Gatsby...Chapters+1+&+2


 * Ally H., Danny M., Johnny A.**

**Please read pages 1-33. By Thursday at 8am, please discuss the following:**

- Contrast the setting of chapter 1 with the setting of the first few pages of chapter 2 - use quotes from both chapters.

- Tom's role/description/character, in chapters 1 & 2 - please include 3 quotes.

- Fitzgerald's description of Myrtle Wilson - please include 1 quote.

- Contrast Daisy with Myrtle.

- **Anything else you want to share.**

Overall focus of the 3 volunteers: Please trust that I recognize this novel, thus far, has seen little action. Fitzgerald is using certain tone, words, descriptions to give us a certain feel of each character. Therefore, these posts do not have to be very long, but should use a magnifying glass to see each page, sentence, word closely.

Thanks and good luck.



**Ally:** In the first chapter, Nick describes the setting of Long Island and, more specifically, East Egg and the home of his friends Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Nick, when speaking about their home, says it was “more elaborate than I expected” (Fitzgerald 6). He talks about the size and openness of the mansion, as well as the light and breezy feeling that fills the rooms of the house and the people inside it. However, in the second chapter, Fitzgerald portrays a sense of a less-sophisticated lifestyle. Upon entering the garage where they are visiting Tom’s mistress, Nick explains the interior to be “unprosperous and bare” (25). Fitzgerald puts in a great deal of effort to make the two places seem very different. This could be, because Tom (and subsequently Nick) is bored with his lavish lifestyle and wants a change. Also, Fitzgerald could be trying to show the differing levels of society in Long Island. Tom’s role as a character in this story is to oppose Nick’s character. While Nick is somewhat reserved and soft spoken, Tom’s large presence and booming voice can be very powerful. As Nick says, “His speaking voice, a gruff husky tenor, added to the impression of fractiousness he conveyed” (7). Tom is an arrogant character, and is unhappy with his married life. Miss Baker speaks about Tom’s mistress, saying “‘Tom’s got some woman in New York’” (15). He relives his glory days through his mistress, but seems bored even with her. “Tom Buchanan yawned audibly and got to his feet” (32). Tom has no trouble hiding the fact that he is bored with his life. However, he seems happier and more outgoing when with his mistress (Myrtle Wilson) rather than his wife Daisy. Myrtle Wilson is very elaborate and outgoing. She likes to throw parties and entertain guests, as well as act on spur of the moment ideas. While they are out, Myrtle says, “‘I’m going to have the McKees come up,’… ‘And, of course, I got to call up my sister, too’” (29). Myrtle enjoys company because, like Tom, she is bored with her life and wants to fill it with entertainment and parties. Daisy is shown as a more sophisticated and reserved form of elegance, while Myrtle is the sort of wild side of elegance. Daisy hosts classy dinner gatherings, and Myrtle throws parties. Though the women represent different classes in society, Daisy being the upper class and Myrtle the lower, they are both very appealing to characters such as Tom. **Johnny**- The novel begins describing the prosperous East Egg on Long Island. The narrator Nick, lives on West Egg, but spends an evening at the luxurious home of his friends Tom Buchanan and Daisy. The house is beautiful as Nick walks throughout the front yard he describes the scene, "Turning me around by one arm, he moved a broad flat hand along the front vista, including in its sweep a sunken Italian garden, a half acre of deep, pungent roses, and a snub-nosed motor boat that bumped the tide offshore." (7). Now clearly they have an amazing waterfront property that Nick is amazed by the size and openness. This prosperous part of New York is greatly contrasted by Fitzgerald in Chapter 2. Chapter 2 is when Tom goes to see his mistress Myrtle, along with Nick. As they travel to the garage of George Wilson (Myrtles husband) Nick describes it as the Valley of Ashes. He says, " This is a valley of ashes- a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the form of houses and chimneys, and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air." (23). This scene shows the contrast from the highly sophisticated lifestyle out on Long Island, to the slums outside the city. Fitzgerald uses this contrast maybe to prove the lifestyle that the more sophisticated people with large mansions are getting bored with life, and want more excitement out of life, while people like Myrtle and George Wilson who own an auto repair shop, and a small, little apartment are happy with the life they live, being grateful for what they have. Tom is a man of size. A football player of Yale, his legacy there will never be forgotten. His broad shoulders, menacing size, and echoing voice somewhat frighten Nick. Quite frankly though Tom is bored with his wife and his life. Even his wife fears him and some of his features. As Daisy tells Nick of the birth of their daughter she says, " I woke up out of the ether with an utterly abandoned feeling, and asked the nurse right away if it was a boy or a girl. She told me it was a girl, and so I turned my head away and wept."