Jordan Baker

The party s coming to a close and Nick is one of the last to leave: "and suddenly there seemed to be a pleasant significance in having been among the last to go, as if he had desired it all the time" (Fitzgerald, 53).  As the plot and the characters continue to develop, Gatsby is still portrayed as being above everyone else, but not in an arrogant way.  Gatsby continues to appear to me almost like a god, patiently observing and occasionally controlling the events around him.  I wish to learn more about Gatsby, and I believe the author's style of writing and development of plot will slowly reveal more and more about the mysterious Gatsby.

At the end of the chapter the author uses some direct characterization to allow the reader to get to know Jordan Baker better: "She was incurably dishonest. She wasn't able to endure being at a disadvantage and, given this unwillingness, I suppose she had begun dealing in subterfuges when she was very young in order to keep that cool, insolent smile turned to the world and yet satisfy the demands of her hard, jaunty body" (Fitzgerald, 58).  Nick seems not to care about her dishonesty, but I'm not sure how to feel about it as of yet.  I am sort of a hopeless romantic though, and after the tragic relationship of Lily and Selden, I'm really hoping that Jordan and Nick get together.  At first he says, "I wasn't actually in love, but I felt a sort of tender curiosity" (Fitzgerald, 57).  That's a good start, but I was happier when he later said, "...for a moment I thought I loved her" (Fitzgerald, 58).  As I learn more about Jordan, I continue to hope that Nick's feelings for her develop, and she shows some feelings for him as well.

Jordan and Nick: one needs to break down the wall

He's Just a Man Named Gatsby

The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
chap III, pgs 39-49

The chapter starts off with a butler formally inviting Nick to one of Gatsby's parties that he had so often observed with awe.  The description of the party comes off to me as a intricate and confusing whirlwind of people, food, and music.  Nick feels out of place and just when he needs a companion, he spots Jordan Baker.  Jordan stays with him throughout the party and helps Nick to socialize.  To me, Jordan seems to stand out among all the other guests.  Conversations with others are kept short and fleeting and names are only mentioned once, if at all.  Both the author and Nick himself write and act, respectively, in a way that puts Jordan apart from the other guests.  Nick is comfortable with her and happy to be in her presence.  She contributes to Nick's mood and the mood of the chapter.  Miss Baker is calm and lovely, and seems to flow about the party, even among young girls dancing to the orchestra.  I'm hoping that Jordan continues to contribute to the mood and that Nick comes to notice her grace and beauty.

Another character that stands out  is of course the namesake of the book, Gatsby.  But before we truly find out who Gatsby is, the author adds even more mystery.  There are rumors that Gatsby killed a man, was a German spy, fought in the American army, and went to Oxford.  It's hard to discern which is true and what is simply fabricated.  Adding to the mystery is that Nick has a full conversation with a man before he realizes that the man is actually Gatsby.  I figured that this would happen because Nick says, "It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him his name when Jordan looked around and smiled" (Fitzgerald, 47).  This was a foreshadowing that this man's name would soon be important to the story.  After the conversation, Gatsby is called away and both Nick and the reader are arrested with curiosity.  " 'Who is he?' I demanded. 'Do you know?' 'He's just a man named Gatsby.' "

Myrtle Wilson

The Great Gatsby

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

chap II

This is what I came to find from the detailed description in the book

The beginning of this chapter includes a lot of detailed description, but I also experienced some confusion.  I honestly had no idea what was going on with the description of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg.  At first I thought it was a hallucination or an odd formation of rock.  After a considerable about of pondering, I came to the conclusion that it was an old billboard. (Granted, my pondering included typing the doctors name into Google images and seeing what came up, but nevertheless.)

Besides that she's not black, this is
kind of how I picture Mrs. Wilson.
She's got swag!

Once I got over the confusion of the eyeballs, I came to the equally detailed description of Mrs. Wilson.  "...the thickish figure of a woman blocked out the light from the office door. She was in the middle thirties, and faintly stout, but she carried her surplus flesh sensuously as some women can. Her face, above a spotted dress of dark blue crepe-de-chine, contained no facet or gleam of beauty, but there was an immediately perceptible vitality about her as if the nerves of her body were continually smouldering" (Fitzgerald, 25).

