4.08 Assignment: The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925. It follows a man named Nick Carraway. He moves to the East Egg, a fictional city in America. He lives directly next to the billionaire Jay Gatsby. The story takes place in the 1920's (Roaring 20's) and is an exploration of American culture and the impossibility of the American dream. I read Chapter 3. 


Summary

Nick Carraway describes Gatsby's business from what he observes. Gatsby runs a business where he manufactures orange juice/lemonade. Once every two weeks Gatsby holds a party. One Saturday morning, Gatsby's chauffeur gives an invitation to Nick for a party hosted by Gatsby. At seven o' clock in the P.M, Nick heads over to Gatsby's party. He tries to ask where Gatsby is, but his questions produce no information. He sees Jordan Baker, and they talk to two little girls. The girls and Jordan exchange gossip about Gatsby. Jordan notices Nick's mood, and offers to help him find Gatsby. They encounter a drunken man in a library. They go sit at a table occupied by a man Nick's age. Nick talks to the man, and the man reveals himself to be Gatsby. Gatsby goes to take a call, and Nick and Jordan gossip about him. The band, at the request of Mr. Gatsby, plays "Vladimir Tostoff’s Jazz History of the World." Gatsby speaks to Jordan Baker alone, for about an hour, and then reminds Nick they will go see his fighter jet together. Nick then leaves the party.

Review

Chapter 3 of the Great Gatsby was personally underwhelming. The book is realistic to its time period, but it wasn't grandiose. It portrayed Gatsby's party as mundane. I recognize this was on purpose, to portray the shallowness of the party and in turn the shallowness of the partygoers. Still, it was quite anti-climatic compared to my other reads. There was a chronological pattern throughout the story.