Sunday, June 6, 2010

The Women of Gatsby


The women of Gatsby are (or the recurring ones, at least) Daisy, Jordan, and Myrtle. Daisy is a character that acts innocent, sheltered. She usually wears white, which reflects her character as innocent and carefree, she is quite aware of Tom's relationship with Myrtle and perhaps her relationship with Gatsby is a naive retaliation against Tom. At the end of the book, she kills Myrtle and appears to be unfazed by that fact. Nick on Tom and Daisy:

"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy -- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made" (188).


Her innocence and naivity are also reflected when she cries into Gatsby's many colored shirts.



Jordan, Tom and Daisy's friend, forms a "relationship" with Nick. She is a golfer, who had cheated at her tournament. She is the one that tells Nick of Tom's mistress in New York. She seems to be slightly nosy, (though its not something that is in-your-face) and she gossips. She was the one who had first seen Daisy and Gatsby together before she had even known either one. Towards the end of the book Jordan makes it clear that she might have been in love, but she had lost interest in Nick. She thought they were the same, but later found out that they weren't.


Myrtle is Tom's mistress from New York. She treats her husband as 'dead' and 'undesirable'. She thinks that Tom is in love with her, but unfortunately fails to realize Tom's revelation of making a mistake after his relationship with Daisy is almost derailed by Gatsby. She is killed towards the end of the book and makes very little impact in the main story line behind Gatsby (aside from being Tom's little fling).

Sources:
The Great Gatsby
http://www.shmoop.com/great-gatsby/gender-theme.html

Thursday, June 3, 2010

The Men Of Gatsby


The Great Gatsby seems to have a slight undertone of gender roles. The men of Gatsby-Tom, Nick, Gatsby, and so on- seem to fit into certain roles. There's a big contrast between certain characters, Tom is masculine, strong, rich, a part of upper class society whereas one could say the Nick is upper-middle class (though his region is seen as the less fashionable counter-part of Tom's region one could assume he is still somewhat wealthy), perceiving, and then the lower class, weak Wilson who does not stand up for himself. Lastly, Gatsby who does not seem to turn out to be an honest man but a bootlegger attempting to became wealthy enough to capture Daisy's attention.


Both Tom and Gatsby have little understanding of women. Tom, overly macho, is possessive and possibly abusive (more so when he breaks myrtle's nose). Where Gatsby seems to pamper Daisy, and is blinded by his dreamer state of mind, Daisy is more like a prize to him. Nick is simply uncertain, he's not rich so he knows he can't capture Jordan's love in that sense. Nick is naive in this sense.


Wilson is depicted as wimpy, useless. His wife and Tom have little respect for him, calling him "useless", "dead" and so on. Nick seems to be the only one that feels any remorse towards him. Indeed he does give off the sense of being "dead", he does nothing to keep Myrtle and Tom apart, at least until towards the end of the story, and his easily convinced and driven into things. He also has a habit of comparing the Dr. Eckleburg sign to the eyes of God.


sources:
The Great Gatsby
http://www.shmoop.com/great-gatsby/gender-theme.html
http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=14600

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

The Green Light


In The Great Gatsby they talk about a green light. The green light is first mentioned in the first chapter of the book. This green light is symbolic in more ways then just one in this nove. One way, is because thoughout the book when it is mentioned it seems as if Gatsby worships it. Another example of the symbolicness of the green light is that in the book green is a color of hope, renual and a promise. It shows a dream that he wants to happen. something that he lives has been living his life for. He wants to have a chance to get all that he wants out of life. Gatsby wants to prove to himself that if he achives his goal then it would seem as if everything in he has in his life is worth living for.
The greeen light is found out to be at the end of Daisy dock to her house. For Gatsby it symbolizes a dream. The dream that Gatsby has is wanting to be with Daisy. He show that he would do anything for this woman no matter what the cost to not only himself but to anyone who he is involved with. In the end though we find out that what Gatsby hoped for never happens. You are also able to see that all of the promises that were made between Gatsby and his beloved Daisy were unfulfill. this dream in which Gatsby lives his life by, in fact is the main cause of his demise.
information from: