Great Gatsby Week 1.4

"One thing's sure and nothing's surer… The rich get richer and the poor get – children” (Fitzgerald 95).

     Fitzgerald is trying to state the point that wealthy citizens will just get more money and never achieve complete happiness while the less privileged citizens can lead joyous lives without material wealth. When in possession of a large sum of money, people get carried away and their only focus is to obtain more money. The part of society that lives in poverty is able to achieve satisfaction in life because their focuses are set on more important things such as “children.” The primary purpose of this quote is to illustrate that money can not always buy happiness.

 “I saw him opening a chest of rubies to ease with their crimson-lighted depths, the gnawings of his broken heart” (Fitzgerald 67).

     Gatsby shows Nick a picture of him taken during his time at Oxford and Nick pictures Gatsby looking a chest full of rubies to help him find comfort in his depressing life. Gatsby finds that buying expensive items eases his longing for Daisy. Although the shining rubies would offer no alleviation towards his pain, Gatsby would like to think that they are helping him solve his problems. Again, he thinks he has to impress people with material wealth in order to stand out as “great.” He turns to luxury to hide his struggles just like alcoholics turn to alcohol and drug-users turn to drugs. Gatsby’s “drugs” for comfort are money and popularity.

“Recovering himself in a minute he opened for us two hulking patent cabinets which held his massed suits and dressing-gowns and ties, and his shirts, piled like bricks in stacks a dozen high. “'I've got a man in England who buys me clothes. He sends over a selection of things at the beginning of each season, spring and fall” (Fitzgerald 92).

     Gatsby is giving Nick and Daisy a tour of his home and shows them his closet which is fully-stocked with expensive clothing and accessories. Nice shirts are stacked high on cabinets and his clothing is bought by an English man. This shows that Gatsby thinks so highly of himself that he does not even shop for himself. He is concentrated on the idea of impressing Daisy to win her approval because he thinks that money creates happiness. In today’s society, people try to awe others by showing off how many material items they can purchase. They are focused on the assumption that they will gain more friendships and acceptance if they are able to make a lot of luxury purchases.

“There must have been moments in the afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams—not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything…No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart” (Fitzgerald 95). 

     The author is stressing that people overestimate their ability to achieve their dreams in real life. The actuality of Daisy’s character falls short of Gatsby’s expectations. He believed that since they had experienced a romance previously, that their love would immediately be reignited. He pictures Daisy as being the woman of his dreams and perfect in every way, but occasionally he notices things about her that do not resemble his dream. This concept applies to the real world because people shoot too far in life and are often let down by their achievements. They do not fully succeed in what they set out to do resulting in mental failure.

“The modesty of the demand shook me. He had waited five years and bought a mansion where he dispensed starlight to casual moths” (Fitzgerald 78).

     This quote explains that Gatsby has been waiting for Daisy’s love for five years. He went to great measures to gain the opportunity to meet with Daisy by buying a luxurious mansion across the bay from her house. Gatsby has thrown extraordinary parties in the hopes that he will catch Daisy’s attention. He asks Nick to set up a tea party for him to coincidentally run into Daisy. When Nick agrees, Gatsby is overwhelmed with gratitude and offers many favors in exchange. The author portrays Gatsby’s character as determined to get what he thinks he wants in life. Although Gatsby’s idea of the perfect life may be far reaching from reality, he strives for them to come true.  

Fiction 1.3 "Let Teenagers Try Adulthood"

Should Teenagers Be Allowed To Try Adulthood?

