Emotional disfunction...

Crashhhh!!!! A hit and run and then a woman who was a lover becomes a death person. Like a cold water shower, you suddenly wake up. You might want to continue reading the book, the end is a shock. I can not lie and say I would have loved a happily ever after story, but let us remember that the books is not a simple love story, but could be consider the reflection of a society, a society who lived a tough time. Fitzgerald never went to the war, but was close to go. He probably knew plenty of soldiers who were not as fortunate as he was. 

In another hand, the fact that Gatsby fails to end up with the love of his life, is a way of saying that it is sort of impossible to disconnect and completely ignore your past. There is a very strong bond between Daisy and Gatsby, yet their social context is different and is a huge barrier which prevents them from being together. 

The marvelous thing about interpretation is that it is personal, so think for your selves, what does Gatsby represent, and the fact he failed to accomplished his life goal; Daisy. 

Green light...

References

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. "The Great Gatsby" Scribner. NY, USA. 1925.

CRRRRASHHHH....

The subtle romance between Gatsby and Daisy is barely described by Fitzgerald, it is more Tom’s suspicion about it that makes it intriguing and detailed. Gatsby is jealous about Daisy, you can sense this by the level of aggressiveness he uses when he tells Tom that he knows his wife. Gatsby is exposing himself too much. He feels the need to fire all his servants because Daisy is coming in the afternoons quite often and this might expose him, he needs to trust everyone. 

Personally, I would not dare to bring my lover home. Appsrently for Daisy it does not imply a large risk. 

“A he left the room again she got up and went over to Gatsby and pulled his face down, kissing him on the mouth.” (Fitzgerald, 1925, p. 116)

For Jordan it was too much, yet Daisy does not mind, she loves Jay and Tom does not love her or mind much about her other than she being his wife. Tom continues to meet with her lover in New York, who is also married. +

Goose bumps fill my arms when Daisy’s daughter is presented to Jay, the child is an accessory, rather than a human being. The problem relies on the clothes the child is wearing and how beautiful she is, which in this case thankfully she is. 

I dare to say that Tom uses a metaphor at first to tell both, Daisy and Jay that he is conscious about their affair. (It is important to mention that it is summer and it is pretty hot)

“‘I read somewhere that the sun’s getting hotter every year,‘ said Tom genially. ‘It seems that pretty soon the earth’s going to fall into the sun  - or wait a minute- it’s just the opposite- the sun’s getting colder every year’.”  

Gatsby is starting to realize that the image he has of Daisy is just an image, she is quite different, but it is the glasses of love that blur his sight. He says suddenly that her voice was full of money. 

Tom still does not believe the story about Gatsby’s past, there is something that just does not fit. He goes ahead and investigates him, fining out about the truth about his poor past. He get’s tangled up with a business of his own, his lover. He realizes that he knows her husband, and now he wants to go away. Lies and secrets are rarely kept untouched, they are normally discovered. Just like Gatsby’s past comes to life, the truth about Tom’s affair also comes to life. 

Not many pages after Toms’s direct speculating comment, Gatsby confesses that Daisy and him are having an affair. 

CRASH!!!

One of the most memorable Gatsbys scene. The lovers running away from the unfaithful macho husband, full of emotion, and then BAAAAM! DEATH

Reborn love...

And..... So it begins. Gatsby and Daisy start hanging out quite often, they meet. The green light appears once more. It seems to me that Daisy feels her self around Jay Gatsby, she gets to be happy. Even Nick notices Daisy’s sudden joy. “‘I’m glad Jay.’ Her throat, full of aching, grieving beauty told only of her unexpected joy” (Fitzgerald, 1925, p. 89) The fact that joy was unexpected demonstrate her unhappiness in her marriage. 

I will not say much about Daisy’s visit to Jay, I believe it is one of the most wonderful parts of the book, I really enjoyed reading every word of it. I will though, mention my favorite quote in the whole chapter. 

“...that voice was a deathless song.”(Fitzgerald, 1925, p. 96)

A deathless song, therefore alive, endless. I think it sums up the chapter pretty much. 

Nick is able to perceive the love that flourishes between Gatsby and Daisy, a love that was absent when Tom and Daisy were together. A certain glow. 

I wonder what is it with gossip that works better and is more effective than any other thing in the world. Speculation about the origin of Gatsby’s money continues. 

