Meaning of the Monster

The Monster is the corporations, the machines, the inhuman controller of America. The text says that the Monster is sick, it's not getting enough money to consume and eventually expel and throw away. (Does this mean that if the monster doesn't get it's food, it dies? Why don't people try to kill it?) The Monster has no morals, it has no love of life, but only of itself. It enjoys destruction. It rewards those who destroy for it, who kill for it. It is taking land away from those who have lived on it for years. Legally, it does belong to the Monster, but the farmers have lived on the land for generations, worked it with their sweat, stained it with their blood, watered it with their own tears (actually that would be bad, tears are salty... but you get the idea), died on it. In their mind, no one has more right to the land than they do. The Monster doesn't even know what the land looks like. It gets others, minions, to do its business. Willy Freeley, the man on the tractor, is one of these blind followers. He plows the land, land that won't be able to take much more plowing anyway, and has essentially become a part of the tractor itself, the machine, the Monster. He is destroying the lives of thousands of people, just so that his own family can live off three dollars a day. This is in contrast to when Muley Graves shares his only food with Tom and Jim just because they're people who need it as much as he does. The Monster doesn't care about people, it controls them. It forces them to bend until they conform to its will, and those who don't, die. The Monster, the corporations, the banks, takes away what its pawns need the most, like an unruly king. We are less a nation of capitalism, and more a nation of a dictatorship, a dictator that isn't human, and yet is living, living for the sole purpose of itself, a ruler we once said we would never live under again.

Am I not turtley enough, for the turtle club?

The turtle represents nature. It is slow-moving, just as nature takes time to grow and replenish, but keeps on walking, like nature continues on growing. The turtle's shell represents the way nature is able to survive and protect itself, regardless of the actions of man. The life span of a turtle and how long their species has existed shows how the years of nature outlast those of man. The turtle is living in Oklahoma during the dust bowl, which was created by man not heeding to nature, when not much water could be found. This again shows nature's resilience as well as nature's way to adapt to any circumstances. The turtle is trying to cross a road, a man-made structure, and is struggling a little. It first has to climb up a hill before it gets to the road, showing nature's ability to grow and overcome obstacles. When it gets to the road, it tries to cross it quickly because the asphalt is hot, symbolizing man's destruction of nature. A car drives by and swerves to miss the turtle, representative of the people who try to be kind to nature, or at least respect it. The woman in the car learns from her mistake and continues driving, but slower this time. People are learning not to mess with nature. Another driver however, swerves to run over the turtle, but misses and just knocks the turtle onto it's back. The man symbolizes, well, The Man, and capitalism, how some people are purposefully trying to destroy nature, or at least don't care about the state that it's in. It takes time for the turtle to get back on its feet, but the turtle continues walking and eventually crosses the road, showing that nature will always be around, no matter what man tries to do to it. As the turtle goes along, it plants seeds behind it, ensuring the continuation of nature and new growth even in difficult situations. When Tom picks up the turtle it shows how man is trying to train nature and bend it to our will. The turtle, in perhaps an act of rebellion, pees on Tom, after it has been wrapped in his coat for a long time.

Jim Casy is a man who was once a preacher, but is now lost, in both his religion and life. He is living in the wilderness and has decided that he doesn't love Jesus, but rather, loves people. He believes that everyone is part of a single soul and that no one can possible be either good or bad. He represents the theme of "We vs. I", and possibly alludes to John the Baptist.

Tom Joad was just recently released from prison after killing a man in self-defense. He is on probation (foreshadow) and is traveling to his dad's house trying to find work and place to stay. He was born into the life of a farmer and doesn't know what to do after prison, especially now that all the crops are dead. Tom represents the theme of anger.

Grapes of Wrath: Chapters 1 and 2

Characters - Tom Joad: a younger man recently released from McAlester prison after four years for good conduct after killing a man; currently dressed in the nice, new clothes they gave him; smokes and drinks; originally from Oklahoma, where he is trying to get to his dad's place to find a job; son of a cropper; not secretive, doesn't care who knows about him, but doesn't talk much.

      the truck driver: a stout man used to the Oklahoma sun; drives trucks for a living; wants to got to school for mechanical engineering; wants to be known as a nice guy; likes to know things, a little nosy; tries to figure people out by looking at them; has a good memory; gets bored driving.

      the waitress: a young girl working in a road-stop restaurant; gets bored easily; probably doesn't like living in Oklahoma.

Plot - Exposition: A truck driver is sitting in a restaurant with a bored waitress. He leaves to go back to his truck and continue driving. A nicely dressed hitchhiker asks him for a ride up the road. The truck driver refuses at first, but then doesn't want to be considered a mean guy and feel like he has to do just as he's told. The hitchhiker hangs onto the truck until they get a little up the road, then jumps in the truck. They sit for a while, listening to the tires. The truck driver tries to figure the man out and make conversation. The hitchhiker doesn't talk much, but then, after knowing that the truck driver is just trying to figure his story out, gets a little annoyed and tells the truck driver about his past: how he was just released from prison after four years for killing a man and is going back to his father's house to try and find work. The truck driver is a little surprised and anxious. Shortly thereafter, the hitchhiker (Tom Joad, as he told the truck driver), tells the truck driver to stop, and he jumps out of the truck. The truck driver continues driving.

Persuasive Essay

Topic: Pro-suicide, or why suicide should not be frowned upon.

Thesis Statement with Order of Development: The generalizations associated with suicide should be seen as incorrect, and the intellectual aspects of the decision to "off yourself" need to be considered. We need to look at the act of suicide itself, why it is practiced, and why we need to change our view of the subject to truly understand this "unseemly" decision.

MLA Citations:

Cholbi, Michael. "Suicide." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2008): n. pag. Web. 11 March 2010.

Dombeck, Mark and Natalie Reiss. "The Nature of Suicide." MentalHelp.net (2007): n. pag. Web. 11 Mar. 2010.

Salvatore, Tony. The Suicide Paradigm. (2007). Web. 11 Mar. 2010.

"I hope that when the world comes to an end, I can breathe a sigh of relief, because there will be so much to look forward to." - Donnie Darko
"If you die you're completely happy and your soul somewhere lives on. I'm not afraid of dying. Total peace after death, becoming someone else is the best hope I've got." - Kurt Cobain
Nirvana - characterized by the extinction of desire and suffering and ...Eden: any place of complete bliss and delight and peace, The complete cessation of suffering; a blissful state attained through realization of no-self; enlightenment;
Suicide from the viewpoints of different cultures (try Jainism, Japan)
Look up Liberalism, Seppuku, Sati, Idealism (Goethe, Schopenhauer, Herodotus), Nietzsche, Heasius, Camus, Hume

Not selfish - donating organs, loved ones are going to have to deal with their death eventually, Is it selfish of those who try to stop others from committing suicide knowing that it is ultimately a person's own choice and that the pain the person is experiencing could be stopped automatically? They should take the person's view on the subject more seriously, why not end all suffering? Why use medication and psychiatrists to TRY to help you, when you have a for sure solution?

