The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby

Take the first 5-7 minutes of this free write to type your initial impressions of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.  Then, in a new paragraph take 5-7 minutes to generate and type at least five questions you have about the novel, with at least two of those questions being specific to a passage in the book.  Be sure to include page numbers where appropriate.  Make your questions as specific as possible to reveal what you have understood about the novel thus far.

My initial impressions of The Great Gatsby were that first of all, it was going to be difficult to understand. A lot of the words were words I haven't even seen before, so I know that I will have to circle words I don't understand and look them up. I think that though this story will be more difficult to understand and while it will take longer for me to read that it will be an interesting story. This story is going to be a lot about the connections between the different characters and their social events, which makes for an interesting story. My first impression that the story would include more social gatherings was in Chapter II, when Tom and Nick go to a party, which ends in Tom breaking Myrtle's nose. I think that the story has already begun with an interesting plot and story, and hope that it will continue. 

1. Why are Tom and Daisy interested in, as well as trying to influence Nick, into forming a relationship between Miss Baker and Nick? Tom hints some more to Nick on pages 18-19, "Her family is one aunt about a thousand years old. Besides, Nick's going to look after her, aren't you, Nick? She's going to spend lots of weekends out here this summer. I think the home influence will be very good for her."

2. Why doesn't anyone tell Daisy about Tom's lover? On page 15, Miss Baker is talking to Nick, "Why--" she said hesitantly, "Tom's got some woman in New York." Daisy's friend, Miss Baker, and cousin, Nick, are both now informed of Tom's other woman, yet no one tells Daisy.

3. What is the purpose of the Valley of Ashes between West Egg and New York?

4. Why are people afraid of Gatsby? On page 32, a woman talking to Nick at the party says, "I'm scared of him. I'd hate to have him get anything on me."

5. Why does Tom get so angry when Daisy is brought up? On page 37, Tom breaks Mrs. Wilson's nose because she is chanting Daisy.

Respectability

THEMES: appearance vs. reality

IMAGERY: hands, nature, darkness vs. light, railroads/trains, streets/pathways, seasons, eyes

CONNECTION TO THEME: Men represent innocence while women represent evil and maliciousness in Wash Williams’ comparison of men vs. women in the Respectability.

TEST: Whenever a man is brought into the story, he is brought in to show the maliciousness and evil of a woman. The first time this is shown is on page 121, when describing people’s reaction to the monkey, “…men turn away with an air of disgust, and women linger for a moment, trying perhaps to remember which one of their male acquaintances the thing in some faint way resembles.” This quote is used to show the maliciousness in women, while the men will just let it go. A quote on page 122 further illustrates Wash’s bias towards men over women, “First of all, he hated women. ‘Bitches,’ he called them. His feeling toward men was somewhat different. He pitied them. ‘Does not every man let his life be managed for him by some bitch or another?’ he asked.” This quote shows that Wash is basing his hate for men off men’s innocence and unknowingness of women. In other words, women are the reason men don’t succeed. Backing this up is a quote on page 124, “They (women) are sent to prevent men making the world worth wile.” Wash believes that all men, except him, are foolish when it comes to women. This is shown on page 127, when Wash visits his ex-wife’s home, who had cheated on him, “I thought that if she came in and just touched me with her hand I would perhaps faint away. I ached to forgive and forget.” This quote from before Wash’s hatred towards women and pity for men shows the innocence and foolishness a man displays after the malicious and evil acts of a woman.

CONNECTION TO THEME: The railroad represents the characters understanding of each other.

TEST: When the railroads are brought up in the story, it is always during times when characters are getting a better understanding of one another. The first time they are brought up is when George and Wash go to talk on page 123, “Down the railroad they went and sat on a pile of decaying railroad ties beside the tracks. It was then that the operator told the young reporter his story of hate.” This quote shows how the railroad represent the times of understanding and connection between the characters, as the night before, George and Belle Carpenter had walked by the railroad tracks as well.

CONNECTION TO THEME: The monkey in the story represents Wash, and the way he is seen in the town.

TEST: When the monkey is first brought up on page 121, he is described as “a huge, grotesque kind of monkey, a creature with ugly, sagging, hairless skin below his eyes and a bright purple underbody. This monkey is a true monster.” Further down the page on 121, Wash Williams is described as, “the ugliest thing in town. His girth was immense, his neck thin, his legs feeble. He was dirty.” The physical appearances are just one way that the monkey represents Wash. Back at the top of page 121, they talk about the townspeople’s reaction to the monkey, “Children stopping before the cage are fascinated, men turn away with an air of disgust, and women linger for a moment…” This represents how the town views Wash Williams. The first quote that shows this is on page 124, when Wash and George are talking, “Half frightened and yet fascinated by the light burning in the eyes of the hideous old man, George Willard listened, afire with curiosity.” This quote showing George’s, not yet a man, reaction to Wash is similar to the reaction of children to the monkey.

