Skip to main content

Entry No. 7


Entry No. 7: Text-to-text Connections 

While reading The Great Gatsby, I compared a lot of the main characters to characters from novels I have read previously. For example, I could not help comparing Daisy Buchanan to June Iparis from my favourite book series Legend. Both characters have lived privileged lives since the beginning and are ignorant of the struggles of people who do far worse economically. However, when June meets Day a homeless boy from the streets, she starts to realize that she is spoiled and makes more of an effort to be more thankful for all the things she has. Daisy on the other hand, continues in her ignorance throughout the entirety of The Great Gatsby. She knew that Gatsby was poor but knowing this only made her ultimately reject Gatsby for Tom Buchanan a wealthy football player. This gives us a greater understanding of Daisy’s personality and honestly makes her quite unlikeable, leaving many to wonder why Gatsby was so in love with her. 


Throughout these journal entries, I have talked a lot about the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy as well as the love they had for one another. Although I do believe that both characters were in love it was incredibly evident throughout the book that Gatsby was willing to do anything to be with Daisy while Daisy was not willing to do the same in return. As strange as it sounds, this situation reminded me of Olivia Rodrigo songs which are all about toxic relationships where a significant other takes advantage of you. For example the lyrics of the chorus in her song “enough for you” are as followed: “You found someone more exciting, the next second, you were gone, and you left me there cryin’, wonderin’ what I did wrong, and you always say I’m never satisfied, but I don’t think that’s true, ‘cause all I ever wanted was to be enough for you” . Just like Olivia, Gatsby was left behind by Daisy who married Tom while Gatsby was serving in the military and years later all Gatsby wants is to be enough for Daisy to be his. 


While reading The Great Gatsby, another comparison I made was between Prince Hamlet of Shakespeare’s famous play and Gatsby himself. Both of these characters share similarities in the sense that they both die as a result of their inaction and unwillingness to adapt to their circumstances. In Hamlet’s case, he spends too long pondering over whether to kill Claudius or not in order to avenge his father. As a result, several people including Hamlet’s mother Gertrude and his lover Ophelia die unnecessarily. Meanwhile, Gatsby dies because he refuses to sell out Daisy who is actually responsible for the death of Myrtle Wilson. Gatsby does this because as well all already know, he is madly in love with Daisy and clings on to the fictional hope that she will leave her husband Tom and marry him in Louisville. Both Hamlet and Gatsby’s death could have been avoided if only they had taken action. Hamlet should have killed Claudius as soon as he had an opportunity and Gatsby should have recognized that while he can’t go back to the past, he can certainly live in the present and change his future.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Entry No. 3

  Entry No. 3: Character Development Character Development: Chapters 1-3 In chapter 1 I was introduced to Nick Carraway, a 30-year-old man who lives in the United States and moves East to learn the bond business. We learn that he is a member of a rich family who earned their fortune by sending substitutes to the Civil War so they could start a wholesale hardware business that continues to thrive years later.   In chapter 1 I was also introduced to Daisy and Tom Buchanan. Daisy is Nick’s second cousin and Nick met Tom (Daisy’s husband) when they were both in college. Tom played football at New Haven and is known as one of the best players of his time. As a result of his athletic skills, Tom is a very wealthy man, both him and Daisy live in beautiful Mansion in East Egg overlooking a lake.   When the reader is first introduced to Tom he is described as a “a sturdy straw-haired man of thirty, with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner.” (Fitzgerald 11) Tom’s superior...
Post a Comment
Read more

Entry No. 1

Entry No. 1: Reading Schedule The copy I am reading is 9 chapters and 189 pages long, therefore I have come up with the following reading schedule: Week 1: December 11 th to December 17 th   Read chapters one, two and three of the book (64 pages in total) Week 2: December 18 th to December 24 th   Read chapters four, five, and six of the book (53 pages in total) Week 4: December 25 th to December 31 st   Read chapters seven, eight, and nine of the book (70 pages in total) P.S Throughout all these journal entries when I reference the novel I am referring to the 2021 Penguin Books edition of The Great Gatsby edited by Philip McGowan.
Post a Comment
Read more

Entry No. 2

 Entry No. 2: Why I Chose this Novel Like many others I had heard about the Great Gatsby enough to know that it was based in the 1920’s and centered around a rich man named Gatsby. I knew it was a classic and one of the best and most influential books of all time but besides that I had no other knowledge about the book. As ashamed as I am to admit it I have always struggled to read classics. However, I know that they are classics and still talked about today for a reason, therefore I chose to read the Great Gatsby for my culminating activity since it would push me out of my comfort zone. Also, there is lots of information about the book and its importance online, which is why I thought it would be a good book to choose since I can compare my general knowledge and interpretation of the book with others. I also chose the Great Gatsby as my book because I thought it would be interesting to read a book narrated by another character rather than by the main protagonist. Most books I read...
Post a Comment
Read more