Jesus wasn't kidding when he told his disciples, "There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known..." Mat. 10:26. As Wilson says, “God sees everything.”
Illusion of Popularity….
It is a pity that it took the man's death to show the level of friendship he had in his life, but it was shown either way. No one came to the funeral, apparently no one cared. His business buddies cared more about themselves then their former friend and all the partiers, of whom a great number of which probably couldn't even have picked him out in a crowd, forsook his forlorn decaying body. Where was Jordan, who at the very least conspired with Gatsby concerning Daisy? Only Nick and Mr. Gatz and Owl Eyes and a few servants showed up to the man's funeral, dispelling the myth of his popularity...of his greatness. Even Tom pointed out this idea, saying, "I know I'm not very popular. I don't give big parties. I suppose you've got to make your house into a pigsty in order to have any friends..." Not just that, you have to pay off your friends, and evidently this level of friendship ends with the passing of your life.
Illusion of Love…
Where was the woman who had kissed him full on the mouth and professed her love? Daisy left with the man she claimed she had no love left for. Without Daisy, Nick pointed out, Gatsby was left with nothing. He felt married to her, that was all.
Illusion of Morality…
He took what he could get, ravenously and unscrupulously… His profession, at least initially is bootlegging, and currently, is probably much worse, at least if we can believe Tom. We do know for sure that he’s attempting to cheat with another man’s wife. That should stand for something.
Illusion of Greatness…
Gatsby led people to believe that he was, as Meyer said, an Oggsford man. He didn’t mind the fact that the truth was a little less impressive, that he had been their only as a visiting soldier. Gatsby's own father, could only lament, "if he'd of lived, he'd of been a great man." All of the suits and fancy cars and an incredible house, none of it meant anything in the end. None of it could travel into eternity with the man, all of it stayed to rot. The greatness of the man, if there was any truth to the line, died with the man.
Still, I was sad to see him go. Really, I had to put the book down! I kind of liked the old sport, if you know what I mean. In his own way, he was great. He had risen from the challenge of a penniless man, done “extraordinarily well in the war” and then, morality aside, became great in the world of wealth. And then finally, we still study the man, still try to get inside his head, the memory and legacy of the Great Gatsby still stays with us yet.
John,
Great job! I enjoyed your blog, as well as your oral presentation in class. I must say that we definitely viewed Gatspy differently in this novel. You make great arguments and solid evidence, but I feel it can be argued either way. It seems to be split equally as to whether Gatspy was great or not... but that is okay because everyone takes something different from it. The characters in The Great Gatspy seemed to feel threatened by but also interested in Gatspy. Maybe it had much to do with his mysteriousness but also his extravagant lifestyle. He was important enough to be the topic of conversation among the high society. I believe that Gatspy was a great man but just very few people really knew him. The judgments we pass about others often are rushed and not true... We can only read about him from Nick, and see that although Nick hadn't become good friends with any of the other characters, he definitely accepted Gatspy and found him to be a good person in the end. I am rambling about a lot of non-sense now, it is after 3 am and I am wide-awake... so I've been trying to get into the blogging! Haha. But honestly, Gatspy is still someone that I think about. He has been portrayed in a way that doesn't really reveal his entire self to us, but it leaves us wondering. I enjoyed this novel and am looking forward to discussing many others this semester ! :)
Kayla,
Thanks for your comment, I can understand getting the blogging done;) Yeah, Gatsby, was a character, that's for sure, and every year I'm sure Dr. Jerz's students will continue the Great Debate concerning Mr. Gatsby.
Posted by: John Haddad at February 23, 2005 04:25 PM