Depressed people want an end to their suffering, and what better solution than to really give it an ultimate end?
Depression is shown by feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, and frustration, and I say, are people who are depressed wrong to feel that way if it's all true? Humans are basically worthless, we're destroying ourselves and everything we touch one little step at a time. We are a hopeless civilization. We should all feel frustrated with ourselves and our current worldly situation. The people who realize this early on, or realize it at all, are the ones who have found the truth in life, who aren't living in their own induced sense of what is real and what isn't. They have seen true reality for what it is.

90% of people who commit suicide suffer from a significant psychiatric illness.
Most cases were from Europe and North America (82.2%). The majority (98%) of these had a diagnosis of at least one mental disorder. Among all diagnoses, mood disorders accounted for 30.2%, followed by substance-use related disorders (17.6%), schizophrenia (14.1%), and personality disorders (13.0%).

People who are born into poverty, discrimination, people in Nazi concentration camps deliberately touching the electric fences.

Solve overpopulation -

The Bible contains a number of references of men seeking suicide, either by taking direct action or by asking God to kill them on the spot. In these passages, the authors of the Bible do not appear to consider suicide to be a great moral sin.

It is not "a permanent solution to a temporary problem", but rather a permanent solution to ALL problems, throughout life.

I don't see depression as a disease, I see it as a realization of truth. - Me

"Would it be wrong, would it be right, if I took my life tonight? Chances are that I might." - Papa Roach - "Last Resort"

Suicide: The act of causing ones own death. Suicide may be positive or negative and it may be direct or indirect. Suicide is a positive act when one takes ones own life. Suicide is a negative act when one does not do what is necessary to escape death such as leaving a burning building. - MedicineNet.com

Though 90% of the one million people who commit suicide every year suffer from psychiatric illnesses, the remaining 100,000 people do not.

"Life is like a movie, if you've sat through more than half of it and its sucked every second so far, it probably isn't gonna get great right at the end and make it all worthwhile. None should blame you for walking out early." - Doug Stanhope

"Suicide is a fundamental human right. This does not mean that it is morally desirable. It only means that society does not have the right to interfere." - Thomas Szasz

"Nine men in ten are would be suicides." - Benjamin Franklin

"Suicide was against the law. Johnny had wondered why. It meant that if you missed, or the gas ran out, or the rope broke, you could get locked up in prison to show you that life was really very jolly and thoroughly worth living." - Terry Pratchett

"No one ever lacks a good reason for suicide." - Cesare Pavese

"All healthy men have thought of their own suicide." - Albert Camus

"Suicide is the remedy of pain." - Matt Hartman

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2501/is-suicide-against-the-law

THE FOLLOWING IS MY ACTUAL ESSAY, FIELDING:

"To be, or not to be: that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;

No more; and by a sleep to say we end

The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;

To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come

When we have shuffled off this mortal coil."

- William Shakespeare, Hamlet


Suicide is the world's tenth-leading cause of death, and though 90% of the one million people who commit suicide every year suffer from psychiatric illnesses or substance-abuse related problems, the remaining 100,000 people do not. Benjamin Franklin even said that, "Nine men in ten are would be suicides.". So why kill yourself? And why is suicide traditionally thought of as a bad thing? The generalizations associated with suicide need to be seen as incorrect, and the intellectual aspects of the decision to "off yourself" need to be considered. We need to look at the act of suicide itself, why it is practiced, and why we need to change our view of the subject to truly understand this "unseemly" decision.

Suicide, by legal definition, is the intentional taking of one's own life, or killing oneself. There are many various ways in which people can and do kill themselves, like hanging or shooting themselves, jumping off a tall building, or throwing a toaster into their occupied bath tub. The American Mental Health Alliance-Oregon states that three of the top reasons why people commit suicide are change, choice, and control. Suicidal people normally feel the need to change their circumstances, their life, and fix how they're feeling. Many feel that it is their only choice, that suicide would solve all their problems, which it would, indefinitely. Suicide is also used to show the person that they are in control of their own life. Suicide is normally thought of as a selfish and unthoughtful act. Is it selfish to want out of a bad situation? Or is it selfish of those people trying to keep you from saving yourself? According to the World Health Organization, suicide rates worldwide have increased by over 60% in the last 45 years. Compare this with the second law of thermodynamics, which states that in any system, the entropy can not decrease, but rather tends to increase. Dictionary.com defines entropy as inevitable social decline and degeneration. If we are to believe this standard law of physics, then our own entropy is increasing, the world is getting worse, as suicide rates increase. This growing state of entropy would directly affect one's sense of change, choice, and control, leading more people to commit suicide, not because of mental illnesses, but because of the state of the world in general and how it is affecting the population.

Knowing that the world is an increasingly detrimental place to be, can we say that committing suicide is the wrong decision? Suicide is a choice, a right each and every one of us is entitled to, and not a wrong decision. The choice to commit suicide is the right decision for some. In the world of philosophy, several jurisdictions view suicide as acceptable, and even condone it. Idealists Goethe, Schopenhauer, and Herodotus wrote and spoke about suicide in a positive manner, saying that it was one of life's greatest comforts. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said that. "It is easier to die than to endure a harrowing life with fortitude.". Schopenhauer is known for saying, "They tell us that suicide is the greatest act of cowardice, that suicide is wrong; when it is quite obvious that there is nothing in the world to which every man has a more unassailable title than to his own life and person.". Ancient Greek philosopher, Herodotus, stated that, "Death is a delightful hiding place for weary men.". In his book, "Beyond Good and Evil", Friedrich Nietzsche wrote that, "The thought of suicide is a great consolation: by means of it one gets successfully through many a bad night". Liberalistic and existentialistic views have even gone so far as to promote that one must justify not committing suicide. Psychiatrist Thomas Szasz said that, "Suicide is a fundamental human right. This does not mean that it is morally desirable. It only means that society does not have the right to interfere.". We shouldn't judge others for their choice to kill themselves and call their decision "wrong". Albert Camus, an absurdist philosopher who was even against suicide stated that, "All healthy men have thought of their own suicide," implying that it does not mean that one has a mental problem if they have suicidal thoughts, it means that they are normal. I myself often think on the idea of suicide, and I have no psychiatric disorder nor a history of mental illnesses in my family, I am merely a human.

Historically, suicide has not always been considered morally wrong. There is even a specific subcategory of suicide called dutiful suicide in which the person's suicide is thought to contribute to a greater good. The ancient Romans and Greeks believed that suicide was completely acceptable. Most suicides of the time were due to a defeat in battle. Emperor Nero committed suicide after the Great Fire of Rome, the cause of which is unknown, making sure a grave was prepared for him prior to his death. In the Roman colony of Marseilles, anyone could apply to the Senate wanting to kill themselves and immediately receive the poisonous hemlock plant for free. Athenian philosopher Socrates was despised by the Athenian leaders for making them look like fools in public by his questioning, and was falsely put on trial for corrupting the minds of the youth. He was found guilty, and after drinking the, in this case, prescribed hemlock solution, said, "Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius. Please, don't forget to pay the debt.". Asclepius was the Greek god of healing, and in his statement, Socrates was saying that death is the ultimate cure and instance of complete freedom. In Japan, killing yourself came with a sense of honor and courage. The ancient Japanese act of seppuku, or stomach cutting, was performed only by the samurai, specifically those who didn't want to fall into the hands of their enemies. In India, it was once common for recently widowed women to practice the act of sati. During sati, a dead man's wife would voluntarily lie on or next to her husband's funeral pyre, and proceed to be burned with her dead husband. Men sometimes performed sati, and it was not uncommon for the widow to light the fire herself. Before the funeral, the woman would dress in her wedding garments to prepare for her death with her husband. Sati was seen as expected and considered virtuous at the time. Today, these acts are judged as wrong, and sometimes even considered criminal, but should they be? People today face the same problems as back then. The causes for suicide are the same today as they were back in history, and just as justifiable.

People normally condemn suicide. They say that it is selfish, unfair, and cowardly. Suicide is none of these things. Suicide is a way out, a means of escape that's open to everyone. If the person is truly not wanting to live any longer, they have the right of suicide. Those who view this act as selfish is thinking only of themselves. The accuser is hypocritical. If the person wishing to commit the act believes that they would be truly happier if it were performed, is it not selfish to want to keep them alive? To want to force them into living merely because you still want them here, or their family and friends still want them around? It would be selfish to tell someone their actions would be selfish. Think more about how the person feels, not what you want, isn't that the entire basis of unselfishness? As far as suicide being unfair, suicide is a fundamental human right, and anyone can kill themselves. It is their life, their body, and their choice to live or to die. It is not unfair if everyone is open to the choice, and only some take it. Suicide takes more bravery than any act I've heard of. Committing suicide is the greatest leap of all, more so than say a leap over a river to save a child in a burning house. In most cases, the outcome is entirely unknown to the person, and no one on this earth can even fathom what ultimate death is like. It takes guts to go somewhere, when you're not sure of anything about where you're going, or if it's the right decision, or what your life would be like if you stayed, or even if your attempt will be successful. And yet, knowing nothing about anything, brave people still decide to go throught with their decisions. Suicide is not an easy way out, it is the hardest way out you could possibly think of. It is not cowardly to want to get food if you are starving to death, so why is it considered cowardly to get yourself out of any other bad situation?

Suicide is a choice, a decision, a right, and not a wrong. Suicide shouldn't be looked down on as a permanent solution to a temporary problem, but rather a permanent solution to all problems. Everyone has the right to their own life, and those who decide to take theirs shouldn't be judged for it. If we all just accepted others, the world would be a better place, less full of prejudice and persecution. It is unfair to think wrongly of those who simply want a way out. If you were in a situation where you seriously wanted to die, would you want people telling you how wrong it is to feel that way? Perhaps suicide rates would even decrease if more people accepted those who committed it, rather than condemn them for their natural human thoughts. Comedian Doug Stanhope once said, "Life is like a movie, if you've sat through more than half of it and its sucked every second so far, it probably isn't gonna get great right at the end and make it all worthwhile. None should blame you for walking out early.".

Hawton, K., and K. van Heeringen. "Suicide." The Lancet. Apr. 2009. Print. 11 Mar. 2010.

"Suicide." Women's Web. n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2010.

Bertolote, J.M., Fleischmann, A., De Leo, D., and D. Wasserman. "Psychiatric diagnoses and suicide: revisiting the evidence." Crisis. 2004. Print. 13 Mar. 2010.

Krastev, Nikola. "CIS: UN Body Takes On Rising Suicide Rates." Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 9 Sept. 2006. Web. 13 Mar. 2010.

"Understanding And Dealing With The Risk Of Suicide." Oregoncounseling.org. 17 Jan. 2007. Web. 20 Mar. 2010.

"Suicide Prevention (SUPRE)." World Health Organization. 2010. Web. 20 Mar. 2010.

Fermi, Enrico. Thermodynamics. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1956. Print. 20 Mar. 2010.

"Suicide in Graeco-Roman Thought." Journal of Psychology and Judaism  24.1 (2000). Print. 23 Apr. 2010.

Tacitus. The Annals. Book XV. Print. 23 Apr. 2010.

Kerferd, G.B.. The Sophistic Movement. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Print. 23 Apr. 2010.

Madison, Laurel A.. Journal of the History of Philosophy, 40.4 (2002). Print. 23 Apr. 2010.

Fuse, Toyomasa. "Suicide and culture in Japan: A study of seppuku as an institutionalized form of suicide." Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 15.2 (1980). Print. 30 Mar. 2010.

Hardgrave, Jr., Robert L.. The Representation of Sati: Four Eighteenth Century Etchings by Baltazard Solvyns. Kolkata: Bengal Past and Present, 1998. Pg. 57-80. Print. 30 Mar. 2010.

