the Fabulous Gatsby part 2

But as I walked down the steps I saw that the evening was not quite over. Fifty feet from the door a dozen headlights illuminated a bizarre and tumultuous scene. In the ditch beside the road, right side up but violently shorn of one wheel, rested a new couple which had left Gatsby's drive not two minutes before.

This deals with the theme of Reality vs. Illusion. The entire party of Gatsby's was this big giant party that just seemed absolutely perfect, but then the second after some of the people leave the party they get into a car accident which brings reality crashing down. It shows how closely entertwined reality and illusion are in the book. In much of the book, you wonder if what is happening is real, you never know which is an illusion and which is reality. When something so awful happens right after a fabulous event, I wonder if the party was actually as great as it seemed. Is Gatsby's house as fabulous as it seems? At sometimes it is extravegent and amazing but at other times in the book it is described as dark and dusty. How does some beautiful party turn into a awful, violent car crash? Another section that this part of the novel points out is the symbolism of cars. Most of the time cars seem to cause bad things to happen or cause reality to come back. This car crash shows how bad things in life do happen and it isn't all just some party. But cars in other parts also cause death, like the death of Myrtle, which a car like this car in this section was also in the section where Myrtle dies. But the Death of Myrtle made her husband realize that not everything between his wife and him was all wonderful as he thought, as his illusion, made it seem. Tom also got into a car accident and in that car accident, a chambermaid was in the same car with him, which made Daisy realize that her life wasn't all perfect and "white" as she thought it was. Cars throughout the story cause the reality of life to come and ruin many illusions of peoples lifes in the story. It could be taken as a good thing, people knowing the truth, but many people in the story seem to prefer ignorance.

the Fabulous Gatsby part 1

A little before three the Lutheran minister arrived from Flushing and I began to look involuntarily out the windows for other cars. SO did Gatsby's father. And as the time passed and the servants came in and stood waiting in the hall his eyes began to blink anxiously and he spoke of the rain in a worried uncertain way. The minister glanced several times at his watch so I took him aside and asked him to wait for half an hour. But it wasn't any use. Nobody came.

This section of writing says a lot about Gatsby as a person. If a person was looking from the outside at Gatsby, they would think he had the life. He had a giant beautiful house and was filthy rich, which is what everyone in this novel strives for, but when you get to know him, it is really an illusion. In the beginning of the novel he seems like the perfect person, but as the novel goes on his illusions start to come crashing down. Parts of his life were true Yes, he does have a bunch of money, money that he got in a questionable way, not by hard work. But he is completely alone, most of his life was just built upon illusion after illusion. Even here, his dad was making an illusion. His father was talking about the weather and reassuring himself that more people would come, but no one did. It is disgusting that people would come to some pointless party of his, but people would just make excuse after excuse not to come to his funeral. Nobody would ever think that a man like Gatsby, unimaginably rich, would ever have a funeral that no one would come to. He has to have it made, but Gatsby really doesn't have anything. He has been obsessed with one thing for the past five years that took over his life, Daisy, he had this giant illusion that they were completely in love and that they were pretty much married, but once he found out about her loving someone else, he eventually realized he was fighting a lost battle, from the moment Gatsby lost Daisy, illusion after illusion came crashing down as well and he realized that. The only time that Gatsby was real, was sadly at his funeral, all illusions dropped, and that was the first time we saw completely what Gatsby was like, a sad and lonely older man.

