Hi guys!
I have been enjoying reading your posts and comments- keep it up! We're getting somewhere with this novel. Tomorrow we are going to go on another "pattern hunt" so that we can get a running list of the themes, symbols and images that just keep appearing. What is Fitzgerald up to with all of these patterns? I also have a hand-out for you, a list of "explanatory notes" that give further detail to some of the contextual references in the book.
To spark discussion, both on the blog and in class, I wanted to share some information about the cover art of the novel. Spanish artist Francis Cugat was the painter, and he was commissioned by Fitzgerald's editor, Maxwell Perkins. Cugat completed the painting before Fitzgerald completed the novel. According to publisher Charles Scribner, "Under normal circumstances, the artist illustrates a scene or motif conceived by the author; he lifts, as it were, his image from the page of the book. In this instance, however, the artist's image preceded the finished manuscript and Fitzgerald actually maintained that he had 'written it into' the book" (197).
Adam saw the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg in the cover. What do you see?
Source: Scribner, Charles. "Author's Note." The Great Gatsby: The Authorized Text. New York: Scribner Paperback Fiction, 1992. 195-205.
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ReplyDeleteThink about it. This cover could have changed the book in ways we cant even imagine. Lets think about the book pre cover. Weird to think huh? Just a bunch of pages bound with no top. But delve in and start reading, is this novel still the great American classic it is today? Is it still about a mysterious man who can throw a mean party? Is Dr. T.J. Ekleburg even mentioned???? Stop. Think about it.
ReplyDeleteMy first thought was TJ Eckleburg, however, this cannot be. Said billboard was described as having a mouth or even a face: just eyes. What it more closely resembles is at the end of chapter four when Nick describes Daisy as a "girl whose disembodied face floated along the dark cornices and blinding signs." Maybe it's just me, but when I look at the artwork, that seems to match perfectly, especially with the "blinding" lights in the background.
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