Gatsby- Gatsby's Parties

"But I can still read the gray names, and they will give you a better impression than my generalities of those who accepted Gatsby's hospitality and paid him the subtle tribute of knowing nothing whatever about him" (pg 61). I thought this was very strange. Typically people have parties and invite people they know very well and like. Gatsby barely knew any of the people at his parties and the guests did not know him either. The guests talked about him and told rumors about him in attempt to decipher is mysterious character. Nick even talks to Gatsby and did not realize that is was Gatsby. Gatsby seems detached from the other characters. He can be cold and impersonal at times. He loves Daisy and is humanized through is nervous actions when he waits for her to come to tea. I think he becomes cold when he is showing his house to Daisy and he 'commands' Klipspringer to play the piano. He does not ask, he demands. He wants things done the way he wants it, when he wants it.

Gatsby-Relationships

"Neither of them can stand the person they're married to" (pg 33). Tom is having an affair with Myrtle. Myrtle and Daisy are very similar in some aspects. There is a part where Tom and Daisy are talking that is very similar to a scene with Tom and Myrtle. Daisy is talking to Tom and uses the word 'hulking' to describe him and he states that he hate that word so she repeats it. Tom and Myrtle are arguing because Tom does not want Myrtle to say Daisy's name but she keeps repeating it and he breaks her nose. If Tom was unhappy with Daisy, why would he have an affair with a woman like Myrtle. He is obviously annoyed more by Myrtle because he did not break Daisy's nose. Another strange relationship is between Nick and Daisy. Nick is Daisy's cousin but he describes her as if he was attracted to her. He describes her voice as "the king of voice that the ear follows up and down" (pg 9). He describes her as beautiful and is always commenting on how lovely her voice is.

Gatsby-structure

"Reading over what I have written so far, I see I have given the impression that the events of the three nights several weeks apart were all that absorbed me" (pg 55). The narrator, Nick Carraway, is reflecting on past events in his life. In the beginning of the story, he talks about Gatsby and gives the reader a hint of why he was writing a story about Gatsby. Because he is writing about past events, the events he writes about must be of important significance. The stories he uses show the development of relationships between characters. He also writes about the different reactions the characters have to their surroundings. Nick speaks of Gatsby's nervousness as he waits for Daisy to come to tea and of Tom's anger with Myrtle as she repeats Daisy's name and he ends up breaking her nose. These events show the progression of the different characters' development. In the beginning of the story, Gatsby is not introduced until page forty-seven. Then the reader slowly sees glimpses of what Gatsby is like.

Gatsby-Irony

"I have been drunk just twice in my life, and the second time was that afternoon; so everything that happened has a dim, hazy cast over it..." (pg 29). Nick states that he cannot clearly remember everything that happened. He was at a gathering with Tom and Myrtle and some of their friends come over. Nick meets Myrtle's sister and describes her as "a slender, worldly girl of about thirty, with a solid, sticky bob of red hair, and a complexion powdered milky white" (pg 30). He states his memory is hazy and yet he describes this person with great character. He also meets another man and notices that he had "a white spot of lather on his cheekbone" from shaving (pg 30). If a person was drunk, these details would not be as clear or memorable. This supports the author's descriptive style. All of the characters in this story are described with great detail, showing the Nick's perceptiveness.

The Great Gatsby-Point of View

"I lived at the West Egg, the-well, the less fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them" (pg 5). Nick Carraway is the narrator in the story and it is told from his point of view. We, the readers, see the other characters the way he perceives them to be. He is writing about past events in his life and reflecting on a few people in particular. Nick witnesses different dimensions of the characters. He sees Tom and Myrtle together as well as Tom and Daisy together. Daisy does not know much about Myrtle, but Nick knows more. Nick knows many things about the different characters that even the other characters do not know about each other. Nick also meets Gatsby, an elusive host unknown to many of his party guests. With the use of first person, the reader experiences Nick's perception of these characters.