After reading chapter 4

[Mariel]

Several cars have been mentioned so far. In what circumstances? How do you think they contribute to the plot?

Is there any character you dislike so far? Why?

[Jose]

Cars were high status goods at that time, more than today, I belive that Fitzgeral's objetive with this is try to show us how deeple connect were cars and luxury in the twenty's.
In my opinion cars will be very important in the plot of the novel.
I really dislike Tom, but I hate Myrtle because I hate cheeters!

[Macarena]

I think the car is a clear symbol of the Roaring Twenties. Having a car meant power and luxury. I'm convinced that they are really important in the plot because you can build up a mental image of the situation and, consequently, you can understand why they characters have this or that personality.

I don't think that there's a character that dislike me, but I want to know more about Gatsby and it makes me get anxious.

[Mariel]

It's true that cars were a status symbol, but what about specific scenes in the plot which involve cars? Who's involved? What happens?

[Florencia]

I agree a hundred per cent with my partners as regards cars as a symbol of luxury and power in those times. In connection to specific scenes in which cars are involved, the scene that caught my attention was in which a man had an accident because was drunk when Gastby´s party came to an end. To my way of thinking, here we have an instance of lack of control,of people that just want to have fun or just are more interested in superficial concerns. For example, it is shown when the Owl Eyes man is surprised because Gatsby´s bookshelf is full of `real books´ maybe because most of wealthy people were not used to have those types of literature and really were not as high educated people as they seemed to be, just had a lot of money and luxuries. Here we have this idea of judging a book by its cover, by impressions, by having the best car, the highest education, the biggest house or mansion.
Well, I could say that the character that I hate the most is Tom, because he is a selfish man, who doesn´t care about the others, just cares about his own benefits. He is a cheater!! as Melisa thinks,
I hate them!! hahaha.

[Mariel]

One of the several scenes is the one mentioned by Florencia. Is the man actually to blame for this accident?
What other scenes involve cars?

[María]

I completely agree with my partners. Cars were symbol of luxury and power at that time and as Meli and Maca said, the writer gave us more details of the society.
About specific scenes in the plot I remembered that for instance when Nick was describing Gatsby´s parties he mentioned all the important people that had attended and also the car that each people had. Another scene was when they went to New York Tom drove Gatsby´s car and Gatsby drove Tom´s car. Finally, at the end of the book Gatsby´s yellow car played a dramatic role since Daisy and Gatsby hit Myrtle in this car.
As regards characters I like all of them.

[Carolina]

I agree with my partners. Cars are very important in the plot. Having one, the characters show luxury and a high status. It contributes to set you in the place and time and understand the characters’ personalities and the society.

[Alberto]

I must agree that the cars in this story have a lot to do with the development of the plot. The car accident which involves Owl Eyes early in the book is related to a key scene much later in the book. It's interesting how the author intertwined the plot. As far as characters go, I dislike Tom. He is very arrogant and Nick's portrayal of Tom is not very favorable.

[Luz]

I also agree with my partners in that cars are a symbol of luxury and power. Cars have a lot to do in the development of the plot since the way in which the novel ends is a consequence of a previous car accident. As regards characters, I really dislike Tom, he is, as Alberts´s already said, arrogant and dishonest.

[Lorena]

I share my partner's point of view about cars as a symbol of wealth and luxury.
I think Owl Eyes is not to blame for the accident because he was drunk but I do think he is guilty for being drunk. I think this scene is a representation of how this way of life and the American dream drove people crazy and made them careless.

[Franco]

I’m not so sure about the fact that cars in the twenties were a symbol of luxury since after the war the car industry was enormously favoured and cars were produced in large scales. What is certainly true is that the cars owned by wealthy people such as Gatsby or Tom were used to show off.
Apart from the scene about owl-eyes and his accident, there is another one in chapter IV in which Gatsby and Nick go to New York in Gatsby’s car. During the drive Gatsby tells Nick about his life. Gatsby does this in order for Nick to know a bit more and not to have a bad impression about him since there were many rumours about Gatsby’s life. Besides, Gatsby wants Nick to make him a favour which has to do with Daisy. This is mainly the reason why Gatsby is eager to tell Nick about himself.

[Mariel]

Make sure you understand Alberto's reference to the car in the episode with Owl Eyes. Who was driving? What did people think? Were they right? How does this connect to the events at the end?

The episode mentioned by Franco is also interesting. How truthful is Gatsby's account? How reliable? How many doubts do we have by the end of the novel?