Response to O Pioneers Post

In O Pioneers, there were a couple things that stood out to me. One of the things was how Alexandra was so much more different than every other woman. She was strong, independent and did what see wanted and got what she wanted. Most of the other women in the story were rather weak and just lived through their lives unhappily, like Marie. And then there was Carl, who was also very different to a lot of the other men. He traveled around and also did what he wanted to do and didn't really care about what other people thought. What stands out to me, too, is how Carl is not "manly" in the traditional sense. He is sensitive and even lets Alexandra carry his suitcase for him when he returns to Walnut Grove or wherever they are...And I thought it was interesting, I am not sure if there is a so what there, that they were the two to get together. They were perfect for each other, and there wasn't many romances in the story where the people were in love with who they were married to. Or something bad happened to their spouse and then they were alone, Angel's husband died. All I mean by this is that love didn't work out for alot of people but it did for Carl and Alexandra. OK, so you've potentially got two things here: one, Carl and Alexandra don't follow traditional gender roles. You could focus on either one of these characters to show how Cather exposes the confining nature of these roles. Or, you can look at them as "lovers" who are friends, not passionate, wild things (like the ducks, like Emil and Marie, etc.)
Another thing that I thought was interesting was the way Alexandra felt towards Marie. At the beginning of the book, she loved her dearly, thought of her as her best friend. I really believe Emil is a vehicle to triangulate Alexandra's desire for Marie. This seems true to me even in the very first time Marie is introduced--Alexandra cannot bear to tear Emil away from such a lovely playmate. But then as the book goes on, and Emil starts to get kind of interested in Marie, Alexandra got really annoyed with her and Alexandra didn't really want to spend as much time with Marie. Then at the end of the book when Frank kills Emil, Alexandras brother, and Marie, she feels really bad for Frank! She feels like he is the victim in this whole situation. Frank killed her only two friends and it seems like she didn't care so much about that and cared more about Franks well being. I think this was because Alexandra was either in love with Marie, or she was extremely jealous of her. It would make sense that if she was jealous of Marie, because everyone loved Marie and Marie was kind of what everyone wanted to be like. Then when Alexandra loses her brother to her, it makes it Alexandra even more angry at Marie and probably more jealous. Sisters never like who their brothers love, It was interesting to hear you discuss this in class. The problem is that she certainly has more reason to dislike Oscar and Lou's goofy wives, but she seems rather indifferent abou tthem and in Alexandras case it could be because she was in love with Marie. The way she talked about Marie, it sounded like she loved her and when someone you like starts to like another person, you can get annoyed with the person you like, which is what happened between Alexandra and Marie. OK, you've got it. To do a good queer reading, you look at the ways in which lesbian desire is coded in the text or repressed by the characters. Alexandra is one cold fish, but she certainly seems enamored with Marie at moments. By the end, though, she blames Marie for her passionate nature and perhaps understands how a man (a heterosexual man) would get sucked in by her. The problem to Alexandra seems to be unbridled passion. Marriage with Carl is "safe"; following her desires, especially a desire for Marie, is most certainly not safe. You're ready to go with this if you can finish this thesis: Cather uses Alexandra's repressed desire for Marie to show...? The danger of unsanctioned passion? The destructive force of wild passions? What do you think?
Look closely at Ch. 6 of Neighboring Fields and Ch. 2 of Winter Memories. Lots and lots to work with, but I think this could be fun for you.

Response to O Pioneers!

In O Pioneers, there were a couple things that stood out to me. One of the things was how Alexandra was so much more different than every other woman. She was strong, independent and did what see wanted and got what she wanted. Most of the other women in the story were rather weak and just lived through their lives unhappily, like Marie. And then there was Carl, who was also very different to a lot of the other men. He traveled around and also did what he wanted to do and didn't really care about what other people thought. And I thought it was interesting, I am not sure if there is a so what there, that they were the two to get together. They were perfect for each other, and there wasn't many romances in the story where the people were in love with who they were married to. Or something bad happened to their spouse and then they were alone, Angel's husband died. All I mean by this is that love didn't work out for alot of people but it did for Carl and Alexandra.
Another thing that I thought was interesting was the way Alexandra felt towards Marie. At the beginning of the book, she loved her dearly, thought of her as her best friend. But then as the book goes on, and Emil starts to get kind of interested in Marie, Alexandra got really annoyed with her and Alexandra didn't really want to spend as much time with Marie. Then at the end of the book when Frank kills Emil, Alexandras brother, and Marie, she feels really bad for Frank! She feels like he is the victim in this whole situation. Frank killed her only two friends and it seems like she didn't care so much about that and cared more about Franks well being. I think this was because Alexandra was either in love with Marie, or she was extremely jealous of her. It would make sense that if she was jealous of Marie, because everyone loved Marie and Marie was kind of what everyone wanted to be like. Then when Alexandra loses her brother to her, it makes it Alexandra even more angry at Marie and probably more jealous. Sisters never like who their brothers love, and in Alexandras case it could be because she was in love with Marie. The way she talked about Marie, it sounded like she loved her and when someone you like starts to like another person, you can get annoyed with the person you like, which is what happened between Alexandra and Marie.

ReSpOnSe to HuCkFiNn PoSt

One thing that really stood out to me in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, especially in the beginning of the book, was Huck's obsession with wealth and material possessions. But you can't ignore the fact that he "sold" the judge his six thougsand dollars for just one dollar. You've got to to deal with that. While Huck seems to understand the problem with being caught up in money and possessions, he subconsciously replicates this pattern? That could be your take on this. This suggests that it's impossible to remain untainted by consumerism and the desire for goods. There are two sections in the book where Huck lists absolutely every single thing that he just got or has at the moment. It goes on and on for nearly a half a page. This shows how Huck is really focused on wealth. At this time, if you had money, you had the power. To Huck, a scared young boy, power is something he wants because it means security to him. So then what you'd do with this is you'd show the part where you see him feeling powerful. The evidence you'd cite would be evidence that in these goods is his security. By him listing off every single thing, I believe it is reassuring himself that everything will be okay, it is like a coping method. He knows that he has things which means, to him at least, that he has power and power alot of the time can mean security. The people with the power at this time did not have to worry about things, they were secure and were happy with the way their life is, which is something that Huck wants alot. You're making a different kind of move here. Huck had a hard life, he did not really have a family and he was absolutely terrified of his father. One thing that I think every person wants is security, to not have to worry about things. Huck has never really had security with his life being up and down and never really knowing what is going to happen. By listing things that he has, it is telling himself, Okay I have these things, I have possessions, People with things have power, I have some power, I will be alright. It is also interesting to see when you compare the Huck at the beginning of the book to the how he is at the end of the book. Towards the end of the book, he cares less and less about possessions and more about Jim and the people who he starts to care about. It shows how Huck changes as a person completely, how his priorites are completely different. Even when the Duke and the King come into the story, Huck is disgusting at how they scam people and fool with good people. At the beginning of the book Huck would have been all for scamming people because it would be an adventure. All of these things show how Huck is a dynamic person and how much he has changed. Your "so what" here at the end needs to be stronger. No one would debate that Huck changes throughout the book, but you're onto something far more interesting about how Huck changes. Basically, you're saying he changes from someone who takes comfort in possessions and seems to define his security by these possessions to someone who has learned to make real connections with other humans. If you decide to write about this, you might be interested in a pyschological model called Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Basically, you could argue that Huck becomes stuck in the lower levels because of the abuse he suffers, but then, he moves to a higher level...because of Jim? I don't know if that's quite where you want to go, but the model would certainly help you fit these disparate pieces together. If you're interested, let me know.
Either way, when you go to write this essay, make sure you are using specific evidence and reading it closely, not to summarize the evidence, but to show us something we might not have otherwise seen in that evidence.