(17) Firstly Tom proves his indecency when he does not even show up for the birth of his own child, and leaves his wife in labor for all that time alone with no one to console her and stand by her. Secondly Daisy is sad because she knows that a girl is not what Tom would of wanted for a child, he would have wanted a son that would grow up like himself, playing football at Yale, and carrying on the family tradition. Tom could also be considered some form of a racist. He tells Nick about this book he's read called 'The Rise of the Colored Empires'. He tells Nick, " If we don't look out the white race will be- will be utterly submerged. Its all scientific stuff; its been proved." (13). He believes this dominant race, the whites should prevail over any group, so they never can have control. This power thirsty trait can be compared to his massive size, and almost like a dictator, which is seen somewhat with his wife Daisy. Tom got married to Daisy, because it was the thing to do. He married her before women 's suffrage was passed so he somewhat is still living like back then. When Daisy or even Miss Baker begins to speak Tom rudely interrupts almost as a signal for them to be quiet. Miss Baker begins to say " You ought to live in California---" began Miss Baker, but Tom interrupted her by shifting heavily in his chair." (13). Toms rude behavior demonstrates that he is still living in the past, and now Myrtle has come to take him out and bring in the future.   Tom's mistress Myrtle is into entertainment and parties. She is less sophisticated, and likes to throw parties on the spot with drinking and smoking excessively in their cramped apartment. She is outgoing, and loves a good time, possibly because she appears to Tom after the women's suffrage rights were passed. Nick said he had been drunk twice in his life, and that afternoon spent with Tom and Myrtle was the second time. Nick describes Myrtle as " And in a moment the thickish figure of a women blocked out the light from the office door. She was in the middle thirties, and faintly stout, but she carried her surplus flesh sensuously as some women can." (25). Myrtle is quite nearly as attractive as Daisy, but Myrtle has a sort of swagger to herself, which is something that Tom Buchanan is craving.   Daisy and Myrtle are basically complete opposites. Daisy lives an elegant lifestyle in East Egg with a beautiful, spacious house, while Myrtle lives in the slums of new York City in a smaller, cramped apartment. Daisy has Tom, who was an outstanding football player, who is extremely large and handsome. Myrtle has George Wilson, who works as a mechanic in a garage, not nearly as beautiful as Tom, but still has a wife. The major difference between the two men is the time period they met Tom. Tom married Daisy two years before women's rights were established, which has a significant downfall on their declining relationship. Tom met Myrtle after the women's rights were put into place, so Myrtle is a lot more lively, looking to have some fun. The women's suffrage law is the major reason that Tom is having an affair with Myrtle.

**Danny:** F. Scott Fitzgerald displays two completely different settings in chapters 1 and 2. He begins the story in a very rich, lavishing setting. the setting is in Long Island, in the areas of West Egg and east Egg. Nick lives in West Egg, which he claims is the less fashionable of the two. However, Nick undervalues the homes in his area way too much. In the story, Nick describes his neighbor's house, saying, "The one on my right was a colossal affair by any standard-it was a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden" (Fitzgerald 5). Nick claims that West Egg is way less sophisticated thean East Egg, yet the house next door is pictured as a luxurious mansion. Nick is alot more amzed by the houses on east Egg instead, which he describes aswhite palaces that glittered along the water. However, in Chapter 2 Fitzgerald completely switches up the setting of the novel. The setting is on a gray, gloomy, and pitiful path, known as the Valley of Ashes. The Valley of Ashes is described as Johnny said above, with dust covering the whole area, as well as being very run down. This contrasts hugely from the setting described in Chapter 1. Fitzgerald has switched from a higly luxurious, rich lifestyle on West and East Egg, and switched to a much more dreary, broken down setting of the Valley of Ashes. The area is so horrible, Nick decribes it saying, "ash gray men swarm up with laden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud, which screens their obscure operations from your sight. Setting plays a huge role in what goes on in the first two chapters.

