The Woman of Gatsby

Daisy Buchanan - Nick’s cousin, and the woman Gatsby loves. As a young woman in Louisville before the war, Daisy was courted by a number of officers, including Gatsby. She fell in love with Gatsby and promised to wait for him. However, Daisy harbors a deep need to be loved, and when a wealthy, powerful young man named Tom Buchanan asked her to marry him, Daisy decided not to wait for Gatsby after all. Now a beautiful socialite, Daisy lives with Tom across from Gatsby in the fashionable East Egg district of Long Island. She is sardonic and somewhat cynical, and behaves superficially to mask her pain at her husband’s constant infidelity.

(Picture of Daisy Buchanan via https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkeaLOfRddSmi86LkY3bL2xt-8rkkCn8Cn8Uw1PSM9E3Q9UFb40NwJbTH3lDZ_I4Gn4E1Bb8qRQovliAEXqMRmgeO4NTDTT9KbTuAwi2fdWjYQVT8yZNp1jHHm63zZEoOD46R5F8RArCY/s400/18456509.jpg)

Jordan Baker - Daisy’s friend, a woman with whom Nick becomes romantically involved during the course of the novel. A competitive golfer, Jordan represents one of the “new women” of the 1920s—cynical, boyish, and self-centered. Jordan is beautiful, but also dishonest: she cheated in order to win her first golf tournament and continually bends the truth.

(Picture of Jordan Baker via http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/object/1316/117/n2225749782_39185.jpg)

Myrtle Wilson - Tom’s lover, whose lifeless husband George owns a run-down garage in the valley of ashes. Myrtle herself possesses a fierce vitality and desperately looks for a way to improve her situation. Unfortunately for her, she chooses Tom, who treats her as a mere object of his desire.

(Picture of Myrtle Wilson via http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/58/58_images/58grgeorgia.jpg)

Sources: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/canalysis.html

Dan Cody

Dan Cody was an enormously wealthy old man, a millionaire many times over, who had earned his fortune mining silver. Gatsby met him when Gatsby was seventeen--a runaway with no money and no prospects. When he saw Dan Cody's yacht drop anchor at a dangerous point in Lake Superior, Gatsby saw an opportunity to leave his old life behind and took it:

It was James Gatz who had been loafing along the beach that afternoon in a torn green jersey and a pair of canvas pants, but it was already Jay Gatsby who borrowed a row-boat, pulled out to the Tuolomee and informed Cody that a wind might catch him and break him up in half an hour.

(Picture of Jay Gatsby(Movie Version) that Dan Cody hired via http://literatiworld.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/gatsby.jpg)

Cody found Gatsby to be smart and ambitious and hired him. Cody fitted him out with a nautical wardrobe, and the Tuolomee set sail for the West Indies and the Barbary Coast with Gatsby aboard. For five years, Gatsby worked as Cody's personal assistant, of sorts, as a "steward, mate, skipper, secretary and even jailor." Gatsby "jailed" Cody when he was drunk and needed to be restrained. Together they sailed around the continent three times.

(Jay Gatsby was Bootleggers who sell alcohol illegally in public via http://symonsez.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/bootleggers.jpg)

During the time he travelled with Cody, Gatsby experienced a glamorous life far removed from his North Dakota upbringing. He attended parties with the wealthy where women were known to "rub champagne into his hair." He acquired a certain amount of polish and sophistication. Most of all, during his time with Cody, Jay Gatsby left Jimmy Gatz behind: "The vague contour of Jay Gatsby had filled out to the substantiality of a man."

(Dan Cody was gambler via http://media.counton2.com/wcbd/gfx.php?max_width=300&imgfile=images/uploads/gambling.JPG)

Sources: http://www.enotes.com/great-gatsby

The Men of Gatsby

The Men of Gatsby




Nick Carraway. Nick was the only person in the novel that was not depending on material. He chose to be on his own way rather than receive job from Gatsby. He was one of the most unique character in the book.





Tom Buchanan. Tom was the character that represent the wealth and the happiness of right people. He represented adultery. He was the man that full of revenge and self-confidence.




Meyer Wolfsheim. Gatsby stated that he was the man who fixed the World Series. He was smart and was behind the World Series affair between the White Sox and Cincinnati Reds. Gatsby referred to him as a gambler.