Gatsby Chapter 9 Journal

Summary: Two years has passed, and Nick is remembering what happened when Gatsby died: how the young boys viewed Gatsby's pool as some marvel; how most of the reports were untrue; when Michaelis' testimony came out, and when Catherine lied; and how Wilson was simply deemed deranged. Nick feels as if he is the only one on Gatsby's side. He recalls calling Daisy, and being told that her and Tom had left on a trip that afternoon. Nick then tried calling Wolfsheim, but couldn't get ahold of him either. Nick was haunted by Gatsby's lifeless body, and needed to find someone for Gatsby. He gets the Butler to send out a letter to Wolfsheim, but Wolfsheim replies saying he has important business and can't attend the funeral. Nick then received a phone call from Chicago, thinking it must be Daisy, but turned out to be one of Gatsby and Wolfsheim's business associates. Gatby's father then arrived., crying. Nick showed him to a guest room, and Mr. Gatz is surprised and proud of his son and all the things he had accomplished. That night, Klipspringer called up and said he couldn't go to the funeral because of a picnic, but wanted his tennis shoes back. Nick hung up on him. Nick goes to New York to find Wolfsheim at "The Swastika Holding Company". The secretary refuses Nick, but as soon as he mentions Gatsby, she allows him to see Wolfsheim. Wolfsheim tells him about how he and Gatsby met and how he got Gatsby into the business. Nick then invites him to his funeral, but Wolfsheim says he doesn't deal with funerals and think about people after they're dead anymore. Nick returns home and Gatsby's father is filled with pride over his son. He shows Nick a photograph of the house sent to him by Gatsby. Mr. Gatz is very sentimental. He brings out an old childhood book of Gatsby's, "Hopalong Cassidy", and flips it open to the back, where Gatsby had written out a daily schedule. It included his daily routine, involving exercise, work, and a lot of studying, as well as his goals, like bathing more often, saving money, not smoking, being better to his parents, and reading more. The funeral was that afternoon, in the rain, but nobody attended except some servants, the minister, Nick, and Gatsby's dad. No one had even sent anything. Owl Eyes arrives to the funeral late. Nick then remembers events that occurred even farther back in time: arriving home from prep school, and then from college, and the good ol' days back in Chicago and the Middle West. He remembers the snow, the street lights, and the sleigh bells. Nick thinks about the East and how perhaps people from the West simply are unable to adapt to it. He remembers moving to West Egg, and then decides to move back West. Before leaving however, he meets up with Jordan. They talk for a bit, and Jordan mentions she is engaged to another man, which Nick doesn't believe. Then as Nick is getting up to leave, she tells him that nevertheless, he did "throw her over". Jordan brings up the conversation she and Nick had about bad drivers. She says that she had met a bad driver, and thought that Nick was more honest and straighforward than he actually was. Nick says he is too old to lie to himself, and then "angry, and half in love with her", he left. That October, Nick sees Tom on the street. Tom goes up to greet him, but Nick doesn't think much of Tom anymore. He asks Tom what he said to Wilson, and Tom says that he told him who owned the car. He says that Gatsby ran over Myrtle, and makes a comment about the dog biscuits. Nick then realizes that in Tom's mind, what he did was entirely justifiable, and that he and Daisy were just careless people, who destroy things, and then just retreat back into their money and carelessness. Nick shakes hands with Tom and then goes back to Gatsby's house. He remembers the parties, and can still hear them in his mind. On his last night, Nick walks down to the beach one last time and remembers the past, and thinks about the future. The book ends with the line, "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back carelessly into the past.".

Motifs: the green light, bad drivers/car wrecks/carelessness, time.

Symbols: The dog biscuits symbolize Myrtle. The green light symbolizes death and hope, specifically those of dreams. Owl Eyes symbolizes the eyes of God.

Allusions: The 1919 World Series incident.

Gastby Chapter 8 Journal

Summary: The next day, Gatsby gets home at dawn. Nick can't sleep and goes over to see him. Gatsby reports that nothing happened, and they start looking around the house until they find cigarettes. Nick advises Gatsby to leave town because they can trace his car, but Gatsby doesn't want to leave Daisy. Nick narrates more about Gatsby's past. He talks about Gatsby's old days with Daisy at her house, and how Gatsby had made Daisy think he could give her security in life. gatsby realized that he couldn't just drop Daisy like any other fling, he realized that she was like a quest for the Holy Grail. Gatsby then tells Nick that he was surprised to find that he loved Daisy and recalls their last day together before Gatsby went to war, sitting tranquilly together by a fire. Gatsby continues speaking to Nick about his past, how well he did in the war, how he got sent to Oxford, and how Daisy didn't understand why he couldn't return. Daisy started dating a bunch of other men, and then finally married Tom. Gatsby got the letter announcing their marriage while he was at Oxford. As morning breaks, Nick and Gatsby go around opening up the windows. Gatsby says Diasy still never loved Tom more than him. Nick then tells us about Gatsby returning to Louisville while Tom and Daisy were on their honeymoon. Gatsby walked the cold, Novermber streets wistfully, remembering his time with Daisy before the war, and wishing he could go back. Nick and Gatsby finished eating breakfast, and one of Gatsby's servants asks if he should drain the pool. Gatsby tells him no. Nick then sits with Gatsby, but finally has to leave, and is late to work. Nick tells Gatsby he'll call him later and tells Gatsby that he's worth more than the whole rotten crowd put together. nick recalls when he first met Gatsby, and they say their goodbyes. Later at work, Jordan calls Nick saying she left Daisy's and wants to see him that afternoon. Nick says he can't and eventually they stop talking and hang up. Nick tries calling Gatsby, but the line is being kept open for a call from Detroit. Nick travels past the Valley of Ashes on his way home and remembers what happened after the night of the accident. Myrtle's sister, Catherine, was drunk and arrived after the ambulance had already left. Someone took her after the ambulance in their car. Crowds of people were gathered around the garage. George kept rocking himself on the couch. Michaelis stayed with Wilson until dawn. George Wilson went a little crazy over the course of the night. He told Michaelis he could find out who the car belonged to. Michaelis keeps getting him to talk so that he can keep his mind off his looming insanity, asking him about his marriage and church. Wilson shows Michaelis a dog leash he found on Myrtle's dresser. It was the dog leash Tom had bought her. Wilson then goes off again about how "he" murdered her and how he can find out who her killer is. Wilson believes that the man in the car was Myrtle's lover. The morning light grows, and Wilson walks over to the window. He speaks about how you can't hide from God, as he looks at the eyes of Eckleberg. Michaelis tells him that it is just a billboard and goes home ot get some sleep. He returns shortly thereafter to find that Wilson has left the garage. Wilson has gone in search of Gatsby, and learns from someone in West Egg (either Tom or Daisy) who Gatsby is and where he lives. Around that time, Gatsby makes his way to his pool, and has finally acknowledged the death and hopelessness of his dream. The butler hears gun shots, and being one of Wolfsheim's men, makes no notice of it. Nick goes to Gatbsy's house when he gets back from work, and can feel something is wrong. The butler, chaffeur, and gardener rush to the pool. There they find Gatsby's body lying in the pool, and Wilson's body in the bushes. The month is now Septmeber.

Symbols: Myrtle's dog leash. Doctor T.J. Eckleberg. Gatsby's yellow car. The Valley fo Ashes.

