2.4 Chapters 8 & 9- The Great Gatsby

"The touch of a cluster of leaves revolved it slowly, tracing, like the leg of compass, a thin red circle in the water."

            The author is presenting the moment of revealing Gatsby’s death with serenity and a bit of peacefulness. The leaves are symbolic for the end of a life; they have fallen off the tree into the water where Gatsby lay dead. The comparison to a compass leg is used to also create a sense of peacefulness in the moment, which is otherwise grim and depressing. The peacefulness is present because the writer wants us, the reader, to feel a peace with Gatsby’s death. (82 words)

"It was after we started with Gatsby toward the house that the gardener saw Wilson’s body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete."

            The main part of this statement is the very end, “and the holocaust was complete.” A holocaust is, by definition, a mass killing. However, in this case only three people have died, one not even being is this scene. The use of the word holocaust is used because upon hearing that word, people automatically think of The Holocaust that happened where millions of people died. The emotions of sorrow and sadness associated with The Holocaust are transported to the readers mind when they are reading about this final scene. (89 words)

"I have an idea that Gatsby himself didn’t believe it would come, and perhaps he no longer cared. If that was true he must have felt that he had lost the old warm world, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream."

            Nick is expressing how he believes Gatsby felt the night he died, after knowing that he has lost the love of his life, the only thing he ever wanted in life, the reason that he made himself the person that he was when he died. According to Nick, Gatsby lost the old warm world meaning anything that was comforting to him in creating any pleasure and comfort in his life was gone completely. Gatsby also, in Nick’s opinion, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream referring to Daisy. Gatsby spent his entire life chasing after one girl. He created his life, he become important, he made himself the man he was all to get Daisy to be with him and once he realized that Daisy was gone for ever, he lost all hope in life. Gatsby had nothing to live for because he had built his entire life in the hopes that one day he could get Daisy back but after that had come and pass without falling into place, the world became cold and lonely and hard. (182 words)

"Gatsby’s house was still empty when I left — the grass on his lawn had grown as long as mine."

            Nick, while returning to Gatsby’s house after Gatsby’s death, noticed the grass in front of his house. At the beginning of the book Gatsby and Nick bump head about the length of the grass. The author uses this as a reference to bring back the memory of the days before we knew who Gatsby really was, when he was still a mysterious, secretive, seemingly perfect human with everything he could ever want. (72 words)

"I thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. … He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night."

            Nick is reflecting on Gatsby’s love with Daisy, he would always watch her green light at the end of the dock where she lived. The first moment the Gatsby saw her light, he was probably mesmerized and amazed that she seemed so close to his grasp, yet at the same time, the fact that the light was far off and not accessible from where he was represents how she would always stay, which is set apart. Its almost as if in the blackness of night her light shone to Gatsby just like in his world the only thing he could see was Daisy, everything else that he had or anything great that was in front of him was nothing but a blur of blackness, an abyss because the only thing he cared about, the only thin he could see was Daisy, as she shone for him. (146 words)

2.3 Best in Class

According to the writer, Margaret Talbot, the concept of declaring a valedictorian is outdated and more harmful than it is helpful.

Primarily, the valedictorian designation system has created problems between competitors some of which are ending in lawsuits and unnecessary stresses on the students. The parents and the students themselves of these court cases are so driven by the insensitive to get valedictorian that they let high school slip by them. Furthermore, it ends up causing a great amount of stress towards a concept and title that eventually will fade away and mean nothing.

            The court cases resulting from poorly designated valedictorians normally represent both parties as greedy and power hungry when in reality that might not be how they truly are. The differences between the GPAs of students differ by less than a full point. However this is still enough to push you up and over or drag you under.

            The author suggests that a better, more efficient way of giving the title “valedictorian” is done through allowing the top fifteen percent of students in their class be dubbed the valedictorian. Supposedly this will dilute some of the intense competition between students. But this is where Talbot’s opinion and my own differ.

            The system put in place is put there to be an insensitive to work hard and get to the top. One of the students took a class that was considered too easy for him in order to be the competitor with the highest number of credits. This was greatly frowned upon however it should be considered fair. Not only did he show intelligence in being one of the top performers at his school, he showed his common sense and determination to be number one. He sought the council of his councilor first and therefore should be rewarded with his efforts to be first. Students like this would not exist if there was no incentive through high school other than to get by.

            One of the valedictorians talked about how in college nobody really cared that she was top of her class, in fact, it was never brought up! Students are given the impression that obtaining this title gives them much more than just a ride to college. Granted yes, a free ride to college is great incentive to study and work hard, however that really is the extent of things you receive from this title. In college so many people can be valedictorian that it would be very conceded to try and brag about it.

A suggestion was made saying that have a top percentage be the valedictorian as opposed to just one person. However this poses the issue of a lack of motivation. Even thought a student will not get even close to valedictorian, the motivation to get their grades up to a certain point ot be above the middle line, or to be above average, or even to be top of the class is due to the system we have in place. To take that away or to alter is dramatically would create a ripple into the patterns of students resulting in a lack of motivation.

In conclusion the system of valedictorians is a fair right, the rules should be laid out more plainly to keep honest people honest and to keep looser from trying to obtain what is not theirs.

