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"Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves or something like that" (pg 182) I find it ironic that on multiple occasions, various people said that Gatsby had a bright future ahead of him. In the military, he was recognized for his accomplishments. In business, he was able to get ahead and make a handsome living. Although his future looked promising, it was ended. I very much enjoyed the book, but I am still trying to find Fitzgerald's reasoning for Gatsby's death. I think it was to have a final establishment of the theme: the shallowness of the people living the "high life." Even if Gatsby had material things in his life, the only people that showed up to his funeral or even cared about him were Nick, his father, and some random party guest. Daisy, the one person for whom he did everything he did, didn't even show up. I liked the novel, but I wish it could have ended differently. (at least Jordan and Nick could have stayed together!)

Ending?

"The minister glanced several times at his watch so I took him aside and asked him to wait for half an hour. But it wasn't any use. Nobody came." (pg 182 Nick speaking about Gatsby's funeral) These sentences pretty much sum up the theme of the book. When Gatsby threw parties, a great amount of people came. But when Nick informed them of Gatsby's funeral, no one came. His "friends", or more so party guests, used Gatsby for his house, his parties, and his liquor. They had no real concern for him, which is shown through their lack of attendence at his funeral. His funeral! After Gatsby's death, things pretty much fell apart. Tom and Daisy moved, Jordan and Nick broke up, and Nick moved back west. What happened happened and none of them looked back on it. They looked forward to start a new part of their lives.

Old Sport

"You know, old sport, I've never used that pool all summer?" "Do, old sport." (pg 161) Throughout the whole novel, Gatsby continually used "old sport" mostly when he was talking to Nick, and even a few times when he was talking with Tom. His using "old sport" symbolized his false appearance. Although not know until towards the end of the novel, Gatsby was not born with wealth or even into a high-standing family. He had to change his name and aquire his wealth on his own. He was never refined so therefore had to fake his upbringings, shown in one way through using old sport. When Gatsby and Tom are battling about Daisy in the hotel room, Tom calls Gastby out about his use of "old sport." "That's a great expression of yours, isn't it?" said Tom sharply..."All this 'old sport' business. Where'd you pick that up?" (pg 134) Gatsby never answers because Daisy cuts in. Overall, "old sport" is simple a motif for Gatsby's made-up life that he tries to hard to conceal.

Viewpoint

"Angry as I was, as we all were, I was tempted to laugh whenever he opened his mouth. The transition from libertine to prig was so complete." (pg. 137 Nick talking about Tom) The Great Gatsby is told (almost entirely) by Nick's narration. The audience perceives the actions through how Nick experiences and tells them. In the quote above, Nick is describing the scene when they are all in the hotel room and Tom and Gatsby are fighting about Daisy and every little thing they can think of. If the novel was narrated by either Gatsby or Tom, it would be biased and would not hold the same effect. But since Nick is the narrator, he is portraying the scene as a completely objective third-party viewer. This is also seen in the scene of Nick's tea party where Gatsby and Daisy are invited. He vaguely knew their background together so the whole thing seemed awkward. Then Nick steps outside so the readers don't know what happened between Gatsby and Daisy in Nick's absence. Nick's perspective on the novel was a major contributor to themes and attitude of the work as a whole.

High Life

"The rumor is," whispered Jordan, "that that's Tom's girl on the telephone." One of the themes of the book was trying to live the highlife and the shallowness of the people up there. For Gatsby to even be considered by Daisy, he had to change his name, come into a lot of money, buy a huge house and expensive things, and through lavish parties for so-called friends. (They also aid the theme by pretending to be Gatsby's "friends" but don't even show up to his funeral.) Just as James Gatz, Jay Gatsby had no social standing in the world. Daisy portrays her shallowness by her actions with her daughter and how she carries an affair with Gatsby. Although Daisy and Tom have a child, she is only mentioned a few times and is only physically in a scene once before being quickly lead away. It is almost as if she doesn't even have a daughter. Tom also shows the same trait. He takes a mistress, is obsessed with his social standings, and thinks people are inferior to him. Jordan could also be grouped in this highlife category. She doesn't really spend her time on anything but golf and maintaining her image. Because Nick is dating Jordan, is neighbors with Gatsby, and is cousins with Daisy, he sort of gets swept up in the highlife when he has no business being there. This is probably the reason why him and Jordan didn't work out.

The Green Light

"Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever. Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her" pg 98. Although I don't know exactly what the green light symbolizes, it absolutely has something to do with Gatsby and Daisy's relationship. At the beginning of the book, Nick shares how Gatsby stood at the back of his house reaching out to the green light. Maybe the green light is a symbol for Daisy. It has a way of drawing people in from sea just like she has a way of drawing people towards her by her voice. Gatsby reaches out to the light like he's reaching out to her. He obviously is still in love with her; that is why he become embarrassed and doesn't know how to act around her. Ever since their reacquainting, they have pretty much picked up where they left off. As the quote states, the light seemed to be near her and now he didn't have to reach out to it since she was with him again.

Gatsby

"If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life, as if he were related to one of the intricate machines that register earthquakes then thousand miles away" pg. 7. As far as I have read in the book (up to Chapter 6), I still can't figure out Gatsby's character. At times he seems very reserved and polite, and at other times he's completely different. For example, while having tea at Nick's house with Daisy, Gatsby was taciturn, pale, and embarrassed. This is nothing like the confident, wealthy, young man that was described at the beginning of the novel. I also think at times he tries to impress people too much, especially Daisy. Its almost like he is trying to prove himself to her. Maybe he wants to show that she is as successful as her husband. Gatsby is a completely different person in love.

"I am the son of some wealthy people in the middle-west--all dead now. I was brought up in America but educated at Oxford because all my ancestors have been educated there for many years. Its a family tradition" pg. 69. Mostly all characterization in this novel is presented through Nick's words directly describing someone, or through a person's own words. The example above is part of Gatsby's description of himself right after he just met Nick. Since Nick serves as the narrator, it is only fitting that he is the one characterizing the people in the novel. Usually, he says exactly what the person is like which adds to his own character. By his own judgements of other characters, he provides an insight to readers of himself. What he thinks about Gatsby's parties, his reaction to Daisy's dinner party, how he acts around Jordan, and what he says about characters are just a few ways of how readers come to know Nick as well as other characters. His characterization helps to shape the novel as a whole. It is all based on Nick's descriptions and judgements.

Extravagant

"The one on my right was a colossal affair by any standard--it was a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool and more than forty acres of lawn and garden" pg 9. Throughout the first half of the book, the author constantly adds numerous amounts of imagery to portray an element of the central theme. The theme centers around losing the American dream and Gatsby's house is a symbol for just that. From the description above, a reader can mentally picture what Gatsby's mansion looks like. He worked for three years to by that, another element of the American dream. All of Gatsby's, Daisy and Tom's, and the other upper class's possessions, all shown through extensive imagery, provide examples for the theme. Imagery also plays a large role when Gatsby shows Daisy the inside of his house after tea with Nick. It almost seems like he is showing off for her, proving that he is just as rich as her husband.

So Matter-of-Fact

"I decided to call to him. Miss Baker had mentioned him at dinner, and that would do for an introduction." pg. 25. Since Nick is the narrator of the novel, the readers are at his disposal. He is the one who portrays all of the information and events that are happening in the story. Nick has such a matter-of-fact tone that it seems like he is just stating information and illustrating his experiences. His tone puts a casual atmosphere to the novel like the readers are right there along with Nick as he is experiencing the novel's events. Since the story is mostly about Gatsby and not Nick's life, he is explaining the events of Gatsby's life that he is seeing. He doesn't know what Gatsby is thinking or feeling; he only has what Gatsby looks like or how he's acting. Therefore, the matter-of-fact tone is appropriate for this novel because its not about Nick's life. He really is just stating facts.