RR #1

pages 1-30
7/10/10

When i began reading The Great Gatsby i was a bit confused. The first few pages bounced around sporadically about different topics. I was somewhat nervous as to whether or not I would be able to keep up with F. Scott Fitzgerald's writing style, however I continued to read. By the 3rd page the main character's name was finally mentioned and the story starting making sense. Main character, Nick Carraway, has an interesting sort of life in somewhat of a separated community. He mentions his family and the fact that he graduated from New Haven and participated in the Great War. He talks about the town he lives in and how the side of the lake you lived on depends primarily on your wealth. To me, it seemed as though Fitzgerald was rushing the book. One moment I was reading about Nick's house in West Egg (the less fashionable side) and the next thing I know I am being introduced to Nick's cousin Daisy and her husband. Little did I know, these characters would soon be just as important as Nick, not to mention causing most of the problems in the story. Fitzgerald's way of describing his characters is brilliant. I enjoyed learning so much about them when just a few words were said. When F. Scott says Daisy's husband Tom is " a national figure in a way, one of those men who reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterward savors of anticlimax" I immediately pictured a bulky man with a big head on his shoulders. With further description Tom, I realized that's exactly the type of man Tom is. After I learned a little about these people Nick was quick to go visit them. The imagery in which Fitzgerald uses to describe the Buchanan's house is incredible. Every detail down to the curtains was written down. Along with Daisy and Tom i also meet a quiet woman named Miss Baker. So far she is not playing a huge part in the story, but i will see. From what I have read so far, Fitzgerald's style of writing is not hard to read but is piculiar in its own way. He will often start by explaining something plainly to quickly jumping in to a deeper meaning. I find myself reading the same sentence twice just to be sure I have absorbed all the information I need to. While Nick is enjoying a dinner with the new characters Tom recieves a phone call. This is when Nick is told that Daisy is not Tom's only woman. Not only is this big news to Nick but Daisy and Tom are acting somewhat suspicious of something. After dinner Tom contemplates showing Nick the horses but when Daisy hears this the topic is dropped immediatly. I am curious to find out if the horses will come up later or if the horses even exist at all. I like Miss Baker's character thus far, the way she so casually brings up Tom's other woman makes her sound so easy going. A few days after the dinner, Tom brings Nick to meet his "other woman."Myrtle is her name and she has a very strong personality. She gets everything she wants from Tom and doesn't hide their relationship from her friends. She too has a spouse and he has no idea as to what is going on. Fitzgerald certainly made her character interesting but as for now, i still do not like the character of Myrtle. I was disapointed to find out Tom and Myrtle had an apartment together and played house as if they were doing nothing wrong.