Myrtle Dies

The Great Gatsby

By F. Scott Fitzgerald
Chap VII, pgs 134-145

Myrtle Wilson was really a minor character, but I believe her violent death shows the desperateness of the situation and also the turmoil that Daisy feels.  Myrtle walked away from her husband for the last time and Tom could no longer take her away.  Not to be crass, but now that Myrtle is out of the way, the only conflict seems to be with Gatsby and Daisy.  The novel had exposition where we learned about all the characters and the mystery of Gatsby, the narrative hook when we learned about his feelings and his past with Daisy, the rising action Gatsby vying desperately for her attention, the turning point of them spending more and more time together while Daisy's feelings for him grew, the climax where Daisy admits to her husband that she wants to leave him because she loves Gatsby, and now the falling action where we are not sure how Daisy and Gatsby will end up together or what exactly Tom is going to do about it.  We have not yet come to a resolution in which most everyone is settled and satisfied, or even stuck.  Tom's affair was ended with his lover's death, but now his wife might leave him for another man, which is just something that doesn't happen in those times.

Nick and Jordan <3

Amidst all of this the reader might forget about the plot development involving Nick and Jordan.  They met, hit it off, became closer and closer, and now they seem to have strong feelings for each other.  "As we passed over the dark bridge her wan face fell lazily against my coat's shoulder and the formidable stroke of thirty died away with the reassuring pressure of her hand" (Fitzgerald, 135-136).  I hope that the resolution to this situation will be a happy one, because I do not foresee a happy future for anyone else.  Even if Daisy leaves Tom for Gatsby, I will still have a little sympathy for Tom, and I think a part of Daisy will always love him.  And though Gatsby truly loves Daisy, something about him is just off- his past, his money, his business deals- all a little sketchy.  I would rather sweet Daisy not get caught up in all that.  As of yet, unfortunately, I am not exactly sure what would make Daisy truly happy.  I was even more intrigued by this subject of Daisy's happiness when i read the last paragraphs of the chapter.  Nick sees Daisy and Tom conversing: "They weren't happy, and neither of them had touched the chicken or the ale- and yet they weren't unhappy either.  There was an unmistakable air of natural intimacy about the picture, and anybody would have said that they were conspiring together" (Fitzgerald, 145).

Climax

The Great Gatsby

By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Chap VII, pgs 113-133

Climax!  Everyone finally seems to figure out what is going on.  Tom heard Daisy tell Gatsby that she loved him and Mr. Wilson found out some unfavorable things about his wife and was therefore taking her far away.  Mr. Wilson “had discovered that Myrtle had some sort of life apart from him on another world, and the shock had made him physically sick” (Fitzgerald, 124).  Though Wilson does not yet suspect Tom, he tells Tom that “my wife and I want to go West” (Fitzgerald, 123).  Wilson actually ended up trying to lock Myrtle in her room until they left, showing very uncharacteristic strength and determination.

Fighting, fighting, fighting

On the other side, Tom, Nick, Jordan, Daisy, and Gatsby all end up in a hotel room together, causing the heat and the tension to build.  Tom soon blows up when Daisy tells him to have self- control, yelling, “ ‘I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife. Well, if that’s the idea you can count me out…’ ” (Fitzgerald, 130)  Gatsby and Tom fight over Daisy with mounting intensity; if you were in the room, you could cut the romantic tension and uncomfortable feeling with a knife.  Throughout the argument, Tom refuses to even consider the fact that Daisy might love Gatsby or that she might leave him for Gatsby.  Eventually Daisy speaks up.  She cries to Gatsby, “ ‘I love you now- isn’t that enough? I can’t help what’s past.’ She began to sob helplessly. ‘I did love him once- but I loved you too.’ ” (Fitzgerald, 132)  And even though Daisy loved Tom once, she loves Gatsby more and has loved him longer and plans on leaving Tom.  The climax of the novel includes the outpouring of all the secrets, revelation of more of Gatsby’s past, and not a lot of hope for a satisfying resolution.  The only thing that has not been put out in the open yet is the fact that Mr. Wilson does not know that his wife has been seeing Tom.  The rest of the novel will be the falling action and resolution, which should be interesting due to the intricateness and complication of the situation.

If I Fall For You...

The Great Gatsby

By F. Scott Fitzgerald

chap V

The first part of this chapter didn't make a whole lot of sense to me.  Did Gatsby have a different birth name? Why did he change it? What was up with the reporter?  Also, I don't think Cody served a lot of purpose as a minor character save the fact that he might have contributed more mystery to Gatsby's past.  Because his past was obbvviously not confusing or mysterious enough. (*sarcasm*)

Because of this confusion, I chose to focus on the end of the chapter, which I found very relatable to music.  I was reminded of a song when I thought of Gatsby's already revealed emotions and romantic situation and also when I read this line from a flashback Gatsby had about Daisy: "He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God" (Fitzgerald, 110).  This line seems to relate perfectly to a line from a wonderful Maroon 5 song, Love Somebody.  The lyrics go like this: "But if I fall for you, I'll never recover/ If I fall for you, I'll never be the same."  The whole song seems to match almost exactly how I imagine Gatsby to be feeling, both in his flashback and in present time.

