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February 25, 2006
CRACKED
Article: Kumamoto -- Jerz: American Lit II (EL 267)"Thus the chicken trope unmasks the cowardly Tom and Daisy's "conspiring together" to re-establish the unbrekable, unholy alliance of marriage,cash and status - a fundamental cause of Gatsby's tragedy." This goes along with our classroom discussion about the prevalence of the colors white and yellow - chicken colors. I knew that the fried chicken on the table between Tom & Daisy was not just an arbitrary snack - "chickens" Tom & Daisy conspiring over a plate of dead, fried chicken - this is unsavory and unholy. Kumamoto never mentioned that eggs crack, have to be fertilized to contain life, were the source of choice for the alchemist's elixir, etc. What is the second source of FSF's egg references? Kumamoto never says. Even without knowing the Trimalchio story, our own associations with chickens and eggs are numerous.
Posted by BrendaChristeleit at February 25, 2006 5:42 PM
Comments
Egg-cellent reflection, Brenda.
Posted by: Dennis G. Jerz at February 26, 2006 12:05 AM
HAHAHA You were just WAITING to say that, weren't you? LOL
Seriously, where is the second plausible source of egg references, according to Kumamoto?
Although it's true that the theme of eggs & chickens and everything they symbolize runs through the work, it is secondary to the idea of EYES - Dr. T. J. Eckleburg, the owl-eyed man (the only one to show at the funeral), Wolfsheim's roving eyes, etc., etc. The eyes are the mirror to the soul! The eye references provide such a creepy, tense presence throughout, and contribute so much to the foreboding, that there is no way that the reader can expect a happy ending.
We also talked about the numerous references to clocks and time. Maybe a good pro/con paper would the relative importance of these three sets of symbols.
Posted by: Brenda Christeleit at February 26, 2006 10:05 AM
I would say that cars and telephones are also important devices in this story.
Cars are the cause of Myrtle's death, of Tom's quarrels with Mr. Wilson, and one of the things that Gatsby shows off to others. The fact that the people at the scene of Myrtle's death saw a certain car strike her also leads Mr. Wilson to Mr. Gatsby's home, where he takes his revenge.
Telephones act as important devices in the lives of practically all of the characters, especially considering that some of our most crucial glimpses of them are through telephone coversations (especially near the end of the story).
Posted by: ChrisU at February 28, 2006 8:02 AM
Alright, I never really thought about the man with the "owl eyes" until now after reading this article. Maybe it isn't just about his eyes in this book, but also the fact that he is compared to an owl. Owls are not mentioned in the article as the hen, chicken, or duck. However, what if the man is mentioned so that we get another coparison of a bird. He is one of the "high social class" that comes to Gatsby's parties.
Posted by: OnileeSmith at March 1, 2006 12:58 PM
"...fifth guest's shrill metallic urgency..."(22). This line shot out at me as well, and I would have forgotten about it had Chris not brought up that telephones are play a role. Myrtle is the "fifth guest" who will not be ignored, and Myrtle has enough moxie to call Daisy and Tom's home, where their little girl sleeps! The phrase "shrill metallic urgency" makes my ears ring in itself.
Thanks also to Onilee for observing that the whole bird/chicken/egg trope applies to the owl-eyed man. The owl is a symbol in our ghost-stories as a scary bird that hoot-hoots over boneyards - Here, he hoot-hoots over the fact that Gatsby actually has REAL books-scary in another way!
Posted by: Brenda Christeleit at March 1, 2006 1:32 PM