by almost exclusively millionaires which is likely the reason. In the very beginning of the book, Nick even stated that he gets the honor of being surrounded by millionaires all for 80$ a month. His house never had to much of an impact on the story, he just lived there really. As for Gatsby's house, i never thought of it like you did. I personally thought he was to nice of a person to want to prove that he is better than anyone else. He did make himself stand out by doing this though.
The first main main place in the book is Gatsby's house. This location is a symbol of lies, riches, and dreams. It is a symbol of these because of the very singular individual who lives there. Gatsby is all of these. He lies because of the way he treats his past. He hides it and purposely deceives others about the way he has lived his life. Also, he uses Nick just to attempt to get close to Daisy. This house is also a symbol of riches. Gatsby is rich. Although his past was shady, he was rich, and his house symbolizes the way some rich people have all the money in the world, but their character is flawed. Then they are never happy. Gatsby is a dreamer. He dreams of things he never could have, especially Daisy. He is constantly obsessed with Daisy. He becomes so obsessed, he is willing to put her into danger and pain, this is not "love," but obsession. He puts Daisy in dangerous and potentially harmful arguments, trying to make her say things she never would. This is the same characteristics he has shown throughout the book of being someone who uses others. All because of his obsession, his dreaming. All of these complicated ideas are symbolized in Gatsby's house. The second place that stood out to me was Daisy's dock. It compares a lot with Gatsby. The way a dock is built, sticking out from solid ground, is much the way that Gatsby and his dreams sticks out from reality. Gatsby is so detached from "solid ground" that he begins to lose reason and starts to act rashly, using and abusing people to get what he wants, at all costs. The light on the dock also symbolizes he same idea. Gatsby stares out at this light, and wishes for daisy. This just goes along with the continual theme of this story, lies, deception, and obsession. This green light is a symbol of detachment. The light is not daisy, but it represents daisy. I think this compares well to how Gatsby acts in this story. He is detached from everyone else, pretending to live in his own little world, where no one else matters except for him. He gives evidence of this when he willingly puts Daisy into a bad situation in the argument with Tom. If he loved her, and was not obsessed, he would have done what was best for Daisy, not what he felt was good for himself. This is a great example of his detachment from reality, and something that I think the light on the dock symbolizes.
Gatsby really does keep himself hidden behind all his lie. He likely hates his past which is why he tries to drown it and hide it from everyone. His money came from corrupt methods and probably reminds him of his past like a festering wound. He messed up with Daisy in the past, although he really tries to correct this mistake he made. He did let it reach the point of obsession though. I never thought of Gatsby really being an abusive person using Nick to get to Daisy. He did lose his grasp on reality in his quest to reunite himself with Daisy. Gatsby is a very dynamic character, being played off as a nice character, but having a very dark past.
Jess, I really like the way that you said how Gatsby was not in love, but rather he was obsessed with Daisy. It is true. He had gone off to war, thinking that when he would come back Daisy would be waiting for him and that it would be as it was before he left. Whenever he did come back, however, he found that his one true love had married another man. That is enough to make anyone obsessed. I also like whenever you pointed out the green light at the end of the dock. The light is clearly there and it is easy for him to see, but it is just out of his reach, much like Daisy was. I never thought of how the light on the dock symbolizes Gatsby's detachment form the rest of the world and you came up with a good way to show it.
The first place that i personally think stuck out in the book was Tom Buchanan's house. The book started here, and some other plot points occur later in the book. The house is a nice house, well furnished and everything. This reflects that Tom has the wealth to live in this lifestyle. Some people have the money to live this kind of lifestyle, but do not. Tom likes to feel that he is superior to other people which may be why he has such a lavish house. Throughout the entire book, Tom talks down to everyone and his house can been seen as a sign to this. His house is generally calm throughout the book, nothing really fun and exciting happens in his house. Generally they smoke cigarettes and enjoy some tea there. There are many points where something happens story wise. Daisy giving Gatsby a kiss in the presence of Tom is one example of a major story point. Her putting up the risk of letting Tom find out about her and Gatsby is one rash move she made. Tom's house had a large importance in the telling of "The Great Gatsby." Another place that stands out a great deal to me is Gatsby's house. Gatsby's house is right next to where Nick lives. Gatsby, like Tom, live in a grand house since he had the money to do so. While Tom really did work for his money, Gatsby found it through more illegitimate methods with Wolfsheim. Although, with how Gatsby lives he mainly did it for other people. Gatsby always throws parties that are where many people have fun at. In the Summer nights, Nick could hear music being played from Gatsby's house. One night he went over, after being invited by Gatsby. Gatsby's party brought many people over, but most of them really have little idea of who Gatsby is. One person even doubted whether or not the books Gatsby owned were real. Gatsby's house had its story points like Tom's house did. The most memorable probably being that Gatsby was killed in his own pool. It is a rather horrible idea of dying somewhere a person is so accustomed to. Tom and Gatsby have incredibly different personalities, and their houses show the contradictions. The houses are similar in appearances, being designed grandly, but what happens in them are different. Tom is dry and only really cares about being better than everyone. While Gatsby would rather care about how other people feel. The houses being a way to mirror the personalities of the owners, who are two of the most important characters, is an incredibly complex and deep design.
Tyler, I like the fact that you pointed out how Tom liked to feel superior to everyone else. It was obvious whenever we read the chapter where Gatsby introduced Tom to everyone as "the Polo player" and Tom clearly stated that he did not like to be called that. He wanted to be able to introduce himself and in that situation he was not able to. I think that Tom felt superior to everyone because he was so wealthy. He came from a wealthy family and was probably taught as he was growing up that being wealthy and having a large amount of money means that you are better than everyone else. I, however, disagree whenever you said that Gatsby did not work for his money. Gatsby was very ambitious. He did not come from a wealthy family and he was not able to inherit the money that he was supposed to inherit from Cody. This was the main reason why Gatsby became so ambitious. He wanted to have the best and he had to work for it as well. He had to work harder than Tom did because Gatsby came from nothing and had nothing. Gatsby had to create everything that he was and everything that he had become on his own and if he hadn't worked hard for it, he wouldn't have received as much as he did in the end.
