Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Presentation Quality Pics!
Here are updated scans of Sam's Storybook for our presentation tomorrow :) Click for readable resolution.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
This Just In: Vintage 1920s Radio Program!
Andrew discovered this spliced together clip from classic episodes of The Life and Adventures of Jay Gatsby and The Life and Times of James Gatz.
At the time when The Great Gatsby was published, save for music, radio dramas were the primary form of popular entertainment. I chose to create and dramatize two segments of episodes of two different shows. Both shows draw on the life Gatsby in a prime-time radio style. This allowed me to explore the roots of elements of Gatsby's character in their original contexts. (See if you can spot a clear example of this around 7:00) Essentially the first half is the first half of an episode of The Life and Adventures of Jay Gatsby and conversely The Life and Times of James Gatz. The former is meant to depict the fictional Gatsby. Borne of rumor, the show takes on a much more adventurous tone. The latter is meant to be more realistic, an actualy event in the life of James Gatz, and thus contrasts with a somber tone.
At the time when The Great Gatsby was published, save for music, radio dramas were the primary form of popular entertainment. I chose to create and dramatize two segments of episodes of two different shows. Both shows draw on the life Gatsby in a prime-time radio style. This allowed me to explore the roots of elements of Gatsby's character in their original contexts. (See if you can spot a clear example of this around 7:00) Essentially the first half is the first half of an episode of The Life and Adventures of Jay Gatsby and conversely The Life and Times of James Gatz. The former is meant to depict the fictional Gatsby. Borne of rumor, the show takes on a much more adventurous tone. The latter is meant to be more realistic, an actualy event in the life of James Gatz, and thus contrasts with a somber tone.
Wanted, Wanted Posters.
Emily dug up these wanted posters, which pinpoint key traits of characters that appear in The Great Gatsby.
Wanted posters for the main characters seemed a fitting idea, as all in the book had either major character flaws or actually broken the law. This medium gave me the chance to bring to the surface both the inexcusable actions and flaws of each character in a direct attack on their idiosyncrasies and representation of the excess of the 1920's. The amount of the reward represents their impact on the tragedy of the story and not on their relative quantity of evil. The section warning the police on each gave me an extra chance to list traits that are not necessarily negative, but contribute to the character's downfall. Finally, the man who placed the bounty on all of them carries a clear symbolism.
Wanted posters for the main characters seemed a fitting idea, as all in the book had either major character flaws or actually broken the law. This medium gave me the chance to bring to the surface both the inexcusable actions and flaws of each character in a direct attack on their idiosyncrasies and representation of the excess of the 1920's. The amount of the reward represents their impact on the tragedy of the story and not on their relative quantity of evil. The section warning the police on each gave me an extra chance to list traits that are not necessarily negative, but contribute to the character's downfall. Finally, the man who placed the bounty on all of them carries a clear symbolism.
Original Jazz Composition: Hello, Daisy
Hello, Daisy By Sam Alexander.
Parody of Hello, Dolly By Louis Armstrong
I said hello, Daisy,......well, hello, Daisy
It's so nice to have you back where you belong
I loved you before, Daisy.......the one I adore, Daisy
Across the sound...the green ground...I know you're around
I peer in shallow water......And I know the past's better
Remember the days we shared, believe we can go back
So..... back away, Thomas.......your days are done, Thomas
Daisy never eve-er loved you
(instrumental break)
I said hello, Daisy,.....well, hello, Daisy
Listen to the band on the stand and look at me
You're still my dreams, Daisy.....As the green light gleams, Daisy
I'm now rich...so here's the sitch ...you can be with me
You're husband, Tom, a cheater..life with me's sweeter
Hop in my car…hit his miss and.. drive away
So…Sorry, Old Sport…It was fate, Old Sport
And just the same, very fate I die alone
And just the same, very fate I die alone
It well-known that jazz was popular musical genre at the time of the writing of The Great Gatsby, especially as Fitzgerald himself coined this age, The Jazz Age. For this reason, I took the song "Hello, Dolly", made enormously popular by the almighty , Louis Armstrong,Satchmo, himself, and changed the lyrics of this very love song to describe the plot of Fitzgerald's novel to Armstrong's melody and rhythm. In this way one's understanding and experience of the novel is immensely heightened by learning the same plot form the novel in the context of the time period.