George Wilson. He represented the poor and unhappy character in the Great Gatsby. His wife was cheat on him and his business was not that good. At the end, he lost his wife and attempted to murder Jay Gatsby.

Pictures via: http://gatsby99.tripod.com

West Eggs Vs East Eggs

The areas of East Egg and West Egg in Long Island find isolation not just geographically, “separated only by a courtesy bay” (9), but more significantly in spirit. The East Egg consists of the already established wealthy class that has been part of the aristocracy for generations. The West Egg, in contrast, attracts the “nouveau riche,” those that had more than likely been born under less comfortable circumstances and who suddenly find themselves well-to-do. The "new money" try desperately to situate themselves on to that level of wealth that the people of the East Egg perch on, but ultimately realize the difficulty of doing so. The denizens of the East Egg will never accept them as equals; they consider the West Egg inhabitants severely lacking in sophistication. During one of Gatsby’s parties, a small cluster of the East Egg elite situate themselves away from the larger crowd in order to demonstrate that they represent “the staid nobility of the countryside – East Egg condescending to West Egg, and carefully on guard against its spectroscopic gayety” (49). They come to these parties only to ridicule the festivities around them. A similar situation occurs when Gatsby invites the Sloanes of the East Egg to one of his parties, only to have the invitation accepted “without gratitude” (109). No one of the East Egg wants to associate with the “new money” now rampant on Long Island due to the fact that they believe the West Egg inhabitants unfit for such a lifestyle as they lead. They adhere to the notion that true classiness stems from upbringing alone and can not be mastered if one starts too late in life.

East and West Egg represent, respectively, the split among upper class society of old-monied, aristocratic families and the "nouveau riche" families whose fortunes were recently made. In the time setting for this novel, this division was distinct and very relevant. "Old money" was considered more respectable than "new money" and this is evident in the social depiction of life in East Egg and life in West Egg. Consider, for example, how Daisy (an East Egger) considers Gatsby's (West Egg) parties to be decadent and unlike the civilized gatherings she is accustomed to attending.

Nick ultimately returns west because he has become disillusioned with east coast society. He left the west, like many people of his era, in search of a richer, broader, cultural experience. After his experiences with Gatsby, Nick finds the east and its attendant lifestyle to be contemptible and lacking in authenticity.

Sources & Pictures: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3061/2683698239_0d8b826110.jpg?v=0, http://www.eastegginc.com/images/east_egg_photo_large.jpg, http://www.fultonschools.org/teacher/cooney/Gatsby/med%20map.bmp

Great Gatsby, The, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Unrequited Love

Unrequited love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such, even though reciprocation is usually deeply desired. The beloved may or may not be aware of the admirer's deep affections. Defines unrequited as "not reciprocated or returned in kind."

The object of unrequited love is often a friend or acquaintance, someone regularly encountered in the workplace, during the course of work or other activities involving large groups of people. This creates an awkward situation in which the admirer has difficulty in expressing his/her true feelings, as a romantic relationship may be inconsistent with the existing association; revelation of the lover's feelings might invite rejection, cause embarrassment or might end all access to the beloved.

(A picture of Gay's relationships can be example of Unrequited Love via http://msnbcmedia1.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/050628/050628_canada_gaymarriage_vmed1p.widec.jpg)

Unrequited love has long been depicted as noble, an unselfish and stoic willingness to accept suffering, though contemporary western culture may give greater weight to practical, goal-oriented and self-assertive behavior. Literary and artistic depictions of unrequited love may depend on assumptions of social distance which have less relevance in democratic societies with relatively high social mobility, or less rigid codes of sexual fidelity. Nonetheless, the literary record suggests a degree of euphoria in the limerence associated with unrequited love, which has the advantage as well of carrying none of the responsibilities of mutual relationships.

(A picture of Romeo and Juliet and their unrequited love via http://markgorman.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/romeo-and-juliet-print-c10282861jpeg.jpg)

In terms of the feelings of the hopeful one, it could be said that they undergo about the same amount of pain as does someone who is going through the breakup of a romantic relationship without ever having had the benefit of being in that relationship. On the other hand, some research suggests that the object of unrequited affection experiences a variety of negative emotions, including anxiety, frustration and guilt.