2.2 Chapters 6-7 The Great Gatsby

 

>>“But his heart was in a constant, turbulent riot. The most grotesque and fantastic conceits haunted him in his bed at night.”

            Talking about Gatsby, the author describes the heart as in constant turbulent riot, something that here means ever-present, unsettling feeling or uneasiness. Previously in the book the author eludes to Gatsby as some mystical inhuman person who has no emotion and has life all together, but simple wants a girl he was with once. Now the author paints a new picture of the old Gatsby, one of insecurities and of a conscious that brings things to his mind to torment him as he tries to sleep. The painted picture represents a normal human being, not some super human who thinks he is right and perfect and has an amazing life. (words 110)

>>“I felt an unpleasantness in the air, a pervading harshness that hadn’t been there before.”

            Nick is describing the atmosphere found at Gatsby’s party following Tom’s surprise visit. There was a change in the winds when Tom found out that his girl and Gatsby knew each other. He was eager to see if there was anything more to their relationship than what they had already lead on. His new knowledge created a tension in the air and almost a spirit of anticipation. The anticipation of if Tom is going to realize that Daisy and Gatsby have chemistry together. The author stresses the intensity of this party is obviously present to the participating parties of this love triangle. Each member is hiding something or is trying to find something out and almost all the cards are out on the table. We are supposed to get the idea and the feeling that this party is an extremely awkward place for Nick to be. (words 146)

>>“He looked around him wildly, as if the past were lurking here in the shadow of his house, just out of reach of his hand.”

            Gatsby is in the middle of an attempted reality check with Nick. While discussing Gatsby’s idea that he can recreate the past, he pauses and looks around himself wildly according to the author. We are supposed to get a picture of how deeply devoted Gatsby is to this idea that he can have Daisy exactly like he did in the past. The word wildly gives us a snapshot of not only his physical stance but also a screenshot of what is going on in his head. He wildly wants to bring back the past and make it real again and he looks around himself wildly to see if there is any piece of the past around him that he can use to prove his point to Nick. (words 127)

>>“Their eyes met, and they stared together at each other, alone in space. With an effort she glanced down at the table.”

            This is yet another one of Daisy and Gatsby’s moments that show the readers just how deeply the feel about each other. “Their eye meet” is often used in a romantic setting, describing lovers. They are ‘alone in space,’ which also is another saying often associated with romance. They are deeply staring into each other’s eyes, not wanting to look away. Daisy has to put forth an effort to look down to try not to make it too painfully obvious to her husband that she and Gatsby are romantically involved. (words 90)

 >>“She looked at Tom, alarmed now, but he insisted with magnanimous scorn.”              

     The truth has just come out and Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby are all emotionally stressed. The moment is full of heat and anger. Daisy is just now realizing how her words have affected her husband. Now she chooses to worry about his reactions. She becomes alarmed when he sends her and Gatsby off in his car alone. The author uses this moment to communicate the anger and hurt Tom is feeling by using the word “magnanimous.” Which is nothing but a big word for great or big. The hurt Tom feels because of his wife’s words encourage him to send her off alone with her supposed long term lover. (words 109)

2.1 Commencement Speech at Mount Holyoke College

Perfection is a stressful word. There are people in our world who believe they have to live up to the standard of perfection placed in front of them by other people in their life when it really does not matter. The writer expresses this in her commencement speech. The main idea behind her speech is that nobody is perfect. The writer was constantly caught up in trying to be perfect however she soon found out that that was not possible. She begins talking about her past and how she was used to constantly being perfect. Using an analogy, she compares the burden of trying to be perfect to a backpack full of bricks. The constant thoughts of trying to be perfect and trying to please everyone around soon became too much for her to handle. There was no way she could do it, and for the first time she was realizing this. She wants to put the burden down and take off her backpack.

            The writer asks her readers if they feel any similarly with how she felt in the pressure of trying to achieve perfection, and beings to write about different ways of doing that. But the question here is, is being a perfectionist that bad?

            No, it’s not, but there is a fine line.  As humans we are all in search for the same thing: happiness in life. This happiness looks different for each person but in some form or another we want to be happy with the aspects of our life. Searching for this happiness is not wrong though. It has to be about you.

            To align the writer’s thoughts and my own, your focus has to be yourself and what you truly need. Most choices you make should be a reflection of what you want or what will better yourself.  The writer tells the reader to think back to first grade, when you could hear your own thoughts. That truly is the best time of your life, and unfortunately as first graders we are very unaware of that. The best thing you can do for yourself is to forget finding perfection and embrace yourself. Granted this is much easier said that actually achieved. But the key to it is looking at perfection and happiness. Compare them to another and decide if torturing yourself for years and years to come to try to achieve something inevitable unobtainable is worth more than experiencing your life with enjoyment and embracing what you do have and what you can actually achieve.

            Being a perfectionist is stressful, and eventually it will only lead to unhappiness because of the mentality you accumulate with the search for perfection. This mentality of “it is never enough” will eventually destroy you and how you perceive yourself. It is also dangerous because never being able to accept one thing about you will lead to the disappointment of things about yourself that are already wonderful how they are. The best thing you can do is what the writer says; lay down the burden labeled perfection.