Ok, so what confused me about this was that I soon learned that Mrs. Wilson was Tom's "other woman."  Daisy was described as being much more attractive, and in addition, Mrs. Wilson herself is married.  Mr. Wilson seems even more oblivious than Daisy, but then again, I feel like Daisy has at least an idea of what is going on.

So eventually, Nick, Tom, and Myrtle Wilson end up at a party with lots of different people which I feel won't contribute to the story that much.

I think they serve to show the contrast between Tom's two lives and Myrtle's two lives.  This chapter ends with some confusion, displayed in the broken syntax in the second to last sentence.  The ellipsis also contribute to that.  Nick somehow ends up waiting for a train, which leaves the reader wondering what happened and how he got there.  Hopefully my confusion in these areas will be cleared up in the upcoming chapters.

Questionable Relationships

The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
chap I, pgs 12-21

Ok, so I already strongly dislike Tom.  Daisy seems like a sweet and caring wife, but Toms actions in this section are described with adverbs like, "crossly," "violently," "impatiently," and "miserably."  The reader learns that Tom actually has "some woman in New York" (Fitzgerald, 15).  He's blatantly cheating on his wife and no one seems to care!  At this point, Tom seems like a flat character who thinks civilization is going to pieces, likes to travel, and doesn't seem to care about his wife.  I really hope his personality changes, but at this point, he is in sharp contrast to Nick, who seems very educated and caring.  Another contrast is that Nick lives in West Egg while the Buchanans live in the more affluent East Egg, and Nick even describes them as "remotely rich."
In this section I was mainly focused on Tom and how he was described.  "As for Tom, the fact that he "had some woman in New York" was really less surprising than that he had been depressed by a book.  Something was making him nibble at the edge of stale ideas as if his sturdy physical egotism no longer nourished his peremptory heart" (Fitzgerald, 20).  I'm interested to see how Tom develops as a character and also how his relationships with other characters develops.  Will Tom leave his wife for this other woman?  How will Tom and Daisy continue to relate with Nick?  How will Nick relate with Miss. Baker?  And the most pressing question- How will they relate to Gatsby?

Intro to Gatsby

The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
chap I, pgs 1-11

At the very beginning of this novel, I quickly discovered that the narration and perspective, and the point of view of the main character would all be very different than in The House of Mirth.  Even the diction and style of writing appeared more relaxed and easier to comprehend.  I believe that Fitzgerald uses this simpler style of writing in addition to the first-person narrative to convey the down-to-earth nature of the protagonist and narrator, Mr. Carraway.  This form of writing makes Mr. Carraway more approachable and draws the reader deeper into the story, instead of feeling like an uninvolved bystander.  Something that caught my attention was the almost godliness with which Gatsby is referred to.  Everyone seems to know of him, but no one seems to have met him personally.  At the opening of the book, this vague but obviously important character lends some intrigue, and some anticipation for encounters to come.
"No- Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men" (Fitzgerald, 2).
Nothing like a little ominous foreshadowing to get you diving headfirst into a book!

oooo...very ominous sky...what's gonna happen?

Final Goodnight

The House of Mirth
by Edith Wharton

Book 2, chap XII-XIV

"She looked at him gently . 'Do you remember what you said to me once? That you could help me only by loving me? Well- you did love me for a moment; and it helped me. It has always helped me. But the moment is gone- it was i who let it go. And one must go on living. Goodbye' " (Wharton, 251).

