Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Chapter 7 Socratic Discussion

Please read the following directions before you begin:
a. Answer the following questions regarding the subsequent prompts; I expect textual evidence as possible much as  and a reflective response from each of you.
b.When you are done you must write a question; start with interpretative level first (stay in the text) and then you need to start answering people's questions.  Keep refreshing your page to read new responses and questions that your classmates write.  Respond to at least 4 of your classmates questions/ideas/responses; keep the thread moving and continue to ask solid questions-I expect you to challenge each other as there is so much to discuss in this chapter.  I will let you know when we are transitioning.  If you are going to agree/disagree or ask a question towards someone, out their name at the beginning.

For each individual to answer:
1. What does Gatsby mean when he says that Daisy's voice is "full of money" (120)?
2.  What is the significance of the passage when Nick realizes he turned 30 (135-136)?
3.  What is the ultimate climax of this chapter and what do you feel about the tension?  Do you feel for the any of the characters?
4.  Why did Fitzgerald describe the way Myrtle died in the manner he chose (breast flopped open, mouth open.)? Analyze the physical description given.

96 comments:

  1. Why does Fitzgerald emphasize the heat?

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    1. In this chapter I believe Fitzgerald emphasizes the heat because of the enormous tension between all of the characters, as if everything is "heated" between Gatsby and Tom. Everyone there knows that sooner or later there will be a great fight and bicker.

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    2. I agree completely with Logan, I feel Fitzgerald is showing how there is so much tension between the characters that its just getting heated physically and emotionally and that its getting so hot its unbearable and metaphorically there going to catch on fire it's so hot.

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    3. Logan, I didn't even think about that. Great point. Now that you say that I agree. On page 114 in the last paragraph it says, "The next day was broiling, almost the last, certainly the warmest, of the summer. As my train emerged from the tunnel into sunlight, only the hot whistles of the National Biscuit Company broke the simmering hush at noon. The straw seats of the car hovered on the edge of combustion; the woman next to me perspired delicately for a while into her white shirtwaists, and then, as her newspaper dampened under her fingers, lapsed despairingly into deep heart with a desolate cry." When I read this I counted 11 heat references. Why do you think Fitzgerald used this kind of diction in this paragraph? Also, he used the word white, why would he uses this color now? Why not another color?

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  2. Do you think Daisy "killed" Myrtle? Is there any evidence that might show this?

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    1. I was wondering the same thing. Going way back to the first chapter on page 15 down at the bottom, "The telephone rang inside, startlingly, and as Daisy shook her head decisively at Tom the subject of the stables, in fact all subjects, vanished into air." Later on page 16 Daisy is telling Nick the day she had her daughter, ""Well, she was less than an hour old and Tom was God knows where. I woke up out of the ether with an utterly abandoned feeling, and asked the nurse right away if it was a boy or girl. She told me it was a girl, and so I turned my hear away wept. "All right," I said, "I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool-that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool."" When people are fools like Daisy, they choose to ignore the world. I think Daisy knew all about Tom's affair, but thought it would go away if she didn't think about it. If your husband doesn't show for hours after you have a child, you couldn't help but wonder where he is. I also think Daisy knows it's Myrtle. She has a lot of friends and people just LOVE to gossip. So when she saw her on the road it wasn't a mistake. People don't make mistakes like that.

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  3. Why does Gatsby view Daisy's child with surprise?

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    1. Daisy confesses her love on page 116 when she kisses Gatsby and says, "You know I love you?", and Gatsby finally gets the sense that the 5 years they were apart just disappeared. It was no longer important because they were together again, and it was almost as if nothing has changed. This illusion is shattered when Daisy's daughter is brought into the room. She becomes a symbol for there lives in the past 5 years, and how time caused them to grow apart. This young girl is proof that this time can not be forgotten, even though he tried so hard to let it go. You see this when the novel states, "Afterward he kept looking at the child with surprise. I don't think he ever really believed in its existence before."

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    2. I just had a wild thought out of the blue! But maybe Gatsby views Daisy's child with surprise because maybe he thinks that if things had worked out years ago that it could be his child with Daisy.

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    3. I agree, Sophie. I think that all the other hints at Daisy moving on and the past being unrepeatable are little and Gatsby can push them out of his mind but seeing this child is concrete proof that he lost her once and he cannot ever do that over.

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  4. 1. I think he means that since Daisy only wants a man from old money, and is very driven by class and money sand that is the way she thinks her life should be lived.

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  5. 1. From the moment that Gatsby says “Her voice is always full of money,” on page 120, Nick expresses his mutual belief. Nick continuous on to say that it was the inexhaustible charm that Daisy possesed. In all honestly, he referring to how Daisy has still remained the golden girl. However, it isn’t just a coincidence that he metaphorically uses money. It is just another contribution to the motif of wealth the is expressed throughout the group and especially in this chapter. I don’t believe that Daisy would have interpreted the compliment that Gatsby wanted it to be interpreted. This just alludes to the discombobulated communication that they are not able to share.

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  6. What is Fitzgerald saying at the end of this chapter with the idea of dreams? Are people's dreams just illusions? Do they ever come true? (think about Gatsby and Myrtle specifically)

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    1. i think hes making the point that dreams are these things that we create as an unattainable thing and if we ever actually reach it we get scared because we never thought it would come to fruition.

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  7. 2. I think nick thinks of Gatsby as some sort of god, so when he says things like how old he is, Nick gets set back in his mind and realizes that Gatsby is normal, like in chapter 3 Nick says Gatsby’s signature is even majestic.

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  8. What did you notice about the very last scene of the the chapter between Daisy and Tom. what did you notice between them? What does Nick notice? what do you think Tom and Daisy were saying to each other in the kitchen? Do you think Tom knows about what Daisy did?

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  9. 1) I feel like, based on the context, they are praising her voice. “that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song of it…. High in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl. . .” This quote shows how they are in awe of her.
    2) When Nick realizes he’s 30 he says: “Before me stretched the portentous menacing road of a new decade.” as the meaning of portent is something of an omen it would seem as though he is not looking forward to the next 10 years. This is important because it tells you how Nick sees his current life.
    3) The climax is when Tom tells Daisy to go home in Gatsby’s car. It shows the end of the relations between them: “I think he realizes that his presumptuous little flirtation is over.”
    4) I think he described it that way to make you feel for her because it makes her death sound so miserable.

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    1. I also believe that Nick is focusing more on his future than he is on the past 30 years of his life because of the textual support that you added. This is something that differentiates Gatsby and Nick. Nick looks in the correct direction while Gatsby cannot escape the best. Nick has had an interesting past like Gatsby but he doesn't bother by looking into it too much.

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  10. Based on my question above (regarding if you think Daisy "did it") Now that you have seen characterization about Daisy, and then this terrible scene happens, do you believe Daisy is cunning/shrewd? Is she manipulative; might she be the smartest character in the story? Did Daisy know more than she led on? Was she using Gatsby to get back at her husband?

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    1. One more thing-why didn't Nick tell Gatsby?

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    2. I think Daisy may be slightly manipulative, but I think this got out of even her control. Based on how unsure she is of her feelings when they are all in New York, I think she has sort of lost it. Everyone at that point, is trying to make the decision for her and she doesn't even know what is the right decision. She may have thought she knew what she was doing and how she felt in the beginning but know that is is all unfolding in front of her, it has gotten out of hand.

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    3. I agree completely with Alyssa, I think Daisy knows her affect on men and knows a lot of men are in awe of her so she can use it to her advantage. I dont think she means to do it intentionally with that thought in her mind, but knowing she can get away with it.

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    4. Responding to you, Mrs. Comp, I don't think that Nick said anything to Gatsby because I don't think he had the idea that Daisy would be getting back at Tom. I think that, as her cousin, he saw her as a much sweeter person than she potentially was. I think that Nick really also tried to see the best in everyone, and in this case it prevented him from even thinking Daisy would just be using Gatsby.

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    5. I don't believe that Daisy is very manipulative. It's not like Daisy forced Gatsby to take the blame or force anything onto him after she hit Myrtle. She isn't stupid but she doesn't do anything in this scene that makes her smart. She is just lucky that Gatsby is willing to do so much for her. She appears so smart because Gatsby acts in such a dumb manner.

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  11. When you realize that your life is not how you want it, do you go on going though the motions or would you do everything in your power to change your situation?

    Would you ever start over (move somewhere and disassociate form your "friends")?

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    1. Ethan- that is a great question. I think it depends on the person and their life. I think in this book everybody is too chicken. We know Tom and Myrtle had an affair and we know Daisy and Gatsby are having an affair. Nobody wants to end the life they have now so they cheat to try to get what they want. Before Gatsby had a little more courage. He changed his name for James Gatz to Jay Gatsby. He didn't have the life he wanted so he did something about it.

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    2. So many people have moments in their lives where they stop and realize that they are not heading in the direction that they would like. However, not many people actually take action and switch their course direction. I believe that we absolutely have all the power to make this transition but we don't necessarily have the drive or motivation.

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    3. Ethan- I think that is the ultimate question of the book, and of Gatsby himself. And it is exactly what he did, is move away to create a new self and do everything he could to complete an impossible task, repeat the past. But that is just it, I do not think people always have the power to change the situation, that is why taking it for what it is and learning/taking away positives is a good way to see things. But, going through the motions, I think, is never good if you are not satisfied. I think this is somewhat how Gatsby was behaving. He knew deep down that he had lost Daisy and yet, he didn't directly confront her about his love for her, he sat back and assumed which is why Daisy was so unsure, and it ultimately led to a loss for everyone.

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    4. This is a really good question that makes you think. I think people go through the motions but when they realize they are not doing the right thing they do try and change as much as the can.

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  12. 3. There are a lot of conflicts in this chapter, but i think the biggest is when Tom becomes really suspicious of Gatsby and does some research on his past and finds out something good. When he confronts him about it and openly tells everybody about it, the truth comes out that it was Daisy driving the car, not Jay.

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  13. Why is Tom getting jealous when he has been the one cheating in the relationship for a while and Daisy is just dazed by Jay?
    Isn't that hypocritical?

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    1. Nina- I think this is absolutely hypocritical! I was thinking the same thing. I think it comes down to a power struggle. Tom is upset he doesn't have total control over Daisy and he knows this, and it's making him angry.

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    2. I agree with both of you! I was thinking about this while I was reading this chapter, and what I think it keeps coming bask to is a power struggle. Don't you think that mostly everything done in life has the motive of achieving some sort of power, whether over other people, or through something else? Through the whole story, it might be focused on the diffrences between old and new money, or the struggle to obtain Daisy, but I think it's a power struggle. Each character has their own agenda and ways to gain power for themselves, and when all of those clash at the same time is when they are mad at the others because in that moment they have lost some of their own power when they see someone else with it.

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    3. I agree when you say that he is hypocritical. I think Fitzgerald wanted an ironic outcome between Daisy and Tom's relationship. I think that Daisy is also being hypocritical and doesn't realize it. She has been so hurt and tormented by the affair that Tom has that she shouldn't act out in the same way because she understands the awful affects that it will have on Tom. She doesn't even feel bad after Tom acts out.

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    4. thats what i kept asking myself because its not like he is the one being cheated on. he cheated on daisy from day one and after he missed the birth of their child to be with is mistress she still decided to stay with him and hasn't even really thought of leaving him for gatsby that is a man who is devoted to her no matter what

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    5. It is and Tom just wants to keep Daisy because she is that golden girl and now that somebody else wants her, he wants her more.

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  14. If there are any critical questions and responses you would like to pose, please do through this thread: Here are a couple of mine:
    Do you believe you only have so much time to get what you want? Do we desire more love or comfort in our lives? Is there too much escapism from our problems? Why is it that we don't confront them?

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    1. Why do people stay living the life they are because they feel they have to? Why is it so hard for people to find happiness and contentment in themselves?

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    2. Mrs. Comp, is escapism the problem?

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    3. Why do we let ourselves get bogged down by the past?
      If dreams are not attainable, why do we pursue them?
      How do our personal goals/plans affect how we treat other people?

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    4. Why is fake affection seen as better than loneliness?

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    5. Where do we get theif society says ideas to build up an image of perfect if there is no such thing as perfection?

      If society says discrimination is wrong and immoral, why is the main goal in life to be "the best" creating the very class system said to be immoral?

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    6. Is there really ever a silver lining?

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  15. 1.) When Gatsby says Daisy's voice is "full of money" he means that she cannot speak of her and Gatsby because she is too busy with metaphoric money that tom has put in her mouth and that she has a fear of losing her high end lifestyle.
    2.) The significance of the passage when Nick realizes he turns 30 is that he see that he was so wrapped up in Gatsby's life and all the drama around him he hasn't even token the time to look at reality but instead be caught up in this fantasy of Gatsby and Daisy. He realizes that it's time to grow up almost it's time to start living his own life.
    3.) The climax of this chapter I think is when Gatsby tells Tom, "your wife doesn't love you, she's never loved you she loves me."pg.130. I thought this was the breaking point for Tom and Gatsby mainly because Gatsby is so sure that he can reclaim the past even though five years has been a long enough time for Daisy to fall in love with Tom just as much. I feel for nick the most because poor guy has to sit and watch these two corrupt men fight over who's good enough for a girl who mainly only cares about money for the most part. On top of that it's Nicks birthday and he has to sit by and watch all this instead of celebrating for himself.
    4.) He describes the way Myrtle dies as her being open, flopped open, mouth open they had torn open her shirtwaist. I think Fitzgerald is trying to show that this was the main breaking point in the book, the point where the house of cards Gatsby has build with Daisy just got knocked down and opened up all the secrets all the hidden corruption with ever character in this book has been ripped open. That almost the gates of hell have been opened for Gatsby's and Daisy's relationship like that the clock Gatsby caught earlier in the book just hit the ground and smashing on the floor instead of Gatsby catching it.

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    1. I really like what you said Preston, about Daisy fearing losing her high lifestyle, and that is bogging her down, or filling her mouth metaphorically with money.

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    2. Agreeing with Mandee, Preston, I think that is a very unique way to look at the statement and one that reveals a lot about Daisy.

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  16. 1) When Gatsby says Daisy's voice is full of money he is talking about how her voice is so appealing. All throughout the book it is said multiple times that Daisy has an appealing voice but no one could quite figure out what made it so appealing. In this moment Gatsby figures out what makes her voice so inviting. It is that it is full of money; money represents promise, opportunity, love, and extravagance. Her voice is full of all of these things.

    2) The significance of the passage where Nick realizes that he turned 30 is that it shows a realization of what is happening around him. Nick has been in such a daze for the past couple of weeks or months that he has been spending time with Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, and Jordan. He wakes of from this daze to finally see the world around him and to see what is really going on. This is showing the time period he lived in. People were careless, so careless that they even forgot their own birthdays.

    3) The ultimate climax of this chapter to me is when everyone is at the Plaza and Tom and Gatsby start fighting over Daisy. There is a quote that alludes that the climax is coming on page 114, "The next day was broiling, almost the last, certainly the warmest, of the summer." The next day that is referred to in this quote is the day when Tom, Daisy, Nick, Gatsby, and Jordan go to town. The "last day of summer" is like the end, where everything goes downhill from there. That is exactly what happens in the story. There is a lot of tension in the room at the time of the climax. Tom and Gatsby both believe that Daisy loves only them when Daisy loves both of them. I feel for Daisy because I would imagine it would be terrible to have to choose between two men that you love because you are going to hurt one of them either way.

    4) Fitzgerald describes the way Myrtle dies, "but when they had torn open her shirtwaist, still damp with perspiration, they saw that her left breast was swinging loose like a flap...The mouth was wide open and ripped at the corners, as though she had choked a little in giving up the tremendous vitality she had stored so long." He describes it this way because Myrtle is exposed just like Tom and Daisy's secrets are exposed in this chapter, everything is out in the open now.

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  17. 1. When Gatsby says that Daisy's voice is full of money I think he's talking about her sounding rich when she talks. Daisy has a way about her that let's people know that she is proper and from money, which might strike Gatsby a little harshly, because he knows he's not actually from money. He's just faking it with the money he has now.
    2. Nick realizes he's getting old. In psychology class last year I learned that the average person goes through something called the age 30 transition, where they take a step back and start to reevaluate things in their lives. That's exactly what Nick is doing, he's just extremely depressed about it. I think he's so depressed because he sees all these people around him with such "significance" in their lives, and he's got absolutely nothing, but thoughts that narrate a book.
    3. I think the most intense moment is when Jay and Tom directly get into a verbal argument about Daisy's love. Especially when Gatsby states that she never loved Tom. That statement immediately put Daisy in the middle of an argument that she didn't want to be a part of and it made tensions a lot higher.
    4. What strikes me most in the description of Myrtles death is when it states her, "...mouth was wide open and ripped at the corners, as though she had choked a little in giving up the tremendous vitality she had stored so long." The reason that's so interesting to me is because I have no clue what "vitality" she was holding. She didn't have any inner strength exhibited pushing her through some kind of tough situation, unless she turned super human after getting hit-n-run, which obviously didn't happen. Myrtle wasn't some inspiring character to me at all so it makes me wonder a lot about what that "vitality" she was holding actually was.

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    1. I disagree with you, Josh, when you said that the significance of Nick turning 30 was that he was depressed and didn't have the same things as the people around him did. As we are seeing the story completely through his eyes, I would say that we see that he kind of can see the whole picture, and that he has a much broader view than the rest of the characters. I really don't think that he wants to be in the same kind of situation Gatsby, Daisy, and Tom are in, and he also doesn't want to be one of the partiers at Gatsby's house because he can see how fake and empty those people are. He might want a girl, yes, but I don't think that he is regretting not being one of the rest of them.

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  18. 1. This is one of the quotes I used to analyse. When I read this, I thought right away, Gatsby is a gold- digger. He wants to be in old money so bad he would be willing to marry for money. When Daisy does this with Tom, Gatsby is upset with her, yet he wants to do the exact same thing. He is being a hypocrite. Gatsby sees this young girl with a lot of money so he wanted to take a chance with her. Nick and I were thinking the same thing. After that quote Nick says, “That was it. I’d never understood before. It was full of money- that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it…” Gatsby is part of that American scam, the get rich quick idea. I also found it interesting that he used the word rose. There are other words Fitzgerald could have said. This leads me to think that the garden motif is used. Rose, Daisy, all of it.

    2. When I read this I kinda began to laugh. It was at such a random time. At the time he says this there is so much hostility going on then Nick chimes in that it’s his birthday. I also have found the motif of the number three in the book. Then after I read this, saying he was thirty I thought it was interesting. Why 30? Why not 32? About two thirds of the way down it says, “...Road of a new decade.” This is a new chapter in Nick’s life and it’s also a part in the book where there is no going back. Once they hit that road, it’s of no return.

    3. I thought the climax of the chapter was on page, 138-140, the car accident. In this chapter the color red wasn’t mentioned once. Yet in other chapters it was used at least four or five times. It’s like the color was all used up. I think they are all fools. You know a death will be highly investigated, it was a car vs. pedestrian, who then took off. Daisy will be found out. I don’t feel a single bit of sympathy for Daisy, she messed up. I don’t care what kind of day you’re having you can’t hit a person with a car and take off. She could have missed Myrtle Wilson, she could hit the brakes, hit the other car, swerve the other way. I do feel a little bad for Gatsby, if he does take the blame for all of this. On page 143 he says, “”But of course I’ll say I was.’” This makes me dislike Daisy even more. If she does end up letting Gatsby take the blame for it, it would make me angry. How could you live with yourself. You just ended a person’s life, a living being person. At least stop and own up to it; if not the rest of her life will be awful.

    4. Death is always a sad thing. It’s even harder to deal with when it is caused by trauma. Working on ski patrol we have the crazy people that do dumb things that cause them a life of pain. I have seen and heard a lot of things. Whenever I see/ bring a backboard I hope the person will be alright. Sadly this isn’t always the case. Sometimes a person is paralyzed and sometimes they walk away just fine. It downright sucks that Daisy stole the life from Mrytle. Even if Mrytle wasn’t happy, that still wasn’t her place. The death described was something you see in the movies, “Mouth open”, “No need to listen to a heart beat.” It makes it sound scary and awful.

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  19. 1. After Gatsby says that Daisy's voice is "full of money", Nick thinks to himself, "that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle in it, the cymbals' song... Golden Girl". And I think that's what makes Daisy or any golden girl so appealing, its the way the talk. Their mouths are full of money and when talking it makes others feel rich, and that's why men wanted to have a golden girl, so that they could be rich. And I think that Gatsby is a smart character who understands, or at least thinks that the only way to be truly rich is with Daisy.

    2. The significance of Nick's passage when he realizes he is thirty is a bit complicated. He says that thirty is a time of "promised loneliness, a thinning list of single men know, a thinning briefcase of enthusiasm, thinning hair". Nick makes 30 sound as though this is the time when men begin to lose their lives and lust that's in them. In a way I think that Fitzgerald was saying that as Nick realized that his life was "thinning" so was the summer. But at the end he says that "the stroke of thirty died away with the reassuring pressure of her hand". So I think Fitzgerald is trying to say that even though the future may seem glum there will glimmers of happiness.

    3. The ultimate climax was more a section of this chapter, rather than a passage. I think it starts on pg. 129 at the bottom until pg. 135 towards the middle. Gatsby tells Tom that Daisy isn't in love with him, never was, and never could be. But the two banter back and forth calling each other out on little things. It was a fight between the best, and Daisy, Nick, and Jordan all had to watch. But as the two go at it, Tom brings up how Gatsby got his money, "he and Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter." And I think it's at this point when Tom as won, we don't know what he has won, just that he has. And during this entire scene I feel for Daisy because many word are flung into her mouth and her emotions are told of her, but we never truly see or hear what she is thinking or feeling.

    4. Fitzgerald describes Myrtle as, " her life violently extinguished", "she had choked a little in giving up the tremendous vitality she had stored so long". I think he describes her in this way to give more importance to who she was to Tom and how the world really saw her. Her death was violent and described somberly, to show her in-importance to the world. But the way her mouth was described, "ripped at the corners" was to show that there was more to her than what she lived for.

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  20. 2. Starting on page 135, Nick explicitly says aloud, “...I just remembered today’s my birthday,” not particularly to anyone but aloud to the room. He then thinks that a new decade has been stretched in front of him. He almost views it as a rebirth. Time doesn’t stop in the book. It’s not like Nick has this moment where he can reflect over the fact that he is now thirty and all the other characters stop their thoughts and actions. Even when Nick is being driven back to Long Island he is still mulling over the thought. Nick believes he is over his peak and thirty of his years die in the same afternoon that the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby is obliterated.

    3. The ultimate climax of this chapter is on page 137 at the very moment that Gatsby’s car hits Myrtle. The scene is built up very well by alluding to her death but then beginning a descriptive paragraph starting with, “The “death car” as newspapers called it, didn’t stop; it came out of the gathering darkness, wavered tragically for a Michaelis wasn’t even sure of its color-” There are so many new tensions that I didn’t realize could get any tighter. The immense fact that Daisy still doesn’t realize that Myrtle is Tom’s mistress is almost shadowed by the even stronger hatred that Tom now has for Gatsby. I don’t believe that the incident was specifically anyone’s fault. It is described so in depth that there was very little to do to prevent the accident. However, it is everyone’s reactions that hold blame and cause tension.

    4. Myrtle’s physical description after her death isn’t something that I have put much thought into because it is difficult for me to analyze which she was portrayed in such a way. I think the most obvious reason is that her condition could not sustain life and it contributes to the fact that Myrtle was so instantly killed upon impact that there was no use in checking for a heartbeat or any other signs of life. The manner in which she died is so vicious and her physical description contributes to this. Her body shouldn't have been displayed in a glamorous and beautiful kind of way because that is not how she lived nor how she died. Myrtle's ugly and disfigured body parallels the scummy and unrespectable life that she lived with both Wilson and Tom.

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    1. Alan, I like what you said about how Myrtle's life was despicable with both Wilson and Tom because even though Wilson loved her, he could not give her glamour, only a unrespectable way of living. And with Tom, she could have all the glamour in the world but what they were doing was despicable and that was what was displayed in her death.

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  21. 1. I think what Gatsby means when he says that Daisy's voice is "full of money" he means that her voice is in a way beautiful and full of life. Money to the people in this era is a beautiful thing, in a way makes the "world go round," so I believe that Gatsby loves daisy's voice to the point where he could listen to it all day. Daisy and Gatsby have a great connection to each other and truly love each other, so when they talk about each others voices they see what everyone else sees as love; money.
    2. I think their was so much craziness going on with daisy and gatsby that Nick forgot about himself. Nick strikes me as the guy who is a people pleaser and puts people before himself, kind of just watches everyone else. The significance of him saying that just tells you that he is realizing it is his birthday and to others their problems were more important.

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  22. Why doesn't Daisy pick a side and stick with it why doesn't she go with Gatsby and tell Tom off for cheating and all this why does she just kinda sit idle by and try and change the subject and or keep the two men guessing her feelings?

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    1. Women... can't live with them, can't live without them.

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    2. I think Daisy is a lot smarter then people give her credit for. I feel like she has this planned out in her head. She doesn't want to leave Tom, but I think she likes running around with Gatsby for a rush of adrenaline.

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    3. Maybe deep down she just truly doesn't know what she wants.

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    4. I think she never wanted to leave Tom like LinisiAn said, I think she wanted to show him that she could leave just easily as he could. But I also think she had true feelings for Gatsby, but I think what scared her was how fast he earned his money. If you can earn it that fast you can lose it just as easily. And Tom would always have his money.

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  23. Why do people try to escape their problems rather than face them?

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    1. Because it is the easier less scary way and not everyone has the courage inside of them to just confront them.

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    2. Humans try to run away from their problems because we think that there will be an easier way out down the road. But what we don't realize is the farther away we run the more difficult our problems become. Daisy is a prime example of this. She continues to run away from the problem between Tom, Gatsby, and herself until it eventually exploded.

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  24. 1. When Gatsby mentions that Daisy voice is "full of money" I think he means that Gatsby highly admires Daisy's voice and the way it sounds. He later goes on to say "the jingle of it, the cymbals' song in it... High in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl..." That shows everyone is obsessed with it and also how upper class she sounds.
    2. When Nick talks about being 30 he talks negative all through pg. 135 saying, "Thirty--the promise of a decade of loneliness, a thinning list of single men to know..." It seems that he just sees getting older as getting closer to death and just a downhill slope to the end.
    3. The climax of the chapter is probably when Tom ultimately ends his relationship with Daisy and tells her to go home with Gatsby. He realized their true love for each other and let things be the way they were meant to be.
    4.

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    1. Sheldon, but why does Gatsby admire Daisy's voice? Do you think its because of what she says?

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  25. I believe that there is no time limit on happiness because some work for it their whole lives and never get it. Most people desire more love and comfort; however, there are some who would rather be more alone, or feel like they don't deserve the comfort they could so easily have. People escape from their problems because they do not always have the means of confronting them. They feel as though, when they confront them they will be defeated by them.

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    1. Ethan I completely agree with you here, i like how you said " there are some who would rather be more alone.." I think for a lot of people being alone and trapped in their own mind makes them feel more at peace with themselves and more comfortable in their skin.

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  26. 4. Fitzgerald described Myrtle’s death position very grotesquely detailed way, I think to show how careless the hit and run was.

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  27. 1. When Gatsby said Daisy’s voice is full of money hes implying that he loves hearing her voice, everybody loves money and Gatsby is obsessed with Daisy, so to him, the sound of her voice is as valuable as money.

    2. When Nick realizes he turned 30 he realizes that his life is going by very fast, 30 years has passed him by and he isnt even close to where he wants to be in life. I think this represents the climax of the story, everything in everybody's life is going wrong and the party life seems to be coming to an end.

    3. I think there is many climaxes in this chapter. Nick realizes alot of his life has passed him by. Tom is losing Myrtle and Gatsby is losing Daisy. Everybody is having problems and the tension is at a maximum. I feel for Gatsby because he did so much to try and win Daisy but ends up not getting what he worked hard for.

    4. I think Fitzgerald described the way she died to show that she deserved it because she was cheating on her husband. On page 137 it says “as though she had choked a little in giving up the tremendous vitality she had stored so long”

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    1. I agree with you Seif, when you say that Nick turning 30 represents the climax of the story, and I also liked what Jennifer said, because it is true. Nick remembering that it was his birthday is mostly significant not because it would change how things went, but because after that whole scene, none of them could go back.

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  28. 1. When Gatsby says that Daisy's voice is "full of money" Nick agrees and he realizes that this quality of Daisy was what made her so intriguing. The majority of people were so infatuated by money and everyone wanted it. People would do anything to gain riches and men swoon over Daisy the same way they would over money. If one has a lot of money then they feel superior and they want to show it off to the world. And that is how men feel about Daisy, they want to show off her charm and beauty to the world.
    2. Before this moment in the book, Nick had always seemed like a somewhat cheerful person. But when he said "No... I just remembered that today's my birthday" all of a sudden he transformed into a sad little man. On page 135 he says "Thirty- the promise of a decade of loneliness a thinning list of single men to know a thinning briefcase of enthusiasm thinning hair." He uses the word thinning multiple times and it shows how he believes that since he is now thirty everything in his life is going to wither away. I think that he is was almost shocked about how time has slipped away from him. He knows how time can damage things, such as Gatsby and Daisy's relationship and now he has become scared of time.
    3.For me the ultimate climax of this chapter was on page 130 when Gatsby says "Your wife doesn't love you, she's never loved you. She loves me." At that point everything was out in the open and the situation became very tense. They were all so used to keeping things to themselves, even if they all knew what was going on, and by Gatsby letting it all out just made it more real. After this scene in the chapter, only negative things happened. Daisy, Tom, and Gatsby were fighting, Nick realized time is slipping away, and Myrtle dies. It kind of makes you think whether or not it was right for Gatsby to say that or should he have kept quiet?
    4. When describing Myrtle after her death, Fitzgerald uses the word open, "her left breast was loose like a flap, her mouth was wide open ripped at the corners." If you look back at the previous scene, Gatsby unleashed the truth out in the open. All of the lies and secrets had just been revealed and I think that by having Myrtle die, Fitzgerald shows us that it was a horrible mistake to let all the lies and secrets come out in the open.

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  29. 1) When I think of something being full of money, I think of richness. Richness makes me think of the adjectives lush, and seductive. The word seductive makes me think of someone using someone else for their personal gain. When Gatsby says that Daisy has a voice that is “full of money,” I think that he is alluding to the fact that Daisy is really smarter than she seems, and when she speaks, she speaks with a slight arrogance that you wouldn’t be able to pick up. Daisy has the knowledge that with her innocence, she can manipulate others, and that she has a power in her so called weakness. When I was analyzing this quote for the socratic, I was thinking about the fact that when people have money, everything about them has changed to a level above “the peasants.” From their walk to their voice, everything seeps “I’m rich!” which I think is a reason that everyone else wants to be rich. They want to have the confidence that comes along with seeping money.

    2) The significance of Nick turning 30 is greater because it is at the climax of the story where everything is turning out to not be the way they wanted it to be. He remembers that it his birthday when Gatsby and Daisy have left, and the whole group just went through a huge argument. I think that Nick turning 30 reflects the turning point of the era. When everyone was living in the 20s they partied, and lived wildly to the point that at the end of the 20s, they no longer had the financial resources or energy to keep up the wild lifestyle into the 30s. As Nick turns 30, all of the excitement that he has been experiencing with Gatsby’s parties, the forbidden love in the love triangle, and the world of the wild, new, rich will fade. Everything that the 20s was, was going to fade with the people that had so much happen to them, because they would be too tired to continue in the same matter. Nick’s comment also goes back to some of the references Fitzgerald made. On page 86, it says, “Gatsby was reclining against the mantel piece in a strained counterfeit of perfect ease, his head leaned back so far that it rested against the face of a defunct mantelpiece clock. Luckily the clock took this moment to tilt dangerously at the pressure of his head, whereupon he turned and caught it with trembling fingers.” Throughout the story we see examples where time is figuratively and literally slipping through people’s fingers. And the turning of the decades and Nick turning 30 represent the past that no one can hold onto.

    (this will be continued in my next post, but apparently there IS a max # of characters...)

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  30. 3) The climax of the chapter is when Tom has sent Daisy back home. On page 135, Daisy has asked if they can go home, to try to get away from all the fighting. But when Tom responds he says, “You two start on home, Daisy. In Mr. Gatsby’s car.” She looked at Tom, alarmed now, but he insisted with magnanimous scorn. “Go on. He won’t annoy you. I think he realizes that his presumptuous little flirtation is over.” It makes me think of arguments I have had with people before. When I’m are trying to get out of the argument by suggesting doing something else, generally I don’t expect them to agree, so when they do, and they agree, not only is it startling, but it is also like you have given them a small victory. When Tom tells Daisy to leave, I think that it startles her enough and she knows that although the argument was loud, this is the worst part. It is like an eye of a storm; in the middle of a storm you think that the worst part happened, but in that calm, it is the worst because of the knowledge creates the suspense that the worst is yet to come and that calm, waiting, anger is the worst. After that point, nothing was going to be the same, and actions that Daisy, Tom, and Gatsby took part in would be different based on the fact that the whole scandal was now out in the open.

    4) I honestly thought that it was a gory description of Myrtle’s death, although there wasn’t an excessive amount of blood and guts. Fitzgerald described her as, “still damp with perspiration, they saw that her left breast was swinging loose like a flap, and there was no need to listen for the heart beneath. The mouth was wide open and ripped at the corners, as though she had choked a little in giving up the tremendous vitality that she had stored for so long.” I thought that it was interesting that Fitzgerald chose to say, “as though she had choked a little in giving up the tremendous vitality that she had stored for so long.” Vitality is defined as the state of being strong and active, and when Myrtle lives in the Valley of Ashes. She is living this life in a place between two worlds and the word I would use to describe her is definitely not strong and active. She is finding her pleasure on the funds of another man, and is stuck living with a man who she doesn’t want to be with. She is living off of and living a lie, not a strong life. I think that in a sense that Fitzgerald was right to give her the description he did, because it fits with the kind of character Myrtle is. She died a not-too-gory-but-still-awful death for others to have to see. It reflected the fact that her life wasn’t anything spectacular (just as her death wasn’t) but she still had a different end than that of every normal person.

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    1. Mandee, I like everything but when you stated that she is with a man she doesn't want to be with. I think Myrtle wants to be with her husband as much as Buchanan wants to stay with Daisy. Why? I feel that people in the 1920's where tempted by many things and one of these things was an attraction to the opposite sex. It wasn't only the opposite sex that they were attracted too but the fantasy's the desires people had they did not want to associate them with their wife's or husband's. I feel that they were ashamed of their desires that's why she is given into Buchanan.

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  31. 1. When Fitzgerald writes, “Her voice is full of money,” he is saying that Daisy was born, and brought up as this golden girl. She might as well be the closest thing long island has for a queen. This must be daunting to Gatsby, because even though he has put up this incredible act, and has become a man worthy of Daisy, a small part of him will always be James Gatz. Like Tom said about Gatsby on page 122, “An Oxford man! Like hell he is! He wears a pink suit.”
    2. Nick has been spending so much time immersed in the happenings of everyone else's lives that he has forgotten his 30th birthday. More then that, none of his “friends” remembered either. This shows that Nick has become nothing more then the passive narrator of our story, and he is sick of it. He knows there is much more to life, he has just forgot how to live it without the drama of these people. You see this when he says on page 135, “Human sympathy has its limits, and we were content to let all their tragic arguments fade with the city lights behind. Thirty- the promise of a decade of loneliness, a thinning list of single men to know, a thinning briefcase of enthusiasm, thinning hair.”
    3. The ultimate climax of this story is when they are all in New York and Tom and Gatsby fight over who Daisy loves. Daisy breaks down and tells Tom that she may leave him, and tell Gatsby that she loves them both. The tension in the room is thick and Nick and Jordan are stuck in the thick array of lies. Finally, on page 134, it becomes too much for Daisy to handle. She gives up this hopeless battle of Gatsby vs. Tom and says, “Please Tom! I can’t stand this any more.” Everything that occurs after this in the chapter is in result of the intense emotions created from this scene.
    4. When Fitzgerald is explaining Myrtles dead body he says, “Still damp from perspiration, they say that her left breast was swinging loose like a flap, and there was no need to listen for the heart beneath.” (136) This is a very undignified way to be described when you are dying. The imagery is anything but glamorous. This is a symbol for who Myrtle really is, a wife from the Vally of Ashes.

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  32. How would Tom and Daisy's relationship play out if it wasn't for Nick and Gatsby's involvement? Would things be better off or would Tom and Myrtle's affair completely split them apart?

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    1. i think there relationship would have stayed how it was in the beginning of the book no real emotion involved and they would of just stayed in that awkward relationship that felt more like roommates than a married couple.

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  33. 1. I think that Gatsby means that the way she speaks and the arrogance that she has is that of which a person who comes from a lot of money would have. And that she no longer is a young girl that he once knew. But rather she is an established woman who has a reputation to uphold.
    2. I think nick realizing he is thirty is important because its like him saying that he is thirty so why is he still dealing with such elementary drama. When he says “before me stretched the portentous menacing road of a new decade”, he doesn’t want his life to continue to drag on in such a soap opera way.
    3. I think the ultimate climax of this chapter is when tom and Gatsby are arguing and Gatsby tries to make daisy confess that she never loved tom and she says, “even alone I can’t say I never loved tom, it wouldn’t be true. I feel bad for daisy because is caught in this web of her past and her present. And not really knowing where her future lays.
    4. I think that it was Fitzgerald’s way of showing us that myrtle was empty inside and how she was heartless. For example when he says, “the left breast was swinging loose like a flap and there was no need to listen for the heart beneath.” It was showing how the heart that she used to have was gone or it was no longer worth searching for.

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  34. why does gatsby not fight harder for daisy he kind of just lurks around hoping she chooses him?

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    1. I think Gatsby is still in his fantasy, assuming the past will be repeated, and Daisy will love him. I think he is past the point of question and fighting and that he is so far into his fantasy that he just expects Daisy to choose him, he sees no need to convince her further, he thinks it is over and they will live happily ever after. But when Daisy says she loved Tom he is rudely awakened from his fantasy and is in a sort of numb state where he doesn't know what to do because his whole world is falling apart right before his eyes.

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    2. I agree with Alyssa that Gatsby was still in his "past fantasy" and was watching it slip away from him. And when Gatsby was waiting for Daisy back at the house in the garden, he still thought him and Daisy could work, that they could fix things. Also it was the gentleman thing to do. He took all this time to make sure his plan went perfectly and he wasn't about to let that change.

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  35. Why would Daisy bring Gatsby to lunch when she was mad when Tom's mysteries called during diner? Yet we still see Daisy as the victim of their relationship. Why is that?

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  36. Socratic 7 Blog Responses

    Q1:What does Gatsby mean when he says that Daisy's voice is "full of money" (120)?

    A1: This quote shows so much symbolism throughout the story. The motif of money through the story really is questioned by whether money is old money or new money it is looked into to see if it is good money or bad money. I feel that this quote is a realization to Nick about why Daisy chose to marry Buchanan. This quote made all of my assumptions of Daisy come true. The assumption that she did what she had to do so that she could be well off. Daisy knew that the fantasy of Gatsby would not be the life that would support her lifestyle, but the life with Buchanan would. Daisy is the smartest character in the Great Gatsby because she knew what she had to do to be well off and supported. An example I thought of in a real life situation to match Daisy’s decision is if you had the option to have a stable large mansion with solid income every month, rather than have a mansion and you don’t know if that month you will have enough money to pay the rent or not. Daisy basically chose the house with the stable source of income and what would sustain her style of living.

    Q2: What is the significance of the passage when Nick realizes he turned 30 (135-136)?

    A2: The significance of this passage is to show that in the time period of the 1920’s nothing really mattered. People were there to escape the normal life, the rules, they wanted just to party, live in a dream or a fantasy. When Nick realizes that it is his birthday it is a very sad part in the scene. The surrounding drama stops, everything almost seems to pause for Nick to reflect on the wasted time of the past year before turning 30. He has basically woken up in a sense from the dream/fantasy that he has been wallowing excitedly in for the past year. This is when he realizes that nothing really matters to these people, he realizes that he was going insane, everyone is insane, living in a fantasy not allowing reality to catch them, everyone is running away from it.

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  37. Chapter 7 Blog Responses Part 2
    A3: The climax of the story for me was when Buchanan realizes that Daisy has told Gatsby that she loved him. (119) The reason I felt that this was the most climactic part of the story is because this is where the truth begins to arise from all of the lies and where the old money is threatened by the new money. I feel for Tom in this scene, to realize that your wife has been fooling around with “New Money” and has had feeling towards it for the last 5 years and the reason she stays with you and tolerates your behavior is just for the money. Love is not something easy to understand. Tom has basically has come to the realization that even though she loves him, he isn’t the only one she loves. I believe that the reason Tom fools around with other women is not because he doesn’t care for Daisy but because he cares for he so much that he does not want his desires to affect or change the way how she feels. He wants to keep her pure. A real world connection would be why men cheat, I think that men cheat while they still care about their significant other, they just don't want to relate their sexual fantasies to their partner because they are disgusted by themselves and don’t want to ruin their wifes image,thats why I think Buchanan cheats. I do not condone that behavior.

    Q4: Why did Fitzgerald describe the way Myrtle died in the manner he chose?

    A4: “Still damp with perspiration, they saw that her left breast was swinging loose like a flap, and there was no need to listen for the heart beneath.” This is how the death of Myrtle is described by Fitzgerald. The scene is a very odd seen as you would think it to be a bloody crash and insides to spill everywhere but it doesn’t. I think Fitzgerald shows that she has nothing inside, just like everyone else in the 1920s, they are all empty living in this fantasy of nothing, also she was of the lower class also symbolizing that she doesn’t have much thats why she let Buchanan have his way with her.

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  38. Why would Nick realize that he has been living a life going no where for the past year with only remembering his birthday? Why was he so affected with he realization about the time he had wasted in this fantasy, this dream. Why was he awoken from the dream of the 1920's.

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  39. 1)Gatsby and Nick finally put theyre finger on why Daisy is so special, they came to an agreement that Daisy’s voice is money. To me this symbolizes the motif of wealth. Is wealth purely money or is wealth finally obtaining what youve desired for so long. Her voice is money said Gatsby. People all want money people all want Daisy. Does this strengthen Daisy’s persona of the Golden girl?
    2)Reading this passage in the book I think this is significant to because Nick forgot his own birthday. What would have to be going on for you to forget your own birthday? sheer chaos. There was so much drama so much worrying in Nick’s life from recent events that he forgot. I think this is a great representation on Nicks overall happiness in this time of the story.
    3)This is when it all finally comes out. The word is out and Tom knows Gatsby and Daisy have more than just a casual affair, there is now love involved. Daisy is slipping right through Toms fingers, or so it seems that way. The mood is intense and uncomfortable and is affecting bystanders such as Nick. He forgot it was his birthday, to me this gives this event almost a soap opera feel.
    4)Fitzgerald describes Myrtle’s death somberly almost signifying that she meant more to Tom or as if there was more to this mistress of Toms. Not Just some cute poor girl that fools around with married men. Perhaps Myrtle was somewhat cherished in her community. Fitzgerald also describes Myrtle’s death as violent and gruesome suddenly but swiftly ending her life. What about her death tells you of the intended readers feeling towards the accident?

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  40. 1) When Gatsby says that Daisy voice is full of money I think its suppose to signifies her wealth and the fact that shes from “old money”. I also think Gatsby likes listening to Daisy’s voice. The way that Daisy speaks it has a ring to it, she sounds so mysterious I think at times.

    2) When Nick realizes he has turned 30, I think to Nick it signifies that Gatsby is just another human like him. Nick looks up to Gatsby a great deal, he basically puts him up on this pedestal, so I think Nick thought that Gatsby had to be a lot older than 30, because Gatsby would always talk about how he would lose track of time. So to Nick he probably thought oh well older people tend to not look at the clock a lot, or forget that their suppose to be somewhere, and lose track of time.

    3) I feel like the ultimate climax in this chapter was when Myrtle was killed either on purpose or on accident by Daisy. I personally feel that Daisy was driving the car that hit and killed Myrtle, but didn’t know who she was. To begin with Daisy had no knowledge of who Myrtle was. All Daisy knew was that Tom had "some woman" in the city. For Daisy to kill Myrtle purposely, she would have to have known that she was Tom's mistress.

    4) I think Fitzgerald describes the way Myrtle died the way he did because its almost as if he thought Myrtle deserved to die. It’s a gory, and detailed way to express how someone died. I feel like the way Fitzgerald writes this part, makes it sound like no one even tries to help or resuscitate. Maybe I’m missing something but that's just my thoughts.

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  41. 1. When Gatsby says Daisy’s voice is full of money and Nick responds to himself saying that was the inexhaustible charm, it is representative of wealth, in a way. When you are born into money, it is something that is evident not only in your possessions, but in the way you carry yourself and the way you live. This, I think, is why Tom has such a problem with Gatsby, because he can tell that Gatsby is a fake. That he isn’t from money, he is new money that came from nowhere and everyone can see right through him. This is supported on pg. 122 when Tom says, in response to Jordan saying Gatsby is an Oxford man, “An Oxford man! Like hell he is! He wears a pink suit.” Oxford was for people born of money and it taught not only book smarts, but a way of being that was “wealthy” and it is obvious, once again, to Tom, that Gatsby is a fake.
    2. I think this was Fitzgerald being dissatisfied with where he is at. 30 is as described by Nick on page 135, “Thirty- the promise of a decade of loneliness, a thinning list of single men to know, a thinning briefcase of enthusiasm, thinning hair.” He is not happy that at this point in his life, there is not even anyone to acknowledge it. He is overall disappointed that he has reached this point in his life and not accomplished much, but also that as he reaches this point all the people he invests in are too invested in themselves to notice.
    3. The climax of this chapter is on page 134 when after all the fighting and the tension, Daisy says, “Please Tom! I can’t stand this any more.” This is the climax because after this, everything starts to fall apart. Before this comment from Daisy, Tom and Gatsby would’ve argued about who has Daisy’s heart for years. This is when she finally sort of gives up. Not completely but no decision is really made from Daisy, she just states that it needs to stop.
    4. Fitzgerald may have described Myrtle in this way because of the same reason he described Daisy’s voice as “full of money.” It is a representation of who she was and although not flattering, or kind, she was not that kind of person. This is a symbol that even in death, how you are remembered will be somewhat related to the person who you were that you couldn’t change. Daisy, Tom, they will always be from money and no one can take that away. Gatsby will always be a fake and Myrtle will in part be remembered as from the valley of ashes. It was something that wouldn’t change.

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  42. On page 136 it says, "So we drove off toward death through the cooling twilight." I noticed that the rest of the chapter, especially the beginning, was referenced as boiling and heat was all that was mentioned. But suddenly, as they are driving towards death.. there is a cooling atmosphere? Why?

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  43. 1. When Gatsby says that Daisy’s voice is “...full of money” he is talking about about how Daisy has so far lived a carefree lifestyle. How someone has always been looking out for her and caring for her needs. She can just do whatever she wants whenever she would
    like to do it. She has spent her entire life she has always hung around the rich crowd. She was born into money and will spend her life with lots of money.
    2. When Nick turns 30 he talks about how his youth has finally come to an end that he is no longer young. He talks about how in his past he has not been able to keep good relationships. That he has had a pretty uneventful life. His life is becoming thin just like his hair. He proceeds on to say how his future will be as dull as his past. This is significant because he is realizing that he has not accomplished much in the way of fun and excitement in his life. But, I feel that he wants to change this. Right now though, he is not worried about it because he is with Jordan and he quickly notes that she has made a good choice in life not to be chasing her dreams that she had many years ago like Daisy.
    3.The climax of this chapter happened on page 130 when Gatsby says to Tom “your wife doesn’t love you, she has never loved you she loves me.” THis is because Jay has verbally told tom about his love for Daisy. He is now all in the past trying any desperate move to get daisy back. I feel for Nick in this because he started this when he brought Daisy over to his house and also brought Gatsby. Now he is sitting in the middle of this fight.
    4.The way Fitzgerald shows her death is interesting. I think it was to show that she was empty and saddened inside. How he says “still damp with perspiration, they saw that her left breast was swinging loose like a flap, and there was no need to listen for the heart beneath. The mouth was wide open and ripped at the corners” it is a gruesome vision but, it was intended for her.

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  44. 1. When Gatsby says Daisy's voice is full of money, I think it means that thats all she is. She has always had money and always will. She was literally born with it. Daisy does not need to worry about not getting to eat or not being able to have something. Her whole life has been a game and she can do whatever she wants. Gatsby has actually had to work for his fortune and knows a life full of work. He earned his money, but still spends it like theres no tomorrow. Gatsby has a lot of money but his voice is not full of it. He has not had it all his life and if he keeps spending it like he does, he may not have it forever.

    2. I think that Nick is so shocked that he is thirsty because he doesn't want to go through another decade alone. On page 135 he says, “Thirty-the promise of a decade of loneliness a thinning list of single men to know, a thinning briefcase of enthusiasm, thinning hair.” Nick doesn't want to spend the rest of his life alone and realizes that he will die. No one makes it out of this world alive because no one can live forever and he is realizing that he is halfway (ish) through his life. He doesnt want to waste it. Nick wants to think he is still young and has plenty of time to do whatever he wants, but the truth is he doesn't. He is slowly running out of time with each day that passes by. Nick does not want to waste his life.

    3. The climax of this chapter is when Tom and Gatsby fight over Daisy’s love. Gatsby says, “Daisy thats all over now. It doesn't matter any more. Tell him the truth-that you never loved him-and its all wiped out forever.”(Pg. 132) Gatsby wants to believe that he is the only one Daisy loved, but the truth is Daisy loved Tom and Gatsby. Tom doesn't want to believe there ever was a relationship between Daisy and Gatsby but there was. This makes frustration for both of them and Daisy is just caught in the middle.
    4. Myrtle may have died this way to show she has nothing inside. She was born without money just like Gatsby. She only lived on other peoples money and talked like she had money. When she died she had nothing hidden. On the outside she may have looked like she had money but truly, she had nothing to brag about. She tried to be something she was not and she died in a way that fit her personality. Her rich looking clothes along with no money.

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  45. Why does Gatsby admit to Nick that Daisy was driving the car when Myrtle was killed?

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    1. I think that Gatsby needed to tell someone. It was like when you have a big secret that you can't bare yourself so you have to tell your bestfriend, and for Gatsby that was Nick.

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  46. 1. When Gatsby says that Daisy’s voice is “full of money” meaning she has the tonal quality of never knowing want, of having always been well provided for, of being elitely educated. These facts are unconsciously conveyed by the lilt of her voice and the inflections of her vowels and consonants. Gatsby and Nick, on the other hand, are from a working class backgrounds. Nick still struggles, but Gatsby has succeeded monetarily. Still, he has not the history of wealth that backs Daisy's sense of security. His speech is practiced and measured rather than effortless and secure. Gatsby knows the sounds of old money when he hears it.


    2. When Nick realizes he turned 30 on his birthday the significance is that He now considers that his youth has passed and he is facing a world of “loneliness” and unfulfilling future. Throughout the novel, Nick has been the narrator of the story; he has been more of an observer than an actor or character. He has been inspired by the passionate dream of Gatsby and in his admiration for Gatsby's determination and persistence he sees himself in a less favourable light. He realises that he does not have a dream of his own; he does not engage deeply in emotional relationships; and he does not have close friendships. Now, as he looks to his future, he contemplates a lonely and unexciting life; everything appears to be dulling and fading, everything is becoming "thin"--his hair, his friendships, his opportunities.

    3. The ultimate climax of this chapter is on page 137 at the very moment that Gatsby’s car hits Myrtle. But its also what leads up to it that really helps create the climax. Like although Tom is himself having an affair, he is furious at the thought that his wife could be unfaithful to him. He forces the group to drive into the city: there, in a suite at the Plaza Hotel, Tom and Gatsby have a bitter confrontation. Tom denounces Gatsby for his low birth, and reveals to Daisy that Gatsby's fortune has been made through illegal activities. Daisy's real allegiance is to Tom: when Gatsby begs her to say that she does not love her husband, she refuses him. This is important because situations, long hidden, have been put out in the open. Affairs and accusations are tossed around. This doesn't add closure to the situation rather than it ramps up the tension. These are not characters that do much soul searching. They keep their frustrations hidden under the guise of polite society. Even after the confrontation in the apartment, there is still manipulation going. Tom, for example, permits Gatsby to drive Daisy back to East Egg; in this way, he displays his contempt for Gatsby, as well as his faith in his wife's complete subjection. When Myrtle is hit and killed by Daisy's car one wonders how the tensions played into it; I wonder if this was in some way the inevitable result of a very dysfunctional society.

    4.I feel that Fitzgerald made the vehicular homicide much more complicated than he had to. Also the fact that Daisy possibly did this on purpose makes this book mysterious.But I think it's interesting that Fitzgerald focuses on her breast. I believe that her breast symbolizes Myrtle's womanhood; how she used what she had to make the most of her life with Tom and now it's been stripped away from her. Her body was completely exposed to the public. Myrtle had been living so much of her life in secret, and yet here she is, on display, in the most gruesomely possible manner. The fact that Fitzgerald portrayed Myrtle's death so gruesomely could represent the severity of the unhappiness the rich attempt to hide.

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  48. 1. When Gatsby says Daisy's voice is full of money he means that she is the girl that he wants and how she just speaks to him in a way that makes him love her. It also means that her voice is really pleasant to listen to and it makes you feel good.


    2. When Nick realizes he is thirty he realizes a little bit how fast time can go by and how it is going past him without even realizing it. He is a little sad and scared about this because he doesn't know what will happen but he feels he doesn't have too much to look forward to another then starting to lose his hair and being single.


    3. I think the ultimate climax of this chapter is when Gatsby and Tom Fight over how much Daisy loves each of them. Gatsby tells tom that she never loved you and that she loves me. This whole scene makes so much tension and no one knows what to do especially Daisy. This makes me feel for Daisy a little bit.


    4. Im not really sure why he described it that way maybe just to be really descriptive so you could picture it and feel more for her or maybe just to show how this was such a big accident that happened so fast without any warning.

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  49. 1. (on pg 120) When Gatsby says that Daisy’s voice is “full of money” it made me think that he was trying to have many different meanings when he said it. Such as the fact that she does have money and
    2. (on pg 135) When Nick realizes its his birthday and he is turning 30 he panics a little bit and is very upset about the fact that has been single and alone for 30 years. As shown in this quote on page 135, “Thirty---the promise of a decade of loneliness, a thinning list of single men to know, a thinning briefcase of enthusiasm, thinning hair.” he is showing how he is still single while all the other men out there turning 30 are happily in a relationship and are not lonely. But then a little further into this passage Nick is comforted and reassured by Daisy as she lays her head on his shoulder and it says “the formidable stroke of thirty died away.” showing that she seems to be able to make him feel better and comforted and forget all about his age.
    4.(on pg 137) I think that F. Scott Fitzgerald wanted to show Myrtle dying in a very harsh way because he wanted to show that she didn’t get a peaceful death and didn’t get to die in a nice calm way they wanted to show how tragic it was and how the rich seem to die in a calm state while the not so fortunate die in a tragic state.

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