AS English: The Great Gatsby

Showing posts with label The Great Gatsby. Show all posts

Tuesday, 31 January 2012

The Great Gatsby Chapters 4 and 5

Here are the lessons for chapter 4 and 5...

The Great Gatsby Chapters 4 and 5 on Prezi

Sunday, 29 January 2012

The Great Gatsby, Chapter 2 - How does the novel present appearances?

How does the novel present appearances?

Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald's use of first person narrative through disarming and honest character Nick, is so reserved in judgement that the tone of 'third person' is taken on, resulting in an omniscient narrator. The lack of judgement against others pursued by Nick provides the reader with confidence and trust in his retrospective view of both the events throughout 'The Great Gatsby' and the character's themselves. Here, in Chapter 2 of the novel, the narrator provides his direct observations on the newly introduced character Myrtle (Mrs Wilson) and Mr Wilson, presenting their physical appearances and the appearance of where they live; the 'valley of ashes'.

Chapter 2 predominantly presents us with the appearance of one of the most important characters in the novel who unknowingly plays a large role in the ultimate death of Jay Gatsby; Tom's 'woman', Myrtle Wilson. Here, we learn more of the woman Tom Buchanan is having an affair with and through Nick's direct observations are provided with her physical appearance. The description of the 'faintly stout' and 'thickish figure of a woman' with 'rather wide hips' and a face which 'contained no facet or gleam of beauty' portrays Myrtle as an unattractive and plain woman, the complete antithesis to Daisy whose described to be 'like a flower' with a face 'sad and lovely' with 'bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth'. The butch description of the character is enhanced through the observation that with her 'continually smouldering' body she took to 'walking through her husband as if he were a ghost'; portraying the character as uncaring and cruel towards her husband, clearly showing her lack of respect and love for Mr Wilson using the simile 'as if he were a ghost' to show how her dominating nature has turned him into a feeble pushover of a man who is fading away.

The ugly presentation of the character is established further through the chapter when it becomes clear that the money Tom has is new and exciting for the 'working class' garage man’s wife. Immediately taking advantage of the wealth he possesses, Nick reveals Myrtle’s childish repetition of the phrase 'I want' to show the character's need for instant gratification, a hedonistic stance towards life which comes with money and lack of morals.

Not only does Fitzgerald present the appearance of people in Chapter 2, but he also uses the description of position to present the large social divide between working class – Myrtle and George Wilson, and upper class – Tom, Daisy and Gatsby. By directly placing the poverty ridden 'Valley of Ashes' - a 'desolate area of land' where 'spasms of bleak dust...drift endlessly over it' - 'about half-way between' the glamorous West Egg, and wealthy bright light of New York, the reader is presented with a huge contrast of surroundings, symbolising the division of classes and the vulnerability of the working class to the whims of the rich. Fitzgerald predominantly exposes the poor and vulnerable ways of the working class to the reader through the introduction of narrator Nick to Mr. Wilson in his garage, situated ‘on the edge of the waste land’.

Here, the reader is exposed to the unjust hierarchy of the 1920’s American system and how the wealthy have the ability to control the fortune of the less wealthy; Nick’s observations of Wilson’s reaction - ‘a damp gleam of hope sprang into his light blue eyes’, when he and Tom entered the garage, reveals the character’s dependency upon Tom through the false promise of business ‘to sell [him] that car’. Ultimately presenting the naive appearance of Wilson, however also the cruel appearance of Tom who heartlessly takes control of an unimportant comment by threatening Wilson and his work by ‘coldly’ stating ‘maybe I’d better sell it somewhere else after all’ to maintain his pride and hierarchy revealing his arrogant nature too. This idea is picked up again within the Chapter when 'Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke [Myrtles] nose with his open hand' to enhance the fact that the lower class are vulnerable to the actions of the upper class.