Although part of me wanted Lily's spontaneous decision to visit Selden to result in a passionate declaration of love and a rapid proposal of marriage, this quote shows that Lily came to Selden primarily to thank him and get some sort of closure.  They both obviously still have at least a semblance of feelings for each other, but these feelings had been twice rejected and are no longer strong enough to maintain a romantic relationship.  The reader knows that the novel must quickly come to a resolution, but after Lily throws what the reader assumes to be the Dorset letters, it seems that the novel might end without a definitive conclusion.  Lily is not the type to settle for the single life, but now with the assurance that Selden is no longer an option for marriage, and her only way to get Rosedale reduced to a pile of ashes, it seems that Lily is completely alone. Lily's brief exposure to the happy domestic life of Nettie gives both her and the reader hope that such pure happiness might at some time be Lily's.  But her loneliness is undeniable at the end of the day.  A small resolution makes itself known when Lily receives her ten thousand dollar check and decides quickly to pay back Mr. Trenor.  At this point, Lily has the means for paying Trenor back, and a small bit of hope for the future, but many questions are still unanswered, with only a few pages left.  Wharton employs the use of long flowing sentences to give the feeling the Lily is calm and somehow things will work themselves out.  Lily has confidence in herself and after taking a little more medication than recommended, falls asleep thinking of the warmth of an infant.  Lily feeling the baby's presence near her seems to symbolize peace and comfort, and a rejuvenating of youthful vitality.
But there is a surprising twist: when Selden visits Lily's building the next morning, he discovers many more people than he expected.  Lily has overdosed.  She is DEAD.
...wait, what!?  That's the solution the author came up with??  Are you serious?  How upsetting, and disappointing!  Lily's debts are all paid, and I suppose that with her death, almost everything is resolved.  Though I would like to believe that Lily died in peace, it is still a shame that it had to come to this.  Selden still had lingering feelings for her, but her last goodbye was truly final.  I feel like it is a very poor testament to Miss Bart's true beauty and skill that her whole life of social grace was ended so tragically in a run-down rented room.  The sadness of Lily's passing obtains more pathos in Selden's lingering farewell, a farewell that  serves as the ending conclusion to both the novel and the beautiful bright light that was Lily Bart.

"But at least he had loved her- had been willing to stake his fortune on his faith in her- and if the moment had been fated to pass from them before they could seize it, he saw now that, for both, it had been saved whole out of the ruin of their lives...and in the silence there passed between them the word which made all clear" (Wharton, 268).

I picture Lily maintaining her beauty, even in death

Rock Bottom

The House of Mirth
by Edith Wharton

Book 2, chap X-XI

At this point, Lily seems to be as low as she can possibly go.  A gorgeous and eligible young woman, reduced to monotonous factory work.  In her time of continuous struggle, Miss Bart has gone through more than just a social and career change.  She has gone through physical, emotional, and moral changes as well.  "What made her so much more clumsy than usual? Was it a growing distaste for her task, or actual physical disability? She felt tired and confused: it was an effort to put her thoughts together" (Wharton, 232).  Lily seems fully beaten and no definitive and permanent solution is in site.  All she has left are the packet of letters from Mrs. Dorset and a tempting offer from Mr. Rosedale.  "Lily, perceiving all this, understood that he would marry her at once, on the sole condition of a reconciliation with Mrs. Dorset; and the temptation was the less easy to put aside because little by little, circumstances were breaking her dislike for Rosedale" (Wharton, 244).  I pity Lily.  I actually really want her to just end all this and follow Rosedale's plan.  I think Mrs. Dorset deserves it, and Rosedale has the ability to provide for Lily quite handsomely.  I mean, I would love for Lily and Selden to end up together, but they won't admit their feelings for each other, and it wouldn't really help Lily's financial situation.  I was very proud when at the end of the chapter, it seemed that Lily was set on taking the letters to the Dorset's house.  But as so often happens with Lily, she was turned away from the end result of her plan by spontaneous change in feeling.  This change in feeling shows itself in her rapid detour into Selden's house.  Though I am glad she went to visit him, I am worried about what will happen in her near future.
Many of Lily's initial characteristics, of determination, beauty, skill, pride, and vitality, seemed to have been severely weakened by her unfortunate situation.  She clearly still maintains some beauty and pride, as is shown in Rosedale's admiration of her, and her rejection of Rosedale's offer of revenge or a loan.  I hope that Lily will find a solution that satisfies her to the point of restoring all her endearing characteristics to there youthful fullness.

In reference to my last post, I knew that Mrs. Hatch served almost no purpose.  The only memorable result that came from Lily's occupation under her was that it further injured Lily's social standing and broke even more ties with her acquaintances, if it was possible for things to get worse.