I don't know how I feel about the end of this book, but I can say that I don't know who I dislike more, Gatsby, Daisy or Tom.
As last week's discussion was moving closer and closer to the end of the book I just wanted to scream. The class was coming so close to what I wanted to say that I couldn't without ruining the rest of the book for everyone else.
Tom seems to have figured out that Gatsby and Daisy are having this affair and he gets extremely jealous, but in my opinion he doesn't deserve to be. Look at him. He is having an affair with the lady at the Gas Station! What right does he have to judge his wife or even Gatsby. Just because he doesn't want to admit the fact that she is doing just what he is. He pulls out the whole "YOU MARRIED ME!" argument when really she could throw the same thing back in his face. And then, when he finds out that it wasn't Gatsby, but his own wife who hit his girl he still blamed Gatsby and it ended up killing him. He even sent the husband of the woman after Gatsby knowing that he wasn't the one who did it.
Then Gatsby continues to court Daisy knowing that she is married. He even has the odasity to tell Tom that Daisy never loved Tom in the first place. That he was only her substitute because Gatsby wantsn't around. What kind of person is he?! We discussed whether or not Gatsby was a selfish person or if he was just hypocritical. I don't know what to make of him, but I do know that towards the end of the book he certainly was full of himself. I do have to agree with the class though. It was a little bit rude of him to go after Daisy and then to say all those things to Tom.
And that leaves Daisy. How could she do this to these two guys! I have words for girls like her and none of them are nice. I mean come on now. You married Tom, you do all kinds of things for him and even say things to him that makes everyone including yourself and him believe that you love him dearly. Then when you are left with a choice about which you want and are put on the spot cower like the girl you are. She angers me in so many ways it's unbelievable.
I think in the end the one that I dislike more is Daisy. She kills a person and lets Gatsby take the blame, she cheats on her husband, she leads another man on, and then says nothing about this person she claims to love with all her heart. I really don't like people like her.
Tiffany
Posted by Tiffany Brattina at February 16, 2005 4:26 PMI have to totally agree with you about Daisy. To be nice, I will say that she is a horrible person. One thing that bugged me was that she was responsible for the death of two people, and what did she do, she skipped out of town with Tom. They don't even make appearences again until two years later, at least Tom anyway. I guess she figured her job was done and she could leave. Oh yeah get this, I was researching the other day for the close reading, and Daisy was actually based on a real person that Fitzgerald had dated, so this all has me wondering.
Posted by: Sue at February 16, 2005 7:34 PMto answer your question that you left on my site, the lewis gun referance came from the car ride to lunch. Gatsby picked up nick and they rode to lunch. He show the medal he earned from bringing the two lewis gun divisions forward. i hope that is what you were asking about.
In response to your entry, Gatsby till the end loves Daisy, but he did take the fall for the murder of myrtle and told Nick he would. In a way, he wanted Daisy to go on with her life and me the mother to her daughter. It might have been wrong to pursue her to begin with, but in a way he made things right again in the end. Or at least in my mind. lol
Tiffany, your blog has a lot of great points in it. All three of these characters had their faults, that much seems obvious. For me, though, Tom was the biggest jerk. Like you said, he gets mad at Daisy for flirting with Gatsby and all the while, he’s having an affair with XL-Girdle-Myrtle. And on top of this he espouses family virtues, scoffing at society’s ever increasing immorality. Meanwhile, he’s not winning any husband of the year award! He’s arrogant, rude, stuck in the past, snobbish, critical, and unloving, besides he moves Nick around like a checker piece. This treatment is also seen in his relationship with Daisy. So for me, Tom gets the biggest jerk of the year prize but the other two are not exactly given gold stars either.
Posted by: John Haddad at February 17, 2005 5:39 PM