Tyler, in this book, I believe that Gatsby's house does appear very expensive, but it is not nearly as tasteful as Tom's house. It appeared to be built for the specific purpose of showing off wealth instead of hinting at it or understating, which is considered tasteful. We later find out though, that that was the main idea behind the building of Gatsby's house. It was to show Daisy just how wealthy he now was, and to bring her back to him with his wealth
The two main places and the most significant places that stuck out to me in the book were the most obvious, Gatsby's house, and a little less obvious, the boat at sea. The boat was really where Gatsby had started his new life. Before he even met Cody, his name had been James Gatz. He was a poor man who had nothing to live for and he was willing to throw away his old life in order to have a new, better life with Cody. The boat was where Gatsby had changed his name and really changed the way he came off as a person. He realized what it was like to have wealth and he liked it. He was not able to get the money that he was supposed to have after Cody died, and that is what made him work harder for the life that he wanted to have. Gatsby had ended up having a beautiful house. This was all due to the fact that one day he had met Cody and that in that day he was able to change his life. He wanted to be wealthy so he worked for it and this is what he received. Gatsby threw parties at his house, hoping that one day his long lost love would finally come back to him. He stood alone at the parties, making sure not to drink. His staying sober was due to the fact that while he was at the other place, on the boat, he had to take care of Cody and saw what it was like whenever people were that way. He did not want to be out of control. In the beginning, on the boat, Gatsby was not aware of who he was, but at the end, he knew exactly who he was and what he wanted. He became very ambitious because of everything that had happened, he found himself and who he was meant to be.
Morgan, I think your two palces are very good. The boat and Gatsby's house illustrated and symbolized how he morphed into the person he became. I think that, maybe, even Cody could have been a symbol. He showed Gatsby what he shouldn't become and made Gatsby better for it.
The two places that seemed the most significant to me in the book were West and East Egg. In most cities the West Side is always the place where the pooper people live. The East Side of a city was were the prominent and well to do people lived. In The Great Gatsby this was also the case. West Egg was were the unknowns lived, including Gatsby and Nick. Neither of these two characters were well known to the community. Although Gatsby was rich and seemingly popular, no one really knew him. He didn't have close friends. He was sort of a phantom. No one really knew he existed, but you knew he was there. Nick is unknown in the beginning because he is new to the city. He has very little money and does not know many people in the city. West Egg, to me, symbolizes the "different" people of the two locations. East Egg in the higher end of the two. The only people of East Egg we meet are Tom and his wife Daisy. We can put Jordon into this group becuase throughout the story she is there. The East Egg people hid behind their material things in a different way then Gatsby does. Gatsby rather literally hides behind his possessions. No one suspects that he used to be a nobody. Tom and Daisy hide their emotions and the turmoil of their relationship behind the happy looking household. East Egg stands as a symbol of the rich, but also the hiding.
Maddie, I believe that in both East and West Egg, the citizens are almost required to somewhat well to do, but I understand what you mean. The people of West Egg are almost the outcasts in a class where no one would think that there would be outcasts. I always just assumed that money could almost buy the high status desired, but this novel shows that no matter how much money you have, you can't always get exactly what you want from it.
The two places that I have chosen are far more general than most of the other students in this class, but I believe that the two "Eggs" and the valley are the main focal points of this story. Together, they make up almost the entire book, except for the times which they go into the city. The "Eggs" are full of falsely happy people who do not truly care about anything but themselves. These places are full of the rich and powerful, who do not truly care about anything that they do or have. They have the cushion of money to help fix all of their wrong-doings. Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby are all truly unhappy for multiple reasons, Gatsby for Daisy being married to Tom, Daisy because she does not truly love Tom, and Tom because he knows that he is no longer in full control over Daisy. In the valley, the misery there is apparent. No one is truly happy, and the majority of the people here are poor. They do not have the luxury that is found in East and West Egg. Most of the people in the valley seem to appreciate what they have more than the wealthy people of the Eggs. Myrtle and her husband are both obviously unhappy with where they live, and Myrtle is so unhappy that she seeks comfort with Tom because her husband is basically an empty shell. No matter how many differences are found between these places, the people that we know from these places are hiding behind fake happiness. All of the people hide misery under fake happiness, which goes to show that happiness cannot always be brought by money.
I think that Gatsby’s house was on of the most important places in the book. I think that it symbolized pride, money, and how far a man will go in order to get the girl that he wants. I think that Gatsby’s life was full of lies and misunderstandings that he could not stop from spreading. The house that Gatsby lived in was just to show Daisy how rich he had become. I think that he is a very greedy person and just expects more and more from the people and the things around him. The house was very big and was the party house for the summer. The book was set in the 1920’s and the parties consisted of a lot of drinking. This was a big deal to the people back then because it was around the time of the prohibition era and big parties tried to stay under wraps. Gatsby hardly knew any of the people at the parties, but I think that this symbolized careless because he really didn’t care. The only thing that Gatsby cared about was having Daisy fall back in love with him and leave Tom.
ReplyDeleteI think that another place that was very important to the story was New York City. It seemed to be the place where everyone went when they wanted to get away from reality. Tom took Myrtle there in the beginning of the story because they had been seeing each other for a while. Nick, Jordan, Daisy, Tom, and Gatsby all go to New York City one afternoon because Daisy suggested that they all get out of the hot house for a while. Once they got to a hotel, the book started to take a turn. I think that New York City symbolized the climax of the story because this was where we found out that Tom had been investigating Gatsby and found out that he sold grain alcohol illegally. Gatsby then tries to get back at Tom by saying that Daisy never loved him and she had always loved Gatsby. I think that this was a time when society was really changing in history. Divorces weren’t common, but it wasn’t long after that divorce rates started to rise. I also think that the society had a lot of bootleggers at this time period because of the probation. People really wanted the alcohol and the only choice they had was to make and sell alcohol illegally. New York City had a lot of crimes like this because of how big it was and all of the clubs that it had. This is why New York City really had a big effect on the book.
Gatsby’s house and New York City had some similarities. They both seemed to attract some negative situations. New York was where everyone seemed to spill their secrets and the group started to get very angry with each other. Gatsby’s house was where he and Wilson died. I also think that both places represent very different things. Gatsby’s house made people jealous. It was a very big and beautiful house that made Gatsby look like a very happy and rich man when he was really just trying to impress a girl. New York City was a place of desire. People went there to fulfill what they didn’t have in their own life. Tom went there to get away from Daisy, while Daisy took the whole group there because she wanted something to do. I think both of these places helped to mold the book into one of the greatest stories ever told.
