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. 5

  Entry No. 5: Notes on Resilience  When I think of resilience in The Great Gatsby, the first character that comes to mind is Gatsby himself since he struggled his way to the top to become among the wealthiest in Long Island. When Gatsby finally tells Nick what he life was like five years ago, Nick recounts his story saying that “However glorious might be his future as Jay Gatsby, he was at present a penniless young man without a past” (Fitzgerald 156) Five years ago James Gatz quite literally only had the clothes on his back. However, he remained determined to prosper after he returned from the war, willing to do anything to get Daisy back, thus demonstrating resilience.   Another character who demonstrated resilience in The Great Gatsby was Nick Carraway who was set on giving Gatsby the funeral he felt he deserved and who persevered even though many did not want to attend. We can see Nick’s resilience when he makes several phone calls trying to contact Meyer Wolfshiem, ...
Post a Comment
Read more