Chapter 9 Live Blogging!

Have fun!

Live Blogging! Chapters 8 and 9 of Gatsby

Please see reminders in the post below. Enjoy!

Chapters 7 and 8 Live Blogging!

Reminders:
(1) Please reference by name to whom you are responding. Ex: I agree with Clay's comment about Gatsby's childlike approach to love, but I think we need to give Gatsby more credit because he is the only character in this novel who stays true to his love.

(2) Please use correct punctuation and spelling (as always).

(3) Hit the F5 key to refresh. You will need to do this continually in order to see everyone's comments.

(4) Try to find a balance between listening to the inner circle and having your own blogging discussion on the outer circle. Please don't abandon the inner circle altogether.

Myrtle's Death: Continuation of Chapter 7 Fishbowl

Please continue today's discussion by responding to at least one of the questions below:

(1) Fitzgerald's description of Myrtle's death is fairly gruesome and detailed:
"Michaelis and this man reached her first but when they had torn open her shirtwaist still damp with perspiration they saw that her left breast was swinging loose like a flap and there was no need to listen for the heart beneath. The mouth was wide open and ripped at the corners as though she had choked a little in giving up the tremendous vitality she had stored so long."
What details of this quotation seem important/symbolic to you? How so?

(2) The scene with the cars is complex and confusing (tortuous and labyrinthine, if you will). Fitzgerald probably could have made this vehicular homocide far simpler. What significance might there be in the switches of cars and couples?

(3) Why do you think this scene takes place on Nick's (30th) birthday? Why do you think he forgot it was his birthday?

Gatsby: Chapter 6 Follow-up

Due to time constraints, the discussers from today's fishbowl ran out of time while analyzing chapter 6. Please finish your discussion here by responding to the following question (it was created by today's leadership group):

Why do you think Gatsby changed his name from "James Gatz" to "Jay Gatsby"? What might this represent?