Camille, I really like the opinions you have on these two places in the novel. Gatsby's house was a place of desire and it seemed like all dreams could come true there. I think your ideas about New York was a good place to consider and think about. A lot of confrontation and discoveries were made in this area. The time period is never really discussed in the book. Your ideas about the prohobition were not mentioned a lot either, but we realize that that is an underlying theme that is being portrayed wen we learn that Gatsby was once a bootlegger. We also do not think about the divorce as a problem as much because of the time period we are reading in compared to the time period in the story. Back then, divorces were a huge deal and could quite possibly ruin a person. Today, it seems like almost every other person has suffered from a divorce. The only problem with this is that I did not read the rest of the book just yet so I already know the ending! But your comparisons are very well written and I agree with how great of a story this really was.
DeleteCamille, I agree with you in that Gatsby house was one of the most important places in the book. I feel like Gatsby house showed a sign of wealth and power he had over the other characters in the book. Also at the house many min parts of the book happened. I feel like this is where everything started the first night that Nick was invited to the parties. Also i think New York was another good one to pick. Like you said everyone would always go to New York to get away from their problems! this didn't not work all the time we found out. I also feel like New York was a sign that something bad was going to happen because when ever someone in the book took a trip to New York either their or on the way home something bad happened to them. I feel like this was just giving us a foreshadow of what was going to happen next in the book. Another thing that is the same about both that you picked is that. major things happen in both places. Gatsby and Tom get in a fight in New York and then Gatsby ends up getting killed at his House. I feel like you made very good points in your blog this week about the book.
DeleteCamille, I agree with you about Gatsby's house being a big symbol in the book. It symbolizes his wealth and power in the book. His power and how he had so much desire and ambition to get Daisy back. I never considered New York City being a symbolism. From what you described that is a really good one. I think that all the crimes and the problems that happened in New York City did foreshadow and tell us that something bad is going to happen in the book.
DeleteGatsby built his house around the money that he earned. The house turns out to be a big party house with roaming partygoers and strangers almost always present throughout the summer nights. The house is a scene for good times and enjoyment for the guests who find their way to becoming guests, but Gatsby does not partake in all of the festivities that happen in his own house. The house symbolizes a fun-loving, materialistic view on life, even though Gatsby does not participate in the main activity of the house, drinking alcohol. The true reason for constructing a place like his own was to win back the love of his life, Daisy. His hopes were to build such a lavish house and throw so many parties that resembled his new extravagance so that Daisy would one day wander over and witness herself how much he has earned for himself and how much he changed for her.
ReplyDeleteThe house that Tom and Daisy live in together was also built around the money that they both had together, and both liked to talk about. However, Tom and Daisy used their home with different views than Gatsby did. Tom and Daisy were not as social as Gatsby and did not have as many friends or acquaintances, resulting in less parties than Gatsby. The scenes that take place at Tom and Daisy's include many introductions to characters throughout the novel and also many confrontations and discoveries. The house holds much hostility and secrets that are held between both Tom and Daisy. Here holds the struggle of many relationships that develop and change as the novel goes on. Tom and Daisy's house symbolizes the conflict of relationships in the book, leaving the two people with the most relationship secrets alone together to deal with each other without interruption.
Gatsby's house and Tom and Daisy's house are very similar in ways that are very materialistic. Gatsby wants to show his house off to Daisy so that she sees everything that he has become. Tom and Daisy like to talk about their riches and where all of the lavish parts of their house came from. However, the two scenes also differ from each other. Gatsby's house is a place constantly full of people and partying while Tom and Daisy's house is a place more used for solitude and a struggling couple to be more by themselves. I think both of these settings provide necessary places for action in the book to take place and mold the great novel together.
Carli, I think the same thing with Gatsby house. It was made to have fun parties so he could win back his true love. I feel it did not fulfill those standards though. In the end we see that Gatsby ends up dying before he can have Daisy. Also i think that Tom and Daisy house was a good one. Even though much of the story does not take place there it is still very important in the story. Many events happen t the house that are important to the story. In the beginning we find out lot about the main people at dinner that first night everything seemed to start. I feel like you picked two good places to talk about in this weeks blog.
DeleteCarli, I don't agree with the point you made about Tom and Daisy not being as social as Gatsby. I think that Gatsby had more parties and knew more people but even though this happened, he really didn't socialize with many people. I feel like Tom and Daisy went to fewer parties than Gatsby, yet they associated with more people unlike Gatsby who sat off to the side most of the time. I never really thought about Tom and Daisy's house the way that you did. I never really realized that the house could have any meaning at all because it wasn't really mentioned a lot. I agree with your statements though because Gatsby's house was a place for parties, happiness, and excitement throughout the whole course of the novel where as Tom and Daisy's house wasn't a very happy place at all.
DeleteI think that two places that show a lot of significance in the book for this weeks blogs are Tom and daisy house and Gatsby house. Both of them I feel were very important in the book. Without having the parts in the book that happened at these places we would not get the full story.
ReplyDeleteEven though lot of the story did not take place at Tom and daisy house the parts that happened there were very important. In the beginning of the book we found out a lot about all the characters in the book and their importance of the story. I feel like unlike any other place in the book this is where they gave a lot of detail. Also whenever the house was brought up I felt like we were going to find out something new about on of the charters during the chapter. Also the events that happen at the house with Tom and Daisy baby show a lot about how both of them only care about themselves and aren't ready to take responsibility for anther person because they can hardy take care of themselves. Also this was one of the places where money wasn't being flaunted at other people as much as other parts in the book.
Gatsby house was another place in the book that showed a lot of importance thought out the plot. Gatsby house was a sign of power and wealth. With all the parties and festivities going on all the time and through out the summer. I think it showed how a lot of people in that time period lived or tried to fake that they lived that way. Another reason for the house was that Gatsby wanted to show daisy that he was rich and he was going back for. I think he realizes that just having a nice house and money , even though it was a big deal with Daisy, that is not all she cares about. I feel as thought thats why he fires all his servants. this is how i think that this was a significant place in the story.
Hayley, I totally agree with you about Gatsby's house. I also picked his house as one of the places in the book where I felt a lot of situations that took place. I like your point about Gatsby's house being a symbol of power and wealth. Just those two words alone explain Gatsby's personality perfectly. The only thing that he wanted in life was for Daisy to love him and he felt that having a big house would prove to her that he is rich. I also like your idea of his house being like a big party. I thought the same thing about how back then everyone wanted to show that they had money. I had never thought about Tom and Daisy's house as being significant to the story until I read your blog. I like how you pointed out that there were very important parts to the book that took place there, such as the personalities of the characters. I really like the two places that you chose.
DeleteHayley, I like the places that you chose, especially since I chose the same ones to write about. Both of these settings provide so much information throughout the story. i liked how you pointed out that even though Tom and Daisy's house were not featured that much throughout the story, we almost always knew a secret or discovery would be revealed when the characters were placed in this setting. I also like the part that you added about the baby. Our class has been having much controversy over this baby, and we realize that she suffers from neglect. This neglect that you speak of proves how self centered the characters really are. I think when dealing with the Gatsby house you explained the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy very well. The only suggestion i can think of would be to include more differences and similarities in a side by side comparison. Good insight into the novel!
ReplyDeleteHayley, I feel the same with your blog as I did for Carli's. I never really looked at Tom and Daisy's house as a place with a significant meaning. I think that everything in the book had a special meaning or significance to it, once we look more in depth on it. I agree with your statement about the baby. The baby suffers so much neglect throughout the course of the story. It shows that Daisy, along with other characters, are really self centered. They only care about their money and their social status. I think that you could have added a bit more detail into your blog, but other than that I think it was very well written.
DeleteGatsby's house and the dock are two main places that have a lot of symbolism. They both symbolize money and fortune. The house symbolizes fortune because of its size and appearance and all of the parties that go on there. The dock symbolizes fortune because when they are where people park fancy boats. When Gatsby throws those parties to lure Daisy into his house, he is trying to win her by his fortune and money. The house becomes empty, not like a home anymore once Gatsby dies. It went from being someones home to just being a house. It symbolizes emptiness. Same with the dock because when Gatsby stares at the dock it symbolizes his emptiness to not have Daisy. They can both symbolize love in some ways also. The house symbolizes Gatsby's love for Daisy by having all his parties to try to impress her. Out of love he throws these parties because once he does win her back, he stops throwing these parties. The dock symbolizes love because when Gatsby stares at it it's because he loves Daisy and that is Daisy's dock, he dreams of her while staring at it. He dreams of his love for her.
ReplyDeleteDifferences between them is that the dock symbolizes the fact that it is unknown, dark, and scary. It's limited and it can't go on forever. The house can be made into another persons home, so it is able to go on. Also, the dock symbolizes Gatsby's longing for Daisy. The house symbolizes what men will do to get the girl of their dreams and fortune itself. He stares longingly at the dock because he wishes Daisy was his. The green light can symbolize Gatsby's hope for Daisy. His hope to win her back. The house and dock value popularity and money. Both of them make a person look better. They value looking good whether it be to have big parties at your nice home or having a nice dock. In this book there is no work ethic. It is all about popularity, love, hatred, and betrayal. The values in this book aren't like the values we have in our life.
Leah, I had never thought about the dock being a symbol of the book. I really think you did a good job of picking something out of the ordinary that wasn't a big part of the story, yet it almost explains the story. I had never thought of the dock symbolizing love. You had a very good point when you said that it showed how Gatsby still loved Dasiy even when they didn't see each other. It gave him a type of closure that he had been searching many years for. Also, good job on saying that the dock symbolized money because of the types of boats that were parked there. I think that a lot of people are going to pick Gatsby's house because a lot of the story took place there. It symbolized greed and power because Gatsby was just trying to get Daisy by showing he had money. I think that popularity was also a good word to describe Gatsby's house. I really liked your thoughts on the book Leah.
DeleteLeah, your choice of places is something I never thought of and you did a very good job explaining them. I had thought of the dock representing Gatsby's love for Daisy, but didn't recognize it as well as you did. Your explanation of Gatsby using his money to get Daisy was very good and I really enjoyed reading your blog.
DeleteThe places in the novel that really stuck out tome are East Egg and West Egg. East Egg is a place where people lived who had been born into money. Daisy and Tom are examples of East Eggers. The people from East Egg are careless. They only care about themselves. This is present when Daisy was driving and she hit Myrtle after she had been warned earlier about being a careless driver. To this she responded that she wasn’t careless and that everyone else should watch out for her. It is also present in the neglect that she shows her baby. She doesn’t even take care of her own daughter. I feel as though she never even wanted the baby in the first place. When she doesn’t want to take care of her daughter, all she does is give her to the nurse. The people of East Egg are only concerned their money and they don’t care about the fact that they may be hurting others. The people of East Egg are portrayed as being very classy and amazing compared to the people of West Egg who are portrayed as being vulgar and have no taste.
ReplyDeleteWest Egg is a place where the newly rich live. I think that the people of East Egg view the people of West Egg as trashy. I think that a lot of people from East Egg think the people of West Egg all earned their money from doing illegal activities such as bootlegging. The people of West Egg however, seem to care more about others than the people of East Egg do. Even though Gatsby gained his wealth from illegal activities, he has a huge heart. His death was the direct result of his huge heart because instead of telling that Daisy was the one that hit Myrtle with the car, he took the blame for it. He also stood outside Daisy’s window to make sure Tom didn’t hurt her once he found out about the affair. I feel as though people from East Egg wouldn’t care enough about people to do something like this and the people of West Egg such as Gatsby and Nick, would do anything to help out another person.
I think you over generalized the towns. You used more of an opinion than real logical facts out of the book. I agree that West Egg and East Egg are different in some ways like how one is looked higher upon than the other, but these aren't a very big part of the book. A lot of these people don't fit into one town, they may associate with one town but they fit in with both. Gatsby is a big one that is on the line. Your blog was a little hard to follow at points and used a lot of anaphora. Other than that your blog had a lot of important facts that I didn't consider about each place.
