Essa to do by Monday - Help!

[robert]

ok tgg .. story of a man who did whatever he could to win the girl back .. pretty much it ? im not sure if i see the smaller picture or the big picture .. why was there a mistress with tom b. was that there just to show who daisy really is .. her nkowing that there is a mistress and still stays with tom ? or did daisy mean to kill the mystress , giving even more detail of daisy .. and what made gatsby great .. he failed in his dream , he went for the girl for all the wrong reasons , noone appreciated him as a friend (noone went to his funeral) was it how he accomplished so much ? as an officer, millionaire ? or how he went out of his way to throw those parties .. but the parties were ment to bring daisy to him so it was all for himself .. im a junior in high school .. im reading this for school .. and i just want to know the big picture .. the moral .. see if i really understand this book .. im not saying its good .. im not saying this book is bad .. i try not to give my opinoin about things i dont understand .. so someone fill me in i guess .. and tgg is saposed to be the american dream and how it failed ? i think he fulfilled his dream by following threw .. most people would just be a dreamer all there life .. but he at least tried .. tried to win back the girl .. tried to succeed .. k thanks

[jeannealex]

im doing a journal for great gatsby and one of the questions asked me to state the character's names significance... meaning in every names that the author used it also have a hidden meaning. i just dont know the meaning and its significance can you guys help me please...

[Saint Jack]

At the start of the novel Nick says 'When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever'. But what is morality to Nick? He readily accepts the extramarrital affair of Gatsby and Daisy and helps to arrange it - ' "Don't bring Tom," I warned her.' He doesn't bat an eyelid when he sees Gatsby wave a piece of paper and avoid the police. It seems as if Nick has no morality except to avoid getting into any sort of trouble, as he thinks himself lucky he had to deny Gatsby's offer of work as it may have landed him in serious trouble. Is Nick supposed to represent the pravailing attitudes of the time? And is this Fitzgerald's indictment on the hedonistic roaring twenties?
What is everyone else's thoughts?

[Imnotasoldier]

Obviously there is Daisy - image of a flower as an object which displays transient beauty - apt for her character (also Rosy Rosenthal, mentioned by Wolfsheim) This also links to colour imagery, a daisy is white and gold - evoking images of innocence and purity, but also with the gold, a hard cold nature
There is also the issue of why Gatsby changed his name (father's name is Gatz) - he has created, bought an identity in the East, and a name to go with it
Aswell you have the huge amount of people Nick mentions as visiting Gatsby's house (beginning of chapter4) who have the names of animals, or things related to the natural world - this could be an indication that nature has been corrupted in the novel (and in society) by the lifestyles of the 1920s.
Just my opinions - hope it helps
Jenni

[Jantex]

Well, our teacher gave us these some questions to think over at home and promised to examine us on them.So, I`d be happy to hear what you think about.I think to write an essay and think that different opinions on this questions will be very usefull to me.I see that there is a nice summery on the book in this site, so I`ll browse it ,too.

(Unfortunately, I have limited access to Internet ,so now I cannot share my opinion about some of the questions, for what I appologise )

1)What`s the American dream? Does it mean the seam thing for different character in the book? Has Jay Gatsby attained what he believes the dream promises?
2)Why does Daisy temporarily leave her husband for Gatsby? Why doesn`t she stay with Gatsby?
3)Why does Getsby love Daisy? How does he domonstrate his love for her? What is the meaning of the green light?
4)What does Nick think about Gatsby? How does his view of Gatsby change?
5)A recurring motif is the driver. List the ocassions of reckless driving. What does bad driving symbolise?
6)What is the significance of Myrtle Wilson`s death? Why does Daisy let Getsby take the blame for her death?
7)What is the symbolic of the billboard displaying Dr. T. J. Eckleburg`s eyes, overlooking the valley of ashes?
8)Why does only one of Gatsby`s former quests show up for his funeral?

[PeterL]

I give you a couple of opinions. That is a very set of questions about The Great Gatsby.
4. Nick's opinion of Gatsby changed over the course of the novel. At first he was in awe of Gatsby; Nick thought that Gatsby was wonderful. That changed pretty quickly. When they went to the hotel in Manhattan, Nick started to see Gatsby as a very ordinary person. At the first party Nick saw that the rest of the world considered Gatsby as a phony. By the end of the novel Nick considered Gatsby as a decent human who had made something of himself by hard work. The list of things to do to improve himself the Gatsby used as a child are parallels of similar lists that Benjamin Franklin used.
5. Driving is a symbol for control. Control of one's life and/or control of people around them. Bad driving was a symbol for not being in control.
7. The eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg are symbolic of God looking over everything. It is also important to remember that Dr. T. J. Eckleburg was no longer in business, so God was no longer watching the people. You can make your own conclusion about this.

