Chapter 3 continues the scene of Gatsby's party. His parties are known to be very extravagant and "all out" but the thing is nobody gets invites, people just show up. Well that's usually the case, in this instance Nick was invited personally by the Gatsby to come to his party, an opportunity he cannot pass up.You would think for someone who throws open invite parties Gatsby would be a social butterfly but instead he actually stands in the background and keeps to himself. Many people would come to his parties just to admire his many prized possessions. He was very well known for having extraordinary materials such as cars, clothes, homes, etc.
The setting created in chapter 2 is known as the "Valley of Ashes" and it is just that, nothing but negative energy, poverty, and it gives off a strong feeling of the color gray; gloomy and shadow-like. Thus setting is set as a very negative tone to the chapter. The valley is a result of the industrial garbage produced by the "Brighter Side" of the city, this is ironic because the better people/things in society are creating the worse/uglier versions of themselves. Wilson is a representation of the valley of ashes, he is seen as lifeless and people "Better" than him still continue to take from him and add to his pity. In this i am referring to Tom and Wilson's wife having an affair. The party scene has a lot going on, Gatsby is known to keep to himself and he says the party was the second time he's even been drunk, this causing him to finally open up.
Nick Carraway has been surrounded by money all his life, his family is very well known as one of the biggest "Old Money" Dynasties in the Mid-West. They have established themselves in the entrepreneurial community for a couple of generations now. Despite Nick coming from an enormous amount of money he still humbles himself in a way that he can show his class and lack arrogance as well. He seems very well educated as he attended Yale and uses very upgraded vocabulary. Nick's home is in Chicago yet he rarely stays there, he spends a lot of time away with his friends who are also of supreme social status. Even though he associates with mostly upper class people he is still very humble and down to earth. One thing i notice is that although he can come off as very judgmental he never seems to voice his judgments with anybody, therefore the only people who would see him as such would be the readers of this Book. Nick Carraway may seem like your typical heir to a fortune 500 company, spoiled, stuck up, etc. but i can assure you he is everything but.
6. The way Hawthorne uses diction it is evident that he has been studying/writing literature throughout his life. He doesn't just use big vocabulary here and there his sentences flow and certain words setup the next. It's somewhat of an art to be honest and its apparent he did not just pick up a pen and start writing the sentences he does, that takes practice and mastery.
7. I haven't had many previous experience reading Hawthorne's works but even I could tell that he has very strong Transcendentalist views. He makes a few references to non conformity and relationships with nature but he also makes a preacher seem very much so unholy. When you think of a preacher you think of the good that one does so when you corrupt him in a way its questioning christianity as a whole. 8.Hawthorne is a huge foreshadower in Mr. Hopper's secret. Throughout the book he is slowly revealing more and more about his secret and making it seem like his secret is a bad one/sin. His foreshadowing makes me think about the veil and its relativity to foreshadowing. |