Huck Finn-- blog 4 (chpt 31-43)

               As The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn came to a close, the themes and symbols were apparent and full-circle. Remarks about society, slavery, and morals helped add to each of the themes. Also, different characters that Huck and Jim encountered throughout the book assisted with symbols and themes.

                To begin with, Huck always discussed how he wanted to live his life in a similar manner as Tom Sawyer. Huck wanted to be out on an adventure since Tom Sawyer was always looking for an adventure. Huck always seemed to relate himself to Tom, until Huck and Jim run into Tom beginning in chapters 32 and 33. Tom agrees to help free Jim only because he wants to turn it into an adventure and game, while Huck is very serious about freeing Jim. After spending quality time with Jim, Huck has developed a strong bond with Jim and an adventure or game is the last thing Huck wants it to develop into. These chapters that cover the relationship between Huck and Tom prove their main difference of morals and maturity. Starting out as a young and immature boy, Huck begins to mature while on his adventure with Jim and becomes dissimilar from Tom. Tom Sawyer’s character helps relate to the theme of morals especially after Twain reveals that Tom knew throughout the entire story that Jim was freed. Tom’s secret, though, also contributed to the book. If Tom would have told Huck and Jim the truth earlier in the book, Huck and Jim would not have gone on their adventure down the river. Huck would not have developed into the character that he was at the conclusion of the book, and his and Jim’s relationship would have remained as acquaintances. Therefore, even though Tom Sawyer’s character began to grow rather differently from Huck, he still helped develop a major part of the book with the relationship between Huck and Jim.

                Slavery was also a major factor in this book. At the end of the book Huck tells, “and when Aunt Polly and Uncle Silas and Aunt Sally found out how good he [Jim] helped the doctor nurse Tom, they made a heap of fuss over him, and fixed him up prime, and give him all he wanted to eat, and a good time.” Finally, these people realized that Jim was not a bad man and actually helped Tom after he was shot in the leg. This situation represents racism and slavery. Just because Jim was a black slave, people expected him to be a bad man and were always set out to try to catch him and turn him in. People never realized that Jim is actually a selfless, caring man with good intentions. This specific theme still relates to society today. Even though slavery is no longer a part of our society, some people still have poor views of blacks and other races. The theme helps address the fact that all races should be seen equally.

                Jim’s superstitions that he brought up throughout the entire book appeared once again in the last chapter. As Jim told Huck previously, hairy arms or a hairy chest are a sign of good luck and also signify that the person is rich. Jim told Huck that he was rich before and would eventually be rich again. In the final chapter Jim tells Huck, “what I tell you up dah on Jackson islan’? I tole you I got a hairy breas’, en what’s de sign un it; en I tole you I ben rich wunst, en gwineter to be rich agin…” At the beginning, Huck hesitates to believe Jim and his questionable superstitions. Jim telling Huck about this particular superstition should help foreshadow that Jim will be free and rich at the end of the book. Jim’s superstitions also prove that Huck begins to put trust into him and they gain a close bond.

                The final chapters of the book helped recognize the themes and symbols that the book exemplified.  

Huck Finn blog 3 (chpt. 23-30)

Huck has continued to struggle with his internal conflict of whether or not he should turn Jim in since people are out searching for him. Throughout the entire book, Huck has been faced with making the choice of whether he should be morally correct and turn Jim in or if he should be a valuable friend and pretend Jim is somebody else and not turn him in. Huck decided not to turn him in. Eventually Huck will be faced with more challenges and this internal conflict will grow, developing into the theme of not having morals, which brings up the next topic.

Huck’s experiences on the river versus on land have begun to grow into a theme. While rafting down the river, Huck and Jim hardly faced any problems and their lives were literally smooth sailing. On the contrary, every time Huck and Jim were off the raft and onto land, they had run-ins with people that have brought them to trouble. Since Jim and Huck never had to worry about anyone catching Jim while on the raft, Huck began to believe that there were no rules or necessity for morals on the raft. Because of what Huck adapted to on the river, he continued to make the decision to keep hush about Jim. These experiences add to the reasons why Huck continues to make poor decisions when it comes down to deciding which choice is morally correct. Huck’s morals may eventually develop by the end of the book as he continues to mature and is faced with other struggles dealing with Jim.  