     The main point argued in "Let Teenagers Try Adulthood" by Leon Botstein is that high schools are hindering the development of adolescents because they isolate teens into cliques and stereotypes. The author fails to explain the primary purpose of high school which is to provide a social and educational bridge into the real world. Adulthood can not be mastered when on a rushed route through one's adolescent years; lessons take time to be retained in the brain. High school is a definite necessity when preparing for the obstacles of adulthood. When experiencing the process of high school, students gain much-needed social skills, basic knowledge, and the concept of who they want to be in the real world. Botstein believes that high school is limiting teens to only interacting amongst their similar-aged peers. Although this may be true, it offers a sense of comfort to teens that are intimidated by working with older people. The ability to connect among peers must be achieved before one can achieve success on their own. As well as social comfort, one must be well informed of basic information. Botstein thinks it is necessary to rush into college, but a person can not do well in college if they are not properly prepared. If too much information is crammed into the brains of students in order to rush them off to college, then they will not retain the information properly. With the aid of high school, students develop a judgement of who they are and what they would like to major in. Botstein argues that by spending less time in high school and more time in college, a student will succeed more in the real world. This is not true because the student does not have enough time to fully develop an opinion concerning what they aspire to be. Major conflicts would result from a younger graduating class. There would be a higher rate of unemployment considering the demand for jobs right out of college. In addition, high school students need time to develop an understanding of maturity towards ideas and concepts of life. Botstein suggests that since our generations are maturing more quickly physically, teens do not need to spend as much time maturing their skills in life. This is a false accusation because the generations of children are becoming increasingly mentally immature. Sports and hobbies are viewed as stereotypical dividers by the author, but they are merely a way to accompany people in acquiring cooperation and leadership skills. Teens learn how to give orders as well as receive them from other teammates resulting in the improved ability to communicate effectively. Hobbies open up a broad spectrum of interests that may take a student years to finally decide on which one they would like to pursue. Much time must be given in order for them to consider their options of which hobbies they would like to strive for in life. Leon Botstein's idea of shortening the time spent at secondary school would be unable to work properly because teens would not gain proper education of how to survive in the real world.

Week 1.2 Great Gatsby

1. “Civilization’s going to pieces,” broke out Tom violently... The idea is if we don’t look out the white race will be — will be utterly submerged. It’s all scientific stuff; it’s been proved.”

Scott Fitzgerald was attempting to argue the point that society is evolving into a less accepting world than in previous time periods. Prejudiced ideas and racist thoughts prevail in the minds of white citizens, in this case Tom Buchanan. The growing threats of minority groups taking over society ran through the minds of 1920's majority groups resulting in racist tensions between the two groups. Fitzgerald was trying to stress the fact that when diversity of culture is introduced into an area that already has an established society, then the new group will not be tolerated easily without presumptions.


2. Whenever you feel like criticizing any one...just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."

The author wanted to show that there is a little glimmer of hope for society to remain unprejudiced by using Nick's father as a symbol of innocence and wisdom. He shares his knowledge with Nick that one must see through another's eyes in order to view an assumption clearly enough to make an assessment. Fitzgerald wants the readers to learn that a proper judgement of one's character can not be correctly completed without the consideration of their lifestyle and what they have gone through. He believes that society has become more concerned with living a normal, carefree lifestyle than trying to see life as another would view it. 

3. "In two weeks it'll be the longest day in the year... Do you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always watch for the longest day in the year and then miss it."

Daisy is telling her visitors that for people's entire lives they are constantly waiting for change and something good to happen, but once it does occur the rest of their life goes by very quickly. Fitzgerald is trying to warn readers not to dwell on future events to come because once they take place other occurrences in life move at a rapid pace. The result of anticipating every move of what's yet to come ultimately is a disappointment because a person will be excited for the future but then let down by how fast life goes by. 

4. "I married him because I thought he was a gentleman...I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn't fit to lick my shoe." 

Myrtle is complaining about how her husband, George, has not lived up to all he seemed to be when she married him. She expected him to be rich and successful in order to have children with him, but now that she has gotten to know him she thinks that he is no better than a dog. The author is stressing that people are more concerned with high-ranking social status than true priorities in life such as true love. Myrtle represents the lower-class citizens attempting to make their way to the top social ranking by choosing the less difficult steps to get there. 


5. "He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward and distinguished nothing except a single green light..."

Gatsby is reaching out towards the green light across the sea at Daisy's house as if to symbolize the eternal reach for people to accomplish their hopes and goals in life. Gatsby wishes to pursue his longing of having Daisy's heart although it is merely impossible just like people dream of achieving the perfect lifestyle. Fitzgerald is trying to make the point that people will always be aiming for goals that they probably will not be able to succeed in; people overestimate their abilities to do well in the world. The author is trying to stress that people need to set more realistic goals in life so they can prosper with less difficulty.