Vocab. Words

wan - adj. - pale, weak, strained

prodigality - n. - the quality of being wastefully extravagant

feigned - adj. - pretended, assumed, disguised

languidly - adv. - lacking in vigor or vitality

colossal - adj. - extraordinarily great in size, degree, or extent

complacency - n. - a feeling of quiet pleasure or security

levity - n. - lightness of mind, character, beavior, or weight; fickleness; lack of appropriate seriousness

extemporizing - v. - improvising

supercilious - adj. - haughtily disdainful or contemptuous

infinitesimal - adj. - indefinitely or exceedingly small

fractiousness - n. - refractory or unruly, irritable, quarrelsome

Gatsby Chapter 7 Journal

Summary: One night, Nick observed that the parties had ceased occurring over at Gatsby's. He goes over to see if Gatsby is sick, and an unfamiliar butler answers the door. The butler is rude to Nick, but informs him that Gatsby is not sick and says that he will tell him of Nick's visit. Nick then learns from his Finnish servant that Gatsby has replaced all of his servants, and the new ones don't seem very much like servants. The next day, Gatsby and Nick talk on the phone and Nick learns that they all used to run a hotel, were sent from Wolfsheim, and are there because they won't gossip. Nick is then invited over to Daisy's for lunch the next day with Gatsby, Tom, Daisy, and Jordan, and accepts. It is brutally hot the next day, and Nick has an unpleasant train ride to the Buchanan's. Gatsby and Nick arrive at the house and are guided into the cool salon. Daisy and Jordan are awaiting them, but Tom is on the phone in the hall talking to Mr. Wilson about the car. Daisy gets Tom to go make them some drinks, and while he is gone she goes over and kisses Gatsby, saying she loves him. Jordan and Daisy make a slight joke about there being a lady present. A nurse walks in with Pammy, Daisy's daughter. Daisy introduces Pammy to her guests, showing her off, and then the nurse takes her back. Tom returns with drinks, says some 'scientific' nonsense about the sun, and takes Gatsby out on the veranda to show him the view. Gatsby points out his house. At lunch, Daisy suggests they go to town. She says that Gatsby looks cool, but really in subtext it's like she is confessing her love for him, and Tom notices. He is atounded. Tom gets them all up to go to town immediately, and Daisy and Jordan go upstairs to get ready. Tom, Nick, and Gatsby chat for a bit, and then Tom goes inside to fetch some whiskey to take with them. Nick and Gatsby now deduce that Daisy's voice is 'full of money', that's why it charms. Tom decides he wants to take Gatsby's car and Daisy, and have Nick, Jordan, and Gatsby drive in his coupe. Daisy however goes with Gatsby instead, leaving Tom with Jordan and Nick. Tom speaks about the affair he has just witnessed with Nick and Jordan. Tom says he's been investigating Gatsby, and Jordan makes a joke about a medium. Tom has to stop to get gas, at the Wilson garage. Tom and George discuss their conversation they had earlier, and Mr. Wilson says that he needs the money for him and his wife to move West. Tom is startled. Wilson says that he suspects something about his wife, and it is obviously making him physically sick. Tom agrees to give him the car. Myrtle sees Tom's car out the window, and looks on with extreme jealousy because she believes that Jordan is his wife. Tom and Gatsby meet up on the road and Jordan suggests they go to see a movie. Daisy suggests that Tom, Nick, and Jordan go to watch a movie, but that she and Gatsby drive around for a while instead. Tom decides that they should have a further discussion on the matter at the Plaza hotel. They meet up and agree to get a room. Daisy complains about the heat, Tom tells her to stop, and Gatsby defends Daisy. Daisy decides that everyone needs to get a mint julep. They hear a wedding going on downstairs. Daisy remembers a man whom neither of them knew at her and Tom's wedding named Biloxi, who stayed with Jordan, and gave her an aluminum putter, until her dad kicked him out. Her dad died a day later. Biloxi said he was from Yale, which starts the discussion on Gatsby being an Oxford man, which Tom doesn't believe. Gatsby finally tells them that he only went to Oxford for 5 months, after the Armistice deal. Daisy gets up to make drinks, but Tom starts asking Gatsby about what he is trying to do to his household. Daisy answers for Gatsby, saying he isn't trying to cause any problems. Tom goes on about some tangent on how people don't respect the family unit anymore and makes a racist comment about how people shouldn't intermarry. Tom insults Gatsby and his parties. Gatsby gets mad and tells Tom that Daisy never loved him. The two men argue for a time, each getting more angry. Daisy breaks in and makes a comment about Tom's cheating and an incident in Chicago. Daisy breaks down after being taken into the argument and says that she loved Gatsby, but she loved Tom too. Gatsby is baffled. Tom says that he is going to take better care of Daisy, and Gatsby says that Daisy is going to move in with him. Daisy says that she is leaving Tom. Tom talks about Wolfsheim, and how he discovered the truth behind Gatsby's bootlegging drug-stores, and bring up a man named Walter Chase who was threatened to keep silent by Wolfsheim. Nick noticed that Gatsby gets a look in his eye, and sees why people say that he could have killed a man before. Gatsby frantically tries to explain to Daisy, but Daisy just wants to go home. They leave with Gatsby in his own car again, and Nick realizes he had forgotten that it was his 30th birthday that day. Nick is comforted of his fears of a new decade by Jordan, sitting right beside him. We view a scene in which Michaelis, a neighbor of the Wilson's, sees George's sickness and tells him to rest. Wilson decides not to, and asks Michaelis suspicious questions involving Myrtle. This whole time, George has Myrtle locked up inside, which she doesn't take kindly to. Michaelis leaves, and Myrtle runs out of the house, and onto the road. She recognizes Tom's car and believes that Tom is in it, and so she tries to get it to stop, but it turns out that she gets run over (Gatsby and Daisy have no idea who she is). Tom drives by and stops to see what all the racket at the garage is about. Mr. Wilson is freaking out about his dead wife. Tom sees Myrtle's corpse and learns what happened via Michaelis, a policeman, and a black man, who tells him what the car looked like. Tom goes and tell George that he wasn't in the car he was driving earlier, and that he sold it. Tom leaves after some questioning by the policeman, and sobs all the way home. They arrive back at the Buchanan's to find Daisy is already home. Tom invites Nick in, and Jordan asks him to come in, but Nick declines, not wanting to see any of them, and waits outside while Tom calls for a taxi. Gatsby steps out of the bushes and Nick discovers that it was Daisy who was driving the car, and that she had tried to swerve away, but didn't. Gatsby says he'll take the blame for Daisy though. Gatsby says that he is going to wait until Tom and Daisy go to bed before he leaves so that he can make sure Tom doesn't try to hurt Daisy. Nick goes inside to check and see if there is any commotion, but finds Daisy and Tom sitting at the table together, not unhappily, looking as if they were conspiring something together. Nick goes back outside, reports to Gatsby, who says he is still going to wait, and leaves in his taxi.

