Chapter 1
Though we do not meet Gatsby until Chapter 3, we hear references to him in the conversations of others. Note each reference. What impressions do you get?
(All questions taken from http://rbvhs.vusd.k12.ca.us/teachers/villa/docs11/gatz/questions.pdf)
(All questions taken from http://rbvhs.vusd.k12.ca.us/teachers/villa/docs11/gatz/questions.pdf)
The first time Gatsby is mentioned is on page2, the person telling the story said they wanted everything moral, but Gatsby because he was different. This gives me the impression that Gatsby might live a party kind of life and also that he is charming. He was mentioned a few pages over. His house was described. The person telling the story said that it was a lavish imitation of some famous European building. He said that his house was an eyesore compared. This gives me the impression that Gatsby is quite wealthy. The next time Gatsby was mentioned was by the woman at his cousin's house. She knew where he lived and said that he must know Gatsby. This gives me the impression that Gatsby is known for some reason or has a big reputation. He then tries to bring Gatsby up again but the girl is focused on something else. The last time Gatsby was mentioned was at the end of the story. Nick was going to start a conversation with Gatsby, but he said it looked like he wanted to be alone.
ReplyDeleteMore to come on the mystery of Gatsby.
DeleteThere really are several references to Gatsby even though he's not even "seen" until the end of the chapter. On page 2, the author non-subtly hints at Gatsby's importance in the story he is about to tell, saying that Gatsby's personal problems were the reason he lost interest in the fickle emotions of people. This obviously gives me the impression that Gatsby is going to be very important (in case you couldn't get that from the title of the book) and I think, unlike what Amber said, that he might not live a party life, but a life full of romantic excursions, although the type of excursions that these may be are as of yet, unknown. A little bit later, on page 5, the author describes Gatsby's mansion, apparently very lavish and elaborate, especially when compared to the protagonist's little cardboard shack. This kind of lets us all know that Gatsby has a substantial amount of money or some kind of other asset(s). Later, on page 11, Miss Baker brings Gatsby up in a rather adamant way, insisting that Nick must know him, and even Daisy joins in, but the conversation is brought to a halt by dinner (food has that effect on everyone, even fictional characters). Miss Baker's insistence that Nick must know Gatsby in conjunction with even Daisy chiming in, hints that Gatsby must do or be something very important, insinuating that his name is something of a household word. Later, Nick tries to bring Gatsby back up to Miss Baker (perhaps to hint that eavesdropping is immoral), but she's obviously to obsessed in her gossip-ridden ways and wants to hear what's going on with Tom and Daisy. Finally, Gatsby is seen on page 20, when Nick wants to talk to him, but decides to leave him alone, because he appears to be preoccupied with his own thoughts. The chapter ends here, kind of in a cliff hanger, which leaves you wanting to learn more about Gatsby.
ReplyDeleteYes, there's nothing like the narrator TELLING the audience that a character is vitally important -- as if we couldn't tell from the book's title.
DeleteGatsby is mentioned for the first time on page 2, when Nick is discussing his return from the East. He mentions how he wished everything to be "at a sort of moral attention" upon his return, except for Gatsby. To me, this shows that Nick looks at Gatsby in a different way than he looks at everyone else. My initial thought was that he respects Gatsby or sort of looks up to him.
ReplyDeleteLater on page 5, Nick talks about Gatsby as his neighbor. Obviously Gatsby has some money because Nick speaks of his "eyesore" of a house compared with Gatsby's mansion. However the main thing I took away from the section was that Nick seems very intrigued by Gatsby. It's almost as if he wishes he knew him well because he starts out by calling him Gatsby, but later admits he does not know him well and therefore should not call him by just simply "Gatsby."
On page 11, Miss Baker demands that by living in West Egg, Nick must know Mr. Gatsby. This implies that he is well known and has many acquaintances. Before Nick can share that Gatsby is his neighbor, dinner is served. Later, he unsuccessfully tries to bring up the subject again, as Miss Baker is distracted by a matter inside. This again shows that Nick has a lot of interest in this man.
Mr. Gatsby is mentioned for a final time on the concluding pages of the chapter. Just as Nick is returning home from the evening, he sees Gatsby. He wants to introduce himself, but decides that Gatsby appears to content being alone. He seemingly has some sort of burden hanging over him and is lost in his thoughts.
And there is the weird beckoning to the green light across the water ... mysterious!