Another line that reminded me of a song was, "So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning-fork that had been struck upon a star. Then he kissed her. At his lips' touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete.  Thought the lyrics aren't exactly the same, I am reminded of a song by Gloriana called Kissed You Good Night. A verse goes, "Half scared to death, can't catch my breath, aren't these the moments we live for? And I kissed you, goodnight. And now that I've kissed you, its a good night, good night, baby goodnight."

The Love Nest

The Great Gatsby

By F. Scott Fitzgerald

chap V, pgs 90-96

"They had forgotten me, but Daisy glanced up and held our her hand; Gatsby didn't know me at all.  I looked once more at them and they looked back at me, remotely, possessed by intense life.  Then I went out of the room and down the marble steps into the rain, leaving them there together" (Fitzgerald, 96).

The end of chapter five involves rising action and possibly the turning point of the novel.  Gatsby and Daisy are spending a lot of time together, and end up snuggling and holding hands in a dark corner in Gatsby’s house listening to the piano.  Gatsby had been wishing for this for five years, and even though she was there with him, she was not his.  No amount of love and hoping could wish away the fact that Daisy was married.  This chapter is the rising action because Gatsby keeps trying to impress Daisy and get her to stay with him.  The quote shows that the two were in their own little world and had close to forgotten all outside of it.  That is why I also believe that it might also be the beginning of the turning point, because Daisy seems very happy and wishes to stay with Gatsby, which might lead to her leaving Tom (which I hope it does).

When reading the last pages of the chapter, I felt like I was in the scene with the character.  You know that inner voice you hear when you read to yourself?  How it gets loud when things are in all caps or something?  Well my inner voice was reading in a very hushed tone, as not to disturb the sound of the piano or the soundless connection between Gatsby and Daisy.  I felt like Daisy might have, looking deeply into the eyes of someone who loves you and forgetting everything else in the world, wanting to stay there forever.

The Symbol of the Storm

The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
chap V, pgs 81-89

I noticed the symbolism in this section involving Gatsby.  Gatsby had his house overly lit for no apparent reason.  It was so bright and obnoxious that from a distance, Nick believed his house to be on fire.  This seemingly pointless act of making his house a beacon symbolized Gatsby’s desperate need to be noticed by Daisy.  He is begging for her attention, but he doesn’t know how to get it.  Moreover, Nick’s belief that the lights looked like a fire makes it seem that Gatsby is calling out to Nick for help.  Nick does his best when he invites both Daisy and Gatsby over for tea, but when the two finally meet up, its awkward and uncomfortable and embarrassing.  Nick steps outside to give them some privacy and realizes that it is pouring down rain.  The symbolism of the storm represents the uneasiness and storminess of the meeting inside.  Nick thought that when the rain stopped, it reflected what was going on inside: “But in the new silence I felt that silence had fallen within the house too” (Fitzgerald, 89).  However, what had fallen in the house was not an uneasy silence, but an atmosphere of calm.  Once the storm calmed down, so did the conversation.  A brighter sky symbolizes a brighter beginning and possibly future for Daisy and Gatsby.

Do Daisy and Gatsby have a future together?

Thy Neighbor's Wife

The Great Gatsby

By F. Scott Fitzgerald

chap IV, pgs 72-80

There has been a lot of foreshadowing so far in this book, and especially in this section.  I read the summary on the back cover, so I know that Gatsby loves Daisy at some point in the book.  Therefore, any mention of a connection between them seems like foreshadowing to me.  Meyer Wolfsheim (who is comically if not stereotypically described, being a short rambunctious Jew with a large nose) said that "Gatsby's very careful about women. He would never so much as look at a friend's wife" (Fitzgerald, 72).  I think this foreshadows Gatsby making known his feelings for the married Daisy Buchanan.  And when Gatsby meets Daisy's husband Tom, "a strained, unfamiliar look of embarrassment came over Gatsby's face" (Fitzgerald, 74).  Because Gatsby is usually a friendly and courteous host, his embarrassment in meeting Tom Buchanan foreshadows a deep and upcoming reason for the embarrassment.  When Jordan told Nick about Daisy and Gatsby's history, I realized that Gatsby did have very strong feelings for Daisy and obviously still does.  Everything Gatsby has changed in his life recently- moving, throwing parties, making friends with Nick- is all to get closer to Daisy.  Now that Gatsby's intentions are clear, I'm interested to see how far he'll go and how Daisy will respond.

Let's see how well Gatsby can follow this...if at all

The Smolder

The Great Gatsby

By F. Scott Fitzgerald

chap IV, pgs 61-71

One thing I focused on this section was the continued, emotion of Gatsby’s captivating smile.  Earlier the narrator described the smile as understanding as much as you wanted to be understood, and now he states that “the smile comprehended Montenegro’s troubled history and sympathized with the brave struggle of the Montenegrin people. It appreciated fully the chain of national circumstances which had elicited this tribute from Montenegro’s warm little heart” (Fitzgerald, 66).  The lengthy description of this amazingly enrapturing smile seems to disguise pain and mystery.  It is as if his smile is a shield.  Smooth-talking men have captivating smiles to fool women and hide secrets.  Gatsby’s smile actually reminds me of another charming smile from the movie Tangled.

Flynn Ryder’s famous “smolder” is used to charm the ladies.  Though it has always worked before, it fails when he uses it on Rapunzel.  Gatsby’s smile eventually loses its charm on Nick as well: “There was the smile again, but this time I held out against it” (Fitzgerald, 71).