Allusion: Trimalchio - a Roman novel cahracter who was a freedman who worked hard to gain his wealth. Mendelssohn's Wedding March.

Symbols: Dr. T. J. Eckleburg.

Irony: Tom and George Wilson realize that their wives are cheating on them at the same time.

    There is a wedding going on downstairs in the Plaza, while the Buchanan party is                           upstairs, dealing with relationship issues.

Motif: That Gatsby killed a man. Time - 5 years ago, 30th birthday, three months before.

Gatsby Chapter 6 Journal

Summary: A reporter arrives from New York to interview Gatsby. He doesn't really understand why, until the reporter tells him about his fame and the mysteriousness surrounding his life. Nick goes into the big spiel about Gatsby's life. He starts with how James Gatz changed his name to Jay Gatsby, and first met millionaire-by-mining Dan Cody on his yacht on Lake Superior. Nick goes back and talks about how he was born a nobody in North Dakota, but had a large imagination and had created Jay Gatsby by the time he was seventeen. Young Gatsby worked as a clam-digger and salmon-fisher to make a living and was popular with the ladies, but really only cared about one thing: becoming the man in his mind. Gatsby attended Lutheran College of St. Olaf, but stayed there only two weeks before going back to Lake Superior, where he met up with 50-year-old Dan Cody. Cody took a shining to Gatsby (for that was who James Gatz now was), and invited him on his yacht, the Tuolomee, taking him to the West Indies and the Barbary Coast. Gatsby lived with Cody for five years, circling the continent three times, working almost every position on the boat, including jailor. One night in Boston, the yacht picked up Ella Kaye, reporter and gold-digger. Cody died a week later, and instead of Gatsby getting his inheritance, Kaye got it all through some legal reasons Gatsby didn't understand. After telling Nick all this, Gatsby didn't see him for several weeks, as Nick was gallivanting about in New York with Jordan often. He payed a visit to Gatsby though one Sunday and on that day Tom, along with the Sloanes, rode up on their horses to Gatsby's for a drink. Gatsby and Tom remembered each other, and Gatsby mentioned his meeting Daisy at Nick's. Gatsby was polite towards them, and invited them over for dinner, but the declined and instead invited Gatsby over for dinner out of obligation. They leave before Gatsby is ready however, because they are having a dinner party full of families of "old money", and Gatsby wouldn't fit in. Before departing, Tom makes a comment to Nick about how women "run around too much" these days. A week later, Nick, Daisy, and Tom attend one of Gatsby's parties, and the normal party mood has changed to a sort of harsh unpleasantness. Tom and Daisy don't recognize many of the party-goers, but Gatsby introduces them, calling Tom "the polo player". They see a famous movie star and her director under a plum tree. Daisy and Gatsby dance together, and then go over to sit on Nick's porch for half an hour before supper, leaving Nick "on guard" in the garden. At dinner, Tom eats with a group of party-goers that includes a cute young woman that he seems to have taken a liking to. Daisy gives him a little gold pencil in case he needs to write any addresses down, a stab at his adultery. Daisy is obviously not having a good time, and when Gatsby goes to take a phone call, Nick and Daisy sit themselves down at a table full of drunks, having a conversation about how one girl, Miss Baedeker's, head got stuck in the pool. After leaving the table, Nick and Daisy watch the director and actress under the plum tree again, they seem different from the other partyers, and Daisy says she likes the actress. Daisy is appalled by the party, and Nick sits with her and Tom as they wait for their car. Tom asks who Gatsby really is and if he is a bootlegger, because many "new money" people got rich that way, and Nick denounces him. Daisy tells Tom that she enjoyed the party, just to spite him, and starts to sing with the music in her enchanting voice. Daisy makes a disapproving comment about how most of the people weren't even invited. Tom says he is going to find out who Gatsby really is, and Daisy tells him he got rich on a drug-store chain business. Their limousine drives up, and Tom and Daisy leave. Daisy is worried as she says goodbye to Nick that some other girl will get ahold of Gatsby at the party and erase those five years of devoted waiting. Nick waits until Gatsby returns and they discuss Daisy not liking the party. Gatsby wishes Daisy would just tell Tom the she never loved him and run off with Gatsby himself and get married back in Louisville. Nick tells him that you can't repeat the past, and Gatsby argues against Nick, saying he is going to make everything back to the way it was five years ago. Gatsby then reminisces about those many years ago, remembering his and Daisy's first kiss on that fateful nightwalk many autumns ago.

Allusions: Lutheran College of St. Olaf, the waltz Three O'Clock in the Morning.

Daisy's "green card": Symbol or motif of green?

