28.11.2010

I strongly dislike waking up early in the morning. However, I don't mind getting up early so I can visit the rehabilitation center. I would enjoy sleeping more, and I guess I do get tired while playing with the children, as the mothers often state, since we usually end up running around and playing hide and seek, but today I noticed that no one cares about getting tired, since spending time with the children is incredibly fun and it makes you feel like a better person.

Chapter 9

Chapter 9, the final chapter of the book, enlightens Gatsby's life, and as the reader we become aware of just how distressed and desolate he was. Gatsby had a dream, a goal, but his dream blinded him, and he lost sight of everything else in his life.

Nick tries to organize a lavish funeral as he believes that that is the way Gatsby deserved to be remembered after his death. However Nick quickly discovers that no one appears to be eager to attend his funeral, because the people in Gatsby's life are shady people who don't want to be seen around and he has no real friends. In the end, Gatsby father shows up at the funeral. Gatsby's father is a cordial man, who is quite surprised but proud about Gatsby's accomplishments. Gatsby kept his father, who seems to be a loving person, out of his life, he never took time to enjoy his fortune, he never tried to connect with anyone other than Daisy. He chased a dream, that would never come true, he lived a lie and died as an lonely man.

Chapter 8

In this chapter, Gatsby tells Nick about his past with Daisy, and goes for a swim. Tom tells Wilson that Gatsby ran over his wife, and Wilson kills Gatsby and himself.

Two major themes of Fitzgerald's writing, mutability and loss are explored deeply in this chapter. Gatsby turns his entire life around, in order to win Daisy back, but he looses interest in everything else. He never takes time to enjoy his fortune since he is so focused on recreating his past with Daisy. Wilson looses his wife, first to another man, then forever when she dies, and Daisy shows us how quickly she can adjust to a situation, and act like she's happy, like wanting to be with Gatsby, then deciding to marry Tom, then deciding that she like Gatsby just before her marriage, the marrying Tom, then cheating on him with Gatsby, then finally going back to Tom.

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 reveals the changes in Gatsby as his affair with Daisy progresses, and the true faces of some of the other characters. Gatsby fires all of his old servants, and replaces them with shady individuals connected to Meyer Wolfshiem to be able to prevent gossip from spreading and keep his relationship secret. He also stops having parties, which were only held to lure Daisy in.

Tom becomes certain that Daisy is cheating on him, and this infuriates him. However, Tom remains calm, since he is aware that Daisy will probably never be willing to leave him, and Tom easily pulls Daisy back to his side. Tom is showed as a sexist hypocrite in this chapter, as he believes that it is tolerable for him to have a highly public affair yet can't stand the idea that Daisy loves another man. Ironically, Wilson, the man Tom was playing around with, telling him that he would sell him a car, yet never actually doing it, suddenly becomes Tom's equal when he finds out his wife too is cheating on him.

In addition to all this, an important difference between Tom and Gatsby and further connections between the story and Fitzgerald's life is exposed. Tom believes that he is superior to Gatsby, since he presumes that he is a moral person with natural social graces and that Gatsby isn't. On the other hand, Gatsby has the decency to keep his affair secret and not cause any embarrassment for others.

Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby while staying in France, where his wife Zelda Sayre cheated on him with a French naval aviator. Perhaps this relationship was what inspired the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy. Furthermore, the feelings of Tom and Wilson when they find out that their wives are being unfaithful are most probably reflections of Fitzgerald's real feelings. 

The Great Gatsby - Preflection

The title of this book, The Great Gatsby, implies that the book will consist of the the story of a man named Gatsby, and what he has accomplished in order to be recognised as "great." Judging a book by the cover is not recommended, however I predict that the picture on the cover will have relevance to the story. The picture with the beautiful woman and the man next to her gives me the impression that a young man who pursues a care free woman will make up the main event of the story. I hope that the book will give me insight into the era, life in America and the "American Dream."

07.11.2010

Today, at the rehabilitation station I decided to bowling with the boy I was playing with, Umut. We went of to the side and started playing. After a few minutes, more people started to come to join us, and soon we had about 8 kids trying to play bowling with only 2 balls. As I tried to set up the pins quickly and jump out of the way before I got hit by the ball I realized that Umut was just sitting there, watching while the other kids who acted faster than him and grabbed the ball play. I didn't know what to do this situation. I was trying to make sure that we were being fair and that everyone got a turn, but at the same time I wanted Umut to have fun. But all of the kids there deserve to have fun, and that's why I didn't do anything when I saw that one mother was catching the ball before everyone else and that her son bowled every time when there were kids who only bowled once or twice.(Plus, she didn't speak Turkish)