Alcohol and drinking has appeared in the book a few times and has helped add to one of the themes as a whole. To begin with, Pap was always a drunk and took poor care of Huck because of his drinking problems. Huck even told earlier in the book, “The judge he felt kind of sore. He said he reckoned body could reform the old man with a shotgun, maybe, but he didn’t know no other way.” The king and the duke also relate to this topic. In chapter thirty, the duke and the king begin to bicker, accusing each other of moving the bag of money into Peter Wilks’s casket. Their fight results into them drinking alcohol. Huck tells on page 260, “So the king sneaked into the wigwam and took to his bottle for comfort.” The duke and king are replicas of Pap, not only because of the fact that they drink their problems away with alcohol, but also with the way they treat Huck. Pap always put Huck down and never had any encouragement for him, and the king and the duke were threatening Huck and questioning him after he tried to ditch them. None of them treat Huck well. The king and the duke will never change in the way they treat Huck, and also tricking people into believing them. Lying and tricking people into believing them is one of their main hobbies and adds to the theme involving corrupt society.  

Huck Finn blog 2-- through chpt 22

The first topic of discussion includes Huck’s father, Pap. Being an extremely hypocritical man, he adds to the theme of judgmental and disoriented society. He is definitely not the definition of a good parent since he is a drunk and usually stays out of Huck’s life. Most parents would want their child to be in good care and receive a good education, but Pap is the complete opposite. In chapter five, Pap shows up complaining about Huck’s “starchy clothes” and also tells him, “you drop that school you hear?” Pap will never learn to be a father and will always be a drunk. In fact, the judge states that the only solution to fixing Pap would be to shoot him. He could easily represent the poor morals of society since he has no idea how to be a good parent and is continuously drunk and getting into fights. He also is very hypocritical since he tells Huck how he should be living his life, yet he hardly stays in contact with Huck.

Other characters that also represent hypocrites in society were the Grangerford and Shepardson families. Both families are frequent church-goers and also believe they are very religious, yet they are continuously fighting each other as if they are battling in a war. Even though they go to church, they hardly follow the Commandments or beliefs of the church. The families kill one another as if killing is not a horrendous crime at all. They always brought their guns everywhere, even to church, as backup if the families were to get in a feud. These families are considered hypocritical since they believe they are extremely religious, yet they commit sin after sin and still believe they are perfect saints.

Adventures of Huck Finn contain multiple superstitions that Jim always tells Huck throughout the reading. Jim is always introducing new superstitions. A few examples are on page 61, where Jim tells that the birds flying overhead are a sign that rain is coming and also to not count the things you cook for dinner or else it will bring you bad luck. Bad luck will also come with shaking a tablecloth. On page 63, Jim tells one of his superstitions and states, ‘”Ef you’s got hairy arms en a hairy breas, it’s a sign dat you’s agwyne to be rich.” Jim has hairy arms, and tells Huck that he used to be rich at one time and eventually will be rich again, making the appearance that the superstition is true. Jim’s superstitions tend to help Huck at times too. When Huck and Jim see a dead body floating down the river, Jim recognizes that the body is Pap, but does not want Huck to see so he tells him to look away while Jim covers the body. Later, Huck has the urge to see the body, but Jim tells him that looking at the dead body would bring bad luck. Jim is saving Huck from having to see his father dead. So, whether all of Jim’s superstitions are true or not, some of them can help Huck in a way.

What theme is Twain building in this chapter when Huck chooses not to turn Jim in for the reward money? Once Huck found out that people are searching for Jim and even including a reward for whoever finds him, Huck is in a predicament. He has to choose between turning Jim in or being a true friend and not telling a soul about Jim.  Even though Huck knows that he is making the wrong decisions by not turning him in, he still chooses to do it. He thinks he will go to Hell for not turning Jim in, but he also wants to be a companion. This situation adds to the theme of morals. Even though Huck knows that turning Jim in would be the right choice, he goes against his will and does not tell anyone about Jim. Huck repeatedly choosing to not tell anyone about Jim proves that he has poor morals and goes against his gut in what he should truly do.