Parody of Hello, Dolly By Louis Armstrong
I said hello, Daisy,......well, hello, Daisy
It's so nice to have you back where you belong
I loved you before, Daisy.......the one I adore, Daisy
Across the sound...the green ground...I know you're around
I peer in shallow water......And I know the past's better
Remember the days we shared, believe we can go back
So..... back away, Thomas.......your days are done, Thomas
Daisy never eve-er loved you
(instrumental break)
I said hello, Daisy,.....well, hello, Daisy
Listen to the band on the stand and look at me
You're still my dreams, Daisy.....As the green light gleams, Daisy
I'm now rich...so here's the sitch ...you can be with me
You're husband, Tom, a cheater..life with me's sweeter
Hop in my car…hit his miss and.. drive away
So…Sorry, Old Sport…It was fate, Old Sport
And just the same, very fate I die alone
And just the same, very fate I die alone
It well-known that jazz was popular musical genre at the time of the writing of The Great Gatsby, especially as Fitzgerald himself coined this age, The Jazz Age. For this reason, I took the song "Hello, Dolly", made enormously popular by the almighty , Louis Armstrong,Satchmo, himself, and changed the lyrics of this very love song to describe the plot of Fitzgerald's novel to Armstrong's melody and rhythm. In this way one's understanding and experience of the novel is immensely heightened by learning the same plot form the novel in the context of the time period.
Peter Pan | Gatsby, An Unexpected Conjunction
Sam created a Children's book that places the story of Peter Pan alongside that of The Great Gatsby.
For my project I compiled and illustrated a multi-media compilation of comparisons between Jay Gatsby and Peter Pan. With beautiful illustrations, this presentation is in storybook form containing captions at the bottom of each page describing the relationship between the two. While it is obvious that both of these characters hold in common their refusal to extend beyond the present, there are many more similarities, that are very possibly representative of the time as both were written in the early twentieth century. these are all revealed in The Great Gatsby storybook.
For my project I compiled and illustrated a multi-media compilation of comparisons between Jay Gatsby and Peter Pan. With beautiful illustrations, this presentation is in storybook form containing captions at the bottom of each page describing the relationship between the two. While it is obvious that both of these characters hold in common their refusal to extend beyond the present, there are many more similarities, that are very possibly representative of the time as both were written in the early twentieth century. these are all revealed in The Great Gatsby storybook.
The Journal of Go... Dr. Eckleburg
Katie unearthed this rare copy of the journal of Doctor T.J.Eckleburg, one of the more explicitly symbolic characters in The Great Gatsby.
The Journal of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg
June 2, 1922
Everybody sins. And I am the one who gets to see all of it. Like Mrs. Stanford is having an affair with her doorman. Mr. Erikson runs a secret life as a bootlegger. Ms Mills has been having just a little too much to drink for the past decade. So like I said, I see everything and I judge everyone. Think of me as god if you will. Since we’re on the topic of sins, adultery is a major one and Tom Buchanan knows this well. He has been having an affair with Myrtle, Wilson’s wife, for quite some time now. Either they do not see it or they are too dumb to care, but eventually all of this will end in tragedy.
June 12, 1922
They do not see me at the parties but I am always there. Mr. Gatsby’s parties are seen as lavish and excellent and it is an honor to be invited. But nobody knows the real Gatsby. He has no real friends, the closest one being Nick Carraway. People seem to think he is some kind of mysterious entity who is a first class citizen. But the truth is that Gatsby lives another life as a bootlegger. Palling around with other felons. And he lives completely isolated and he holds on to his past with an iron fist. Anyone could see that that will leave to no good. I guess they will just have to wait to find out. By then it will be too late and everyone will realize that everything comes back to you in the end.
June 27, 1992
Jordan Baker is another person in this city who has some issues in her past that she needs to be given redemption for. She is an old professional golf player who cheated in one of her games. Honesty is one of the most imperative traits that man needs to live a good life. It disappoints me to no end to see everyone in this forsaken city running around lying and cheating, without any regard to their human counterparts. Honesty takes courage and bravery that not every person has. The closest person that I can think of that is honest is Nick Caraway. And honesty is not just with other people it involves being honest with yourself. This is something that Gatsby could never do. He let Daisy be the death of him because he could not be honest with himself and realize that he would and could never be with Daisy.
July 2, 1922
Wilson was an idiot. He never stood up for himself, never tried to win his wife back and never even just left her because he had had enough. No, he chose to remain blind and ignorant and because of this, his wife Myrtle ended up being killed in a car accident. The rich are reckless. They know no other way of living. Daisy and Tom stayed together because they were two parts of the same whole. They were both careless of other’s feelings and both of them were in it for the money. Especially Daisy, she even said so. When I heard that I was not shocked. I do not think anything in this city would shock me anymore.
Journal Explanation
I thought it would be interesting to write a few journal entries from the perspective of Doctor Eckleburg because he was the constant looming presence throughout the entire novel. To write as him, I had to try and write with no biases and just describe what I wanted to see in a completely straight forward manner. This is because the Doctor is like the God figure in the book. He watches over everyone and sees everything that happens and he has a judgmental and brutally honest opinion. I wrote an entry where he talks about honesty a lot because I thought this would be a trait that he values very much since he holds everyone up to such high standards.
The Journal of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg
June 2, 1922
Everybody sins. And I am the one who gets to see all of it. Like Mrs. Stanford is having an affair with her doorman. Mr. Erikson runs a secret life as a bootlegger. Ms Mills has been having just a little too much to drink for the past decade. So like I said, I see everything and I judge everyone. Think of me as god if you will. Since we’re on the topic of sins, adultery is a major one and Tom Buchanan knows this well. He has been having an affair with Myrtle, Wilson’s wife, for quite some time now. Either they do not see it or they are too dumb to care, but eventually all of this will end in tragedy.
June 12, 1922
They do not see me at the parties but I am always there. Mr. Gatsby’s parties are seen as lavish and excellent and it is an honor to be invited. But nobody knows the real Gatsby. He has no real friends, the closest one being Nick Carraway. People seem to think he is some kind of mysterious entity who is a first class citizen. But the truth is that Gatsby lives another life as a bootlegger. Palling around with other felons. And he lives completely isolated and he holds on to his past with an iron fist. Anyone could see that that will leave to no good. I guess they will just have to wait to find out. By then it will be too late and everyone will realize that everything comes back to you in the end.
June 27, 1992
Jordan Baker is another person in this city who has some issues in her past that she needs to be given redemption for. She is an old professional golf player who cheated in one of her games. Honesty is one of the most imperative traits that man needs to live a good life. It disappoints me to no end to see everyone in this forsaken city running around lying and cheating, without any regard to their human counterparts. Honesty takes courage and bravery that not every person has. The closest person that I can think of that is honest is Nick Caraway. And honesty is not just with other people it involves being honest with yourself. This is something that Gatsby could never do. He let Daisy be the death of him because he could not be honest with himself and realize that he would and could never be with Daisy.
July 2, 1922
Wilson was an idiot. He never stood up for himself, never tried to win his wife back and never even just left her because he had had enough. No, he chose to remain blind and ignorant and because of this, his wife Myrtle ended up being killed in a car accident. The rich are reckless. They know no other way of living. Daisy and Tom stayed together because they were two parts of the same whole. They were both careless of other’s feelings and both of them were in it for the money. Especially Daisy, she even said so. When I heard that I was not shocked. I do not think anything in this city would shock me anymore.
Journal Explanation
I thought it would be interesting to write a few journal entries from the perspective of Doctor Eckleburg because he was the constant looming presence throughout the entire novel. To write as him, I had to try and write with no biases and just describe what I wanted to see in a completely straight forward manner. This is because the Doctor is like the God figure in the book. He watches over everyone and sees everything that happens and he has a judgmental and brutally honest opinion. I wrote an entry where he talks about honesty a lot because I thought this would be a trait that he values very much since he holds everyone up to such high standards.
West Egg Hits.
Emily compiled and analyzed ten tracks representing many genres and styles, each with a different purpose in exploring the characters and themes of The Great Gatsby.
Download Lyrics
Soundtrack explanations
1) Under Control – This song relates to Gatsby’s ignorance in realizing, or perhaps a refusal to acknowledge, that Daisy will never leave Tom to be with him. Everyone around him sees and knows this, but Gatsby holds on steadfast to his dream and the Green Light. The first stanza talks about the singer’s refusal to hear his friends’ advice on a seemingly impossible situation, “All good advice but I'm sick of it, My friends thanks for your anxiety But it's a nightmare when she's not with me, You wonder why I chose her.” Gatsby expresses a similar sentiment to Nick when Nick mentions (on page 110) that Gatsby cannot repeat the past, to which Gatsby replies, “’Can’t repeat the past?’ he cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can!’” The song lyrics also relate to one of the reasons why Daisy and Gatsby will not be together: the difference in “age.” Daisy has always been wealthy and taken care of, and married Tom who continued that habit. Gatsby, on the other hand, made his money with bootlegging and has only recently become wealthy. This separates them as “old and new money,” almost as if the two were part of two different worlds. In ‘Under Control,’ the singer repeatedly brings up the 18 year difference between him and the one that he loves. She is older than him, much like Daisy’s lifestyle is older and more traditional than Gatsby’s.
2) The Real Folk Blues – the lyrics in this song relate to Gatsby as he searches and waits for Daisy to reenter his life. He shares the longing that can be heard in the singer’s voice as she is, “Watching tomorrow with one eye while keeping the other on yesterday.” Gatsby chooses to keep his attention focused on Daisy after years of not seeing or hearing from her. In the mean time he surrounds himself with all the traits of a luxurious life: parties, cars, nice clothes, etc… regardless of the happiness thought to be brought along with these material desires, Gatsby is unsatisfied; “I only want to know true happiness Is, all that glitters is not gold.”
3) Blue Orchid – Probably the most profound connection between this song and Daisy is the nature of the title, an Orchid. Normally an Orchid is pure and white like a Daisy, in the lyrics; however, this white orchid has been corrupted, deformed, and made into a blue orchid. Daisy has been neglected and mistreated by Tom, who has abandoned her for Myrtle Wilson in the city, “You're given a flower, but I guess there's just no pleasing you.” Daisy’s mentality is also captured in these lyrics whenever Tom receives a phone call from Myrtle. “We all need to do something, try to keep the truth from showing up,” on page 14 Daisy quickly changes the subject of conversation and puts on a mask for her guests to appear happy.
4) Crush- Jordon Baker’s relationship with Nick Carraway is shown in this song. Their conversation on page 177 involves Jordon claiming that she has moved on to another man and is engaged. Jordon does admit that Nick did “throw her over,” but that she “doesn’t give a damn about (him) now. This short-lived interest in their relationship is shared by the singer in the first stanza, “I wanted you for a little while, you got it wrong by a million miles. Big deal what a thrill what a letdown, kissing in your car when I should have been out. I want the Prodigy really loud; I want it all right now.” Jordon also challenges Nick’s honesty, which is earlier presented by him as a quality he feels he alone has within the group, by saying he was another “careless driver” on the road like her. Jordon loses interest in this now dishonest man and moves on to other men, “Cause not one thing you said was true, I'm gonna find somebody new.” It is implied that Jordon is not really engaged and will likely remain single. She seems to enjoy her independence, as was common in the roaring 20’s by women who began changing their fashion, hairstyles, and behavior to be much more expressive and liberal. “I wanna be flying in the clear sky, I wanna be diving in the blue. I gotta be out in the evening, Jellyhead without you, without you.”
5) Stalker Goes to Babylon- This song, while instrumental, needs no words to carry its eerie feeling. On page 158 George Wilson begins to suspect that Gatsby has killed his wife intentionally and by page 160 he falls entirely into insanity and mental instability. It is then that this stalker heads into the New York, which could be easily called the Babylon of the 1920’s. At 6 o’ clock Wilson goes out on the hunt for Gatsby, searching for his car, his name, and his location. It can be inferred that while Wilson investigated he seemed mentally vacant, almost ghostly just as the background tones for the song. His thoughts would have been simple and dark. He had one lethal objective to carry out before he ended his life. This song embodies all of those emotions.