[el01ks]

The American Dream is the belief that anyone, if they work hard enough, no matter where they started out, can make something of themselves. People will tend to have different goals and aims, so it will be different. In the financial sense, Gatsby embodies the American Dream, however, I believe he fails - he ends up lonely, filling his house with strangers, and doesn't win the one thing that he truely wants - Daisy.

[melrosie69]

Don't forget this book is also about social class, which you wont hear discussed much if you are in the middle class. Remember Gatsby was new money" and he was trying to travel in "old money" circles. I myself have been exposed to poeple with money who were obviously "new money" because they tried too hard. They were talking about Europe, and tennis, and all the things they felt you would discuss if you were old money. If you are "old money" you are more comfortable with having wealth.

[Alexandra]

Compare and contrast the characters of tom and gatsby. In what ways are they similar? in what ways are they different?..//// Can someone help me out with this .....i reallllly appericate it

it doest have to be long or short.. just need some help with this

THANKS

[VeddieEdder]

Hey, I have to do an essay on the Great Gatsby. It's the big final project for my english class. My essay topic is "'Nick Carraway, not Jay Gatsby, is the real protagonist of Fitzgerald's novel.' Support or contest this statement."

The minimum requirements are 2 quotes from secondary sources and 4 from the primary source (novel). I really don't know how to argue this (I've decided to support the statement of Nick as the protagonist) and all the rough notes I have so far are just me bsing.

If anyone has any good criticisms of Gatsby to recommend, or any quotes in the book that can help I would really appreciate this since I'm pretty clueless as to how to go about.

[Sandrine]

Did you already turn in your essay? I noticed that this has been sitting here since October 30th, so I hope it's not too late to answer your question.

I don't know of any quotes off the top of my head that would support that Nick is the protagonist. I've read a lot of books about Fitzgerald himself, but not so many criticicisms of his work. I know that a man named Matthew Bruccoli has written many books on Fitzgerald so possibly that would help?

I'm not sure where your argument will be heading in your essay but I gave the question some thought. I had always seen Nick as a passive sort of observer, not a protagonist. However, I thought about it and I think that Nick could be considered a protagonist in that he actually is the character responsible for setting the plot in motion. Nick acts as a sort of go-between for Gatsby and Daisy and theoretically, if it weren't for Nick, Gatsby would not have been re-introduced to Daisy. That's just one thought off the top of my head. I might have to give it more thought, though...

Hope you have good luck with your paper!

[Sandrine]

6)What is the significance of Myrtle Wilson`s death? Why does Daisy let Getsby take the blame for her death?
Daisy plowing down Myrtle Wilson represents the carelessness and apathy of the rich in The Great Gatsby towards the lower classes. The only reason that Daisy shows any emotion whatsoever over the incident is because she is afraid she will be in trouble -- she is in no way distressed that she has taken a human life. Daisy lets Gatsby take the blame for Myrtle's death because she is spoiled and used to letting other people take care of her. She just assumes that Gatsby will take the rap because she never has to take responsibility for her own actions.

8)Why does only one of Gatsby`s former quests show up for his funeral?
Only one of Gatsby's former guests show up at his funeral because the rest of the guests never truly come to like him for anything more than his lavish parties. He buys their friendship and admiration. Once he is dead, he is of no use to them anymore.

[VeddieEdder]

Thanks a lot for your help! I don't have to hand the essay in till December (it's our big final project kind of thing, so we have a lot of time to work on it)

Once I get a more solid outline worked out, I'll post some of it and see if there are any suggestions, but your answer should help me get this going a bit more.

Thanks!

[Scheherazade]

I think the fact Nick is one person who actually goes through some changes in the book. All the other characters carry on with their lives like they used to but Nick discovers certain things about himself (and others) owing to his experiences in the book.

[Sandrine]

I think the fact Nick is one person who actually goes through some changes in the book. All the other characters carry on with their lives like they used to but Nick discovers certain things about himself (and others) owing to his experiences in the book.

I hadn't even thought it about it like that---it's totally true! Daisy and Tom go on like nothing ever happened---no Myrtle, no Gatsby, no Nick, for that matter. Even the party guests seem to have been unaffected by Gatsby's death. I always imagine that they've just gone off to another grand party at another grand mansion. They probably barely even notice that Gatsby is dead. It reminds me of the way Paris Hilton treats her friends---she keeps them around as long as they're useful to her, then she tosses them out like a used lighter.

VeddieEdder---please post your outline if you get the chance. I'd love to hear your ideas on this, too.