Great Gatsby Reading Blog #2

F. Scott Fitzgerald included the character of Meyer Wolfsheim to add mystery to the character of Jay Gatsby. Wolfsheim and Gatsby had known each other for a very long time and are good friends, even with the things Wolfsheim has done in the past. Gatsby obviously knows about those, like when Wolfsheim fixed the World Series, and he is not afraid to talk openly about it to Nick. It seems as though Gatsby is fascinated with the fact that Wolfsheim was able to do what he did and the fact that he was never caught. He has lived his life knowing that Wolfsheim did such a thing and has never turned him in, which shows that he could be a very good and trustworthy friend, or that he condones those kinds of activities. At this point in the book, we think of Gatsby as a good man that is welcoming of people into his home and very generous, but this reveals that we still might not know very much about the character of Jay Gatsby. Just like the character of Wolfsheim, the past relationship between Jay and Daisy helps develop Gatsby's character while also making him even more mysterious in some ways. Gatsby and Daisy's relationship ended with him going overseas to the military, so there was a great possibility that they both still had feelings for each other that never went away. On Daisy's wedding day, she almost didn't marry Tom because of a letter she received, which we can assume came from Gatsby. There was obviously still some lost connection between Jay and Daisy that never went away, so that could be the reason why Gatsby moved so close to where Daisy lived. This possibly reveals one of Gatsby's motives, which is to fix things with Daisy and get their relationship back. The rest of Gatsby's past shows that he had to support himself as he grew up and reached adulthood and had to experience the world firsthand. To me, he becomes a much more interesting character because more and more mystery builds around him has we find out what he is really like.

Gatsby's Party Music

1. The trumpet stands out in this song because it is so prominent over the other instruments and it carries the melody of the song. A little ways in, the music changes from strong trumpet and clarinet sounds to a soft piano part, which definitely stands out.
2. I think this music would be the music that people dance to at Gatsby's parties. Those who do not dance would hear the music in the background and it would be a pleasant sound to hear while chatting with other people.
3. The mood is positive and lively because of the strong trumpet melody and the different instruments. The music has a very fast tempo and sounds very happy.
4. Activities that go along with this music are dancing, laughing, and talking with people at a party.

Style

The artist's style is relaxed and laid back. The people he portrays seem very relaxed and laid back like they aren't worrying about anything. He uses subtle colors in his paintings to further push a relaxed feeling and he doesn't have much going on to make you break down the picture. The shapes and images flow with each other and make it easy to look at.

Great Gatsby Reading Blog #1

In the first three chapters of The Great Gatsby, a wide variety of characters are introduced to the readers. The protagonist of the story is Nick Carraway, who narrates the story from his point of view. Nick is the obvious hero of the story, being a very polite, friendly, and honest man. Nick says, "Indeed, I was almost surprised into murmuring an apology for having disturbed her by coming in" (p. 8). He writes this when he is visiting his old friend Tom and his cousin Daisy at their home. He is surprised to find Jordan Baker, a friend of Tom and Daisy's, sitting on the couch, concentrating on something unknown, and he feels bad for interrupting her concentration. Even when he is a guest in someone's home, he worries about the feelings of others before his own. Also, Nick writes, "Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known" (p. 59). Nick Carraway is identifying himself as an honest man, which makes him seem even more heroic to the readers.
Jordan Baker is an antihero in the story. When Nick went to Tom and Daisy's home for dinner, Miss Baker was a little bit rude and acted without good manners, which should make her someone that the audience does not identify with. Nick writes, "I was about to speak when she sat up alertly and said "Sh!" in a warning voice" (p. 14). Nick was trying to make conversation with her, but she was only worried about eavesdropping on Tom and Daisy and ended up being rude to him. However, even though she acts differently than someone with hero-like qualitites does, she becomes a character that the audience supports and likes later in this section. She forms a close relationship with the hero of the story, Nick, so the readers come to support her as well. This makes her an antihero in the story.
Finally, Jay Gatsby is a character that can not yet be placed into one of the three categories of characters. Though Gatsby is mentioned multiple times throughout this section, it is not until the very end of the third chapter when Nick and Jordan Baker actually come into contact with him. He seems like a very nice and honest man, politely conversating with both Nick and Jordan for a very long time on the first night he ever met them. Gatsby could possible be a hero in the story, but we have not learned much at all about his character, so he could just as easily be an antihero or a villain.