Mother

THEMES: miscommunication

IMAGERY: hands, light vs. dark, windows, streets, trees

CONNECTION TO THEME: The hands in the story “Mother” represent the communication between the characters.

TEST: Hands in the story represent the communication between Elizabeth and her family. An example of this is when the story is talking about Elizabeth Willard walking with the men on page 46, “On the side streets in the village, in the darkness under the trees, they took hold of her hand…” This quote represents the communication between Elizabeth and Tom, as well last the other men that used to understand her. Hands are also used to symbolize communication between Tom and George on page 44, “In the light that streamed out of the door he stood with the knob in his hand and talked.” This quote was the beginning to his talk to George working harder. Another time this is shown is when Elizabeth is looking out of her window at the baker and the cat on page 41, “At the back door of his shop appeared Abner Groff with a stick or an empty milk bottle in his hand.” This is the first time that anger is shown with hands. 

The Teacher

THEMES: appearance vs. reality

IMAGERY: beds, fire/stove, hands, snow, alley, stairs

CONNECTION TO THEME: The fires in the story represent the characters in the story time to think and reflect, as well as solitude.

TEST: Every time there is a fire in the story, it represents George Willard or Hop Higgins’ time to reflect. The first time that we see this is when George Willard goes to the woods and has a fire. “There he built a fire against the side of a log and sat down at the end of the log to think.” (page 157). This quote on the first page of the story just opens up to the symbolism of the fire in the stories. The next time it is shown is when George goes home. “In his own room in the New Willard House he built a fire in the stove an lay down on top of the bed. Be began to have lustful thoughts…” (page 158). The paragraph goes onto say that George dreams of the teacher, imagining the pillow in his arms as her. This quote shows the reflection and time to think every time there is a fire in the story. The fires in the story also represent the characters time to reflect in solitude and think to their selves. An example of this is when Hop Higgins, the night watchman, watches the fire alone at night. “Hop Higgins sat down by the stove and took off his shoes. When the boy had gone to sleep he began to think of his own affairs.” (page 159).

Paper Pills

THEMES: miscommunication, lonliness

IMAGERY: nature, crops, religion, windows, white, hands, balls/shape, seasons, black vs. white, paper

CONNECTION TO THEME: The windows in the story represent the doctor’s acceptance to his wife’s death and his own loneliness.

TEST: The doctor in the story had only been married to his wife for one year, and the windows in the story show the doctor’s acceptance to her death. The doctor is a lonely man who “sat all day in his empty office close by a window that was covered in cobwebs.” (page 35). Outside of the window, there is a world that has forgotten about the doctor. However, the doctor sits inside all day next to a window with cobwebs. The cobwebs symbolize the town’s recognition of the doctor, as they cover the outside world. “He never opened the window. Once on a hot day in August he tried but found it stuck fast and after that he forgot all about it.” (page 35). This quote goes with the quote on page 36, “For ten years he had but one friend, another old man named John Spaniard,” (page 36). The connection to this is that the doctor had given up on trying on the outside world, after the death of his wife. He had forgotten all about the outside world and didn’t feel he needed to become a part of it anymore. The windows show his ignorance to Winesburg and acceptance in his own loneliness.

CONNECTION TO THEME: The crops in the story represent the rejection in the story.

TEST: The crops in the story, such as the trees and apples show rejection in the story through the doctor and John Spaniard, the doctor’s friend. John Spaniard is the doctor’s only friend, and owns a tree nursery. The fact that he owns a tree nursery and is the doctor’s only friend shows the rejection between the doctor and the rest of Winesburg. “On the trees are only a few gnarled apples the pickers have rejected…One nibbles at them and they are delicious…Only few know the sweetness of the twisted apples.” (page 36). This quote shows the rejection from the rest of Winesburg into the twisted apples, which Doctor Reefy collects into his pockets. Doctor Reefy is connected with picking the apples, the tree nursery, and the orchards because he is rejected from Winesburg, which we know from page 35, “Winesburg had forgotten the old man,”.

CONNECTION TO THEME: The black vs. white is shown in the story as white means innocence and black means loss of innocence.

TEST: White is seen throughout the story as innocence by the doctor’s white beard, white horse, as well as the two men who were interested in the tall, dark girl who married the doctor. However, the dark symbolizes evil and the loss of innocence. “One of them, a slender young man with white hands, the son of a jeweler in Winesburg, talked continually of virginity…The other, a black-haired boy with large ears, said nothing at all but always managed to get her into the darkness, where he began to kiss her.” (page 37). The man had white hands and talked continually of virginity, which symbolizes his innocence. However, the man with black-hair never talked and pulled her into the darkness to kiss her, which showed his lack of innocence and his desire of using her.