6) Perfekte Welle – One of the most prominent topics of The Great Gatsby concerns dreams. Gatsby is the one character in the story that still manages to hold onto his goals and aspirations and focuses on it intensely no matter the obstacle. The first stanza, “With each wave came a dream. Dreams go by, Your board is dusty, Your doubts are bubbling over, You have been waiting your whole life, You have been hoping that it exists, You have almost lost faith, You have not budged,” easily captures Gatsby’s stubbornness when dealing with Daisy. He constantly is hoping and waiting to meet her again and make her his own, refusing to be anything but steadfast to his goal no matter the doubts which may fill his mind as his dream becomes more and more unattainable. Every night he stares off across the water to Daisy’s green light (pg 20) until finally the light loses its enchantment when Gatsby finally finds himself able to hold Daisy, as his dream passes by.
7) Six days- This song directly relates to the coming of war and the dramatic affects it has daily life. Many of the men in this book, such as Nick and Gatsby, were soldiers during the First World War Gatsby’s life was particularly affected as it interrupted his time with Daisy. It was because of the war that they were initially separated, leading Daisy to move on and marry Tom Buchanan. As the lyrics state, for Gatsby “Tomorrow never comes until it’s too late.” At the end of the war Gatsby returns to where he first met Daisy and begins his battle with Tom and society to bring himself out of poverty to the wealthy well known man that he becomes. He is always looking forward and “tryna reach tomorr’.”
8) Propane nightmares- These lyrics relate to the challenge that Gatsby faces once he has reconnected with Daisy as he tries to persuade her to leave Tom for him. If they successfully manage to escape their circumstances with her marriage to Tom then they will be free to love each other once again, “I just wonder what we’ve gotten ourselves into. In a trail of fire I know we will be free again.” In the chorus the lyrics chant, “Mind is willing, Soul remains, this woman cannot be saved,” which perfectly defines Daisy’s mentality in dealing with this problem. She is willing and wants to go with Gatsby, but there is a part of her that refuses to leave Tom and the comfortable lifestyle that she is used to. In this sense, she cannot be saved from her dishonest and failing marriage. Gatsby also tries to help Daisy get the courage to free herself, “Much to weak to jump yourself. Heal the wounds or crack the shell. Lift yourself from once below.” Daisy and Tom’s marriage is the stereotypical traditional marriage, much like a mold that has shaped the two of them. Gatsby, who is much more liberal in his lifestyle, wants Daisy to “crack the shell” and “life herself from once below” so that she will leave Tom for him.
9) Mr. Jones-Nick and Gatsby have an interesting relationship to say the least. Gatsby, who is at the center of every social gathering in New York, befriends Nick, the ultimate outsider. Regardless of their apparently differences in personality the two neighbors learn to trust each other as the novel progresses and help each other in numerous ways. Gatsby throughout t he novel confides in Nick, each time letting him know more and more about his true past. Nick discovers Gatsby’s envelopment in his dream and his endless pursuit of it, recognizing it as a sort of honor that Gatsby carries as everyone around them has let their dreams pass. On page 154 Nick comforts Gatsby by telling him that Gatsby is “worth the whole damn bunch put together.” Within the lyrics there are two close friends, Mr. Jones and the narrator, who have a similar relationship to Nick and Gatsby. The narrator asks Mr. Jones to “Believe in me, help me believe in anything.” The narrator tells how he is “down at the New Amsterdam staring at this yellow-haired girl” which relates to Gatsby being in New York City (New Amsterdam) looking for Daisy, who by many is imagined to be a blond (also, daisies themselves are white and yellow). Altogether the brotherhood between Mr. Jones and the narrator parallels that of Nick and Gatsby.
10) American dream – In the 1920’s, or the roaring twenties as they were also called, people lived the American Dream. They moved into the city, went to all the big parties, wore the nice clothes, and drove the nice cars. Gatsby in particular lived this dream, even though he attained it by using illegal methods. The Engineer (the character who sings this song) shares this American dream and wants nothing more than to be able to travel to America to live it. He wants to get rich fast and to do so he plans on expanding his prostitution business, similar to how Gatsby earned his money by bootlegging. The Engineer fills his head with thoughts of Bellaire suites, limousines, champagne, and an all around carefree life. Despite the Engineer living in the 1970’s as he imagines this lifestyle, the American dream has not changed at all from the time of Jay Gatsby in the 1920’s. More than likely, however, if the Engineer managed to get to New York City he would end up like Wilson, a seeker of endless opportunities who found nothing but failure and misery.