Full of jealousy and incredibility. I understand that it is not common for people to have such an amount of money but why make up stories of who they are and why they are where they are. Well, finally the story of Gatsby’s past is told. Is it fair to blame someone for having an awful amount of money who did not work for it. I mean, it is his in the end and he did not kill someone or chose it, it came with a good friend who unfortunately passed away. For some it might seem unfair, for some it might be a luck situation, but then again, have all the millionaires in the world worked terribly hard to earn their money? In many cases it was inherited, and you can not be judged by that. 

It is curious how Gatsby has the same amount of money as many of the people in the parties, such as Tom, but is isolated, there is something about him that does not fit with the socialite community. It seems Gatsby also realizes how hard it is to step out of the socialite environment, and even more if you were born in it; like Daisy was. 

Vocabulary

fluctuating p. 96 - rise and fall, ups and downs. In the context of the book, it refers to the voice. When you whisper the voice is not flat, but wriggles a bit, the volume varies. 

gleaming p. 94 - shining

conceits p. 99 - thoughts

menagerie p. 107 - the word means a place where animals are kept. When Tom uses the word, he is describing the party and comparing people to animals, behaving like such. 

Because a simple reunion is not enough...

The parties that were hosted by Mr. Gatsby are iconic. Luxury in all its meaning, combined with good taste, champagne, jazz and elegance. Music, and by music I do not mean a simple man playing the violin but a complete orchestra, each week during summer. The parties started on Friday and continued all through Saturday and Sunday. Gatsby referred to his parties as “little parties”. Nick claims to be one of the few people who were actually invited, most of the guests were people who did not know other thing than Mr. Gatsby’s name. Here you can see how differently the world was. It was either quite safe or security was not an issue. In spite the fact that Nick Carraway now knows Gatsby, he still maintains a mysterious style. It is funny how Gatsby waits for Nick to comment on the party and about this man who is his neighbor, and then tells him he is actually Gatsby. 

I am one of those people who really enjoys spending time with close friends and therefore prefers small events. I kept on reading the following line, until I realized it is actually true. Jordan Baker is talking to Nick when she mentions that Mr. Gatsby’s parties are quite intimate. My first thought was, well that is funny, what is intimate about being with strangers in a large room, but then she says that small parties lack privacy, whereas large parties and intimate because everyone is minding its own business. But it is contradictory because everyone is interested in what Gatsby is doing. Jordan’s friend, Lucille stars speculating on Gatsby’s past, meanwhile Nick believes he was with him during the war who served with him in the same division.

As Daisy and Tom advised him, Nick starts dating Jordan. Somehow he feels attracted to her, but knows about how dishonest she is. “I wasn’t actually in live, but felt a sort of tender curiosity”. (Fitzgerald, 1925, p. 57) 

There is a part during the great party when Nick and Owl Eyes enter the library, he could not believe that the books were actually books and not just empty covers. This talks a lot about the society, we could even say that books are people. Fitzgerald once more refers to materialism and the false mask that everyone used. A cover up for what they really were. I might be referring to the past, the thing about materialism it that it continues, it is not something that was fashionable in the 20’s but something that we experiment and live daily. 

Mr. Gatsby is conscious about all the rumors that come and go about him. When he meets Nick for dinner he tells him a little about his life and says “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea of me from all these stories you hear”. (Fitzgerald, 1925, p. 65)

Gatsby starts opening a little more. Jordan tells Nick about a mysterious talk they had about Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby is in love with her, he is a sensitive man. The green light appears once more, green tends to be associated with hope, the hope Gatsby has for being with Daisy. At an obscure time as the post-war time was, it might also represent the hope for a better time. 

Vocabulary

disembodied p. 80 - to free, without a body. In the context of the book I believe it refers to the possibility of having being with her. Unlike Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, I had no girl whose disembodied face floated along the dark cornices and blinding signs. 

perspiration p. 58 - sweating. 

loitered p. 56 - Standing or waiting without an apparent reason. Prowling. 

Following the advise...

I do not remember who was it who told me that you must give a chance to the first forty pages of a book. The author has that much to make you want to continue reading more or you are in all the right to leave it there. I try to always follow this advise. So here we are with the first forty pages of a GREAT book, The Great Gatsby.

It is ont easy to find a text where the words are placed in such form you can literally draw and feel the picture in your head. "If personality is unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life, as if he were related to one of those intricate machines that register earthquakes ten thousand miles away."(Fitzgerald, 1925, p. 2) Gatsby is a deep person and quite sensitive, yet it takes time to get to know how he really is. The introductory paragraph helps you understand and opens the door to the soon-to-be known world. 