Gatsby Chapter 5 Journal

Summary: Nick returns home late to find Gatsby's house lit up like the World's Fair, but almost entirely empty. Gatsby goes to talk with Nick, and tells him that he has been "glancing into some of the rooms", in order to make sure everything is perfect for Daisy of course. Gatsby asks Nick is he would like to go to Coney Island or take a swim in the pool, as a sort of payment for Nick agreeing to invite Daisy over. Nick declines, and tells Gatsby that Daisy will be over the day after tomorrow. Gatsby insists that Nick's grass must be cut by his gardener for Daisy. Gatsby then talks to Nick about money, and invites him to join his little confidential business. Nick says he already has enough work, and goes to bed. The next morning, Nick calls Daisy, and tells her not to bring Tom. On the day of the tea-meet, it was pouring rain. Gatsby had Nick's grass cut, and Nick goes into West Egg to fetch his Finn, and some flowers, lemons, cakes, and cups. When Nick gets home though, he sees that Gatsby already took care of the flowers, bringing an entire greenhouse over to Nick's. Gatsby arrives at Nick's house, looking very nervous. They speak about the rain, the grass, and the tea supplies, waiting for Daisy. At two to four (when Daisy is supposed to arrive), Gatsby decides that he needs to leave, but Nick convinces him to stay, just as Daisy arrives. Daisy's car pulls up, and Nick goes out to meet her. They greet each other and Nick makes a joke about the butler's nose. When they go inside, Nick is a little confused because Gatsby has left the living room. Seconds later, Gatsby knocks at the door, looking pale and miserable. Gatsby walks into the living room, and there is utter silence. Daisy is first to speak, saying that she is glad to see Gatsby again. Silence follows. Just as Gatsby says that they have met before, the broken clock on the mantle falls, but Gatsby catches it in time. He apologizes for the clock, and Nick says it's alright. Daisy says that they haven't seen each other for a long time, and Gatsby replies "Five years next November." The tea arrives and Nick and Daisy converse for a while before Nick makes up an excuse so he can leave Daisy and Gatsby to themselves. Gatsby quickly goes along with Nick into the kitchen saying that everything was a terrible mistake, but Nick consoles him, saying that they're both just embarrassed. Gatsby goes back into the living room where Daisy is waiting. Nick goes outside and admire Gatsby's house for half an hour. The rain stops, and Nick goes inside, making as much noise as he possibly can before entering the living room. When he sees the two again, Daisy has tearstreams down her face and Gatsby is ecstatic and glowing. Both are happy. They discuss the halt of the rain, and Gatsby invites Daisy and Nick over to his house for a tour. As Daisy washes her face, Nick and Gatsby wait out on the lawn . While admiring the house, Gatsby says it took him three years to get the money to pay for it. Nick catches this and states that Gatsby had previously said he inherited his money. Gatsby quickly comes up with the excuse that he lost most of it in the panic of the war. Nick asks Gatsby what business he is in, and Gatsby immediately tells him it's none of his concern. He corrects himself however, saying that he was once in the oil and drug businesses, but that he's not involved in them anymore, and asks Nick is he has reconsidered his offer. Just then, Daisy comes out and exclaims that she loves his house, but asks is he gets lonely. Gatsby replies that he has a lot of celebrated people over all the time. They walk through the lovely-smelling gardens and up the marble steps into Gatsby's house. Gatsby gives them the tour, through music-rooms, salons, the library, and other extravagant places, Daisy making pleasing comments on Gatsby's possessions all the way. They make their way upstairs, visiting luxurious bathrooms, dressing-rooms, poolrooms, and walking in on the "boarder", Mr Klipspringer, doing liver exercises. Gatsby finally shows them his own personal quarters, and breaks out a bottle of Chartreuse. Daisy notices Gatsby's gold brush, and uses it. Gatsby begins to laugh from wonderment. Then Gatsby brings out his numerous colorful shirts, which Daisy begins to cry over. It begins to rain again, so they decide to end the tour there and stay inside. As they are looking at the bay from the window, Gatsby makes a remark about the green light on Daisy's porch right across the bay, shielded from view by fog. Nick notices an old photograph of a man and asks who it is. Gatsby tells him that it is Mr. Dan. Cody, Gatsby's deceased best friend. Nick sees another picture, this one of Gatsby on a yacht when he was eighteen, and Daisy exclaims how much she loves it. Gatsby then shows them the newspaper clippings he has collected about Daisy. Gatsby then gets a phone call about some business with a man in Detroit, who seems to think it is a small town. Daisy then points out the pink and gold clouds over the bay, and they admire them. Nick then tries to go so he can leave them alone, but they keep him there, and Gatsby fetches Klipspringer to play the piano for them. They sit in the music room, Daisy and Gatsby near each other, listening to Klipspringer play, but then Nick gets up to say goodbye. Nick walk over to the couch and sees that Gatsby's face is again beaming with bewilderment. Nick thinks about how Daisy couldn't possibly have met up to Gatsby's expectations of her, the illusion he's had for five years. They say goodbye, and Daisy and Gatsby soon forget about Nick, only acknowledging each other. Nick goes back to his house, leaving Daisy and Gatsby together.

Allusions: Marie Antoinette, "The Love Nest", Kant.

Foreshadow: Dan Cody, man in Detroit, Gatsby's illusion of Daisy.

Symbols: the clock on the mantle, rain, the green light - not important to Gatsby anymore, Owl Eyes, Gatsby's shirts, clouds.

Gatsby Chapter 4 Journal

Summary: Gatsby has a few guests over at his house on Sunday morning. Nick gives us the details of many of the guests that attended Gatsby's gatherings throughout that summer in a timestable he made. Gatsby arrives in his fancy car to take Nick out on a surprise lunch. On the way, Gatsby tells Nick that he comes from a wealthy family in the Midwest (San Francisco) and went to Oxford. He also says that his entire family died, the reason for his money. Gatsby tells Nick of his many extravagant travels and the war. Gatsby shows Nick a medal from Montenegro and a picture of him and his buddies at Oxford. Nick believes him after that. Gatsby tells Nick that Ms. Baker will tell him more about himself at tea that afternoon. Gatsby gets pulled over for speeding, but simply shows the officer a card (a Christmas card; Gatsby has connections with the commissioner) and gets off scott free. At lunch, Gatsby introduces Nick to Mr. Wolfsheim, a Jewish mobster wearing cuffs made of human molars, and a colleague of Gatsby. Mr. Wolfsheim reminisces about an incident that occurred at a restaurant across the street in which one of his friends, Rosy Rosenthal, was killed. Mr. Wolfsheim leaves, and Gatsby informs Nick that it was Meyer Wolfsheim that had fixed the World Series in 1919. Nick sees Tom during lunch, and goes over to speak with him, but Gatsby is nowhere to be found at the sight of Tom. Nick is told of gatsby and Daisy's past by Jordan that afternoon: Daisy used to date lieutenant Gatsby, but when he went off to war, Daisy wasn't allowed to say goodbye and ended up being engaged to Tom the next autumn. Jordan recalls to Nick the night before Daisy's wedding, and how Daisy had decided she wasn't going to marry Tom after reading a letter (presumably from Gatsby). The next day, Daisy had recovered, and married Tom. They were happily married for a while, but Tom soon had an affair with a woman from the Santa Barabara hotel. Daisy gave birth to her daughter in Chicago the next April. Jordan then recounts the day her and Nick met at Daisy and Tom's, when Daisy was reminded of Gatsby. Jordan and Nick go for a drive around Central Park, and Jordan tells Nick that Gatsby wants him to invite both Gatsby and Daisy over one day. Nick and Jordan enjoy their romantic drive, ending it with a kiss.

Motifs: Another bad driver - the incident with Ripley Snell and Mrs. Swett. 

Allusions: Stonewall Jackson, the 1919 World Series incident. 

Themes: The corruption of the 1919 baseball World Series represents the corruption of the American dream.

Importance: We learn the history of Daisy and Gatsby, as well as learn more about Gatsby himself, and the business he is in. The subplot between Nick and Jordan thickens.

