Thursday, September 16, 2010
Nick+Gatsby = ♥ (Tim Sears)
Nick has a crush on Mr. Gatsby. In this chapter, Nick describes Gatsby as dark and mysterious as well as jovial and warm. In so many words: sexy. When Nick firsts meets him (Chapter 3) he mentions the man's smile a full eight times! Additionally, he goes on to say "[Gatsby's] tanned skin was drawn attractively tight on his face and his short hair looked as though it were trimmed every day." Gatsby's reputation precedes him; the guests know little about their mysterious host, other than the occasional rumor that serves only to make his character more byronic. In fact, Nick's description of the man made me imagine him like the man from the "Dos Exis" commercial. I predict that we will hear more good things about Mr. Gatsby, as Nick grows more and more close to him.
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We should also keep an eye out for other similar descriptions of male characters, and compare them to descriptions of female characters, to see if we can glean any further information about Nick's personality. Though it is possible he is bisexual, rather than being at either extreme of the sexual scale.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Nick has strong feelings for Gatsby because he describes his interactions with Gatsby in a romantic way. First, he mentions how he was "on the tip of (his) tongue to as (Gatsby's) name," (p.47) which illustrates his nervousness around his 'crush.' Second, Nick describes how he would have "accepted without question" (p.49) and information from Gatsby, which shows his trust and dedication to this mysterious man. Finally, Nick has an experience where "just as it began (his) eyes fell on Gatsby, standing alone on the marble steps" (p. 50), which creates a romantic image of the object of Nick's affection. However, now that Nick knows of Gatsby's feelings for Daisy, I think he will try to suppress his 'love' and move on.
ReplyDeletePhineas - an astute comment. Remember, too, how at the end of chapter two, Nick is spending time with Mr. McKee. Fitzgerald leaves us a bit disoriented in that section, but there are some clues that Nick and Mr. McKee have possibly been intimate. You guys are looking at this novel through lenses already... nice work!
ReplyDeleteLex, you are doing a great job of using textual support. Keep it up!