The Duke and the dauphin were introduced in chapter 20 when they come aboard Huck and Jim’s raft. They have a knack at tricking people into believing their lies. A few situations include the dauphin receiving money donations from people when he tells people that he is going to be a missionary. Another situation is when the duke comes up with the plan of tying Jim up whenever they see other people on the river to pretend as if they caught the runaway slave (Jim) and will receive the $200 reward. The Duke and dauphin should eventually add to a theme and might teach others not to believe everything they hear. 

chapt 1-7 -- Huck Finn

Chapters 1-7 of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn introduce Huck as a young, mischievous boy whom resides with a widowed lady named Miss Watson, and the reader instantly learns that Huck Finn lives his life in the same manner as Tom Sawyer.

A few different instances within these chapters help reveal a few symbols and themes that come along with the time period and location. One section of the reading that seemed rather peculiar and symbolic occurred on page 8 where Huck wanted to smoke, but the widow told him no. The widow, Miss Watson, lectured Huck with reasons why he shouldn’t smoke, yet she uses chewing tobacco herself. This situation makes the reader assume that Miss Watson is a hypocrite. This specific situation represents how judgmental society has become, and still is. Even though Miss Watson uses tobacco in a different form, she judges Huck for wanting to smoke. Miss Watson seems to be a character that could potentially add to a theme about judgmental society.

Another part that stood out to me in these chapters occurred in chapter 3 on page 21. Huck tells a story about him and some other boys running around in the woods and meeting Tom Sawyer. Huck tells, “One time Tom sent a boy to run about town with a blazing stick…and then he said he had got secret news by his spies that next day a whole parcel of Spanish merchants and rich A-rabs was going to camp in Cave Hollow with two-hundred elephants.” Huck always believed every story that Tom Sawyer told, and all of the boys in their gang lived by the same rules as Tom Sawyer. After Tom told the story about seeing A-rabs, elephants, and more, Huck thought he had better go see it all for himself. Huck wrote, “I wanted to see the camels and elephants…and when we got the word we rushed out of the woods and down the hill. But there warn’t no Spaniards and A-rabs, and there warn’t no camels nor no elephants.” Huck learns that he can’t always believe everything that somebody tells him, as he writes on page 23, “So then I judged that all that stuff was only just one of Tom Sawyer’s lies.” This incident also relates to life and has a thematic meaning. We eventually learn that a person can’t always believe what everyone else is telling them and they also need to live their own life. 

The Things They carried-- final blog (pgs 179-246)

               The last few chapters of “The Things They Carried” really added quite a bit of meaning and value to the book’s symbolization and themes.

                To begin with, on page 179, O’Brien once again writes, “I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth.” The author had discussed a few other times throughout the book whether his stories had any truth or not. He often leaves the reader questioning whether a certain story contains any truth to it or not. O’Brien sometimes told fictional stories in order for the reader to understand the experiences the soldiers went through. Even if O’Brien did not experience a certain story, other soldiers certainly did; that is the theme he attempts to make clear.

                The first symbol that came to the life in this section of reading was O’Brien’s daughter, Kathleen. On page 183, Kathleen begins to ask her father, O’Brien, questions about the war, such as “The whole war, why was everybody so mad at everyone else?” A few more questions Kathleen had were “What did you want?” and “How come you were even here in the first place?” After Kathleen’s questions, O’Brien cannot decide what to tell her, so he decides to reply with, “It’s a mystery, I guess. I don’t know.” Kathleen doesn’t exactly understand why her father went to war and what the purpose was, and her questions give O’Brien a new perspective on the war.

                The other symbol in this reading involves Linda. O’Brien claims that when he and Linda were a young age of 9 years old, they were in love, “and it was real.” One day, O’Brien’s dad took Linda and him to a movie. While on their way, O’Brien told Linda that he really liked her red cap that she happened to wear every day. After that, Linda continued to wear her cap every day to school for a few weeks until one day in class, a boy named Nick walked over and took her cap off, only to reveal Linda’s almost bald head with some stitches and Band-Aids. On page 236, O’Brien writes, “She died, of course. Nine years old and she died…..But in a story, I can steal her soul…In a story, miracles can happen. Linda can smile and sit up. She can reach out, touch my wrist, and say, “Timmy, stop crying.” Later, on page 243, O’Brien discusses how he would usually lie in bed at night and dream up stories that could possibly bring Linda into his dreams. Once he was dreaming, he’d picture him and Linda together. On page 244, still talking about his dreams with Linda in it, he writes, “She’d say amazing things sometimes. “”Once you’re alive”, she’d say, “you can’t ever be dead.”” Later on page245, he tells, “She was nine years old. I loved her and then she died. And yet right here, in the spell of memory and imagination, I can still see her as if through ice, as if I’m gazing into some other world, a place where there are no brain tumors and no funeral homes, where there are no bodies at all. I can see Kiowa, too, and Ted Lavender and Curt Lemon, and sometimes I can even see Timmy skating with Linda under the yellow floodlights. I’m young and happy. I’ll never die.” Linda’s presence in the book symbolizes how O’Brien deals and copes with the pain he endured during the war. By telling both fact and fictional stories, O’Brien’s memories help him live his life through storytelling.