Download Lyrics
Soundtrack explanations
1) Under Control – This song relates to Gatsby’s ignorance in realizing, or perhaps a refusal to acknowledge, that Daisy will never leave Tom to be with him. Everyone around him sees and knows this, but Gatsby holds on steadfast to his dream and the Green Light. The first stanza talks about the singer’s refusal to hear his friends’ advice on a seemingly impossible situation, “All good advice but I'm sick of it, My friends thanks for your anxiety But it's a nightmare when she's not with me, You wonder why I chose her.” Gatsby expresses a similar sentiment to Nick when Nick mentions (on page 110) that Gatsby cannot repeat the past, to which Gatsby replies, “’Can’t repeat the past?’ he cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can!’” The song lyrics also relate to one of the reasons why Daisy and Gatsby will not be together: the difference in “age.” Daisy has always been wealthy and taken care of, and married Tom who continued that habit. Gatsby, on the other hand, made his money with bootlegging and has only recently become wealthy. This separates them as “old and new money,” almost as if the two were part of two different worlds. In ‘Under Control,’ the singer repeatedly brings up the 18 year difference between him and the one that he loves. She is older than him, much like Daisy’s lifestyle is older and more traditional than Gatsby’s.
2) The Real Folk Blues – the lyrics in this song relate to Gatsby as he searches and waits for Daisy to reenter his life. He shares the longing that can be heard in the singer’s voice as she is, “Watching tomorrow with one eye while keeping the other on yesterday.” Gatsby chooses to keep his attention focused on Daisy after years of not seeing or hearing from her. In the mean time he surrounds himself with all the traits of a luxurious life: parties, cars, nice clothes, etc… regardless of the happiness thought to be brought along with these material desires, Gatsby is unsatisfied; “I only want to know true happiness Is, all that glitters is not gold.”
3) Blue Orchid – Probably the most profound connection between this song and Daisy is the nature of the title, an Orchid. Normally an Orchid is pure and white like a Daisy, in the lyrics; however, this white orchid has been corrupted, deformed, and made into a blue orchid. Daisy has been neglected and mistreated by Tom, who has abandoned her for Myrtle Wilson in the city, “You're given a flower, but I guess there's just no pleasing you.” Daisy’s mentality is also captured in these lyrics whenever Tom receives a phone call from Myrtle. “We all need to do something, try to keep the truth from showing up,” on page 14 Daisy quickly changes the subject of conversation and puts on a mask for her guests to appear happy.
4) Crush- Jordon Baker’s relationship with Nick Carraway is shown in this song. Their conversation on page 177 involves Jordon claiming that she has moved on to another man and is engaged. Jordon does admit that Nick did “throw her over,” but that she “doesn’t give a damn about (him) now. This short-lived interest in their relationship is shared by the singer in the first stanza, “I wanted you for a little while, you got it wrong by a million miles. Big deal what a thrill what a letdown, kissing in your car when I should have been out. I want the Prodigy really loud; I want it all right now.” Jordon also challenges Nick’s honesty, which is earlier presented by him as a quality he feels he alone has within the group, by saying he was another “careless driver” on the road like her. Jordon loses interest in this now dishonest man and moves on to other men, “Cause not one thing you said was true, I'm gonna find somebody new.” It is implied that Jordon is not really engaged and will likely remain single. She seems to enjoy her independence, as was common in the roaring 20’s by women who began changing their fashion, hairstyles, and behavior to be much more expressive and liberal. “I wanna be flying in the clear sky, I wanna be diving in the blue. I gotta be out in the evening, Jellyhead without you, without you.”
5) Stalker Goes to Babylon- This song, while instrumental, needs no words to carry its eerie feeling. On page 158 George Wilson begins to suspect that Gatsby has killed his wife intentionally and by page 160 he falls entirely into insanity and mental instability. It is then that this stalker heads into the New York, which could be easily called the Babylon of the 1920’s. At 6 o’ clock Wilson goes out on the hunt for Gatsby, searching for his car, his name, and his location. It can be inferred that while Wilson investigated he seemed mentally vacant, almost ghostly just as the background tones for the song. His thoughts would have been simple and dark. He had one lethal objective to carry out before he ended his life. This song embodies all of those emotions.
