Great Gatsby Blog 3

What is the theme of The Great Gatsby?


I believe that the theme is that money is not something that will make you have a great legacy. I think this comes mostly from Gatsby because in the book Gatsby uses his money to throw large parties and to try and win back his love. But, this does nothing for him. In the end because of everything he has tried to accomplish with his money he ends up dying. All of his actions end up digging his grave for him. This shows that money will not make you have a great legacy. Gatsby was a rich man but when he died he did not have many real friends who thought that his life was great.

Why did the author title the book The Great Gatsby?

I believe that it was titled this because it was based off of Gatsby's interpretation of himself. Gatsby's main goals were to be great and he wanted everyone to idolize him. But, in the end the only person that stuck with him was Nick he didn't really have anyone else. Gatsby thought that he was great and that everything he had done in life was amazing when in the end he was a failure. He lost his love and his life instead of being great.

Did Daisy love Tom or Gatsby?

I believe that Daisy loved both of them. She loved Tom for his money but she loved Gatsby for his personality. Yes, Gatsby ended up having money in the end but in the beginning when he and Daisy first fell in love he was poor and did not have the money that Daisy wanted. This is why I think when Daisy met Tom she fell in love with him because she had all of the money she ever wanted. Even though Gatsby has money as well I don't think that she will accept that he has it now because he didn't in the beginning. Also Tom was the first one to show her money so therefore I believe she feels more protected by his money. I think Daisy loves them both for different reasons.

What does the green light symbolize throughout the book?

I believe that overall it symbolizes jealousy and envy. When it is first brought up in the beginning of the book it symbolizes Gatsby's envy of Tom because he has Daisy. The light is at the end of Daisy's dock and the color represents Gatsby's jealousy. In the end of the book I believe that it symbolizes Nick's jealousy of Gatsby. Nick loves Gatsby's life from the beginning when he first meets him. Nick looks up to him so therefore in the end when it talks about Nick and the green light I think it is based on Nick's jealousy of Gatsby

Blog 2 Great Gatsby

1. I believe the purpose of Meyer Wolfsheim is to make us look at Gatsby in a new light. Meyer Wolfsheim is a very odd character and reveals part of Gatsby's past that is very mysterious. This makes me think of Gatsby in a bad way because Wolfsheim makes Gatsby seem like a bad character which makes me reconsider my earlier judgements of him.

2. Gatsby and Daisy's past makes me feel bad for Gatsby because Daisy let him for Tom. I feel bad for him because Daisy was his first love and she was supposed to wait for him but she didn't. This is depressing because it shows that Daisy may not have loved Gatsby which makes me feel sympathy towards him.

3.The rest of Gatsby's path makes me think that Gatsby is lonely and depends on money too much because he went through all of that trouble to become rich. It makes me think that Gatsby is a greedy man.

4. Before these three chapters I thought that Gatsby was a man that just liked to throw parties because he was rich. But after these three chapters I feel like Gatsby may have done some bad things in his past to get his money but now I feel like he is using his money for a good reason (to get Daisy back) so I think that his motives are okay.

"Black Bottom Stomp" by Jelly Roll Morton

While listening to this music I envision many people dancing; doing dances like the charleston or swing dancing. The really high pitched sounds such as the trumpet stand out to me. These sounds give it a very upbeat feel and happy mood. I think this song would mesh with one of Gatsby's parties because in the book it describes them as being very lively and I think this song would fit in perfectly because of the way it sounds.

First Reading Response Blog "The Great Gatsby"

From reading chapters 1-3 I believe that Jordan is an anti-hero, Nick and Gatsby are heroes, and Tom is a villain.

Nick- Nick is portrayed throughout the first three chapters as having characteristics of a hero. For example, Nick is said to be honest many times throughout the first three chapters making him an obvious hero.

Gatsby-I do not yet know too much about Gatsby but, based on what the other characters have said about him he would be a hero. The book says, "If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him." (2). The narrator also continues to say good things about Gatsby so this leads me to believe he is a hero.

Jordan- Jordan is a good friend to Nick although she seems to have some bad qualities as well. She parties and drinks and is overall rude but she is still a good friend to Nick. "The bored haughty face that she turned to the world concealed something" (57).

Tom- Tom is the villain because he only seeks his happiness. Throughout the first few chapters he has put Daisy down just so the he could be on top and happy. This makes him the villain.