Hands

THEMES: Man vs. himself

IMAGERY: boys, berries, animals, fields, hands, white, dreams

CONNECTION TO THEME: The boys in the story represent innocence and carelessness in “Hands”.

TEST: Boys are the story’s connection to innocence, playfulness, and carelessness. Like seen on page 27, “A boy clad in a blue shirt leaped from the wagon and attempted to drag after him one of the maidens, who screamed and protested shrilly. The feet of the boy in the road kicked up a cloud of dust that floated across the face of the departing sun.” (page 27). This quote shows the playfulness in the boy, as well as his carelessness. Boys also show the lack of care and concern in the story. This is shown many times, one on page 31, when George Willard says, “There is something wrong, but I don’t want to know what it is. His hands have something to do with his fear of me and everyone.” (page 31). Another example is on page 32, when there is speculation on Wing Biddlebaum’s motives. “He put his arms about me,’ said one. ‘His fingers were always playing in my hair,’ said another.” (page 32). This shows the boys innocence and lack of concern, as they were not alarmed about Wing Biddlebaum’s motives until their fathers (men) had brought it to their attention.

CONNECTION TO THEME: The hands in the story represent change and fear.

TEST: Hands shows the change throughout the story, and the fear within that change. Back in Wing Biddlebaum’s youth, the days where he was Adolph Myers, he was known for being a natural-born schoolteacher. His hands are what changed all of that. His hands that touched the boys, and those words that still remained with him, “Keep your hands to yourself”. From his hands brought change and brought him to Winesburg, where the hands “became his distinguishing feature, his source of his fame.” (page 29). With his hands, he was no longer the man known as the excellent schoolteacher, but as the man with the hands who “had picked as high as a hundred and forty quarts of strawberries in a day.” (page 29). This change also brought fear, which is shown in almost every sentence in the story. The fear was that his story would get out, the fear of his own hands, the hands that are to blame for the story. “The hands alarmed their owner. He wanted to keep them hidden away.” (page 28). Throughout the story, he is trying to hide his hands, like how he is trying to hide himself. As Wing says earlier, the only person he has ever come close to in town is George Willard. George says on page 31, “His hands have something to do with his fear of me and everyone.”

CONNECTION TO THEME: The dreams in the story represent the desire to restart life.

TEST: Every time that dreams are brought into the story, they paint a picture of what Wing Biddlebaum desires. These dreams are often about the way life could restart, or be completely different. “Out of the dream Wing Biddlebaum made a picture for George Willard. In the picture men lived again in a kind of pastoral golden age. Across a green open country came clean-limbed young men, some afoot, some mounted upon horses. In crowds the young men came to gather about the feet of an old man who sat beneath a tree in a tiny garden and who talked to them.” (page 30). This is symbolic to schoolchildren listening to their teacher, Wing Biddlebaum’s old life as Aldolf Myers. 

The Book of Grotesque Imagery Blog

THEMES: fear of death, age doesn’t determine youthfulness

IMAGERY: bed, windows, trees, smoker, youth, age, pregnancy

CONNECTION TO THEME: The bed in the story represent the writer’s reflection in the story.

TEST: The bed in The Book of The Grotesque represents the place where the writer can let his mind unwind and have thoughts race through his head. Page 21 tells us that the writer was a smoker and was concerned about his heart. On page 22, “The idea had got to his mind that he would some time die unexpectedly and always when he got into bed he thought of that.” This goes back on page 21, where it tells us that he had some difficulty getting into bed, the place where his thoughts were let out and he thought about death, something he feared. The bed is also the place where he lets his mind dream, until he gets out of bed and begins to write again. “It made him more alive, there in that bed, than any other time” (Page 22). This shows the pleasure that he had sitting in bed by letting his mind go and just think.

CONNECTION TO THEME: The windows in the story represent the writer’s connection to the outside world.

TEST: The writer is very cut off from the world, as all he does is stay inside and write, waiting to pass away. The want the writer desires to have the bed closer to the windows shows the writer’s want to be closer to the outside world. One might also view the windows as the writer’s connection to youthfulness and being reborn. “The windows of the house in which he lived were high and he wanted to look at the trees when he awoke in the morning” (page 21). Trees represent rebirth and growing up. On page 22, he talks about the youth growing inside of him, and makes many other connections to his youth as well as others’ youth. The writer wants the bed, where the youth grows inside of him, to be up next to the window, where the youth is happening right outside the window in the form of trees.