Monday, March 16, 2015

The Great Gatsby fishbowl #3: chapters 5 & 6

Great questions & responses last discussion, group.  A few reminders of what I'm looking for your your work.

1.  Be sure to carefully proofread your ideas.

2.  Use the thread feature to indicate to whom you're replying.  If you're beginning a new line of thinking or questioning, use the general post feature.

3.  For each comment you make or question you ask, contextualize or support your thinking with text.  Be sure, too, that you introduce the relevance of that comment to your thinking, thoughtfully incorporating your passage into your ideas versus throwing out the quote & leaving it to your audience to infer why you're using it.  Please cite these quotes as well.

Here are a few good examples of posts from last class:

Grant asked, "On page 66 Nick says 'He reached in his pocket, and a piece of metal, slung on a ribbon, fell into my palm' while Gatsby is explaining his past accomplishments to Nick. Why do you think Gatsby came prepared with proof of his past accomplishments?"

And James commented, "I think that is a good interpretation of that quote. I think Gatsby knows that he chopped up on his description of his past like when on that same page [N]ick says, 'He hurried the phrase educated at Oxford, or swallowed it, or choked on it." So he says that to cover it up.'

And a good question from Austin: "Nick says, 'There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired.' What does Nick mean? How does this connect back to the characters? And How does this represent the secrete society?"

Happy posting!

37 comments:

  1. Is Gatsby's life worth achieving? The book started off with him being this extravagant guy, but now we know that there is much more to it. So is his life desirable?

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    1. I don't think Gatsby's life is desirable. Yes he has the cars, clothes, and house but he doesn't have his happiness. His happiness lies in the hands of Daisy and I don't think anything is more important than happiness. So until he has everything he wants it wont be desirable.

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  2. On page 105 "I've never met so many celebrities," Daisy exclaimed. "I liked that man - what was his name?- The sort of blue nose." Gatsby identified him, adding that he was a small producer.(Fitzgerald 105) Do you think Gatsby invited famous people intending to impress Daisy?

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    1. It could be interpreted as that, but these parties with these celebrities were going on awhile before Daisy came back into the picture. I think the people there are used to personify Gatsby and the way he acts. At the same time, its also something pretty easy to use to impress. Depends on how you see it I suppose.

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    2. Gatsby bought the house across the bay know that Daisy was on the other side. So yes these parties were being thrown long before Daisy ever came back into his life, but he threw them and made them as big as possible to someday see Daisy walk in. The only reason why Gatsby throws the bacchanalian parties is because of Daisy-- hoping to lure her in and impress her at the same time.

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  3. When Nick told Gatsby that "you can't repeat the past", Gatsby replied, "Why of course you can!". Why do you think Gatsby says that?

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    1. I think Gatsby says this because he wants that idea in his head that Daisy and him can have the same life they had back again. He wants to make their relationship work.

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    2. I think Gatsby would just like the relationship he used to have with Daisy like they used to so it is more of a hopeful answer.

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    3. Gatsby thinks he can repeat the past because that's how Gatsby and Daisy met during the war and how he was deployed for war, and that is when they became very close.

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    4. This is an interesting thought. I think that Gatsby is so blurred by his past and how he really got to where he is. I think that Gatsby is thinking about Daisy and their past and what they used to be. Gatsby is thinking now that he wants Daisy and that would be like history repeating itself.

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  4. Gatsby's life isn't really as desirable as I thought in the beginning of the book because now it's apparent that his life is not so great and he is not truly happy

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  5. On page 109 Gatsby says,"And she doesn't understand,' he said. 'She used to be able to understand. We'd sit for hours....." Gatsby seems to hint that Daisy has changed. If you agree that Daisy has changed, in what ways do you think she has?

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    2. It seems that Daisy is changing over the years. On page 82"She began to cry—she cried and cried. I rushed out and found her mother’s maid and we locked the door and got her into a cold bath. She wouldn’t let go of the letter." (Fitzgerald 82) It seems that she was angry and the only way numb the pain. Also when Nick invited Daisy over for some tea it seems like her personality has been changing and how the conversation seems to be awkward.

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  6. I think Gatsby offered Nick a job because he actually likes him and wants him to live a better life because Nick said he didnt make the most money.

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    1. I agree that Gatsby likes Nick, but I think Gatsby is also using him to get to Daisy.

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  7. On page 98 it talks about Gatsby changing and "re-inventing" himself. It says, "So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end." So my question is, what was Gatsby's true motivation in going through with this.

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  8. Do you think Gatsby genuinely likes Nick?

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    1. I think so. He might have a lot of intention to just get to Daisy, but he's also super nice to him, and trusts him with some of his past, which I don't think he would do that otherwise.

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    2. I think Gatsby likes nick. If he didn't, he wouldn't have used him as a wing man.

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  9. When Gatsby shows Daisy all of his priceless possessions, she begins to cry. Why is this?

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    1. I think Daisy starts to cry because she realizes how far Gatsby got in his life without her and their relationship.

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    2. Daisy cries because I feel she realized that the life she could have had with Gatsby would have been fantastic and actually genuine

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    3. I agree with Patrick. I think the regret and question of what her life could have been like haunts her and is really uncomfortable. She is very unhappy with Tom and especially when she knows he is cheating on her, it only makes her want to go back to Gatsby more.

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    4. I agree, I feel like that she cries knowing that she now realizes what and how her life could be like with Gatsby, instead of being with Tom.

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  10. On page 107 Tom says, "Who is this Gatsby anyhow?" Tom seems to be angry or jealous of Gatsby and Daisy's newly kindled relationship. Do you think that Tom will publicly react to this relationship or will he let it be and go with Myrtle?

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    1. I think eventually Tom will explode because as you can see in chapter 6 whenever he talks about Gatsby it seems it is through anger and fear of losing her woman.

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  11. On page 86 Gatsby just started off talking to Daisy saying, "We've met before." His eyes glanced momentarily at nick. Before he got comfortable with Daisy, it seemed he was very reliant on Nick, do you think that is the reason he invited him over for tea?

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    1. I imagine that he was very nervous to see her again, so he relied on Nick to break up some of that awkwardness.

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  12. On page 107 Tom says, "Who is this Gatsby anyhow?" Tom seems to be angry or jealous of Gatsby and Daisy's newly kindled relationship. Do you think that Tom will publicly react to this relationship or will he let it be and go with Myrtle?

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  13. In your opinion how did the meeting between nick and gatsby go?

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  14. On page 104 we read that Tom and Daisy both came to Gatsby's party together, what do you think Tom's presence added or was the significance of him being there?

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    1. I think that Tom realized that Daisy was going to Gatsby's house a lot and decided that he needed to see what he was all about and maybe figure out what his intentions were.

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  15. On page 96 it says that, "I looked once more at them and they looked back at me, remotely, possessed by intense life." This part makes me think that they may be rekindling their love, but it also makes me think Daisy might be doing this because of how rich Gatsby is. Do you think that Daisy actually really likes Gatsby or is she just trying to be around him because of his money.

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  16. I think it was very significant that he was there and definitely changed the way Daisy acted because he knew something was going on between her and Gatsby when he states, "Who is this Gatsby anyhow?" on page 107 he shows his anger towards the situation.

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  17. Do you think that Gatsby truly believes that money can buy any happiness? Because he thinks he can recreate the past with Daisy, because he has money.

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    1. I don't really think that Gatsby believes that money can buy happiness, but more so that money can buy Daisy. Which in his eyes getting Daisy could be getting happiness.

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