Thursday, February 16, 2017

The role of women in The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby takes place in the 1920s. During that era women got the right to vote. Just because they have the right to vote, doesn't mean they are portrayed any better. People still thought women's lives can't be the same as men's and they can't do the same things as them. Women can vote and have jobs but there are some changes to be made and characters like Jordan are apart of that change.

Jordan Baker is a famous golfer. She is successful at a sport that was for men and her attitude is unapologetic. I say that because she isn't sweet to men (ie. sweet talk,flirting) because she wants to win, she goes out there and wins a tournament because she wants to (and cheats but lets not talk about that rn). Jordan gets what she wants and is okay with having fun and enjoying life, something a lot of women would like to have during that time, She is independent and not married, which at that time it's huge to be her age and not be married because men were "supposed to take care of women".
Jordan is also dishonest and very careless. She likes to live her life without thinking about the consequences of being not careful. I'd say she's a feminist.

Daisy is materialistic and artificial. Even though her life isn't going as good as it should, in the eye of women around her, she is perfect. To everyone, Daisy is living the American Dream, she had beauty, social class and a way with words. Gatsby sees what everyone else sees because Daisy does an extremely good job of covering up who she is when she is not in the presence of the public and what she is actually feeling. Daisy's not independent because she depends on Tom for supporting her financially and keeping her from not being alone, which at that time that was why people got married.

Myrtle is also materialistic. Myrtle knows Tom is not leaving Daisy so she stays with her husband and buys things to keep her occupied.

What I think the author is trying to do is shine a light on women and show that these characters chose their own paths in life. He even shows women drinking and partying whilst having fun. That's something that men would usually do but now they're the layed back ones.

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Gatsby's selfish and not in love.

As the title of this post says, I think Gatsby is selfish and he is not in love with Daisy.
I'm sure most of us can agree that Daisy is selfish. She loves wealth more than she loves herself probably. I think even if she didn't have a child with Tom, she would still stay with him because he can support her financially and her parents like him. He's rich, famous, and she's afraid of change. When Gatsby tried to impress Daisy, she started crying because of his shirts from Europe. She's materialistic and in it for the money. She only started to get interested in Gatsby again once he gave her a tour and showed her his stuff. But that's enough of Daisy......

Gatsby is selfish because he expects Daisy to just throw away her life to be with him. Sure Daisy is unhappy and gets treated badly by her spouse but, I think it is just selfish to expect someone to completely change their life just because you asked him too. And Gatsby does ask Daisy to.
 Maybe if Daisy had grown so tired of her life, she would've already changed things herself. He thinks he is going to save her but she's perfectly capable of saving herself if she wanted to. Also, how is trying to woo someone who already moved on, has a life and family not selfish?
Gatsby is also selfish in terms of not sharing his wealth. He uses all his wealth for himself and trying to impress Daisy. He doesn't think of those in need. He passes by poor people every time he goes to the city and looks down upon them but showing off his fancy car which makes him feel superior. He has no idea how much they could benefit from his help. But no, he needs imported shirts from Europe because that's the only thing worth living for. (totally being sarcastic btw)

On to the part where I said I don't think he's in love with Daisy.......
To elaborate, I mean I don't think Gatsby's in love with Daisy, but he's in love with the version he made up of her in his mind. Think about it, how well did he really know Daisy all those years back? Did they actually spend time talking to each other or did they do what they do now and show up at lavish parties and try to be the next "it couple"? Daisy is very flirty and uses her words without caution. Gatsby might have been interpreting her words differently from what she actually means. So then he goes off to war and Daisy gets tired of waiting. She then marries Tom, because of his wealth, and receives receives a letter. Now this is were I think the letter is from Gatsby mentioning that he's alive and wants to marry her or something. Daisy realizes she messed up.

So why does Gatsby think that by buying a house across the bay and thinking of a plan to get a married woman to leave her husband for him okay? He then throws fancy parties in hopes that Daisy would show up and take him back. Once Daisy comes back into his life, he doesn't get to know her better. It's been five years of planning yet he doesn't try to catch up and try to see if that's the same Daisy he remembers and loves. He's been letting his desires take over him. What's going to happen if Daisy does choose him? Is it going to be like how he wanted and will it live up to his expectations? Or will he realize that life isn't as good as he thought it would be?

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

GATSBY TEST CHAPTERS 1-4

Chapter One
1.) What does Nick tell us about himself in the beginning of the book?
2.)What does Daisy hope for her daughter? Why do you think she wants that for her?
3.)What does Gatsby do at the end of the chapter?
Chapter Two
1.)Who does Nick meet?
2.)What does Tom do near the end?
Chapter Three
1.)What were some rumors about Gatsby?
2.)How did Nick meet Gatsby?
3.)Where did Jordan go near the end of the party?
Chapter Four
1.)What does Gatsby tell Nick about himself?
2.)What happened when Nick introduced Tom to Gatsby?
3.)What did Jordan tell Nick to do?


Monday, February 6, 2017

GATSBY CHAPTER 4

The "truth" Gatsby tells Nick was that he attended Oxford. He said it hurriedly and the way Nick describes Gatsby telling him that makes me think Gatsby is lying. Then Gatsby pulls out a picture of him and his Oxford buddies. Since he had proof, that makes me think he's telling the truth. Gatsby goes on to say that he lived many places and attended the war in hopes he would die. I'm not sure if he's telling the truth about that- why would someone openly tell that to someone who is not that close to you?

Jordan's "truth" was about how she met Daisy and how Gatsby has met Daisy before when she was 18. She goes on by telling the story of Daisy's wedding and how angry she was at her husband. She tells Nick that Daisy asked her about Gatsby the other night after the dinner. Jordan tells Nick that Gatsby wants to meet with Daisy and threw those parties because he was hoping she would show up. The reason why Gatsby wanted to talk to Jordan is because he wants Nick to invite Daisy to tea.

I am not going to believe Gatsby, yet. He's still a mysterious character and I'm not sure if I fully trust him. I'm just confused as to why he sounded like he was lying about the Oxford thing but then show Nick a picture.

Jordan is one of those people who listen to rumors and gossip. Most of the time rumors are changed every time it is told. I do believe that Gatsby talked to Jordan about Daisy that night at the party but I'm not sure how true the whole story she told Nick was.

Sunday, February 5, 2017

GATSBY CHAPTER 3 REMIX

I put the main points from chapter 3 in comic strip form as my remix.




Thursday, February 2, 2017

Failed Remix

Okay so I had a weird idea for a remix but it failed due to technological issues. I was inspired by the theme of chapter 3, which was parties. There is a website called Club Penguin and is known for having parties. I thought to myself, 'why not record a video of myself reenacting chapter 3 highlights on Club Penguin for my remix?" The following quote DP showed us the other day is what happened with this idea:  "The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry", Robert Burns. No matter how long I spent planning, something ended up not working. Here is a picture of my attempt:

















So instead for my remix I'm going to compare and contrast parties from the 1920s and from this day and age.......
Music then: they had a variety of different live bands/orchestras/singers in just one party.
Depending on where you go to music now is either a phone/speaker or maybe even a DJ. In some worst cases, everyone has their headphones on. (I'm guilty of this😅)
The parties then were for mingling. For example, Gatsby's beach and house were full of people he didn't know. You don't have to know the host to go to their party.
The parties now consists of people being on their phones and not socializing with anyone unless to show them a meme for a few seconds. That's how Christmas was like. Now a days you have to be invited or be friends with the person who is invited to go to a party.