Great gatsby

[Stu]

I  Part of the tragedy and comedy of the novel is that Gastby has done all this work reinventing himself for the sake of someone who is manifestly unworthy.  Not that Gastby is himself the picture of probity and virtue.  Nonetheless, what Fitzgerald is trying to get accross is the silliness and falseness of the illusion Gatsby has been harboring all these years.

Which is sort of a metaphor for the Roaring 20s in itself -- it was a house of cards, built on an illusion. Fitzgerald was prescient in that sense, as was Graham Greene years later in his novels "The Quiet American" and "The Comedians."

 

[Nonk]

Also a xerox of the fascist-symp Duke of Windsor, wearing one of his fair isle sweaters. I colored it with pencils

Can I just say I love that mental image.

 

[dopey]



As shallow as Daisy was, would Gatsby have become as succesful as he did without her memory driving him?

I doubt it.  That's part of the tragedy.  Gatsby's genuine talent is channelled into foolish ends.

And, did he actually go to Oxford? I don't know if this was another one of his lies, or if he really did go for only a semester.

I believe that Tom Buchanan has someone investigate Gatsby, who turns out to have attended for five months after WWI, on a partial scholarship that the British offered to WWI officers. Correction: I checked.  Tom does not commission an investigation.  He simply asserts that Gatsby never went to Oxford, and Gatsby comes back with the bit about the scholarship.  It's not clear if this is a "climbdown, backfill lie" or the truth.  I'm inclined to believe that it's all phony, and Gatsby never laid eyes on Oxford.

Gatsby has photos of himself at Oxford, making it likely that he attended Oxford for a shortwhile on a GI-bill equivalent as he claims, even if he cannot say, as he admits, that he is an Oxford Man.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

You've been thinking about this for a long time.

I think the passage offers a great deal of insight into both gatsby and daisy. It shows him as overcompensating in his attempt to be all things wealthy. His goal is to fit in with the old money, but his taste fails him, as they would likely be a bit more subtle in both style and display of wealth. His ego and frustration cause him to toss them at her. He wants her to notice his wealth and realize her mistake.

Daisy shows herself to be especially flimsy. She breaks down because she realizes the man she loved and left was abundantly capable, however, she needs an excuse for her display of emotion and decides to blame it on the shirts.

The only character I find worthy of any admiration is actually Tom. He's a bit of a prick, but isn't attempting to be anything that he is not. His wife nearly decided to leave him and he still held his tempter in front of both her and her lover. He knew Gatsby for a fraud pretty quickly and held his tong until the moment where he could cause Gatsby to boil over.

 

[Bhowie]

Ooooooo Jimmy Wilson has a crush on Leo DiCaprio oooooooo