Great Gatsby Chapter 2 notes
CHAPTER TWO THE GREAT GATSBY What kind of imagery can be associated with the description at the beginning of CH. 2? * 'ashes'/'desolate'/'grotesque'/'smoke'/'ash-grey men'/'crumbling'/'powdery air' * In contrast to the plush settings of CH 1 this is very depressing. They are starkly contrasted. Fitzgerald does this on purpose. We notice associations with death which will permeate the novel. They foreshadow the 3 deaths which will occur in the novel - but also the death of Gatsby's dream and in a wider sense the death of the American Dream. SIGNIFICANCE OF EYES * The eyes of T J Eckleberg watch ominously over the activities of the characters in the novel and over society at large. 'yellow spectacles' and 'fatten his practice' allude to the corruption of a society obsessed by advertising and consumerism. The oculist who set up the billboard should have been correcting vision instead of seeking commercial advantage through advertising to 'fatten his practice' and most probably his bank account. This alludes to selfish materialism, greed and questionable morals of 1920s American society. * Later George Wilson refers to the eyes as the eyes of God - 'God sees everything!' - In a society devoid of religious virtues this could allude to God's dismay at the vulgar conduct of the characters in the novel. The God of advertising has taken over their empty, amoral
Chapter 2, "The Great Gatsby" - "Dying society" - review
Chapter 2, "The Great Gatsby" "Dying society" Fitzgerald presents in this novel upper-class people, who live in the world of dreams. He tries to describe the life of milliners, who spends enormous amount of money on drugs, parties, alcohol and other luxury things. In this chapter the writer clearly shows us that America in 20th was dying, there was no truth, no love and no real relationships, and everything was based on how much money each American had. All America had just people who were obsessed with appearance. "a small living room with a set of tapestried furniture entirely large for it" Even this description of a flat where the party goes on is a significance of a bad taste and showing off. What people could see is only glamorous dresses and costumes. The business which was attractive to anyone was gangster business. It was nearly admirable. America wanted quick money to be made. "Most of these fellas will cheat on you every time. All they think of is money" Fitzgerald used an oxymoron in his play to show that the country on its surface is growing but in the heart of it is dying, which he calls: "a valley of ashes, a desolate area of land". Also the writer suggested that America is leaving without any colour, people houses gardens relationships are under nasty, coverless surface" a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and
The Great Gatsby - Chapter 3
The Great Gatsby - Chapter 3 In chapter three Nick tells us about the first party he attends at Gatsby's one friday night. He sees himself as the only guest who was actually been invited by Gatsby's chauffeur earlier in the morning. He describes all preparation on fridays before the party and on mondays after the party, e.g. gardeners cleaning Gatsby's property (p.37-39) Arriving at the party Nick doesn't know anyone he could talk to and can't even find the host, so decides to stop at the bar, where, a little later, he welcomes Jordan Baker. They end up in a conversation with three men and two girls talking about rumors about Gatsby (p.40/41). After a short time they leave the group to look for Gatsby, since they haven't met him yet. They don't find Gatsby, but the library, where Jordan and Nick meet a drunk man talking about the realism of the books. Leaving the house and sitting down on a table, Nick meets Gatsby, not knowing it is him (p.44). Gatsby, an elegant, young man with tanned skin and short hair, invites him to a short trip with his new hydroplane in the next morning. Gatsby leaves and after Nick has learned Jordan's rumors about him, they see him standing all alone on the steps of his backyard. When his butler delivers Gatsby's message to Jordan, that he wants to talk to her, Nick, alone, goes back into the house to observe young ladies and old men
How is the story told in chapter 2 of the Great Gatsby?
