Hi Guys,
Great job with the discussion questions! I'll be posting my responses soon. But for now, we have come to the part where you ask me a question. So I hope you have been thinking about this, and I look forward to what you have to say.
This time Daniel will be answering Tyler's question
Tyler will answer Kevin's.
Kevin will answer Daniel's.
Have fun!
12 comments:
Why did Gatsby think that wealth and popularity was the only thing that could win Daisy over?
Good question Kevin, especially considering the day and age that we live in currently. Even though our society is still stratified according to economic status, it is not as bad as it used to be.
During the story, the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy is slowly revealed. We find out that Gatsby did not come from money, but actually grew up in a poor farming family. While in the army, he was able to achieve some status, and therefore met and courted Daisy. Even though they wanted to be together, the fact that he was poor prevented this. Daisy was from a very affluent and well known family. A union such as this would have been prevented by Daisy's family.
Gatsby knew this, and therefore the pursuit of wealth became extremely important. If he became rich, he would be able to marry Daisy. That is why it was so important to him that Daisy see his home, clothes, car, etc. Remember, he arranged to meet her not downtown in the city, but at Nick's house, because it was by his home. Obsession with gaining wealth resulted in Gatsby loosing his soul. He became involved with unsavory people and schemes. As we know, "the lust of money is the root of all evil."
As we can see, in the end the only thing that brought Daisy to Gatsby was his wealth and popularity. But in the end, that was not enough. She had moved on, and married Tom. Gatsby had not. We also see that after so many years, Gatsby was not in love with Daisy, he was in love with the idea of Daisy. He loved the idea of snatching something that he could not have. He loved the idea of people seeing what he was capable of acquiring. Daisy was a status symbol, like his cars were, and his house, and his parties.
Good question! Questions like this open up another side of the story. Why do you think he thought the way he did? Do you think my answer fits in to what we learned about the characters in the book? Do you have a different answer? I would love to know!
Why did Gatsby always call people 'Old Sport,' and not just by their real names?
Why did Gatsby think that wealth and popularity was the only thing that could win Daisy over?
I think it was because he felt like she left him when he was younger because Gatsby was poor.
Why did Tom feel like he was justifed by getting mad at Gatsby thru 'stealing' his wife whe he was doing almost the exact same thing with Myrtle?
Why did Gatsby always call people 'Old Sport,' and not just by their real names?
daniel this is a sweet question. i think Gatsby called people "old sport" instead of their real names is because he wanted to avoid a personal relationship. notice that he never called Daisy an "old sport". he was only concerned with winning Daisy over and wanted to avoid developing personal contact with other people.
Why did Tom feel like he was justifed by getting mad at Gatsby thru 'stealing' his wife whe he was doing almost the exact same thing with Myrtle?
This is a good question. Maybe Tom felt he was justified because he was not threatening divorce like Daisy was comtemplating. From Tom's perspective his affair with Myrtle was ok because he wasn't going to divorce Daisy. He was intending to remain married to Daisy and have his relationship with Myrtle at the same time. When he saw Gatsby wanting to take away his wife, he got mad. Both Tom and Daisy should never have got involved with Myrtle Wilson, and Jay Gatsby.
Daniel,
I like this question because the fact that he calls people "Old Sport" gives us insight into Gatsby's character. Btw, have you started calling people Old Sport yet?
I should have posted my answer before Kevin did, because I agree with what he said. Gatsby liked to keep people at arms length, he never let people get close to him. Calling people Old Sport was his way to make them feel comfortable and welcome, yet not close. He rejected the intimacy of using peoples given name.
It also set the tone for the friendship. He had control of his relationships, he allowed people to come in and out of his life as he willed it. He never revealed information about his past, his work, his family, etc. Without sharing these details of our lives, people cannot become our friends.
Do you agree, Old Sport??
I do agree
Tyler,
This is a good question because it shows the hypocrisy of Tom, and also of the culture of that time. When men had affairs it was brushed off. A "boys will be boys" type of attitude was taken. Or sometimes the affair was even blamed on the wife of the cheating husband. We saw this a little during the party at Myrtle and Tom's place in the city, when the guests start talking about Daisy being a bad wife.
Of course that is all wrong, what Tom was doing was sin. But since there was that double standard, Tom did feel justified in his anger towards Gatsby and Daisy. And I think Daniel nailed it in his answer. Even though Tom told Myrtle that he was going to leave Daisy, he had absolutely no intention of doing that. He couldn't marry Myrtle, who was a common, even crude person, and still be able to be a part of his sophisticated and cultured world. His high class world would never accept Myrtle as a part of it. He had to have a sophisticated wife like Daisy to fit in.
So, in Tom's mind there was a huge difference between him and Myrtle and Daisy and Gatsby. He was not emotionally involved with Myrtle. He could easily stop seeing her, and start seeing someone else. But Daisy was emotionally attached to Gatsby. He is the only man she would consider leaving Tom for. That is the reason Tom became so angry, because there was a chance she would leave. Of course, she can't, Tom and her have shared too much, but she actually entertained the idea for a while.
What do you think?
i agree. before i really didn't have a clue how he could justify himself.
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