I loved The Great Gatsby. Not only was it my favorite book of summer reading, it’s one of my favorite books ever. It had a way of making me feel as though I was in the book experiencing everything the characters were experiencing. That connection was the main reason I enjoyed the novel so much.
To me, Tom was the most interesting of all the characters. It seems to me that he has just about everything but doesn’t see it. Although he has a beautiful, loving wife, he has an extramarital affair. He is high in social standing, wealthy, and powerful. Yet he bully's people as if they’re threatening to him. Tom is incredibly arrogant and seems to be very prejudice. I noticed throughout the book that he sets very high social standards for all those around him. He himself, however, makes no attempts to also meet the standards that everyone else is expected to live up to.
When I began The Great Gatsby I saw it as a story of love, infidelity, jealousy, and expected it to continue in that direction. After getting further into the novel, though, I started to see it as less of a love story and more as a depiction of America as a whole in the early 1920’s. The Great Gatsby tells a story of an America in which there was a post-war rise in the stock market, making it possible for anyone to get wealthy. An America in which the poor and the rich had a need for bootleg liquor, and the craving for wealth and high social standing rather than the achievement of more significant things such as discovery, the pursuit of happiness, and individualism (chapter 9) led to many problems.
Very interesting point of view about Tom. Your reasoning could use some support, but I agree. The book showed the social standings and the economy in the 1920's. The rich got richer, and the poor got poorer. I also think that, Gatsby was trying to be different. Not wanting achievement and fortune, but happiness, which he though would be in Daisy's love. His plan didn't work out. I liked your "Jumbled thoughts," I am sure my blog is just as jumbled.
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A very good observation about Tom! However, I would suggest that Tom is simply under the powerful illusion that he is a supreme being. From Tom's eyes, does not superiority justify ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING? My support for this statement would be the comment about the white race in chapter two.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think you saw, in the beginning, a story of love and romance? I don't ever remember getting that picture...
ReplyDeleteExcellent observation of Tom, as well. I never really looked at him as an interesting character. I also agree he had everything, but didn't see it. I would like to add that it's almost as if he didn't have true happiness. Happiness doesn't always come from physical things...
Your last paragraph says a lot. How do we find individuality and happiness and what causes us to want to discover? Could the things you said in your last paragraph relate to society today? Your generation has been labeled the "Now Generation" because your generation wants things now; yours wants instant gratification. Can the same thing be said for the wealthy in Gatsby?
ReplyDeleteI like your comment on how this book tells the story of a historical America. Would you consider this book historical fiction? Or is The Grapes of Wrath more of a historical fiction? Just wondering... Good observations.