The Things They Carried- blog 3 (pgs. 124-179)

In this section of reading, just the title of the first chapter struck me. Titled “The Man I Killed,” O’Brien writes about the death of My Khe. My Khe was a man that O’Brien had accidentally killed. He continuously describes My Khe for multiple pages and discussing what he was like before the war, what type of person he thought My Khe was, and what his future would be like had he not been killed. He questions every detail about My Khe’s life. One of the main reasons he inserted this specific story into the book was to prove to the reader how guilty he felt about the death of My Khe. My Khe died because of O’Brien, and O’Brien tells the story “The Man I Killed” to prove that he still has not forgotten about killing another man and showing the guilt he continuously feels.

The soldiers continuously feel remorse towards the happenings of the war. Even though they have years and years to put the bloody and stomach-churning memories in the past, they still do not have the ability to do it. A proof of this theme is on page 134, where Tim O’Brien writes, “Even now I haven’t finished sorting it out. Sometimes I forgive myself, other times I don’t. In the ordinary life I try not to dwell on it, but now and then when I’m reading a newspaper or just sitting alone in a room, I’ll look up and see the young man coming out of the morning fog.” O’Brien is continuing to describe how difficult it is to return to your original person after going through war. A good quotation about the war is “You’re already dead before you even go into war.” This statement fits perfectly with the book and one of the main themes. Being in the war basically kills whoever a person used to be and transforms them into a whole new human being, never being capable of returning to who they were before the war.

The chapter titled “Notes” was another slice of the book that relates to this topic. Norman Bowker was a soldier who had committed suicide after war, and he wrote letters before he passed away in which he complained about the war and what he had to deal with. On page 156, a polysyndeton is used in Bowker’s letter. The selection reads, “Guys sniveling about how they didn’t get any parades. Such absolute crap. I mean, who in his right mind wants a parade? Or getting his back clapped by a bunch of patriotic idiots who don’t know jack about what it feels like to kill people or get shot at or sleep in the rain or watch your buddy go down underneath the mud?” Nobody truly understands what war is like until they actually have to go to war. None of us have the ability to understand how much pain they endure, and that is one of the main purposes of “The Things They Carried.” One last part in this section of reading that seemed to stand out to me and correlate perfectly with this specific theme occurred on page 177, where the book reads, “When a man died, there had to be blame. Jimmy Cross understood this. You could blame the war. You could blame the idiots who made the war. You could blame Kiowa for going to it. You could blame the rain. You could blame the river. You could blame the field, the mud, the climate. You could blame the enemy..….. In the field, though, the causes were immediate. A moment of carelessness or bad judgement or plain stupidity carried consequences that lasted forever.” Even though you could blame a death of somebody on any other factor of the war, everyone still feels the guilt whether it truly was their fault or not. 

blog 2 (pgs 39-123) The Things They Carried

The author, Tim O’Brien, continues to inform the reader of stories and events that he endured during the Vietnam War. His stories continue to add to his purpose of writing the book, in order to inform citizens about the physical and emotional difficulties that a soldier encounters during a war.

To begin with, O’Brien discusses the story of when he was first drafted for the war. He was not particularly in favor of wars; especially having to fight in one that he does not even believe is worth fighting. How are you supposed to fight for your country when you don’t believe it is worth fighting? On page 44, after he found out that he would be drafted, he talks about how worried and afraid he is. O’Brien wrote, “Beyond all this, was the raw fact of terror. I did not want to die. Not ever. But certainly not then, not there, not in a wrong war… I imagined myself dead. I imagined myself doing things I could not do—charging an enemy position, taking aim at another human being.” Just the thought of having to be in the war scared him, so how is he expected to fight? He is already having fears of the war and he hasn’t even started fighting yet.