DeleteI completely agree with your blog, and it is what I wrote about also. I got a little confused while reading your blog, but I got the main points. Some of the ideas you had listed were some I never thought of. Good job interpreting the book with the symbolism! I couldn't do that as much.
DeleteWest Egg and East Egg are the two places that stuck out to me in the book, “The Great Gatsby.” West Egg is where Nick moved to, where he lived next to Gatsby. This area is where people who are newly rich move to. East Egg is home to Daisy and Tom, who symbolize a wealthy couple who are very aristocratic. We never got to see anyone else who lived in that area, so I picture East Egg to be a very stuck-up and rich community. Tom was very racist and full of himself, and Daisy was an airhead who just went with what was going on. I don’t find this group of people to be very social, and try to stick with people of “their class.” Nick and Gatsby associate with everyone around and Gatsby has parties with a ton of people. Nick and Gatsby also are very caring and try to help as many people as possible, whereas Daisy and Tom were focused on themselves and didn’t care about the welfare of others. This really shows when Daisy hit and killed Myrtle and didn’t even stop. Personally, I didn’t find many similarities between the two and just found all differences.
ReplyDeleteNicole, I found it very interesting how you didn't find any similarities between these two places. Both were full of rich people, even though they came across wealth in different ways. I felt that Gatsby was also showing off his wealth to others by having these great parties. I never really thought about how they could be different in how Gatsby had parties and was very social compared to Tom and Daisy, who just wanted to mingle with people of their social class. This was really good. Great job of the blog.
DeleteNicole, these places may sound the same, but they are not similar at all. I thought it was interesting that the story never mentioned anything in the two cities besides the normal characters. There really were not any new characters that introduced in the middle or end of the story. This does not happen very often in my opinion. The people in the two cities were different. One of the cities had people that were stuck up and full of themselves, while the other was very social and cared for everyone around. This is why the only major parties occurred at Gatsby's house. That is exactly why Daisy did not stop when she hit Myrtle.
DeleteWithin the Great Gatsby, the characters seem to move around to different places that all symbolizes something. One of these locations includes Gatsby mansion. Gatsby home was used to show off his wealth to his young love, Daisy. Throughout the novel Gatsby’s home is full of life and spirit. In my opinion Gatsby’s parties showed me PART of his personality. To me Gatsby is a caring person, who would do anything to meet someone’s needs, BUT there is another side of Gatsby. Usually during the parties Gatsby seems to be missing or on the phone. This draws the question, where did his wealth come from? Gatsby’s house for me resembled wonder.
ReplyDeleteAnother location in the Great Gatsby that had great significance was Tom and Daisy house. Although this house is not mentioned too often, it showed great symbolism. Tom and Daisy lived in East Egg. East Egg is a community for the upper class or rich people. In the novel Nick refers to Tom and Daisy taking part in a secret society. After reading this novel I believe that this secret society involves Tom and Daisy’s household and Tom’s mistress’s home. Tom and Daisy’s house is large and grand. This house also represents their wealth. Throughout this house many of littlest features have meaning. For example at the end of Tom and Daisy’s dock is a flashing green light. This green light is seen across the waters by Gatsby. For Gatsby this light symbolizing his longing and desire for Daisy. Gatsby sees it as that he is so close to her, but yet so far away. Also Tom and Daisy’s personalities are revealed by the occurrences within the house. Daisy has a little girl, but it seems as though she doesn’t care for her as much as a mother should. Instead the little girl is always with her nurse. This event reveals how careless or clueless Daisy is. As for Tom, he receives mysterious phone calls (like Gatsby). These phone calls reveal that Tom has a second life. In a way Gatsby and Tom both share some of the same qualities. Tom’s anger management issues are also revealed within the household. Tom and Daisy’s house has great significance and reveals many of the characters morals.
Finally I felt as though that I could not end my blog without mentioning one more object. This object is seen throughout the novel, and kept wondering what its significance was. This object is the billboard of T.J. Eckleburg. The most noticeable about this billboard was its eyes. These eyes were always staring and watching the actions of everyone. In the eighth chapter Mr. Wilson, the husband of Tom’s mistress, reveals the billboard’s symbolism. The eyes on the billboard represent the eyes of God. God is always there watching everything and everyone. This symbolism, in my opinion, was the greatest throughout everything in the novel.
Marla, i totally agree on how you said that the house of Gatsby shows wonder. I also feel that it shows a sense of arrogance. I felt that Gatsby might have been showing off all of his riches which would be kind of annoying if i was a part of his time. I also feel that Tom and Daisy's house was very similar to Gatsby's because they were both very rich, but they were different because Gatsby wasnt born into wealth while Tom and Daisy were. Maybe you should have compared these two places more in your blog, but all in all it was really awesome how you picked these two places because they show so many simiarities.
DeleteYour the first person I have heard who talks about Gatsby's house as a mansion. I think it is better as a "masnion." Itis more descriptive of how I think his house would appear. It gives a great idea of how the house appears and what it symbolizes.I have not thought about it showing wonder, but I think you are right in saying it. It does make one wonder about Gatsby. Personally, I think Gatsby is a much less caring person than you said, but you were right on with the idea of "showing wonder." I also agree with the idea of the green light symbolizing Gatsby's longing for daisy. It seems weird that he would stare across the water at the light, but as the book has progressed we have seen what he thinks about, nonstop. Now it is no surprise that he would look at that light often. Well done with the blog!
DeleteTwo places in the book that really stuck out to me in comparison to each other was the Wilson's house and Buchanan's house. These houses were both full of similarities and differences that showed the characteristics of the people living there and what was taking place within those two house holds.
ReplyDeleteWhere Myrtle and George Wilson lived was in an apartment above their car garage that George Wilson owned. The house was on a street located in the city of New York. Unfortunately, George and Myrtle didn't make much money off of their car garage business, so they were not very wealthy. Also, Myrtle was having an affair with Tom Buchanan, which plays a part in the similarities of the two houses.
Tom was also married to Daisy. During is marriage he was having an affair with Myrtle Wilson. Both Daisy and George didn't know either of their spouses were having affairs until the very end of the book. Tom and Daisy were very different to the Wilson's in how they lived. They lived in an are outside of the city were they were both born into wealthy families. They lived in East Egg, which was very different compared to where the Wilson's lived because people who lived there had nice elegant houses that showed their wealth to surrounding people.