How is the story told in chapter 2 of the Great Gatsby? The Story is told very similarly to chapter one, it all revolves around some party that Nick gets dragged along too. The chapter begins with a description of the desolate plains of the “valley of ashes”, with the eyes of TJ Ekleburg, looking over the valley. This is more of the slum between West Egg and New York. Tom takes Nick to Tom’s mistress’s house, in New York for a party. Nick always finds himself being dragged in to situations that he doesn’t always want to be in. Tom controls him almost. In this chapter we are introduced to Myrtle (Tom’s mistress), George Wilson (Myrtles husband), Tom seems to have the control over these two characters because they are of lower social class compared to him. Tom seems to have a very violent personality as we begin to see more of his character come though as the story is unveiled. The party seems to be a very awkward occasion that Nick finds himself being included in again. This is the most likely reason why he got drunk for the second time in his life, so this was obviously seen to him as being a very significant time to be drunk, suggesting that it was very confusing and uncomfortable. Him being drunk implies that he wanted to forget the whole thing. The ostentatious behaviour and conversation of the others at the party repulse Nick, and he tries to leave. At the
The Great Gatsby - Chapter 1
Read the beginning of the novel chapter 1 up to page 12 "Tom Buchanan in his riding clothes was standing with his legs apart on the front porch." How effective do you find this as an introduction to Great Gatsby. In your response you should pay close attention to voice, language and style. The Great Gatsby was written by F Scott Fitzgerald in 1925, and is set during 1922, a period tinged with moral failure of a society obsessed with class and privilege. Fitzgerald presents us with the conflict between the illusion and the reality of the American dream. The novel begins in the present tense, and is told through the eyes of Nick Carraway, the narrator and moral centre of the novel. His tale is told in retrospect. Nick Carraway is a young man from the Mid West, introducing himself as a graduate of Yale and a veteran of World War One. He begins the first chapter by relaying his father's advice: "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages as you've had." He states that he is also "inclined to reserve all judgement" about people and be a tolerant listener; who is entrusted with people's secrets. This encourages him to withhold formulating opinions about people until he gets to know them, demonstrating his caution. Nick puts himself forward explicitly, as someone with an above average "sense of
Great Gatsby, chapter eight essay
English - Great Gatsby Practice Exam Essay Look again at chapter 8. Then, respond to the tasks. i) What do we learn about Wilson in this chapter? ii) How does Fitzgerald tell the story in this chapter? iii) Some critics see "The Great Gatsby" as a novel shaped by time and place, and, therefore, extremely modern. What do you think? What do we learn about Wilson in this chapter? First, the reader learns more information about Wilson's character and how the death of Myrtle had affected him, showing his love for her, while "George Wilson rocked himself back and forth on the couch inside". This suggests how deeply distressed he is; he is mourning her and trying to come to terms with what has happened. Also, Wilson "flinched and began to cry", this suggests his deep grieving. From this we can also infer that Wilson loves his wife dearly, as he is the only character in the novel who grieves over Myrtle. Secondly, Wilson starts to behave erratically as he is in deep shock, he mutters to himself and at last spoke and said that he took Myrtle to the window just before she died and told her how "God knows what you've been doing, everything you've been doing. You may fool me, but you can't fool God". This infers that he strongly suspects that his wife was having an affair. The "dog-leash" and the broken nose that she had the previous month is evidence of the affair. Also,
Chapter One of Great Gatsby
Write about the ways in which Fitzgerald tells the story of the Great Gatsby in Chapter One... The Great Gatsby was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald during the 1920's, a period renowned for the moral failure of a society fixated with class and privilege. This obsession was dubbed "The American Dream" and through the Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald presents us with the conflict between the illusion and reality of the dream. Chapter one is very significant as it lays the foundations for the conflict and essentially prepares the reader for upcoming events. The novel begins in the present tense and is told through Fitzgerald's mouthpiece, Nick Carraway. It quickly becomes obvious to the reader that Nick is the narrator and moral focus of the story. His narration begins with some self-analysis, desperately trying to pin down pertinent aspects of his character. He relays his father's advice, to show tolerance towards others, and to reserve judgement, adding that 'reserving judgement is a matter of infinite hope.' This self-analysis that begins the account confirms to the reader that Nick is also a participant in the story as well as a narrator. He has his own specific characteristics. As the novel progresses we learn more about his character, soon discovering that Nick Carraway is an intelligent young man from the Mid West, introducing himself as a 'graduate from Yale' and a veteran
How does Fitzgerald tell the story in chapter 2 of 'The Great Gatsby'?
How does Fitzgerald tell the story in chapter 2 of 'The Great Gatsby'? Fitzgerald overwhelmingly tells the story of the 'The Great Gatsby' in chapter 2 through the use of a first person narrator, Nick Carraway. Nick is the archetypal Conradian peripheral narrator, who actually refers to himself as “..within and without”. Nicks narrative throughout the book is a retrospective one, were he knows the true tragic nature of the ending. Nick Carraway is looking back at the events two years after they had happened, allowing Fitzgerald to use a more wise, ironically detached narrator to help build the story. Fitzgerald uses two Nicks to tell the story; one minor character who is drawn in to Gatsby's world, and the older, wiser and sadder narrator who can look back on the events and scrutinises his younger self. Although this narrator cannot be identified with Fitzgerald, he is one whose views we are invited to trust because he is “..inclined to reserve all judgements”. Fitzgerald uses Nick Carraway as a “guide and pathfinder”, who can self consciously help us discover the real Gatsby. Fitzgerald uses Nick to describe the Valley of Ashes at the opening of chapter two to introduce the audience to the bleak and miserable 'area of land' where Myrtle and Wilson live. This is used as a symbol of the moral vacuity and the spiritual barrenness of the 'lost generation'. Nick
Great Gatsby Chapter 5 notes
Great Gatsby Chapter Five Why might Ch. 5 be described as a pivotal chapter? • Ch. 5 reveals just how long Gatsby has been dreaming about rekindling his romance with Daisy - 5 years. Before this point we have been gradually getting to know Gatsby not fully sure of who he is and from here the reader follows his downward spiral as 'his count of enchanted diminished by one'. • This chapter also makes Gatsby's dream a reality and it is clear that because the chasm between the dream and the reality has become so great that the dream, his idyllic, perfect image of Daisy is doomed to fail and disappoint him. The past and the passage of time is a dominant force in this novel. When is it brought up in this chapter? Think about symbolism here. • ' "It's too late!" ' Gatsby exclaims. This is highly significant to his desperate attempts to repeat the past, to conjure up the Daisy he knew five years ago. • '...the clock took this moment to tilt dangerously...whereupon he turned and caught it with trembling fingers and set it back in place' This symbolises/represents Gatsby's vain attempts to stop the passage of time in order to retrieve the past. You should also note that it is a 'defunct mantelpiece clock'. It does not work. It has stopped at one moment in time just as Gatsby's life has stopped. He is trapped in the past, fuelled only by his over-elaborate dream -
Great Gatsby Chapter 6 notes
CHAPTER 6 "He smiled understandingly - much more than understandingly ...picking his words with care." How does this description of Gatsby relate to what we find out now in CH. 6? • Nick's attitude to Gatsby is ambiguous. Here two images of Gatsby are presented: the eternal romantic, charming and eloquent gentleman; the other is uncultured, common bordering on ridiculous, who is careful in not revealing his social deficiencies: "...this quality was continually breaking through his punctilious manner in the shape of restlessness." Significantly, in CH. ^ it is revealed that Jay Gatsby, ostentatious and glamorous is, in fact, James Gatz - much more common. 'Jay Gatsby' is, therefore, his own creation. • This passage from CH. 3 highlights just how precarious this self-constructed image is - how utterly dependent it is on the impression of the observer and his/her ability to enter into Gatsby's world of make-believe and invention. It is worth noting that Fitzgerald chose his characters' names with care - a 'gat' is a slang term for a pistol, and so Gatsby's name is an effective pun at a time of bootlegging and gangsters, and indeed foreshadows how he is killed. "The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God - a phrase which if it means anything, means just that - and he must be about His
