Jordan+&+Austin's

__The Great Gatsby__

5. What part of his past is Gatsby trying to recapture? Is he successful? Is there a person, feeling, or event in your past that you would want to revisit?

Gatsby is trying to recapture the time spent with Daisy Buchanon before the war. He does this by throwing parties hoping she would eventually show up, and later on he actually spends time with her. Considering that Daisy did not seem to happy around him, and Gatsby died before he could get the girl, he was unsuccessful. Gatsby is also trying recapture his "perfect" lifestyle before the war, this is shown through him throwing huge parties, but just doing for the image since he is not partying himself.

We would like to recapture our childhood's in which we did not have to work at school, and also had nap time. Back in those days, no matter what you did (exempt killing a man) you were seen as cute and harmless. Is not ironic that as children all we want is to grow up and gain responsibilities, yet as young adults and adults, we yearn to go back to the days with less.



9. What makes __The Great Gatsby__ a classic novel? Why has it maintained its place in American literature?

The Great Gatsby is a classic novel because it went straight to the heart of the ups and downs of the jazz age. Heavy partying, drama, and indulgence were all part of the daily life of the wealthy americans during this time. While all of these things seem like positives they brought about bad things too. It would use the words a classicl novel because of the American Dream aspect of the book. It is a book on how one man lives in a lower "class" than what he wants and he finds a young lady Daisy and falls in love with her. He takes her money and wealth into account and liking her and wanting her. Does he really like her for who she is or does he just want her money and to be at the higher class. It is about the dream of wanting money and living in happiness. This may be different dream than a man may have if he lives in America already or if they are coming from another country that is less weathly than us.



10. Discuss elements of the Jazz Age that Fitzgerald includes in __The Great Gatsby__.

The jazz age was a time where people forgot the worries and stresses of WWI by living in excess if able, to and enjoying life in general. Fitzgerald lived in this age and it shows heavily in __The Great Gatsby__. Throughout the book their are innumerable party's, some at Gatsby's and a few at other locations. These party's are described as having many people involved and being very flashy and fancy. Orchestras and dancing are involved, with many people drinking and having a good time. while as the reader we know Gatsby throws these parties to attract Daisy, for the people these events are for the pure joy of partying. This shows that maybe Fitzgerald is trying to get across that while people in the 20's appeared to be always happy and exuberant, under the surface things were not all okay.

VIDEO ABOUT JAZZ AGE [|The 20's and The Jazz Age] - This video offers a way to view the 20's and understand why this book fits in with it.

VIDEO ON THE GREAT GATSBY

//The Real Great Gatsby//- Goes over the basic reason why Fitzgerald wrote the book and the basic plot. [|Detail on the death of Gatsby]-This video offered something to me that i didn't notice the first time reading the book. It puts a new image into you mind, and answers questions you have following the death of Gatsby.

Works Cited The Cruel Rich: The Death of Jay Gatsby. Discovery Education. 1997.Discovery Education. 17 March 2010  // Curled Up With A Book //. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. . Fitzgerald, F. Scott. //The Great Gatsby//. New York: Scribner, 2004. Print. "Jazz Age: Definition from Answers.com." //Answers.com: Wiki Q&A Combined with Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Encyclopedias//. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. . "Photos of Mia Farrow." //The Internet Movie Database (IMDb)//. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. . The Real Great Gatsby. Discovery Education. 2006.Discovery Education. 17 March 2010