Furthermore, Tom Buchanan's character is continually presented in an ugly light throughout Chapter 2, and through Nick's omniscient tone persuading the reader to make their own judgement on the character. Tom is clearly portrayed to be unashamed about the affair he is having with Myrtle through his flamboyant actions and normal speech to Mr. Wilson calling him ‘old man’ and ‘slapping him jovially on the shoulder’, this along with his blatancy about the affair when he ‘intently’ states ‘I want to see you... Get on the next train’ reveals the characters ugly arrogant and controlling nature. Fitzgerald also presents the character with having double standards, using the antithesis of Daisy and Myrtle previously, but also through the plethora of rumours; the reason he can’t or rather won’t marry Myrtle is because ‘his wife... [is] Catholic, and they don’t believe in divorce’, however established by Nick’s narration and knowledge of Daisy, this is revealed as a lie, resulting in the exposure of Tom’s disloyalty to both women, and also suggesting that Tom is a contradictory character and doesn’t want to leave his wife for someone ‘lower class’ as he fears the gossip which may be spread about him.

(Caitlin Scott)

Saturday, 28 January 2012

The Great Gatsby: Analyse the role of marriage in the novel, are any of the romantic relationships successful?

Analyse the role of marriage in the novel, are any of the romantic relationships successful?

Chapter Two

Catherine says that Tom will not divorce Daisy because she is a Catholic when Nick knows that she is not. This implies that Tom has been lying to the both woman and is not sure that he want to leave Daisy.

Tom does not allow Myrtle to say Daisy's name. When she does say her name, Tom "broke her nose with one hand". This shows that he feels guilty about what he is doing and is still both protective and possessive of Daisy.

The marriages are partly spoken about through gossip. For example Catherine says to Nick "neither of them can stand the person they are married to". Later on in the novel there is a lot of gossip about Gatsby which is not true, questioning the reliability of gossip. This then questions if the marriages are as unstable as they are portrayed.

Myrtle is seen dissatisfied in her marriage as she says she miss took Wilson for a "gentlemen" following that says "I later discovered he was not fit enough to lick my shoe".This shows that she despises her husband and so therefore neither their marriage or relationship are successful and more. The metaphor of the "borrowed suit" shows that she is not content with living her live married to someone who is working class and not rich and that she wants to be with someone who she considers to be a gentlemen with lots of money. Tom is seen as this person.

Becky Rose

The Great Gatsby: How does the novel present appearances? (Chapter 2)

How does the novel present appearances?

Mrs Wilson:

'no facet or gleam of beauty' (Page 28) - This statement completely opposes the earlier introduction of Daisy, who is depicted to be very beautiful, having 'bright eyes' and a 'bright passionate mouth'. The 'smouldering' character walks 'through her husband', portraying her uncaring nature and making it obvious that she does not reciprocate Mr Wilson's feelings for her.
Mrs Wilson also repeats the words 'I want' (Page 29) when speaking to Tom, implying the child-like, short-term way of thinking in the heavily hedonistic lifestyle.
Myrtle appears to be a bitter woman, declaring that she was 'crazy' when she married Mr Wilson. The fact that she then goes on the talk about how he borrowed a suit for their wedding day symbolises that the hedonistic lifestyle is based on appearance, not what is actually underneath the 'suit'.

Tom:

'I want to see you...Get on the next train' (Page 28) Tom's bold instruction to Myrtle implies his over-confident arrogance, he appears very blatant and not at all ashamed of the affair.
'And Tom's the first sweetie she ever had' (Page 37). This sentence, said by the gossiping character of Catherine, could be seen to have a double meaning. Whilst on the outside it is simply a name for a lover, it has a deeper, ironic meaning that Tom is actually 'sweet', which the reader knows he is not.

Mr Wilson:

When Mrs Wilson is talking about how her and Tom met, she includes that 'he had a dress suit and patent leather shoes' (Page 38). This description juxtaposes the earlier reference to her husband about how he had to borrow a suit for their wedding. Adding to this, the character says that she 'couldn't keep [her] eyes off him', opposing how earlier she walked 'through her husband', who is described by Nick as a 'blond, spiritless man, anemic, and faintly handsome.' These constant references to the way people look, reinforces the way the East Egg people live, and how they are drawn towards appearance, symbolising the superficial, shallow-mindedness of the people.
The character seems to be a pushover, taking orders from his wife to 'get some chairs' (Page 28). He responds with a simple 'Oh, sure', perhaps indicating that he feels that his wife is too good for him and that he does not deserve her. This undeserving feeling portrayed by the character could be seen to be ironic because actually Myrtle is the one cheating on her husband and being unfaithful, so therefore the reader has a greater respect for he, who obviously loves his wife despite her behaviour towards him.

Hannah James