AdVeNuTuReS oF hUcKlEbErRy FiNn

One thing that really stood out to me in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, especially in the beginning of the book, was Huck's obsession with wealth and material possessions. There are two sections in the book where Huck lists absolutely every single thing that he just got or has at the moment. It goes on and on for nearly a half a page. This shows how Huck is really focused on wealth. At this time, if you had money, you had the power. To Huck, a scared young boy, power is something he wants because it means security to him. By him listing off every single thing, I believe it is reassuring himself that everything will be okay, it is like a coping method. He knows that he has things which means, to him at least, that he has power and power alot of the time can mean security. The people with the power at this time did not have to worry about things, they were secure and were happy with the way their life is, which is something that Huck wants alot. Huck had a hard life, he did not really have a family and he was absolutely terrified of his father. One thing that I think every person wants is security, to not have to worry about things. Huck has never really had security with his life being up and down and never really knowing what is going to happen. By listing things that he has, it is telling himself, Okay I have these things, I have possessions, People with things have power, I have some power, I will be alright. It is also interesting to see when you compare the Huck at the beginning of the book to the how he is at the end of the book. Towards the end of the book, he cares less and less about possessions and more about Jim and the people who he starts to care about. It shows how Huck changes as a person completely, how his priorites are completely different. Even when the Duke and the King come into the story, Huck is disgusting at how they scam people and fool with good people. At the beginning of the book Huck would have been all for scamming people because it would be an adventure. All of these things show how Huck is a dynamic person and how much he has changed.

Response to !Walt Whitman! Post

Section 16 is a great choice. Right at the heart of his message about himself. The first thing in the section of writing that I noticed was the opposites he used to describe himself. He said the young and the old, the foolish and the wise, the child and the man, the man and the women. He uses opposites because it helps be the great equalizer. Exactly. He undermines the notion of being able to define ourselves in opposition to other concepts; he says it's all part and parcel of this universal whole. By saying he is all of these things it makes him relate able to nearly all people because he covers all the bases with the opposites. And by doing that everyone likes him well, except the people who found this creepy and distasteful because he is saying he is similar to nearly every human and people like to listen to other people who relate to them. He goes on and on not only with opposites, but with all sorts of different kinds of jobs and religions just to make him even more relate able not a word, dearest to all of his readers. He also says that he is relate able to all of the people in america that he is at home all over the country, so he is making himself similar to everybody in at least one way. And by doing that he is making people unify over him and come together because everyone will have something in common with him and he will be the connecting link between the opposite people. Keep going here! Think of the historical moment! Why would this be so very important post-Civil War? As a person who loved his country, Whitman was devastated to see what the war was like and how people stood on the field of battle killing their fellow citizens. The next thing in these passage I noticed was how lovely the diction and syntax was. When you read it, it just flows through your lips so smoothly and it just sounds very nice. He uses alliteration alot at the end of the section with the sound, with the suns I can see and the suns I cannot see. and the in the two last stanzas how he says place so many times, it really gets sunk into your head that that is one of the points he is trying to get across to you. The sound of the "s" creates a lasting whisper effect, too--powerful. The last thing that I really noticed was the parallel structure that he used in these section but also all throughout the only essay. poem It is a good technic to use because it makes everything in a list he is making more and more powerful, I can almost feel the writing getting louder and louder and more passionaite until it just peaks and then he changes the structure and starts with something new. In this sense, repetition in poetry works a lot like repetition in music; the volume of repeated notes increases as you go, increasing intensity. It makes what he is trying to say so much more powerful. It also give structure to a "free verse" poem. Free verse does not mean random. Whitman's poetry is highly structured and rhythmic. Things like the repetition, balanced lines, and catalogs create that.