We come to find a great deal more about Gatsby in chapter four, although the truth still seems veiled and watered-down. Gatsby really is a fascinating character - part of why this book has endured in popularity so long. I found the names of his party guests, recorded by Nick at the beginning of the chapter, to be quite funny: Leeches, Cheadles, Dancies, Whitebait, Hammerheads, Belugas, Bull, Duckweed, etc. They all suggest a superficial and bloodsucking nature; the best part though is that Gatsby doesn't seem to mind being used by them. Either he has so much money that he doesn't care, he wants to fit in, or he is simply too nice to shoo them away. I'm not sure. It seems funny for a man with that much wealth to want to please everyone. It almost seems as if he's hiding something. When he begins to tell Nick of his origins, Nick almost instantly thinks that something is wrong: a lie, a fabrication, a degree of hyperbole. But then Gatsby shows him an authentic medal from the tiny country of Montenegro. This shakes Nick's honest core. If you remember back to the first chapter, the very beginning of the book, Nick says that he tends to reserve judgment, which has "opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores" (5). Well, now Gatsby has recognized the honesty within Nick and wants to open himself up to his new neighbor. Nick is now not only an accomplice to Tom's infidelity, but he is entering into Gatsby's mysterious world as well. He first meets Gatsby's friend Wolfsheim, an apparent business partner of Gatsby's, but more than that, a shrewd businessman who fixed the 1919 World Series and whose friends have been brutally murdered in violent mob fashion. Now this is a world completely foreign to Nick, but surprisingly casual to Gatsby. I'm starting to think that perhaps Gatsby's wealth doesn't come from a middle-west inheritance, but rather some shady, illegal dealings. I could be wrong, but there just seems too much mystery to think otherwise. Finally, at the end of the chapter (via Jordan Baker) Gatsby's insular nature, or at least one of his mysteries, is revealed, but I'll let one of you hash out the details...Let's see some responses and posts. Some of you already are getting behind!
Monday, October 22, 2012
Gatsby's Antecedents
We come to find a great deal more about Gatsby in chapter four, although the truth still seems veiled and watered-down. Gatsby really is a fascinating character - part of why this book has endured in popularity so long. I found the names of his party guests, recorded by Nick at the beginning of the chapter, to be quite funny: Leeches, Cheadles, Dancies, Whitebait, Hammerheads, Belugas, Bull, Duckweed, etc. They all suggest a superficial and bloodsucking nature; the best part though is that Gatsby doesn't seem to mind being used by them. Either he has so much money that he doesn't care, he wants to fit in, or he is simply too nice to shoo them away. I'm not sure. It seems funny for a man with that much wealth to want to please everyone. It almost seems as if he's hiding something. When he begins to tell Nick of his origins, Nick almost instantly thinks that something is wrong: a lie, a fabrication, a degree of hyperbole. But then Gatsby shows him an authentic medal from the tiny country of Montenegro. This shakes Nick's honest core. If you remember back to the first chapter, the very beginning of the book, Nick says that he tends to reserve judgment, which has "opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores" (5). Well, now Gatsby has recognized the honesty within Nick and wants to open himself up to his new neighbor. Nick is now not only an accomplice to Tom's infidelity, but he is entering into Gatsby's mysterious world as well. He first meets Gatsby's friend Wolfsheim, an apparent business partner of Gatsby's, but more than that, a shrewd businessman who fixed the 1919 World Series and whose friends have been brutally murdered in violent mob fashion. Now this is a world completely foreign to Nick, but surprisingly casual to Gatsby. I'm starting to think that perhaps Gatsby's wealth doesn't come from a middle-west inheritance, but rather some shady, illegal dealings. I could be wrong, but there just seems too much mystery to think otherwise. Finally, at the end of the chapter (via Jordan Baker) Gatsby's insular nature, or at least one of his mysteries, is revealed, but I'll let one of you hash out the details...Let's see some responses and posts. Some of you already are getting behind!
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