Journal #21

Some Like it Hot and The Great Gatsby both focus on society in the 1920s. The theme of both is money and greed. The characters all drink and smoke and it includes flappers, partying, and divorce. Characters are indulging in affairs (Great Gatsby) and men and women are getting divorced multiple different times (Some Like It Hot). In both works it also seems that prohibition comes into discussion. In Some Like It Hot Joe and Jerry are playing at clubs where partying and illegal alcohol is sold and in the Great Gatsby, Gatsby became wealthy through bootlegging. The works also focus on women who fall in love with men because of their wealth. Sugar falls in with Joe because she thought he was a wealthy oil tycoon and Daisy fell for Tom because of his obvious wealth. The biggest different between the two works is that the end of Great Gatsby ends in tragedy and Some Like It Hot is a happy comical ending where the characters do find love.

Journal #20

In the end of the book, Nick uses imagery of Gatsby's parties. He says that the parties have now ended and they will never fill his mansion again. He uses the parties as an example for Gatsby's life. The parties have ended along with his life and everyone has left. The green light is a visual symbol of the hope that Gatsby had. He always thought that the green light stood for his life long dream of being with Daisy but in the end the reality of his dream caught up to him. The green light was an example of Gatsby's hope along with the Dutch sailors. The green light was bright and beautiful just as Long Island was when the Dutch found it. The island excited the Dutch sailors and gave the hope for their aspiring dreams. But like Gatsby, the reality of it all got in the way and their dreams became untouchable. People spend their whole lives trying to accomplish their dreams and ambitions but are only pushed back down by their past.

Journal #19

Journal 19 - Characterization in Chapter 1 of The Great Gatsby Write a description for each of the following characters based on his/her first appearance in Chapter 1. Your description should include: -the character’s physical appearance; -the character’s actions/words; -an adjective that best describes the character based on his/her initial appearance Nick Carraway Adjective ________Understanding__________ Throughout the book it seems as if Nick is always very understands of people’s problems. He is always faced with them and always keeps an open mind about them. He is a young man from the mid-west who came to west egg to work in the bond business. His physical appearance is not discussed in the book but Nick can characterized as being polite, quite, and reserved. Tom Buchanan Adjective _______Arrogant_________ Tom is a very well built muscular, athletic man who is obviously very into himself in the book. He is seen as racist and judgmental of those who are not as successful as him. He is arrogant in that he has a side lover other than his wife and even leaves dinner to speak with her. Nick makes it very clear throughout the book that Tom is overly into himself and stuck up. Daisy Buchanan Adjective ______Charming_________ Daisy is the kind of woman who has the whole room hanging onto to her every word. She is charming in every way possible. She is described as, “her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it, bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth, but there was an excitement in her voice that men who had cared for her found difficult to forget.” She is blonde and fair-skinned. She talks loud and seems to be in love with wealth. Jordan Baker Adjective _______Independent________ Jordan Baker seems to me as someone who is easily on her own. She doesn’t need someone else to depend and has enough confidence in herself not to need another figure in her life. She is described as being slender, small chested, and the opposite of Daisy. She comes off as polite but distant never truly giving anything away about herself. Jay Gatsby Adjective ____Determined/Mysterious_____________ Gatsby is a very mysterious character in the first chapter who is very misunderstood. He is seen in the first chapter on the dock looking at the green light across the river. He is determined to be exactly what Daisy wants and that was the result of him having a large amount of money. It seems that he is determined to win Daisy.