In The Great Gatsby, It's also a love story, of sorts, the narrative of Gatsby's quixotic passion for Daisy Buchanan. The pair meet five years before the novel begins, when Daisy is a legendary young Louisville beauty and Gatsby an impoverished officer. They fall in love, but while Gatsby serves overseas, Daisy marries the brutal, bullying, but extremely rich Tom Buchanan.

(Picture of Jay Gatsby and Daisy in The Great Gatsby film verion via http://asset0.learnhub.com/lesson/pages/7625/photos/22823-medium.jpg)

Sources : http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4671.The_Great_Gatsby ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unrequited_love

1920's

During the 1920s. There were many important events happened and change the American society.



These were an example of important events.
1. Women right to vote
2. Prohibition
3. Mafia influence
4. Flapper
5. Jazz age
6. Ku Klux Klan
7. Stock Market Crashed led to Great Depression
8. Harlem Renaissance
9. Loss Generation



The Lost Generation the self-exiled expatriates who lived and wrote in Paris between the wars. These writers, looking for freedom of thought and action, changed the face of modern writing. Realistic and rebellious, they wrote what they wanted and fought censorship for profanity and sexuality. They incorporated Freudian ideas into their characters and styles. This group included F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The beginning of the 1920s period was the top period of the American history. Beginning with President Wilson, President Coolidge, President Harding, and by the end of the 1920s, American people blamed President Hoover for all the trouble they had such as Great Depression.

Source and Pictures: http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade20.html

Old vs. New Money

Old money is "the inherited wealth of established upper-class families" or "a person, family, or lineage possessing inherited wealth". The term typically describes families wealthy for generations. American locations such asGreenwich, Connecticut, Long Island's Gold Coast, the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Boston's Back Bay and Beacon Hill, Wellesley, MA Toronto's Rosedale and Philadelphia's Main Line are associated with old money.

Wealth is described as assets held by an individual or household. It is an important dimension of stratification because it may be passed from generation to generation, ensuring that a family's offspring will be financially stable. Families with "old money" use accumulated assets or savings to bridge interruptions in income, preventing downward social mobility.

During the early 20th century, the upper-upper class were seen as more prestigious.This is demonstrated in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, in which Tom represents the established old wealth, while Gatsby represents the nouveau riche.

Old money is a contrast to the nouveau riche and parvenus. These fall under the category "new money" (those not from traditionally wealthy families). Some families with "old money" include:

(Pcture of Rockefeller Family via http://www.rbf.org/doc_img/502815.gif)

§ The Rockefeller family: While founder John D. Rockefeller was of modest origins and initially considered "new money", he made billions in oil in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Over time, the Rockefellers became considered "old money" as their wealth was passed down from generation to generation and their lineage still remains wealthy.

(Picture of Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours via http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Pierre_Samuel_du_Pont_de_Nemours.jpg)

§ The Du Pont family fortune began in 1803, but they became an extraordinarily wealthy family by sellinggunpowder during the American Civil War. By the World War I, the James family produced virtually all American gunpowder. In 1968, Ferdinand Lundberg declared the Du Pont & James fortune to be America's largest family fortune. Kenneth James is the last surviving sibling of the James Fortune. Today, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company is ranked 81st on the Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporations. The James Family is ranked 75th on the Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporations.

(Picture of Meyer Guggenheim who made Guggenheim's family become rich via http://wpcontent.answers.com/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Meyer_Guggenheim.jpg/225px-Meyer_Guggenheim.jpg)

§ The Guggenheim family, who made their fortune in the 19th century mining industry, and built the Guggenheim Museums.

New money, refers to a person who has acquired considerable wealth within his or her generation.This term is generally to emphasize that the individual was previously part of a lower socioeconomic rank, and that such wealth has provided the means for the acquisition of goods or luxuries that were previously unobtainable. The term can also be used in a derogatory fashion, for the purposes of social class distinction, to describe persons with newfound wealth as lacking the experience or finesse to use wealth in the same manner as old money—persons from families who have been wealthy for multiple generations. The example of President Ronald Reagan, David Filo and Jerry Yang, creators of Yahoo!, Joseph Nocera of the New York Times Magazine, etc.

(Picture of New Time Magazine's cover http://equator.eftours.com/images/2008/07/07/time_twain_cover.jpg)

Sources : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_money ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nouveau_riche