Evaluating Death Penalty Paragraphs

I thought that Kroll's essay was much more effective because of it use of Pathos. The Pathos really made me feel bad for him and his situation. The story that he used really appealed to me as well because of the amount of Pathos that it used. I thought that Menken's essay was a little confusing it also used a lot of ethos and logos which are not very appealing to me. I find that pathos appeals to me more therefore this is why I did not find Menken's essay as agreeable with.

"Sixteen Military Wives"

1. The song is talking about how military wives are suffering because their husbands are away working hard for our country while everyone else sits around doing nothing and taking our military for granted.
2. The theme of the song is that everyone should be thankful for our military and the work that they do.

"Race for the Prize"

The theme of Race for the Prize is that to get what you want you sometimes have to go to extreme measures to get it. In the song the two scientists both want the same thing but have to fight to get what they want. In the lyrics it says, "Theirs is to win if it kills them" this shows that they must go to extreme measures to get the prize that they want. It also says, "Forging for the future but to sacrifice their lives both of them side by side so determined" this statement also helps the theme because it shows what they must go through so that they are able to get what they want. 

JFK's speech fallacies

The quote I chose from the speech that commits a fallacy is the quote, "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet and hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of the liberty."
This quotes commits the fallacy of begging the question because he is saying that to assure the survival and success of our nation we must do all of these things. All of these things do not assure that we will have survival and success but he makes us think we must do these things by using this fallacy.
Speeches that commit so many fallacies are so very famous because they say things that make sense to us before we think about it logically. The speeches are very famous because they say very simple, wrong things that seem to make a lot of sense to us before we actually think logically about it. This is what makes them so very famous.

Duck and Cover

The overt message is too duck and cover when you seen a flash or siren for an atomic bomb. We know this because it was clearly stated throughout the clip. They showed many different people ducking and covering when they heard a siren or saw a flash.

The covert message is that we are not safe. They never actually say that we are not safe; they just say that duck and cover could decrease our chances of being injured. Also throughout the clip they are pretty positive that sometime in the future an atomic bomb will hit and we are not prepared.

This is informational because it is just letting you know what to do if something like this ever happens to you. It does not contain propoganda.

Destination Earth

The overt message is that oil is a great attribute to America and we should buy it. I know this because throughout the clip the martians are intrigued on how our society can be run so perfectly on oil. This shows us how much oil is needed in America and what runs on it.

There is no covert message because this is persuasion. There is a lot of logos throughout the clip. It is mainly facts about oil and America. This also uses the bandwagon technique that everyone is using oil so we should too.

Eat Less Bread

The overt message is to eat less bread.
The covert message is you need to help out our military and you can do this by eating less bread.
This is propaganda because on the poster they just write eat less bread. Without thinking about it you eat less bread which ends up helping the military. Therefore, this shows that the people are helping the military without realizing it.

The Clash "Clampdown"

The lyrics of the clampdown are about Nazis and how the work that they did was completely wrong in society.
I know this because in the song it says, "Taking off his turban, they said, is this man a Jew?" Also they say, "We train our blue-eyed men To be young believers." Both of these quotes indicate that they are talking about Nazi Germany.

The song has a very harsh sound showing that the clampdown is wrong. The loudness and shortness of their voices also shows that they are not happy with what is going on at the clampdown.

This song is saying that they are using propaganda to make people believe what they are doing is right. For example they say, "We will teach our twisted speech." This indicates that they are telling the people lies to make them think that the clampdown is okay.

Propaganda, Persuasion, and Deception

265, 268, 290, 294

290. The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words. PHILIP K. DICK

While reading this quote I kept thinking of 1984 which we have just recently read in class. In the book Big Brother changed the history so that the people knew nothing of what had happened before. He changed the words and manipulated the people into believing him so that he could stay in control. This happens not only in fictional societies but around you everyday.
This quote is showing both propaganda and rhetoric. Without realizing it people get you to believe things all the time just based on the way they said something or the way that they twisted the truth. This quote exemplifies propaganda in its greatest. This quote is also an example of rhetoric because it is saying that people use certain things in language to get you to believe them. They may change it or use a certain technique to make you buy in to what they are saying.
Ads do this everyday when they are trying to sell their product. They tell you false information that you will go off and tell the next friend you see. This is their way of manipulating you into buying their product. For example, they say "This shoe won the worldwide contest for best comfort!" This makes you believe that the shoe is very comfortable so you buy it. Politicians do this frequently as well. In their campaign ads they will tell you false facts about the other candidate that makes you believe them and turns you against the other candidate.
The manipulation of words happens everyday and is a very good propaganda technique for tricking people into believing them.