6) Perfekte Welle – One of the most prominent topics of The Great Gatsby concerns dreams. Gatsby is the one character in the story that still manages to hold onto his goals and aspirations and focuses on it intensely no matter the obstacle. The first stanza, “With each wave came a dream. Dreams go by, Your board is dusty, Your doubts are bubbling over, You have been waiting your whole life, You have been hoping that it exists, You have almost lost faith, You have not budged,” easily captures Gatsby’s stubbornness when dealing with Daisy. He constantly is hoping and waiting to meet her again and make her his own, refusing to be anything but steadfast to his goal no matter the doubts which may fill his mind as his dream becomes more and more unattainable. Every night he stares off across the water to Daisy’s green light (pg 20) until finally the light loses its enchantment when Gatsby finally finds himself able to hold Daisy, as his dream passes by.
7) Six days- This song directly relates to the coming of war and the dramatic affects it has daily life. Many of the men in this book, such as Nick and Gatsby, were soldiers during the First World War Gatsby’s life was particularly affected as it interrupted his time with Daisy. It was because of the war that they were initially separated, leading Daisy to move on and marry Tom Buchanan. As the lyrics state, for Gatsby “Tomorrow never comes until it’s too late.” At the end of the war Gatsby returns to where he first met Daisy and begins his battle with Tom and society to bring himself out of poverty to the wealthy well known man that he becomes. He is always looking forward and “tryna reach tomorr’.”
8) Propane nightmares- These lyrics relate to the challenge that Gatsby faces once he has reconnected with Daisy as he tries to persuade her to leave Tom for him. If they successfully manage to escape their circumstances with her marriage to Tom then they will be free to love each other once again, “I just wonder what we’ve gotten ourselves into. In a trail of fire I know we will be free again.” In the chorus the lyrics chant, “Mind is willing, Soul remains, this woman cannot be saved,” which perfectly defines Daisy’s mentality in dealing with this problem. She is willing and wants to go with Gatsby, but there is a part of her that refuses to leave Tom and the comfortable lifestyle that she is used to. In this sense, she cannot be saved from her dishonest and failing marriage. Gatsby also tries to help Daisy get the courage to free herself, “Much to weak to jump yourself. Heal the wounds or crack the shell. Lift yourself from once below.” Daisy and Tom’s marriage is the stereotypical traditional marriage, much like a mold that has shaped the two of them. Gatsby, who is much more liberal in his lifestyle, wants Daisy to “crack the shell” and “life herself from once below” so that she will leave Tom for him.
9) Mr. Jones-Nick and Gatsby have an interesting relationship to say the least. Gatsby, who is at the center of every social gathering in New York, befriends Nick, the ultimate outsider. Regardless of their apparently differences in personality the two neighbors learn to trust each other as the novel progresses and help each other in numerous ways. Gatsby throughout t he novel confides in Nick, each time letting him know more and more about his true past. Nick discovers Gatsby’s envelopment in his dream and his endless pursuit of it, recognizing it as a sort of honor that Gatsby carries as everyone around them has let their dreams pass. On page 154 Nick comforts Gatsby by telling him that Gatsby is “worth the whole damn bunch put together.” Within the lyrics there are two close friends, Mr. Jones and the narrator, who have a similar relationship to Nick and Gatsby. The narrator asks Mr. Jones to “Believe in me, help me believe in anything.” The narrator tells how he is “down at the New Amsterdam staring at this yellow-haired girl” which relates to Gatsby being in New York City (New Amsterdam) looking for Daisy, who by many is imagined to be a blond (also, daisies themselves are white and yellow). Altogether the brotherhood between Mr. Jones and the narrator parallels that of Nick and Gatsby.
