Saturday, May 11, 2013

The Great Gatsby: First Level Inquiry


I have enjoyed re-reading The Great Gatsby for WEM project, and there is so much to discuss about, that I think I am going to do the tasks more thoroughly than I’ve ever done with previous books. This is the first level inquiry, I’ll post the second and third separately.

Actually I have done part of this level; it was the chapter posts I have done last week, they’re part of the tasks—to summarize each chapter and jot down what we are thinking or questioning through the reading. You can read them here:


Next we are required to summarize the story by creating our own title and subtitle (which is different from the book’s). But before that, we must conclude this one….

Is there some point in the book where the characters change? Does something happen that makes everyone behave differently?

Myrtle’s accident is the major turning point of this book. The accident—like any other life crisis—reveals the genuine qualities of each character. Daisy is the one who was driving the car, she knew what she had done. She might be panic at that time, nevertheless she never had any intention to admit it and let Gatsby took the blame. She didn’t even do anything when she knew Gatsby was murdered (and she definitely knew, he died because of the crime she had committed). Although it’s not mentioned in the book, I think Daisy told Tom that she was the one who hit Myrtle. Otherwise, they won’t be fleeting so quickly if Tom thought it was Gatsby.

Jordan Baker didn’t say anything although she was also shocked like Nick; and most importantly she kept staying with Daisy and Tom as if nothing had happened. On the other hand, Nick and Gatsby were suddenly in a different side with those three. Gatsby still had a concern for the victim although he didn’t know her, and he took the blame that Daisy should do.

Give the book your own title and subtitle

Gatsby’s False Dream – How a poor man fights persistently to win his dream lover, becomes wealthy by disrespectable businesses and ready to snatch the woman from his husband; but after an accident that has killed a woman, he finds that she is only an empty idea, and that lavish prosperity in the end only leaves traces of moral corruption.

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8 comments:

  1. I'm enjoying your Gatsby posts. It makes me want to make more in-depth analysis on the books (classics, anyway) I read as well.

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    1. The Well-Educated Mind helps me a lot to delve into classics, it also gives us recommendation of classics to read (and analyze).

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  2. Now I really want to rerererere-read the book. I haven't decided if I will see the movie yet.

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    1. When you re-read it, you'll want to see the movie too, I guess....

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  3. This is what I thought: the most important event was the accident, but I am struggling with how it changes the main character. Did you say the main character was Gatsby? (I did.) But certainly the accident makes everyone else scatter, except Nick; however, he definitely changes deeply.

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    1. The accident did change everyone including Nick, because after the accident, Nick realizes the emptiness beneath those glamours (from the new money and the old money).

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    2. Right. Nick even decides to go back West. But I should have said that the accident caused everyone to disappear, while only Nick stayed around, obviously to arrange the funeral. But it did change him very much.

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    3. Yep, I was really upset by the fact that Daisy didn't even try to call Nick secretely about Gatsby's death. Oh...what a coward-shallow woman she is!

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What do you think?