In spite of what I thought, the book is not narrated by Mr. Gatsby himself but by Nick Carraway, who turns out to be his neighbor. It is set in a time where there is an enormous gap between rich and poor. For those who are luckily rich, can afford to live in mansions or relatively big houses it is a delightful life, or so it seems. Life is a little more complicated when it comes to the poor. But, do not underestimate the power of money, it is not a synonym for happiness. Money can bring the worst out of people. 

"It was a body capable of enormous leverage-- a cruel body"(Fitzgerald, 1925, p. 7) Tom Buchan, the husband of Daisy (cousin of Nick Carraway) was quite a powerful man, he came from a wealthy family, which apparently did not bring out the best in him. 

The environment these rich people live is full of social pressure and different factors which prevent them from being happy. The world is going through a rough post-war time, materialism is flourishing and it is not very amiable. This can be reflected when Daisy talks about her daughter and tells Nick that she is glad that she's a girl because then she can be a fool and that would be the best thing that a girl could be in the world at that time, a fool. She emphasizes on the word beautiful, materialism once more. 

In the first chapter is the first appearance of the green light, a symbol which is characteristic in the book.

In the first chapter the contradictory mind of Nick Carraway is presented. He does not like the New York living style and in spite of that has a huge admiration for Gatsby, who represents all the luxuries and everything that Carraway dislikes about NY. The relationship between Daisy and Tom, they are distant, Mr. Buchan is known for his different affairs, but most importantly the one in NY. They pretend their happiness, but it seems and feels fake. That is the wonder of a well written book, you get to feel it, rather than just reading it. 

The scenery that is set in the second chapter is obscure, with ashes, you get to see the poor side of the story and how everything is not beautiful mansions, parties and cars. The image of Mr. Gatsby is quite mysterious. 

Vocabulary

riotous - from riot, involves public disorder.

flabby - fleshy, soft. 

A GREAT comeback...

And we are back, but this time with The Great Gatsby.
The 2013 adaptation with Leonardo Di Caprio just came out, I have no doubt the movie will be a great success, but I am one of those people who believe that the book is and will always be better than the movie. I strongly recommend you reading the book; love, jazz and parties full of powerful symbolisms.
Like The Elegance of the Hedgehog, every so often I will post a brief summary and analysis of the chapter. I hope you enjoy and decide to read the book.


I believe it is important to understand where the author is writing from and a little about his life.


F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1896. He belonged to an upper middle class family. In pursuit of his writing career he attended to Princeton University, yet in 1917 he dropped out and joined the U.S. Army. We must remember that World War I was happening, Fitzgerald was quite afraid of being placed in a fighting position. Luckily was commissioned a second lieutenant in the infantry and was transferred to Camp Sheridan outside of Montgomery, Alabama. Here is where the famous Zelda Sayre comes to the picture. As a writer, it is difficult to have a stable economy, there are many ups and downs, obviously not enough to satisfy the needs of the daughter of an Alabama Supreme Court justice. He moved to NY where he made more money by working in a publishing firm, enough for Zelda Sayre to marry him. This same year he published his first novel, The Side of Paradise. The couple lived in New York, Paris and the Riviera, becoming a part of the American expatriate circle, where people like Ernest Hemingway, John Dos Pasos, and Gertrude Stein belonged.
Fitzgerald is the author of masterpieces such as The Beautiful and Damned, Tender is the Night, and his most famous and one of the essential books of the XXth century- The Great Gatsby. 
He died of a heart attack at the age of 44, while working on his unfinished novel-The Love of the Last Tycoon. Which was published after his dead even though it was never finished.

References
Scribner. "The Great Gatsby - Biography on the back page."Scribner. New York, USA. 2004.
Wikipedia Contributors. "F. Scott Fitzgerald."Wikipedia. 19/05/13 web. Consulted [20/05/13]. <<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._Scott_Fitzgerald>>

About the author

Muriel Barbery is a French writer born in Casablanca, Morocco in 1969. She is also a professor of philosophy.
Muriel studied at the Lycée Lakanal and then at École Normal Supérieure de Fontenay-Saint-Cloud. She has taught at Université de Bourgogne and Saint-Lô IUFM.
Author of her well known novel, L'Élégande du hérisson (The Elegance of the Hedgehog), has also published Une Gourmandise. In 2009 The Elegance of the Hedgehog was made into a film.
Muriel Barbery currently lives in Japan with her husband Stéphane.



References

Fillon, Alexandre. "Muriel Barbery, la surprise de l'année" le figaro.fr. 19/06/07. web. Consulted 25/11/12. <http://madame.lefigaro.fr/feminin/partie-ii-091210-24052>