A Lonely Funeral

In Chapter 9 Nick tries to schedule a funeral for Gatsby. It seemed that their were so many people who cared about how Gatsby died, the story behind him, and just all the other rumors which were circled around him, that you would think plenty of these people would be at his funeral. The opposite of this happened though. Barely anyone showed up. The only people who did were Nick, Owl Eyes, Gatsby's father, and some of his servants. Nick was surprised by the fact that Owl Eyes showed up to the wedding. He said "I'd never seen him since then. I don't know how he even knew about the funeral, or even his name" (174) I'd like to know how Owl Eyes and Gatsby even knew each other. I bet that it was through the alcohol business Gatsby was in. Not even Daisy came to the wedding. The woman who supposedly loved him, the woman who would be the one dead if Gatsby didn't take the blame. How shallow and heartless can one be? Hundreds of people would come to Gatsby's house every weekend for parties, yet only about ten people showed up at Gatsby's funeral. It sure seemed like a messed up time these people lived in. Although its almost not surprising that no one showed up to his funeral because no one truly ever got to know him. Nick was probably the closest person to actually having a real friendship with him. At the end of the Novel Nick said that he decided that he was going to move back out west. I'm surprised that he even was able to stay out where he was for that long. The East was not for him at all. He was better than the people who lived their.
I really enjoyed this book. Their are many lessons I can take from this story. It was definitely one of my favorite books I have ever read. I loved the story and I constantly wanted to learn more about Gatsby which made me want to keep reading on. I also liked using the blog. I thought it was a cool and more relaxed way of discussing and reading the book. It was  a lot better then taking a quiz on each chapter. I also thought that the group discussions were effective.

Quite the Surprise

I was shocked by what I read in Chapter 8. The death of Gatsby surprised me greatly. I knew Wilson was going insane after the death of Myrtle and wanted to find out who drove her over but I didn't think that Wilson would take it that far and kill Gatsby and himself. He must have had an insane side to him that people didn't know about. Looking back after reading though you could tell by some of the lines that Fitzgerald wrote that their was something big coming up or a drastic event. An example of a line in this story that could show a big event coming up is when the author writes: "I'm going to drain the pool today, Mr. Gatsby. Leaves'll start falling pretty soon, and their always trouble with the pipes." "Don't do it today," Answered Gatsby" (153). This line and other small lines in the chapter that didn't seem to have any meaning at all ended up having some sort of meaning or some clues to what was going to happen.
Their were so many questions that weren't answered about Gatsby that I wanted to find out while reading this book. I felt that their was much more behind him that the readers never found out.  It's sad that his only goal in life was never accomplished. I almost feel like he wasted his whole life on one single thing and that was to find the love of Daisy. That can be a lesson for us. You have to have many different interests and get yourself involved in as many things as possible. We can't go through living this great life that we were given to only dream of one single thing like Gatsby did.

Living a Lie

In Chapter 6 we finally learn some more detail about Gatsby's life. We learn that he was born in North Dakota and lived with a poor family where he did farm work. Eventually he found work on a mans boat that he met. He thought this was his gateway to success. He traveled all across the world with this man on the boat and did many smalls jobs for him. This gave him experience and somewhat of an education. Maybe his world-wide education is what helped bring upon his success. What do you think? He completely lied to everyone though. He said he went to school at Oxford and came of wealth through his family and through owning drug store. He simply lived this lie so he could take over the heart of Daisy. It shows how far a man can take something just to fuffill his dream. In a way you almost have to respect Jay's resiliency to keep fighting for his dream even if he has to lie about his whole life. Kind of messed up in a way, I would say. It's going to be interesting to see where the story goes from here. Will we ever find out where he his wealth came from?

Chapter 3

In Chapter 3 we are more thoroughly introduced to Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is an interesting and mysterious character. I have enjoyed reading this book so far, because I want to learn more about him. Nick gets invited to one of Gatsby's parties at his house. Nick ends up going to Gatsby's parties and Nick talks about how incredible the party and mansion is. Nick ends up meeting up with Jordan Baker at the party. They hangout a lot throughout the night. Nick and Jordan end up meeting Jay Gatsby during the night. They sat down at a table with him and he ended up introducing himself to them. Nick and Gatsby find out that both of them were in the same division during the war. Nick finds it strange because Gatsby doesn't party and drink like all of the other people their. Towards the end of the Chapter Nick talks about what he has done in New York so far. He talks about the parties he has been to and the work he has done. He says that the three parties were the biggest events or most memorable events he has been to since being in New York. He also talks about how he has feelings for Jordan Baker and how she has feelings for him also.

Chapter 2

In Chapter two of this book, you learn much more about the individual characters in the book. You learn a lot about the characters personalities in this Chapter. One day when Nick and Tom are riding the train into New York City, Tom gets Nick to follow him to the house of the woman he is having an affair with. The woman's name is Myrtle. Later that day Tom makes Nick and Myrtle come back to his apartment that he has in New York City. Tom throws a small party there, where everyone gets drunk including Nick. Nick meets Myrtles sister Catherine. Catherine has heard of Gatsby and asks Nick about him. It seems that Nick feels somewhat uncomfortable in this party type of atmosphere. Towards the end of the Chapter Myrtle mentions Daisies name and then starts saying it over and over again to get on Tom's nerves. Tom then breaks Myrtles nose. Which was very surprising to me. Nick leaves the party right after that happens and just heads back home.

Chapter 1

In Chapter 1 of The Great Gatsby you are introduced to many of the characters in the story, who seem as if they could end up being the main characters. You are introduced to the narrator whose name is Nick Carraway. Nick begins the chapter with stating that he is not a judgmental person and that his Dad always told him that you cannot judge others because they may not have the same opportunities as you. You are also introduced to Daisy and Tom Buchanan. Daisy and Tom come off as snobby people to me when Nick was describing them. Nick new Tom from High School. We find out later int he chapter that Tom is having an affair with another women. We are also introduced to Tom and Daisies friend named Jordan Baker. Jordan is a professional golfer. Towards the end of the chapter Tom and Daisy confront Nick and tell him that they would like for him to find an interest in Jordan. Nick appreciates the fact that Tom and Daisy would think so highly of Nick to try and set him up with their friend. At the end of the Chapter when Nick heads home from Tom's he sees Gatsby standing outside by the lake. Nick wants to say something to him but he decides not too. Although we don't even meet Gatsby in this section, you still get a mysterious feeling about him. I can already tell that the mysteriousness of Gatsby is going to have me hooked to this book. I also enjoy the writing style of Fitzgerald. He uses a lot of detail in his writing but at the same time it is simple to read and understand in a way.