Blog 3

Having Nick as the narrator in The Great Gatsby gives you a biased view of the characters. Nick tries very hard to not judge people, he gives everybody a chance. "I'm inclined to reserve all judgements, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me" (1). I think that part of the reason, as a reader, you feel inclined to like Gatsby is because you only percieve him through Nick's non-judgemental mind-set. Towards the end of the book, Nick begins to realize that Gatsby annoys him and it's only when Nick notices this, that our eyes are opened up to it too. If we would have gotten an oustide approach on the story, I think that I would've percieved Gatsby as kind of stand-offish and demanding.

A symbol that makes an appearance multiple time in The Great Gatsby is cars. The first appearance of a car in the story is at the end of chapter 3 when a car outside of Gatsbys party is missing a wheel. Later on in that chapter, while Nick and Jordan are talking she says: "They'll keep out of my way... it takes two to make an accident" (58) In chapter 4 we learn about an accident that Tom was involved in. He ran into a wagon and ripped a fron wheel off of his car. The final and most significant reference to a car is in chapter 7. "Auto hit her. Ins'antly killed" (139) Daisy is driving Gatsby's car and hits and kills Myrtle after she ran out into the road. I think that in this book, cars symbolize danger, or are symbolized as weapons. Every reference to a car is tied into an unfortunate event.

The American Dream in The Great Gatsby

In "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the character Jay Gatsby is eager to achieve his american dream. He has almost everything, plenty of money, he is well known, but the one thing missing is a wife. Jordan Baker tells Nick about Gatsby's past with Nick's cousin, who is now married, Daisy. "The Officer looked at Daisy ... in a way that every young girl wants to be looked at some time ... His name was Jay Gatsby"(75). Now Gatsby and Daisy haven't been in contact for years but it is her that he wants to complete his American Dream. Jordan says "Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay." (78) I predict that Daisy is going to leave her husband, who is cheating on her anyways, to be with Jay Gatsby.

I Stepped From A Plank

I stepped from plank to plank
   So slow and cautiously;
The stars about my head I felt,
   About my feet the sea.

I knew not but the next
   Would be my final inch,--
This gave me that precarious gait
   Some call experience.

I think this poem is about trying new things. The first two lines means your going out of your comfort zone to try something new, and the next two lines is about how cautious you are of everything around you when your in an unfamiliar place or situation. "I knew not but the next would be my final inch,--" is the lack of knowledge about what will happen next. And the last two lines are about how you gain experience through everything you do in life, whether they be good or bad.