DeleteGatsby is first mentioned on page 2. Nick states that he wants the world to be uniform and at a moral attention forever, but Gatsby was exempt for this. Nick also says Gatsby represents everything he scorns. I get the impression Gatsby makes himself appear to others that he is just a normal, quiet guy, but when he is with women a new side to him shows. Gatsby is mentioned for a second time on page 5 when Nick compares is little shack to Gatsby lavish mansion. From this section we can infer Gatsby has a large sum of money. Nick feels down on himself and maybe even intimated because he is living in a little shack for $80 between two millionaires. On page 11 Gatsby is mentioned at dinner but the topic is pushed aside. Later on Nick tries to bring up the topic again but fails to do so. This scene showed Nick has a great interest in talking and learning more about Gatsby. Gatsby is mentioned for a final time on page 20 when Nick is returning home. Nick wants to speak to Gatsby be decides not to because he is too caught up in his own thoughts. This question, is Nick intimidated by Gatsby?
ReplyDeleteIf he's not yet, he soon will be.
DeleteGatsby is first mentioned on page 2. When Nick came back from the east in the autumn he had an idea. His idea was that the world would be uniform. Also that it would be sort of at a moral attention. I get the impression that Gatsby has done something to make Nick not like him. When Nick is around and sees Gatsby in a way that makes him not like him.
ReplyDeleteThe next time that Gatsby is mentioned is on page 5 when they talk about Gatsby's mansion. The impression I get from this is that Nick is jealous of Gatsby's mansion. Maybe he wishes that he lived in a big house like that.
Once again Gatsby is mentioned on page 11 when they are at dinner. They assume by living in west egg he should know Gatsby. But they are interrupted though and Nick tries to bring it back up he fails to. The impression I got from this is that Nick wants to know more about Gatsby. Since everyone knows about Gatsby he feels the need to know more too.
Finally he appears in one last time in the chapter on page 20. When Nick is returning home he sees Gatsby. He wants to talk to Gatsby and introduce himself. But decides against it because he doesn't know for sure if he should or not. This to me makes me think that he is intimidated by Gatsby.
If not intimidated, then he is at least respectful of Gatsby's privacy. Not all characters in the novel will be so accommodating.
DeleteMr. Gatsby is first referenced on pg. 2 where the narrator, Nick Carraway, describes that Gatsby was a representation of everything that he detested, but at the same time held great respect for him. This suggests to me that even though Gatsby lives a very different lifestyle and holds very different values than the narrator, Gatsby possesses a personality that attracted people and presented him in a amicable light. The next mention of Gatsby was of his house which is located beside Carraway's (pg. 5). A massive structure based on a famous building in France, it dwarfs Carraway's “eyesore”. This indicates to me that Gatsby was very wealthy. The next reference is by Miss Baker who states that Carraway should be acquainted with Gatsby, even though his move to West Egg was recent (pg. 11). This suggests to me that Gatsby is very well known, though as to why, it hasn't been revealed. The final mention of Gatsby was when Carraway returns to his small home and sees a figure of a man believed to Mr. Gatsby and goes to introduce himself, but decides against it when he notes the man's comfortable mood (pg. 20). The sudden disappearance of Gatsby inspires a certain mysterious aura to both Carraway and the reader.
ReplyDeleteYes, for a literary novel, this has more than its fair share of suspense, Jensine.
DeleteGatsby is first mentioned on page 2. Nick states that he wants the world to be uniform and at a moral attention forever, but Gatsby was exempt for this. Nick also says Gatsby represents everything he scorns, but makes one exception just for him. I get the impression that Gatsby is a different type of person than Nick, like he is in a different crowd but Nick respects him because he earned everything he has. The next time Gatsby is on page 5 when Nick compares is little shack to Gatsby lavish mansion. This gives me the impression that Gatsby was maybe born into a family who wasn't wealthy, and even though it seems he has a lot of money he still doesn't want to act better than anyone by moving to the East Egg. On page 11 Gatsby is mentioned at dinne but he gets kind of pushed aside like they don't want to talk about him, just like later on when Nick tries to bring him up again but the same thing happens. From this I get the impression that not everyone likes Gatsby. The last time Gatsby is mentioned is on page 20 when Nick is returning home. Nick wants to speak to him but he doesn't because he looks like he is thinking about something and doesn't want to distract him. With this I kind of get the impression that there is some type of intimidation happening, but I'm not sure if it's that or he just didn't want to be a bother.
ReplyDeleteMUCH more to come about Gatsby, Marissa. Keep reading.