The symbolism that played between these two places is that the East Eggers symbolize the people that only care about themselves and what they have. If they have more money they are the happiest, while George Wilson, to me, symbolized poor people that don't have to have money to lead a happy life.
In conclusion, these two places showed very different characteristics of each other on who lived there and how much money these people own. The similarities were that the people in these two houses intertwined in some parts of the story. They were also similar because one person from both houses were having affairs without the spouses knowing.
Emma, before this blog I never really thought of many symbols within the two places. Myrtle had an affair with Tom, which had a major connection between the two houses. I thought that it was interesting that Tom tried to hide his secret relationship with Myrtle. If Daisy would have known of this before, she probably would have left Tom for good. Tom was very good at hiding stuff from people. It was an extreme difference that George Wilson did not have as much money as Tom. They were not even close to the amount of money they had. Overall a good blog showing the differences between the two places.
DeleteEmma, I never really thought of there being a connection between the two locations in the novel. There was definately a connection between Tom and Myrtle, but I really like how you pointed out the connection between Daisy and George. Both of these spouses were being lied to. Tom was lying to Daisy, and Myrtle was lying to George. Tom's house could symbolize his wealth and power over others, and George's home could show how you do not need wealth to be happy.
DeleteEmma, I never thought of the Wilson household being symbolic. I agree with you that Buchanan household symbolized wealth. I like how you incorporated the two couples marriage and affairs, but what does this symbolize? Unhappiness? I wish you would have linked these two different places with a reoccurring theme such as deception. Your descriptions of the two households are correct and are very informative. Also with using these two households you could have incorporated how the secret society was put into play.
DeleteEmma, good idea with the Wilson home! George Wilson, to me, demonstrated the morals of that era. Although it was a wild time in history, people were far more morally inclined then they are today. George truly loved his wife and we could tell that he worked hard to support her. Of course killing Gatsby was moral at all... so he loses points for that. However, Tom had more to do with Gatsby's death than we first expected. George, although his motives didn't make the crime right, he was doing it for his wife. Tom basically sent George to kill Gatsby. He caused Gatsby's death. He did this for no reason other than revenge. He'd already lost his mistress, he couldn't deal with the fact that he might lose Daisy too.
DeleteGatsby’s house is my first topic for the most symbolism in the story. It symbolized many things. One of the things being money. Gatsby and Wolfsheim got their money by setting up drug stores in Chicago and selling over-the-counter drugs. We did not know this fact until later in the story. Gatsby’s house was described as being very large and beautiful, this is because he had much money from working at the drug stores with Wolfsheim. Some of us thought that Gatsby received his money from Wolfsheim, who was involved in a scandal of the World Series. Gatsby was not always wealthy, he grew up without a lot of money actually and then inherited it from his job. The second thing that Gatsby’s house symbolized was love. In the second or third chapter, Nick saw Gatsby looking out into the sky and then seeing a green light across from his house. This was the light that was on Daisy’s dock. It reminded Gatsby of all the love that he had for Daisy before he went off to war. Whenever Daisy went out to Gatsby’s house, they expressed love for each other too. These two pieces of symbolism from Gatsby’s house were the most significant in the story in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteMy second topic for symbolism is the Buchanan household where Daisy lived. Whenever Gatsby went to Tom Buchanan’s house, Tom tried to keep his eye on them, but when he slipped away, they express their love with a simple kiss on the cheek. This place symbolized both love and hatred. Tom did not like Gatsby because he was trying to take his wife away from him. Tom did not think that was fair. Daisy and Tom had a child together so they should have loved each other but Daisy later claimed that she only loved him for a little bit. She thought of Gatsby a lot. The two houses are connected in a secret way because of the green light that shined off of Daisy’s dock. Whenever Gatsby saw the light, he immediately thought of Daisy, and that expressed love of its own. The Buchanan household was an interesting place in the story because it had opposite symbols, love and hatred. This is a characteristic that is extremely unique.
Andrew, I like how you connected the two houses. I agree that the green light connected them, but I also feel that the light symbolized how they were not together at all. I feel that the light could have also symbolized Gatsby's desire for Daisy; how Gatsby could be so close to Daisy, yet he still kept apart from her. I never would have thought of Daisy's house and Gatsby's house of being similar. It was a good idea of this connection because it isn't until later in the story that there really is any connection between Gatsby and Daisy.
DeleteAndrew, you chose two very symbolic locations in this novel to describe in your blog. I especially liked how you brought to attention how and why Gatsby’s house was an example of symbolism. The look of Gatsby’s house shows the readers Gatsby’s wealth, but love was a deeper symbol. Gatsby’s dazing at the green light every night proves your statement about the house symbolizing love. Also your statement about the Buchanan household caught my attention. I never thought of the house symbolizing both love and hatred. You are absolutely correct!!! Great job.
DeleteTwo locations that really stuck out to me in the story were Gatsby’s house and Nick’s house. Even though the two men were neighbors in West Egg, Nick never really knew his neighbor up until the day he died. In the beginning of the book, Nick had just moved there with very little money. The family he grew up with wasn’t wealthy, but Nick was better off than others. When Nick moved to West Egg, he moved there to get a job in the city and make a living. I think that reflects itself into his home. Nick lived in a small, modest home that was just large enough to live alone. It served its purpose for a place for him to eat, sleep, and live.
ReplyDeleteNick lived the modest of all the characters in the book and of all of them, Nick stayed true to him the entire way. His home symbolizes Nick’s role in the story. He wasn’t corrupt or greedy, and was there for Gatsby until the day he died. Nick was honest enough to tell us that he had only ever been drunk twice in his life, and never once did he lose himself at any of Gatsby’s parties, where the rich and powerful East Eggers simply came to party and use Gatsby. Nick never used his friend, and even welcomed him and Daisy into his home.
Unlike Nick, Gatsby moved to Egg for his own reasons; he moved there to prove his wealth and power, and hoped to win back the love of his life. It first made me wonder why Gatsby would live in West Egg when all of the rich and Daisy lived in East Egg. I feel it was so that his house would stand out even more compared to homes like Nick’s over in West Egg. Gatsby’s house can easily compare to him as a person. It was vast and mysterious, and we began to hear more and more about it throughout the book just as we began to learn more and more about Gatsby.