Tom is a very important character in the novel. When we first meet Tom, he is charcaterized as an extremely successful, well respected human being, as shown wheen Nick describes him saying, "one of the most powerful ends that ever played football at New Haven-a national figure in a way, one of those men who reach such an acute limited excellenceat twenty one that everything afterward savorsof anticlimax. His family were enormously wealthy"(6). This description of Tom gives the reader a belief that Tom is a very likable, highly respectable man, who lives a successful life. However, Tom is definitly not the nice guy that everyone first belives he is. Tom is married to a woman named Daisy, who also happens to be Nick's cousin. Tom treats Daisy very harshly and disrespectfully in the story. What is very sad is that Daisy does not realize the cruelty in which Tom is treating her with. This is shown when Miss Baker informs Nick that, "Tom's got another girl" (15). This especially shows the cruelty in Tom, as he is a married man, yet he still seeks love with another woman, Myrtle. This makes the reader feel bad for Daisy, as she has no idea that her husband is betraying her so badly. The reason for Tom acting in such a way is that he is very bored with his life right now. This is why he is trying to seek excitement with his life thorugh Myrtle, as he believes she will fulfill his suxual pleasures and maybe make his life a little more interesting. Even though Tom is so rich and well being, he is very disliked by many in the society because of his powerful personality. This is shown when the author says, "His acquaintances resented the fact that he turned up in popular restaurants with her, and, leaving her at a table, sauntered about, chatting with whomsoever he knew. Tom knows he is one of the richest men in the area, which is why he has such a powerful personality. He is willing to do anything to get what he wants, and is willing to take advantage of people to do so. Tom shows his power through how he controls Daisy, how he treats George Wilson by threatening him by not giving him the car he was going to sell, and other events. people are afraid to go against Tom because they believe he has so much power over them. Tom is a very controversial character as descibed in chapters 1 and 2.

Myrtle is the other woman who Tom is attracted to in the novel. based on the description earlier, I was expecting Myrtle to be a gorgeous, beautiful looking girl because why else would he betray his wife. However, I was surprided when the author desscribed her, saying, "Then I heard footsteps on a stairs, and in a moment the thickish figure of a woman blocked out the light from the office door. She was in the middle thirties, and faintly stout....her face...contained no facet or gleam of beauty" (25). This description shows no beauty in her whatsoever, which I thought was pretty weird. Aside from her looks, Myrtle is a very lively girl. She throws a lot of crazy parties, with a lot of drinking involved. This is what gets Tom's attention, as he is desperate to live an eventful, crazy life, and he believes Myrtle will fulfill this goal for him. I have a feeling Myrtle is going to play an even more significant role as the novel progresses.

Tom sees goods in both Daisy and Myrtle, but in two different aspects. Daisy is much more sesual and caring for Tom, but she is not as in to the sexual pleasures which Tom desires. On the other hand, Myrtle is extremely outgoing, and is willing to fulfill Tom's sexual desires, however, she is much less trustworthy and loyal than Daisy. Another difference between the two is their housing. Daisy lives with Tom, who lives in an up-scale, elegant, upper class mansion. Myrtle lives in a tiny, filthy, lower class apartment with George Wilson. This could be another reason why the two act so differently, because Daisy is more educated on how to entertain in a very elegant way, while Myrtle entertains in a much less elegant way.