Great Gatsby #2

Fitzgerald does a fantastic job of revealing details to us a little at a time, allowing us to pass and change judgment as the story progresses. Address the following questions in relation to the development of Jay Gatsby: 1) What is the purpose of Meyer Wolfsheim as a character? How does he affect the way we see Gatsby? 2) What does the back story about Jay and Daisy's past do to our impressions of Gatsby? 3) What does the story of the rest of Gatsby past due to our impressions of him? 4) How does your overall impression of Gatsby change over these three chapters - do you like him more, less, and why?

1) Meyer Wolfsheim is used in the story to reveal more about Gatsby and his past in a more subtle way. He tells Nick about what an upstanding citizen Gatsby is and how wonderful of a person he is. This makes us relate to Gatsby more and makes us care more about him as a character.
2) Jay and Daisy's past gives Gatsby a more realistic background. Before, he was just an elusive neighbor of Nick's who enjoyed staring at the water in the middle of the night. Now, with the introduction of more in-depth emotions, Gatsby seems much more human to us.
3) Gatsby's past makes us more sympathetic to him. We understand now how he came into his money, but also how he missed out on most of it in the end, when Ella Kaye received what remained of the millions.
4) After these three chapters, I like Gatsby less than I did at the start of the book. Before these three chapters, he was mysterious and someone who we wanted to find out more about, which made him interesting to the audience. However, now that we know who he is, the mystery has worn away, and it is not really replaced with any exciting character traits to make him interesting. We see him as a nervous wreck when Daisy comes near, which makes him seem weak in my eyes, and therefore, less interesting.

Great Gatsby Reading Journal #1

Having talked about hero, antihero, and villain in class, I am sure that you are completely clear on what all three are. And knowing that, you also are aware that how you classify chraracters into one of these categories is a very personal thing. Looking at first three chapters of *The Great Gatsby*, make some predictions about these characters and (unlike Nick) classify them into one of the three categories - hero, antihero, and villain. Give ample reasons for your classification, with support for the text (that means quotes...and page numbers).

Having read "The Great Gatsby" so far, the most clear hero appears to be Nick Carraway. Going along with the true definition of a hero, he shares many of the same values with the audience and he is someone we can relate to since he is going through the story with us.

The antihero in this story so far appears to be Gatsby. We haven't found out much about him yet, but he seems like he has the qualities of a hero, yet he seems to also have a questionable background that might make his morals opposing to those of the audience. In chapter three, on page forty-four someone accuses him of killing a man, while someone suggests that he could have been a German spy. This could lead us to believe that has questionable morals.

When classifying a villain in this story, the closest character to the definition so far is Tom Buchanan. His morals are quite opposite to those of the audience. He cheats on his wife, beats her, and beats his mistress as well. In chapter two, on page thirty-seven, he is in a quarrel with Myrtle and finishes it by breaking her nose. Obviously, the morals that he possesses are quite opposed to the audience's.