Around the same time as being drafted, O’Brien had a job at a meatpacking plant. On page 43 he writes, “At night I’d go home smelling of pig. It wouldn’t go away. Even after a hot bath, scrubbing hard, the stink was always there.” This particular line in the book seems to compare his job to the war. A soldier, no matter how hard they try, cannot erase the horrible memories and losses they experienced in the war. Similar to trying to erase the pig smell after work, it was impossible to erase the emotional hardships from the war. He mentions the pig smell again on page 53 and tells, “and how the smell had soaked into my skin and how I couldn’t wash it away.” He repeats this story and memory to once again help the reader understand how truly difficult it was for him to erase the memories—he couldn’t. They did not have the ability to be washed away.

On page 80, the author uses a polysyndeton, saying, “War is hell, but that’s not half of it, because war is also mystery and terror and adventure and courage and discovery and holiness and pity and despair and longing and love. By using the polysyndeton, he creates the effect of the war dragging on and how many effects it truly has on a soldier. War is more than just fighting; it comes along with all of the aspects he listed.

One final part of this reading that seemed to strike me was the story about Mary Anne. The story was about a relationship between Mary Anne Bell and Mark Fossie. They began in love, but in the end their love did not work out. Mary Anne came to visit Mark while he was at war. One night, he realized that she was no longer around. He searched for her, but nobody could find her. Page 116 reads, “She [Mary Anne] had crossed to the other side. She was part of the land. She was wearing her culottes, her pink sweater, and a necklace of human tongues. She was dangerous. She was ready for the kill.” This story also helps those Americans who never fought in war how easily things will change. The war can change everything, including relationships. Mary Anne wasn’t even fighting in the war, but was still changed by it. Wars can change others besides just soldiers. 

The Things They Carried -- chapt 1-3

The first chapter, titled “The Things They Carried,” is self-explanatory. A great amount of the chapter discusses different men in the army and the things they carried, which ranges from weapons and equipment to personal possessions to the physical and emotional hardships that soldiers experience, especially in this specific war taking place in Vietnam.

Any person that has a duty in any type of battle or war normally encounters hardships or burdens. On page 21, the book reads, “They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing—these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weight.” Much of this chapter discusses the difficulties of being a soldier and how much emotional pain they are put through while in war. The emphasis on the emotional hardships should foreshadow a major conflict or theme arising out of the difficulties and burdens the soldiers are put through.  Also, due to the book’s title, the reader can assume that the book discusses both physical and emotional “things” to carry. A line that should strike any reader also occurred on page 21, which states, “Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to. It was what had brought them to the war in the first place, nothing positive, no dreams of glory or honor, just to avoid the blush of dishonor.” This line should also help with foreshadowing since it discusses more problems and rough times that soldiers deal with in the war. They also carry each other by helping each other deal with the war. When the author lists all of the physical things they carried compared to the emotional things, it helps emphasize the emotional things.

The second chapter, titled “Love”, discusses the topic of how love can also be affected by the war. Martha and Lieutenant Cross had some romance going on, but their love was discontinued when the war went on. Lieutenant Cross consistently had hoped that their love would rekindle. A picture of Martha was one of the items that Cross carried. The entire situation between Martha and Lieutenant Cross also adds to the emotional burdens that soldiers carry. Love and relationships can be changed by the war also, adding to the other complications that these soldiers endured.

Chapter three’s main topic is mostly O’Brien discussing stories while he was at war. He tells multiple different types of stories, ranging from the positive memories of war to a few violent memories. The beginning of page 31 reads, “The war wasn’t all terror and violence. Sometimes could almost get sweet.” Also, page 35 states, “Not bloody stories, necessarily. Happy stories, too, and even a few peace stories.” Yet, at the end of chapter 3, the author reminisces on another story, saying, “I remember these things, too. The damp, fungal scent of an empty body bag…A hand grenade.” Violent memories will stick with those in the war. The emotional pain the soldiers endure will never go away. Stories are a major part of these soldiers’ lives. Page 38 reads, “and the war occurred half a life-time ago, and yet the remembering makes it now. And sometimes remembering will lead to a story, which makes it forever. That’s what stories are for. Stories are for joining the past to the future. Stories are for those late hours in the night when you can’t remember how you got from where you were to where you are. Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story.” Stories help the soldiers remember the good and the bad, and they become strong enough to tell the stories even after all of the pain they once encountered. 

The Great Gatsby -- chapters 8&9

          With the conclusion of the book, I came to fully understanding of the symbols and themes in “The Great Gatsby.”

          The green light throughout the book symbolized Gatsby’s hope. He was constantly chasing after Daisy and waiting for her to run back to him to rekindle the flame. He always had that belief and reassurance in the back of his head that he and Daisy’s relationship would work out. Since it was visible from both of their houses, the light was an obvious connection between the two. He is continuously trying to get closer to the light, or his goal and “American dream” of being with Daisy forever. When Nick is narrating in the final pages of the book, he states, “I thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock…… He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled under the night.” Nick is explaining that the “light”, or Gatsby’s dream, was long in the past and was not an achievable goal. Nick also tells, “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” The current represents Gatsby’s dream of being with Daisy, and Gatsby is the boat. As hard as he tried, the current continuously pushed him back further and further from his dream. The current pushed him back into the past, making him remember his past history with Daisy, but never being able to reach his dream. When Gatsby’s dead body lied at his empty, dark, desolate home, help represent Gatsby never accomplishing his dream of being with Daisy.

        Another clear symbol was the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg. I didn’t recognize this symbol for awhile, but the ending of the book assisted me in fully understanding what the eyes are meant to represent. The eyes were mentioned a few different times in chapters 8 and 9. In chapter 8, Wilson and Michaelis were discussing the death of Myrtle. The book reads, “Standing behind him Michaelis saw with a shock that he was looking at the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg which had just emerged pale and enormous from the dissolving night. “God sees everything,” repeated Wilson.”” Wilson had told Myrtle before she was killed that she cannot hide her affair from him. Wilson believed that these eyes represented God, which helped me come to the conclusion that the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg represent the chaos of our world, the sorrows and disappointments, and misconception of morals and values. The eyes were constantly appearing in the book to remind the characters and also the reader that God is always watching.

         One last valuable theme that I came across in the book are the misconception of morals and values of the social classes, especially in the time period of the “Roaring Twenties.” Towards the end of the book, we read “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made. . . . .” Daisy continuously made Gatsby believe that his dream was achievable. Tom and Daisy cheated on each other, created problems, and changed everyone’s lives. Yet, they returned to their own lives after the accident. Daisy never confessed to killing Myrtle and did not even have the decency to do something after Gatsby’s death. Tom and Daisy represent the poor character of the upper class. One of the main themes this book teaches is how some people of the upper class continue to believe that they are higher than others and worth more due to the fact that they own more money. “The Great Gatsby” does an excellent job of portraying what our society is really like and how little respect some of us have for one another. 

Great Gatsby -- chapters 6&7

Some of the occurrences within chapters six and seven seemed very peculiar to me. These chapters reflect much on the time period that the story occurs in.

The first topic I would like to discuss is Gatsby’s description of his background and how he became who he is. Gatsby tells Nick that he grew up as just an average man in the Midwest, and eventually worked on Lake Superior. One day, coincidentally, Gatsby met a wealthy man named Dan Cody. This man employed Gatsby. Gatsby eventually realized that he wanted wealth and riches just like Dan Cody had. This situation symbolizes the “American dream” as we discussed before. Gatsby dreamed of being rich just like most Americans do. Gatsby also believes that his wealth will bring Daisy back to him. Gatsby dreams of being rich, having the perfect woman, and living a perfect life. We all dream of living a perfect life and keep trying to have the next best thing. What we don’t realize is that money cannot buy us happiness. I feel as though Gatsby’s social class is going to foreshadow that he won’t always get what he wants even if he has endless money and riches.