DeleteGatsby is mentioned on page 2 by Nick describing him as everything he resents, but being a very tolerant person, forgets about that and respects him anyway. I think he is probably a great guy that everyone likes. Nick is probably just jealous of him. you can be jealous and still respect someone. Page 5 his mansion is mentioned. It is described as being massive which means he probably is extremely rich because it is also in new york. Page 11 Miss baker says that he should get to know Gatsby. They probably want to get a good connection with a wealthy guy. Page 20 Nick thinks he sees Gatsby. He was about to introduce himself but doesn't. This suggests that Nick is shy or just doesnt want to meet him.
ReplyDeleteOr that he respects Gatsby's privacy during an unusual moment.
DeleteNick says that Gatsby is his extremely wealthy neighbor. Nick also says that Gatsby "represented everything for which (Nick) has an unaffected scorn." It is still unkow why Nick does'nt like him that much. Many people seem to know him, as show when Miss Baker mentions his name. I think that Gatsby is just a rich, nice person who likes to have a good time, but my idea of him may change as the book goes on.
ReplyDeleteWe'll definitely learn much more about the mysterious Mr. Gatsby. I'll be curious how this affects your opinion.
DeleteThe first reference we get to Gatsby is on page 2, where the narrator says he is the "man who gives his name to this book." Here we see that Gatsby is already an incredibly influential figure. The narrator offers his praise to Gatsby, his success and intriguing personality, but most of all his wealth. Gatsby is mentioned again by Jordan Baker, who says that is someone she knows from the West Egg. The impressions I get is that Gatsby is a well known figure, respected for reasons other than his wealth. I also suspect he has some relation to Jordan or Daisy. I think Gatsby will be a character who brings more to the wealthy of his age than just riches.
ReplyDeleteI like your final line. You may well be right, Caroline.
DeleteThe first reference we get of Gatsby is on page 2, when Nick describes the name of the book. Gatsby is mentioned again while Nick is at Daisy's house by Jordan Baker and then Nick mentions him again at the end of the chapter, while Gatsby is staring into the mysterious green light. All of the brief references of Gatsby makes him more unreal. I keep thinking of him as this untouchable wealthy superhuman that no human can compare to. I'm more curious to see how he interacts with the other characters, especially Nick, his neighbor.
ReplyDeleteAnd now you've seen!
DeleteI like your description of Gatsby. Read on to see how correct (or incorrect) you are.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGatsby is first mentioned on page 2 by nick, and is described as gorgeous. Which makes me to think that he is this cool guy that everyone wants to be. The next reference was by Miss.Baker when she was talking to NIck, it gave me the impression that Gatsby was this well known guy and it was weird if you didn't know him. The last reference was by Nick at the end of the chapter, Nick was describing him as Gatsby was diving into some body of water, and it made it seem as if to nick this guy was almost godly and unreal.
ReplyDeleteGatsby is gesturing strangely to a light across the sea. More to come on this mysterious action.
DeleteGatsby was mentioned early in the story on page 2 to set our image of him through Nick's eyes looking back. It starts to make the reader enthused to read about him soon, but when we 'meet' him in the end of the book, it leaves us hanging. We don't get to know much about Gatsby except by examining his behavior when he's alone. It makes him seem mysterious. The casual bringing up of Gatsby at the little party also builds up to the mystery, especially Daisy's reaction to his name. I can't wait to see when those two meet.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe they already have ...
DeleteGatsby was first talked about on page 2 by Nick, the narrator. Nick speaks highly of Gatsby, although he never even met him yet. Later on in the chapter, Jordan Baker speaks about Gatsby at the party Nick has attended. She says she heard Gatsby may be related to Kaiser, one of the german leaders in WWI. This shows that people talk about Gatsby a lot and hints towards Gatsby's great reputation. At the end of the chapter, Nick is about to approach Gatsby at his mansion, but he doesn't because he feels as if Gatsby would like to be left alone.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments, O Creator. :)
DeleteI've gotten behind in the past week with these responses, so I'm going to knock them all out today.
ReplyDeleteNick's first mention of Gatsby is a strange one. He says that Gatsby represents everything he scorns, yet Nick he has a strange admiration of the man (he even calls Gatsby's personality gorgeous) At this point Nick doesn't even know him, he just knows OF him. We learn that Gatsby has a huge, lavish mansion next door to Nick's house in West Egg. Gatsby is known by everyone around West Egg and people think highly of him. When Nick returns home from Daisy's he sees Gatsby for the first time, looking towards a green light out on the water. At this point, Nick wants to go talk to Gatsby, but he decides it's best to leave him alone.
Recorded
ReplyDelete