10) American dream – In the 1920’s, or the roaring twenties as they were also called, people lived the American Dream. They moved into the city, went to all the big parties, wore the nice clothes, and drove the nice cars. Gatsby in particular lived this dream, even though he attained it by using illegal methods. The Engineer (the character who sings this song) shares this American dream and wants nothing more than to be able to travel to America to live it. He wants to get rich fast and to do so he plans on expanding his prostitution business, similar to how Gatsby earned his money by bootlegging. The Engineer fills his head with thoughts of Bellaire suites, limousines, champagne, and an all around carefree life. Despite the Engineer living in the 1970’s as he imagines this lifestyle, the American dream has not changed at all from the time of Jay Gatsby in the 1920’s. More than likely, however, if the Engineer managed to get to New York City he would end up like Wilson, a seeker of endless opportunities who found nothing but failure and misery.
The Great Gatsby Scrapbook!
Katie crafted a scrapbook evoking major issues of the era and plot.
Explanation for Scrapbook
The scrapbook is called The Life and Time of Jay Gatsby because I thought it would be a good way to include references to the currents events that were going on in that time period, while also focusing on Gatsby’s life that was described in the novel. I chose to focus on Gatsby because he was my favorite character, and the novel basically revolved around him and his life. Two of the major events that went on during that time period were prohibition and WWI. WWI was extremely important to include because Gatsby was a major in the army and he even won medals. And prohibition touched everyone’s life in some way back in those days. And in the book, there is reference to Gatsby being a bootlegger and involved in some shady business. This is one of the character traits that make him so complex and interesting. Another huge part of the time was the music. It was not called the Jazz Age for nothing. So I had to make a page devoted to the music and the dancing that went on during the 20’s. There is a progression to the scrapbook. In the beginning, Daisy has a page that talks about how she is the love of his life and how he thinks they are forever. And the book ends with a page of Daisy, except this time there is a grave picture on top of her. Because she really was the death of him.
Explanation for Scrapbook
The scrapbook is called The Life and Time of Jay Gatsby because I thought it would be a good way to include references to the currents events that were going on in that time period, while also focusing on Gatsby’s life that was described in the novel. I chose to focus on Gatsby because he was my favorite character, and the novel basically revolved around him and his life. Two of the major events that went on during that time period were prohibition and WWI. WWI was extremely important to include because Gatsby was a major in the army and he even won medals. And prohibition touched everyone’s life in some way back in those days. And in the book, there is reference to Gatsby being a bootlegger and involved in some shady business. This is one of the character traits that make him so complex and interesting. Another huge part of the time was the music. It was not called the Jazz Age for nothing. So I had to make a page devoted to the music and the dancing that went on during the 20’s. There is a progression to the scrapbook. In the beginning, Daisy has a page that talks about how she is the love of his life and how he thinks they are forever. And the book ends with a page of Daisy, except this time there is a grave picture on top of her. Because she really was the death of him.
Stay on Task!!
Andrew was able to compile these five schedules, discovered in the final residences of each main character of The Great Gatsby.
Download Schedules
At first I had the idea to write a narrative depicting a meeting between Daisy and Gatsby during the weeks in which Nick stops visiting Gatsby because he is preoccupied with Daisy. I had this idea because I wanted to explore the psyche of characters other than Nick, in a day-to-day context. This is when I was flipping through the book and came across Gatsby's schedule. I immediately decided that I would write a schedule for each major character depicting "non-events" during the book. The result is a caricature of each characters' common actions and tendencies throughout the book. Rather than completely attack their flaws, I instead poked fun at some lesser habits, such as Jordan's driving, to round off the negative depiction of each character. Despite this one-sidedness, just as Gatsby's schedule indicates the affluent man that he eventually becomes, each of these schedules depict a clear and likely fate for its holder.
Download Schedules
At first I had the idea to write a narrative depicting a meeting between Daisy and Gatsby during the weeks in which Nick stops visiting Gatsby because he is preoccupied with Daisy. I had this idea because I wanted to explore the psyche of characters other than Nick, in a day-to-day context. This is when I was flipping through the book and came across Gatsby's schedule. I immediately decided that I would write a schedule for each major character depicting "non-events" during the book. The result is a caricature of each characters' common actions and tendencies throughout the book. Rather than completely attack their flaws, I instead poked fun at some lesser habits, such as Jordan's driving, to round off the negative depiction of each character. Despite this one-sidedness, just as Gatsby's schedule indicates the affluent man that he eventually becomes, each of these schedules depict a clear and likely fate for its holder.
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