The End

I thought that Chapter 9 was very anti- climactic. When chapter 8 ended, I was expecting all of these different things to happen and more about Gatsby death. Instead, it was very depressing and I personally did not like it very well. It was very sad to see that only three people showed up to his funeral. I was expecting the entire island or something along that line to come to his funeral and just show more emotion. I was also disappointed that Daisy and Tom just went away without a second glance. They were trying to run away from the past instead of facing it which I understand. They wanted to start over and try to resolve their marriage. "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne ceaselessly into the past." (182). The one thing I took from the final sentence of the book was that history is doomed to repeat itself. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. It is third following My Sister's Keeper and The Secret Life of Bees as one of my favorite books I have read at John Carroll. I did like the blogging but I also did not. I liked it because it made me think about what I had read I got to express my thoughts. I do prefer this to taking tests personally because I do not having to take a test at the end of a book. I did really enjoy the book and I hope classes in years to follow enjoy the book as much as I did.

Expect the Unexpected Fate

In chapter 8, we witness the death of Jay Gatsby. I had a feeling that he was going to be killed, but I did not expect it to be Mr. Wilson. I always thought that it was going to be Tom because of how he took Daisy from him. I do see why Mr. Wilson would have the motivation to killed Gatsby considering was now the second person to take Myrtle from him. Myrtle was all he had to live for and he lost her, which is why I think he took his own life after taking Gatsby's. Both men lost the single thing worth living for to them and so it was time for them to let go of an impossible dream. I think Gatsby saw this reality and decided that he no longer cared about much, because if could not have Daisy, there was no more excitement in his life. Nick said it well toward the end of the chapter, "I have an idea that Gatsby himself didn't believe it would come, and perhaps he no longer cared. If that was true he must have felt that he had lost the old warm world, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream."(189) I think that everything will go back to normal now and I think that Nick might be done with New York life and move back home. He has now learned many life lessons and he hopefully will not make the mistakes they did.

The Explosion

In chapter 7, things start to heat up literally because of the weather and things start to heat up between Gatsby, Daisy, and Tom. The group gets together at Tom and Daisy's house and that is when Tom really realizes what is going on between Daisy and Gatsby and he does not like what he sees. I had a feeling that things were going to take a turn for the worst as soon as Tom found out about Daisy's affair. Tom is angry and so he decides that everyone is going to go into town to have a drink. Tom starts verbally attacking Gatsby and that is when the truth really comes out. The truth about how Gatsby earned all of his money was revealed but no one really seemed to care. Gatsby lead Tom hear that Daisy no longer loves Tom and she never did, which is not entirely true and this reality shocks Gatsby. "'I did love love him once- but I love you too.'" (132). This shows that even though she did not want to admit it, deep inside she still loved Tom and they have something that Gatsby will never understand. While she still loves Tom, I feel that she loves Gatsby more and that is why she told Tom that she would be leaving him. After this whole mess blows up, Gatsby and Daisy leave shortly followed by Tom, Nick, and Jordan. We them come to a tragedy in the chapter with the death of Myrtle Wilson. We realize that it was Gatsby car that hit her. It is to automatically assume Gatsby was the one driving, but we soon realize that it was in fact Daisy. Who will take the blame for this accident? Will Gatsby let Daisy take responsibility or will he take the blame and suffer the consequence? Personally I think that he will not let Daisy take full responsibility for the death of Myrtle.

Trying to Relive the Past

In chapter six, we get to see deeper inside of Gatsby's past. We see that Gatsby was not born into wealth, he came into wealth merely by chance. We start to see a different side of Gatsby, the side that will do anything to get Daisy's love back. His main issue is that he wants everything to be like it was in the past. "' I am going to fix everything just the way it was before.' he said nodding determinedly, 'She'll see.'" (111) He thought that as soon as she saw him again, everything would just start back up where it ended. Nick ponders as Gatsby tells his story. Gatsby has been so confused and disorderly since he and Daisy split. His idea is now that he is with her her again, he is not going to let her go. He can and will do anything and everything to keep her. I feel that this train of thought is not a good way to think because if things do not go the way he thinks they will, he will get hurt and i feel as if he will not be able to recover from this heart break. Gatsby needs to move on from the past. He does not have to give up on Daisy, but he needs to try and do things differently so that the past is not repeated. I think that if the past repeats itself, then his heart will break all over again and things will become difficult for everyone.

The Spark That Builds

In chapter 4, we finally are revealed to the connection between Gatsby and Daisy. In the first chapter when Daisy reacted the way she did, I knew something had gone down between the two of them. I was very intrigued throughout the entire chapter. I was also very interested when we got to know Gatsby a little more. Finding out that he was well educated was nice to know. Even though he has been introduced, I am still curious to know more about him. The connection was made as to why he was looking at the green light in the first chapter. Jordan said "Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay."(78). As Nick sat and listened to Jordan, he made all the connections and it all made perfect sense. I think that as the book goes on, Daisy and Gatsby will get together and Daisy will no longer feel that feeling of abandonment. Gatsby will fill the empty space she feels when Tom is gone.

Chapter 1

In chapter 1 of The Great Gatsby, we are introduced to most of the main characters. In this chapter, we find out about Nick's life before he moved east and lived in New York. He has a college mate that lives in the East Egg who is ironically married to his cousin. Mr. Buchanan has changed since college and that is one of the first things he notices, "Now he was a sturdy straw- haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner." (Fitzgerald, 7).I feel that out of any of the characters in the book, I relate to Nick the most. His personality is very similar to mine in the way that he is very quiet and just listens to people. This example was the dinner that he went to at the Buchanan house. While everyone was talking and arguing, he just sat there and listened. This i why people think that he is a good listener. In a way I am the same. Instead of joining in on a conversations, I sit there and observe the conversation trying to hear everyone else's input.

I think that the reason Mr. Buchanan has a girl friend other than his wife, is because they rushed into the marriage. They did not date long enough to know how they really felt. You need time to fall in love and they did not have enough time to get to know each other and figure out if they can live with each other. Love needs time grow. One of the things I am excited about is getting to know all of the characters better. I cannot wait to continue reading!