Blog #4. "People Were Not Invited—They Went There." Gatsby, Ch. 3.

52 pages (in my edition) into the story and we finally meet Gatsby. (You can already imagine how the new movie is going to play this moment up, with Leonardo and Tobey) Fitzgerald does a masterful job of leading up to this moment. How many rumors have we heard about Gatsby so far? At least four, by my count. He's the nephew or cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm (if you don't know who this is, look him up); he killed a man once; he was a German spy; he went to Oxford. One thing is for certain, he knows how to throw a party. And if you didn't know, this is in the middle of Prohibition.

So, with this in mind:

1. Your reaction(s) to Gatsby's party? Go ahead and quote in your response. And make a judgement about it—what do you think Fitzgerald wants us to feel or think about it after we've seen it?

2. Your impression and/or reaction to Gatsby himself? Like him? Dislike him? Trust him? Distrust him? Quote here as well.

3. Nick is becoming a more visible character as the novel goes on. What do you think of him now? Is he as honest as he thinks he is?

4. Finally: what about today's discussion especially struck you, stayed with you—and why?

Tomorrow we will talk about the Valley of Ashes and T.J. Eckleberg, leading up to a discussion about the party and our introduction to Gatsby. Friday you will have a quiz on the week's reading and discussions. I'll get your first essay back to your next week. As I said in class, the freebie blog entry ends now: you don't do it from here in on time, you don't get credit for it.

See you tomorrow.

Blog #3. "This Is The Valley of Ashes." Gatsby, Ch. 2

Our discussion tomorrow will continue with what Erin in fifth period quickly saw as one of the major themes of the novel, appearance versus reality. We've already lighted upon this in talking about the great mansion Tom and Daisy live in—whether you approve of it or not, it's still a pretty impressive home—and what is going inside the great house: chaos, deceit, instability, a young mother to some degree trapped in a messy marriage and a husband who is discovering how empty life can be after playing football for Yale. I know, this sounds petty, ridiculous, even, but Fitzgerald, I think, wants us to understand the "hulking" philanderer Tom as a human being. A moronic human being, perhaps, but still human. And he, too, will be subject of our conversation tomorrow—and on the blog today.

Chapter Two begins with one of the great, inscrutable moments of the novel: Nick and Tom's journey to New York City through the Valley of Ashes, past the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg. It's a fantastic moment in the novel, one of the great moments in modern American Literature. According to the explanatory notes at the back of my edition, the description is based on"the Corona dump in the borough of Queens, a swamp that was being filled with ashes, garbage, and manure." Fair enough: even still, this is a bizarre, surreal moment and image—a farm of ashes inhabited by "ash-grey men," bordered by a "small foul river" and overseen by a giant billboard of eyes—eyes in glasses, no less. What the heck is it doing in the novel? Fitzgerald offers no explanation—it's just there in all its weird beauty. So...

1. What do you make of the possible meaning, purpose, significance of this place? Why is it here? Now, you can look at the many study guides on the web and they will give you some answer—but don't look, okay? Take a shot—the Valley of the Ashes and T.J. Eckleburg's eyes "about half way between West Egg and New York"...their meaning in the book.

2. Tom...ole Tom, Yalie, filthy rich polo player, reader of "scientific stuff," philanderer, protector of the white race. He looms large in the narrative—one of the most evocative characters in anything we will read this year.  What do you think of him? How would you characterize him? Is he a total d-bag, or can we find grounds for sympathy for him? Go ahead and quote from the book in your response.

3. Every character in this novel is so vivid—with the exceptions, arguably, of Daisy, Gatsby, and, perhaps, even Nick. But certainly clear to the eye is Myrtle Wilson. One of the mysteries of the book is why would Tom cheat on someone as attractive as Daisy—and with someone like Myrtle. Or perhaps it is no mystery at all. Make some case for Tom's affair with Myrtle. What can or does Myrtle offer Tom that he may not be able to get from Daisy?

As always, write a couple hundred words here. Feel free to respond to what others say. Very soon I will be asking you to respond to your classmates as a matter of course: I will ask you to make repeated visits to the blog. Of course, I hope you do come back here to see what is being said. For now you don't have to—but you soon will.

Finally: a clip from the 1974 movie starring Robert Redford as Gatsby, Mia Farrow as Daisy, Sam "Law and Order" Waterston as Nick, Bruce Dern near perfect as Tom, and Karen Black as Myrtle. Skip ahead three and a half minutes and see how the film envisions the Valley of Ashes and the Eyes of T.J. Eckleburg. Or just watch the whole clip if you want.

See you all tomorrow.

Blog#2. "Reserving Judgement Is A Matter of Infinite Hope." Great Gatsby, Chapter 1

So we begin our year with the book considered by many to be the "Great American Novel." It may also be the definitive literary statement on the subject of our study. It certainly is the one book, perhaps along with Macbeth, all American high schoolers read. So when you go off to college and find yourself with nothing to say to your roommate or the guy or gal you want to get to know better, you can always say, "So, how about that 'Great' Gatsby?"

Take some time to answer the following questions—write a couple hundred words. Try not to repeat each other. Feel free to respond to what your classmates say. Seniors who have read the book, please, don't give anything anyway. Feel free, though, to respond as a reader who has read the book once already.

1. Your reaction to the first chapter? Like? Dislike? Why?

2. What moment or image or character particularly jumped at you in this chapter, and why? Go ahead and quote from the novel in your response.

3.  Going back to Friday: ask your parents (or a parent) what their definition is of the American Dream—and have they (or he or she) attained it?

4. Going back to your definitions of the Dream. Read this from the New York Times and briefly comment on its application, if any, to the definitions and our discussion. 

Please have this done by 8 (not 8:30) tomorrow morning. And finally, just to let you know that this book is still "hip" and "cool":

See you all tomorrow.

Blog#1—Reactions to Handout

The five page handout I gave you in class is really just some impressions I had of this thing called "The American Dream." I am particularly struck by what Dr. King said: "The American dream reminds us, and we should think about it anew on this Independence Day, that every man is an heir of the legacy of dignity and worth." I am struck by this because the concepts of "dignity" and "worth" are not often spoken of these days—certainly not by our political nor religious leaders.

So what jumped out at you from the packet? It can be something big or major, or it could be something small and minor. And what about it made it stick out for you in the context of its illuminating of "the American Dream"?

Write a couple hundred words. Remember, this isn't a text message. Be grammatically correct. Don't repeat what others have said, though you are welcome to add onto what has been written by your classmates. Feel free to comment on what a classmate(s) said.

Finally, in today's New York Times is this article I mentioned in passing in class about the carpet business bust in Dalton. Reaction? Comment?

Tomorrow in class you will work on preparing for the paper on Thursday. Remember to post your response to this blog by 8:30 tomorrow morning. See you tomorrow.