Vocab. Words

decadent - adj. - characterized by or reflecting a state of moral or cultural decline, luxuriously self-indulgent

risque - adj. - slightly indecent or liable to shock, esp. by being sexually suggestive

armistice - n. - an agreement made by opposing sides in a war to stop fighting for a certain time, a truce

rendezvous - n. - a meeting at an agreed time and place, typically between two people

destitute - adj. - without the basic necessities of life

mesmerize - v. - hold the attention of someone to the exclusion of all else or so as to transfix them

sardonic - adj. - grimly mocking or cynical

distraught - adj. - deeply upset and agitated

inebriated - adj. - drunk, intoxicated

debutante - n. - an upper-class young woman making her first appearance in fashionable society

Gatsby Chapter 3 Journal

Summary: Nick describes the goings-on at Gatsby's: Gatsby is always playing music, having guests over, transporting party-goers in his Rolls-Royce and yellow station wagon, and having large amounts of food (specifically oranges and lemons) delivered to his house. Servants are always running around performing tasks. Gatsby hosts extravagant late-night parties at least once a fortnight with caterers, an orchestra, and lots of booze. Nick is invited to Gatsby's house by a chaffeur, and attends that night. Nick meets up with Jordan and is introduced to some of the guests. Nick hears rumors about Gatsby: that he killed a man, was a relative of the Kaiser, and was a German spy. Nick eats supper with Jordan's party and meets her date, the undergraduate. Nick and Jordan enter the library where they meet Owl Eyes, who is completely drunk, and goes on about how the books are uncut (meaning Gatsby has never read them). Nick finally meets Gatsby, recognizing him from the war. He agrees to take a plane ride with him the next day. Jordan says that she was told Gatsby was an Oxford man, but she doesn't believe it. The party goes on with much dancing and music. The butler retrieves Jordan upon request to speak to her privately from Gatsby. The guests start to leave. Eventually, Gatsby and Jordan return to Nick. Goodbyes are said, and Jordan says she heard an amazing secret about Gatsby, but that she can't tell Nick. Nick and Jordan leave together and see a car wreck on the way out. The car crashed into a ditch and was being driven by a very drunken man and Owl Eyes. Nick walks to his house, and the night is over. Nick then tells us about what he did between these few events: working, seeing a girl in Jersey, enjoying New York. Nick visits Jordan midsummer and recalls the scandal about Jordan, when she cheated during a tournament, and learns why she likes men that are below her level. Nick witnesses Jordan's horrible driving abilities, and they discuss carelessness, the reason why Jordan likes Nick. Nick realizes he needs to break off a relationship with a 'fiancee' back west, and yet still calls himself one of the most honest men hes ever known.

Motifs: Carelessness, bad driving, large eyes, drunkeness.

Symbols: Owl Eyes

Allusions: Jazz History of the World by Vladimir Tostoff

Gatsby Chapter 1 Study Questions

1. To give a tone of optimism and hope about Gatsby, as well as to set up the story for the theme of the death of the American dream. Fitzgerald is trying to set the reader up for the crushing of dreams that comes later on in the book, and also give the reader a sense of Gatsby's attitude toward the situation.

2. Nick was born into a good family, has money, received an education, has a good job, is intelligent, has traveled the world, and has a good personality. Nick says that after he got back from the war, he was less tolerant and more judging, but so far in the novel Nick doesn't seem very judgemental at all.

3. June 7, 1922.

4. Nick is a youngish man from a good family who has money and a good job. He attended New Haven college and works in bonds. He lives in an apartment right next to Gatsby's mansion. Nick is Daisy's second cousin once removed and knows Tom from collee. Nick is nonjudgemental, but wishes her weren't so tolerant because he doesn't really care to know as much as people tell him about themselves. He has many friends, and knows many secrets. People like Nick, but he doesn't care so much for them. Nick fought in WWI, and enjoyed it. He moved to West Egg in Long Island from the West after the war because he wanted a more fast-paced lifestyle. Nick will be a good narrator because he is so unbiased and can tell the story from all of its perspectives.

5. Fitzgerald describes Jordan Baker as "balancing" and compares her to a polite, curious, discontented, slender cadet. This shows how different Miss Baker is from Daisy. Jordan is shown to be more of a strong feminist, as she represents the theme of women's rights, and Daisy represents more of the traditional female. Jordan doesn't feel she needs to impress anyone or try to entertain them, she does whatever she feels like doing, even if that's traveling around, being athletic, and just not caring about things.

6. Nick feels a little awkward around Jordan, and isn't used to her kind of girl. He is surprised by her mannerisms and personality, but is slightly attracted to her nonetheless. 

7. Tom is your typical male chauvinist pig. He thinks he is better than others because he is good at polo and has a lot of money and nice things. He isn't tolerant of others at all. Tom is very disrespectful towards Daisy, and is obviously a horrible husband/person (not that I believe anyone can actually be a good or bad person though), as he is having an affair with another woman in New York, and Daisy knows about it. He is haughty, obnoxious, self-righteous, selfish, and unintelligent. 

8. Nick describes Daisy's voice as low and thrilling. It is enticing and charms people. This reveals Daisy's character. She attracts people to her just by speaking. She is a people-pleaser and enjoys being the center of attention. 

9. Daisy says that the best thing for a girl to be is a beautiful, little fool right after her daughter is born. She is meaning that women are born into a world of eternal sorrow and disappointment, and that it is better for a girl to just not pay any attention to what is going on, not think about what the people around them are doing, even if it is affecting them, and basically just play the happy, dumb blonde. She hopes taht her daughter doesn't end up feeling like she does and is just content living a happy, little lie. This reveals that Daisy has experienced/is experiencing some troubles in her life, that she can't do anything about because she is supposed to be just a stupid girl. She goes along with Tom's affair and pretends not to mind and continues to not do anything about it. Daisy would rather not know anything about the things going on around her, so she can try to just live in her own self-created lie of happiness.

10. I dislike Tom with great intensity, for the reasons stated in question 7. He is allied to Nick in only one way, and that is because they are related by marriage. He also brings Nick into his second life, connecting them further. Tom is a horrible husband. He doesn't care about Daisy at all obviously because he is cheating on her with an older, less attractive woman in the city. He is rude and disrespectful to Daisy and doesn't care about what she has to say in any situation. He sees her as inferior. I'm assuming he doesn't care much for his young daughter either. Tom recently read a book entitled 'The Rise of the Colored Empires' and other "deep" and "profound" books, which he views as scientific and complete fact, revealing to us not only his racistness but his unintelligence as well. Tom feels he needs to find an ego boost somewhere other than in just physical activities now. Nick is surprised by this at first, but then realizes that it's just like Tom to believe in something like that.

11. The Buchanan's are richer than Nick, Nick works, and Nick rents his home.