In the middle of chapter seven, Gatsby is trying to convince Daisy to admit to Tom that she never loved him. At first she tells Tom that she never loved him, but then admits the truth. Daisy admits to Gatsby that she will always love Tom, and that Gatsby needs to accept that. I don’t understand why Gatsby describes to Tom that he and Daisy’s love had been “Going on for five years now….both of us loved each other all that time.” If Daisy really loved him, she wouldn’t have left him for another man, and would take advantage of the opportunity to be with Gatsby. Also, Gatsby stated, “She only married you because I was poor.” If Gatsby is telling the truth, then Daisy is setting another example for greed and the “American dream”. Towards the end of the chapter, Daisy and Gatsby were on their way home when Daisy struck Myrtle Wilson with Gatsby’s car. Gatsby is willing to take the blame for the accident , even though Daisy was driving. This proves that Gatsby loves Daisy with all of his heart and would basically take a bullet for her if he had to. Even though Gatsby is trying to put Daisy’s happiness over his own, Daisy realizes that she still loves Tom and is happy with him. Gatsby realizes that his dream to be with Daisy is finally ending. Is the green light finally out now? Is Gatsby’s hope gone?

The eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleberg appeared a few more times within the section of reading. While Nick, Tom, and Jordan followed Gatsby and Daisy, Nick mentioned seeing the eyes. He described them as faded, and they came into sight down the road. A few moments later the eyes are mentioned again and Nick describes them as giant and having “peculiar intensity.” These blurry, faded eyes should be able to foreshadow something by the end of the book.

Fitzgerald continues to include situations and occurrences in the book that assist the reader in understanding the time period in which the book is written. A few examples include the situation in chapter seven, where Daisy kisses Gatsby once her husband, Tom, leaves the room. This example adds to the other times in the book where significant others are cheating. Being unfaithful was definitely a characteristic of the 1920s. All of the parties and greed for alcohol also relate to the time period, which later led into prohibition of alcohol. These are a few symbols that relate to the time period.  

The Great Gatsby --chpt 3-5

At one point within this section of reading, Nick mentions Gatsby’s green light to him. He tells Gatsby that he noticed this light in his yard. At this point, we find out that Gatsby is still in love with Daisy, and the truth behind their relationship and love story. When Nick was at Daisy’s home, he was able to see Gatsby’s light from the end of her dock. From this point a person can infer that Gatsby’s green light has some relation to Daisy. The light is a connection between the two characters. After Gatsby confesses his love for Daisy, the light clearly represents the relationship between the two characters and his love for her. Even though Daisy is married to Tom, Gatsby still has hope for a relationship with Daisy. His persistent green light represents his hope and love for Daisy, which explains why the light is visible from her house. Nick sets up a date for Daisy and Gatsby to meet up again in hopes to rekindle the flame. Even though their meeting was a success, how is their love going to last when Gatsby is a man of West Egg and Daisy resides in East Egg? Will this difference affect their romance? Also, before Gatsby met up with Daisy, the weather was gloomy and depressing. It appears as though this weather is foreshadowing their relationship. If the weather is gloomy, will their relationship end up relatively the same? I think the weather plays an important role in this book to assist with symbols and foreshadowing.

The description of Gatsby’s elaborate mansion while Nick is at one of Gatsby’s fabulous bashes adds to one of the topics of my previous blogs. Fitzgerald wants the reader to understand the time period of the1920’s when riches and fame were values of many people. Also, by Gatsby’s speech and actions, we can assume more about the people of this time period and their lifestyle. A part that stood out to me like a sore thumb, though, was the fact that Gatsby has friendships with people of lower classes. In chapter four, Gatsby introduces Nick to a man named Meyer Wolfsheim. Nick believes that Wolfsheim is a sketchy man. How does Gatsby have connections with people of the lower class? Was Gatsby himself once part of the lower class?

The Great Gatsby --chapt 1 &2

The Great Gatsby is a book discussing the time period of the roaring twenties. Recently moving to New York, Nick moves into a mediocre house next to an extravagant mansion occupied by a man named Gatsby. Gatsby's mansion and the other nice homes across the neighborhood are details that help the reader understand that wealth was an important factor in the 1920's. The town is split up into West Egg and East Egg. The views and characteristics of the dwellers in each Egg differ greatly and create controversy between the two sides.

 Later, Nick meets up with a few of his relatives to have dinner. Tom Buchanan, whom Nick's cousin Daisy is married to, allegedly has a different lover in New York. Deeper into chapter two, Tom and Nick happen to meet up. Tom wants Nick to come meet his lover, who is also married to a different man that she is having an affair with. So far, affairs seem to be another common aspect of the 1920's.

Also, in chapter one, Nick is at Daisy's house and could see a subtle green light in Gatsby's lawn. I believe this green light is symbolizing something that will eventually appear later in the book.