Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The Great Gatsby: Ch 3 pg 43-64

In chapter three, Nick describes how Gatsby gets ready for one of his elaborate parties. Nick lists all of the expensive things that Gatsby has at his parties. Nick gets invited to one of Gatsby’s parties. At first, Nick was uncomfortable because he didn’t know anyone. Then, he saw Jordan Baker and stayed with her for most of the night. There are a lot of rumors about who Gatsby is, which shows that no one truly knows him. Nick meets Gatsby and he envisioned him to be completely different. Nick recalls the past couple weeks of his life and talks about Jordan. He is attracted to her, but he realizes that she is a dishonest person. The chapter concludes with Nick stating, “Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.” (Pg 64)
Jay Gatsby
“He smiled understandingly—much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced—or seemed to face—the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with such an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey.” (pg 53)
Gatsby has an elegant, young, rough-neck and he is in his early thirties. His speaks very elaborately and formally. He picks the words that he is going to say with care. He has approving eyes. He has tan skin, a tight face, and short hair that looked like it got cut every day.  He looked like a good guy with nothing evil about him.
Gatsby is Nick’s wealthy and elaborate neighbor in West Egg. He throws elaborate parties and lets anyone attend, even if he does not know them. No one knows a lot about him but a lot of rumors circulate about him. Some people think that he once killed a man, but no one knows if that is true. Everyone knows his name, but  no one knows who is really is. His is the mysterious Gatsby.
“And I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy.” (pg 54) This quote was said by Jordan Baker and it stood out to me because it is very ironic. She feels more comfortable at large parties, but uncomfortable and small parties. It seems like she likes large parties because there is more going on, so there are more chances for one on one conversation. However, I don’t think that large parties are intimate because there is so much going on. Small parties don’t allow a lot of privacy because there are enough people to know everything that’s going on at the party, but it is very intimate.

2 comments: