Great Gatsby - Chapters 6-End

[Alana]

Post your thoughts on the second half here.

Who do you love and hate, or maybe just don't understand? What draws you in? What makes you go "huh?"

[Antoinette]

I loved this book! Impressed by the way the story is woven together by a narrator who is 'within but at the same time without', sometimes just observing the story unfolding but at other times butting in to participate in the turn of events. Love the symbolism that permeates the story, such as the green light and the haunting eyes of Dr Eckleburg. Love the way Gatsby's 'incorruptible dream' rises from the ashes of corruption, betrayal and sheer decadence that taints most of the characters in the story. I hated Tom right from the start, and hated Daisy towards the end. My favourite character is the narrator - admire him for looking beneath the glittery surface, and for being non-judgemental and loyal to a person till the end, when the party is over. I still have mixed feelings about Gatsby though. Anyone else read it through yet?

[Irene]

I read this several years ago. I agree that the symbols are well crafted and situated in the novel. I think that this book captures an entire era in a very slim story. In this microcosm of this small group of aquaintances, we are given the entire macrocosm of a cultural era.

[Renee]

What a turn the second half of the book has taken. I just posted my thoughts on the first half thinking it was starting to get happy for Gatsby and Daisy when they got back together after all those years, but the second half threw all that out the window.

Like Antoinette, I didn't like Tom from the beginning of the book, and the second half just made me not like him even more. Especially during the fight he started when they went to the city. His attitude towards his wife for one thing, and his mistress.

Gatsby was so in love with Daisy that because Daisy wasn't having fun at the party he threw, Gatsby stopped having them and all the people who would come to his parties forgot (if they even cared to begin with) that he even existed and he ended up with nobody at his funeral. Only Nick stayed with him to the end. He was a very loyal friend and got upset when people he thought would show up were giving excuses not to. I was disappointed that Daisy was nowhere to be seen. She never called and didn't seem to care enough to send her regards.

I knew nothing of this book going into it, and never saw the movie that came out a few years ago so the tragic ending kind of threw me for a loop. Really enjoyed it though.

[Alana]

One thing I'll give Fitzgerald credit for is that he tells a complete story of an era, full of symbolism, in a very short volume. He's able to accomplish more in what is nearly short enough to be a novella than a lot of novelists do in hundreds of pages. Definitely talented.

[Alana]

This has often been called the quintessential American classic. Agree or disagree? Why?

[Irene]

I am not exactly sure what is meant by that claim. But, I think there is something very "American" in certain elements: the self-invention, the veneer of wealth, that constant beckening of some elusive dream.

[Jill]

I owned this book but never got around to reading it, so I'm glad to finally complete it this time. I enjoyed the storyline and it certainly wasn't predictable. I feel like I would need to re-read it to fully grasp the symbolism and appreciate it for its worth.