Thursday, September 16, 2010
Gatsby Speculation
Since Gatsby is first brought up in the novel his exact profession and personal history are the subject of gossip and rumor. Depending upon the speaker, Gatsby has been portrayed as a gentleman and a fantastic host, an ex-spy from Germany, wealthy business man with far too much spare time, and many more roles. "The two girls and Jordan leaned together confidentially. "Somebody told me they thought he killed a man once." A thrill passed over all of us."(pg44) The quote shows us that Nick finds this mysteriousness to be enthralling. This is later confirmed when Nick is extremely impressed by Gatsby owning real books. Why is it impressive to own real books? "Absolutely real--have pages and everything. I thought they'd be nice durable cardboard." It is not a common situation to find yourself in, trying to read a book only to discover that it is made out of cardboard. This I believe is a sign that Nick is so intrigued by Gatsby that anything the host does is seen as positive.
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I agree that there is a definite mystery around Gatsby and his past. It seems to be that everybody has their speculations, but nobody believes anything that they have heard about him. The question of whether or not Gatsby killed a man arises multiple times, however, I do not find it to be an incredibly difficult fact to believe since he served in the army and had combat experiences. I think that since nobody knows very much about Gatsby, they create and carry on these rumors about him to feel more connected to him, or to impress people by proving that they know at least something about him. Because of all of this mystery, it is very odd that Gatsby opens up and shares his past with Nick, so it is a strong indication that Gatsby trust Nick, and wants to be his friend.
ReplyDeleteYes... again we see Nick being "chosen" by someone. He tells us at the beginning of the book that he has often been "privy to the secret griefs of wild, unknown men" (1) and both Tom and Gatsby want to tell him their secrets.
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