Gatsby’s house symbolized the wealth and fortune that he claimed to have, but he still separated himself from the rich of East Egg. This, to me, shows that Gatsby not only wanted to be rich like those in East Egg, but he wanted to show that he was better. This is why he threw huge parties that everyone wanted to attend. I think the location of the mansion also gives insight into the mystery of the character. Gatsby’s house was open for all to party and see, but he still only ever showed Daisy and Nick his smaller living space. Also, I feel that the lake between Gatsby’s house and Daisy’s house had a strong meaning, especially the green light at the end of the Dock. It symbolized that no matter how rich Gatsby would portray himself to be, there would always be something keeping Gatsby and Daisy apart.
To compare the Nick’s house and Gatsby’s house, there are some big differences between the two friends. Nick’s house was always there to serve its purpose, and Gatsby’s house was never a home at all; it symbolized the lie that Gatsby lived and the desire to be someone he wasn’t. Nick’s house was honest; there were no closed doors, room for secrets, and he didn’t try to impress anyone. Gatsby’s house simply served for nothing but impression. It was simply a lie so that Gatsby could try to be someone he would never be.
I agree with the idea of Gatsby's house being a major part of the story. I also agree with the way you stated that it symbolized wealth and riches that he supposedly had. I completely agree with what "little world" Gatsby is living in. His world of lies and what he wants others to think he is is represented well in his house. Nick's house seems to be the polar opposite of others. Nick is not hiding behind any lies, and he seems to care about others genuinely. You portrayed this well in your blog. Great Job!
DeleteOf all the characters in the book, Nick is probably the only one that does not have an over inflated ego. He is surrounded by almost exclusively millionaires which is likely the reason. In the very beginning of the book, Nick even stated that he gets the honor of being surrounded by millionaires all for 80$ a month. His house never had to much of an impact on the story, he just lived there really. As for Gatsby's house, i never thought of it like you did. I personally thought he was to nice of a person to want to prove that he is better than anyone else. He did make himself stand out by doing this though.
DeleteThe first main main place in the book is Gatsby's house. This location is a symbol of lies, riches, and dreams. It is a symbol of these because of the very singular individual who lives there. Gatsby is all of these. He lies because of the way he treats his past. He hides it and purposely deceives others about the way he has lived his life. Also, he uses Nick just to attempt to get close to Daisy. This house is also a symbol of riches. Gatsby is rich. Although his past was shady, he was rich, and his house symbolizes the way some rich people have all the money in the world, but their character is flawed. Then they are never happy. Gatsby is a dreamer. He dreams of things he never could have, especially Daisy. He is constantly obsessed with Daisy. He becomes so obsessed, he is willing to put her into danger and pain, this is not "love," but obsession. He puts Daisy in dangerous and potentially harmful arguments, trying to make her say things she never would. This is the same characteristics he has shown throughout the book of being someone who uses others. All because of his obsession, his dreaming. All of these complicated ideas are symbolized in Gatsby's house.
ReplyDeleteThe second place that stood out to me was Daisy's dock. It compares a lot with Gatsby. The way a dock is built, sticking out from solid ground, is much the way that Gatsby and his dreams sticks out from reality. Gatsby is so detached from "solid ground" that he begins to lose reason and starts to act rashly, using and abusing people to get what he wants, at all costs. The light on the dock also symbolizes he same idea. Gatsby stares out at this light, and wishes for daisy. This just goes along with the continual theme of this story, lies, deception, and obsession. This green light is a symbol of detachment. The light is not daisy, but it represents daisy. I think this compares well to how Gatsby acts in this story. He is detached from everyone else, pretending to live in his own little world, where no one else matters except for him. He gives evidence of this when he willingly puts Daisy into a bad situation in the argument with Tom. If he loved her, and was not obsessed, he would have done what was best for Daisy, not what he felt was good for himself. This is a great example of his detachment from reality, and something that I think the light on the dock symbolizes.
Gatsby really does keep himself hidden behind all his lie. He likely hates his past which is why he tries to drown it and hide it from everyone. His money came from corrupt methods and probably reminds him of his past like a festering wound. He messed up with Daisy in the past, although he really tries to correct this mistake he made. He did let it reach the point of obsession though. I never thought of Gatsby really being an abusive person using Nick to get to Daisy. He did lose his grasp on reality in his quest to reunite himself with Daisy. Gatsby is a very dynamic character, being played off as a nice character, but having a very dark past.
DeleteJess, I really like the way that you said how Gatsby was not in love, but rather he was obsessed with Daisy. It is true. He had gone off to war, thinking that when he would come back Daisy would be waiting for him and that it would be as it was before he left. Whenever he did come back, however, he found that his one true love had married another man. That is enough to make anyone obsessed. I also like whenever you pointed out the green light at the end of the dock. The light is clearly there and it is easy for him to see, but it is just out of his reach, much like Daisy was. I never thought of how the light on the dock symbolizes Gatsby's detachment form the rest of the world and you came up with a good way to show it.
DeleteThe first place that i personally think stuck out in the book was Tom Buchanan's house. The book started here, and some other plot points occur later in the book. The house is a nice house, well furnished and everything. This reflects that Tom has the wealth to live in this lifestyle. Some people have the money to live this kind of lifestyle, but do not. Tom likes to feel that he is superior to other people which may be why he has such a lavish house. Throughout the entire book, Tom talks down to everyone and his house can been seen as a sign to this. His house is generally calm throughout the book, nothing really fun and exciting happens in his house. Generally they smoke cigarettes and enjoy some tea there. There are many points where something happens story wise. Daisy giving Gatsby a kiss in the presence of Tom is one example of a major story point. Her putting up the risk of letting Tom find out about her and Gatsby is one rash move she made. Tom's house had a large importance in the telling of "The Great Gatsby."
ReplyDeleteAnother place that stands out a great deal to me is Gatsby's house. Gatsby's house is right next to where Nick lives. Gatsby, like Tom, live in a grand house since he had the money to do so. While Tom really did work for his money, Gatsby found it through more illegitimate methods with Wolfsheim. Although, with how Gatsby lives he mainly did it for other people. Gatsby always throws parties that are where many people have fun at. In the Summer nights, Nick could hear music being played from Gatsby's house. One night he went over, after being invited by Gatsby. Gatsby's party brought many people over, but most of them really have little idea of who Gatsby is. One person even doubted whether or not the books Gatsby owned were real. Gatsby's house had its story points like Tom's house did. The most memorable probably being that Gatsby was killed in his own pool. It is a rather horrible idea of dying somewhere a person is so accustomed to. Tom and Gatsby have incredibly different personalities, and their houses show the contradictions. The houses are similar in appearances, being designed grandly, but what happens in them are different. Tom is dry and only really cares about being better than everyone. While Gatsby would rather care about how other people feel. The houses being a way to mirror the personalities of the owners, who are two of the most important characters, is an incredibly complex and deep design.
Tyler, I like the fact that you pointed out how Tom liked to feel superior to everyone else. It was obvious whenever we read the chapter where Gatsby introduced Tom to everyone as "the Polo player" and Tom clearly stated that he did not like to be called that. He wanted to be able to introduce himself and in that situation he was not able to. I think that Tom felt superior to everyone because he was so wealthy. He came from a wealthy family and was probably taught as he was growing up that being wealthy and having a large amount of money means that you are better than everyone else. I, however, disagree whenever you said that Gatsby did not work for his money. Gatsby was very ambitious. He did not come from a wealthy family and he was not able to inherit the money that he was supposed to inherit from Cody. This was the main reason why Gatsby became so ambitious. He wanted to have the best and he had to work for it as well. He had to work harder than Tom did because Gatsby came from nothing and had nothing. Gatsby had to create everything that he was and everything that he had become on his own and if he hadn't worked hard for it, he wouldn't have received as much as he did in the end.
DeleteTyler, in this book, I believe that Gatsby's house does appear very expensive, but it is not nearly as tasteful as Tom's house. It appeared to be built for the specific purpose of showing off wealth instead of hinting at it or understating, which is considered tasteful. We later find out though, that that was the main idea behind the building of Gatsby's house. It was to show Daisy just how wealthy he now was, and to bring her back to him with his wealth
DeleteThe two main places and the most significant places that stuck out to me in the book were the most obvious, Gatsby's house, and a little less obvious, the boat at sea.
ReplyDeleteThe boat was really where Gatsby had started his new life. Before he even met Cody, his name had been James Gatz. He was a poor man who had nothing to live for and he was willing to throw away his old life in order to have a new, better life with Cody. The boat was where Gatsby had changed his name and really changed the way he came off as a person. He realized what it was like to have wealth and he liked it. He was not able to get the money that he was supposed to have after Cody died, and that is what made him work harder for the life that he wanted to have.
Gatsby had ended up having a beautiful house. This was all due to the fact that one day he had met Cody and that in that day he was able to change his life. He wanted to be wealthy so he worked for it and this is what he received. Gatsby threw parties at his house, hoping that one day his long lost love would finally come back to him. He stood alone at the parties, making sure not to drink. His staying sober was due to the fact that while he was at the other place, on the boat, he had to take care of Cody and saw what it was like whenever people were that way. He did not want to be out of control.
In the beginning, on the boat, Gatsby was not aware of who he was, but at the end, he knew exactly who he was and what he wanted. He became very ambitious because of everything that had happened, he found himself and who he was meant to be.
Morgan, I think your two palces are very good. The boat and Gatsby's house illustrated and symbolized how he morphed into the person he became. I think that, maybe, even Cody could have been a symbol. He showed Gatsby what he shouldn't become and made Gatsby better for it.
DeleteThe two places that seemed the most significant to me in the book were West and East Egg. In most cities the West Side is always the place where the pooper people live. The East Side of a city was were the prominent and well to do people lived. In The Great Gatsby this was also the case.
ReplyDeleteWest Egg was were the unknowns lived, including Gatsby and Nick. Neither of these two characters were well known to the community. Although Gatsby was rich and seemingly popular, no one really knew him. He didn't have close friends. He was sort of a phantom. No one really knew he existed, but you knew he was there. Nick is unknown in the beginning because he is new to the city. He has very little money and does not know many people in the city. West Egg, to me, symbolizes the "different" people of the two locations.
East Egg in the higher end of the two. The only people of East Egg we meet are Tom and his wife Daisy. We can put Jordon into this group becuase throughout the story she is there. The East Egg people hid behind their material things in a different way then Gatsby does. Gatsby rather literally hides behind his possessions. No one suspects that he used to be a nobody. Tom and Daisy hide their emotions and the turmoil of their relationship behind the happy looking household. East Egg stands as a symbol of the rich, but also the hiding.
Maddie, I believe that in both East and West Egg, the citizens are almost required to somewhat well to do, but I understand what you mean. The people of West Egg are almost the outcasts in a class where no one would think that there would be outcasts. I always just assumed that money could almost buy the high status desired, but this novel shows that no matter how much money you have, you can't always get exactly what you want from it.
DeleteThe two places that I have chosen are far more general than most of the other students in this class, but I believe that the two "Eggs" and the valley are the main focal points of this story. Together, they make up almost the entire book, except for the times which they go into the city.
ReplyDeleteThe "Eggs" are full of falsely happy people who do not truly care about anything but themselves. These places are full of the rich and powerful, who do not truly care about anything that they do or have. They have the cushion of money to help fix all of their wrong-doings. Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby are all truly unhappy for multiple reasons, Gatsby for Daisy being married to Tom, Daisy because she does not truly love Tom, and Tom because he knows that he is no longer in full control over Daisy.
In the valley, the misery there is apparent. No one is truly happy, and the majority of the people here are poor. They do not have the luxury that is found in East and West Egg. Most of the people in the valley seem to appreciate what they have more than the wealthy people of the Eggs. Myrtle and her husband are both obviously unhappy with where they live, and Myrtle is so unhappy that she seeks comfort with Tom because her husband is basically an empty shell.
No matter how many differences are found between these places, the people that we know from these places are hiding behind fake happiness. All of the people hide misery under fake happiness, which goes to show that happiness cannot always be brought by money.