Great Gatsby - The last....melon...

"It was when curiosity about Gatsby was at its highest that the lights in his house failed to go on one Saturday night - and, as obscurely as it had begun, his career as Trimalchio was over. Only gradually did I become aware that the automobiles which turned expectantly into his drive stayed for just a minute and then drove sulkily away. Wondering if he were sick I went over to find out - an unfamiliar butler with a villainous face squinted at me suspiciously from the door." (Page 113)

I feel it is only appropriate when finishing another novel to use a blog title that invokes curiosity. Well, confused reader, I am referring to the epic scene in Ice Age with the Dodo birds when Sid wants to get a watermelon for  the baby. After destroying 2 melons in their fight, Sid and the dodo birds see the third and final melon and one of the birds says, "the last....melon," in an extremely quotable manner. I would just post a video on here but I can't find one that is the right scene and in english. So you'll just have to imagine it. Hers's a picture:

I've decided that I liked this book. It kind of felt like watching 90210. There's always some new drama that the writer can spin into the plotline just in time to keep me intrigued.

But I can't imagine that these characters are as unrealistically attractive as the ones on 90210. Anyway, the story actually kept me entertained, and the drama was almost juicy in a way. The ending was quite unexpected, I must say. I definitely did not see 3 deaths coming. It kind of felt like reading a Shakespeare tragedy there at the end. Oh well. All's well that ends well. Sort of.

Great Gatsby - I've decided I like Nick.

"I've always been glad I said that. It was the only compliment I ever gave him, because I disapproved of him from beginning to end." (Page 154)

I like Nick. He's a wholesome character. In fact, he's the only character in this book that I didn't want to strangle at least once. A close second for my praise was Jordan, but she was just plain annoying at points in the story. Especially when she was just lounging without a care in the world in the beginning of the book when Nick meets her for the first time at the Buchanan's house. That scene reminded me of Mrs. Bennett of Pride and Prejudice during one of the scenes in the movie when she is just lazily sitting on the couch. And I like Mrs. Bennett, so this is a tough comparison for me to admit! Okay, I can't find a picture of this scene anywhere online, so you'll just have to imagine it. 

Anyway, Nick was capable of liking Gatsby but not liking him at the same time, and I can relate to that. I guess I'll have to believe his comment about always disapproving of Gatsby, but I have a hard time doing that when I think about how much care he took in arranging everything after Gatsby was shot. Someone had to do it, I guess.

Great Gatsby - External conflict

"It was after we started with Gatsby toward the house that the gardener saw Wilson's body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete." (Page 163)

Wilson and Gatsby didn't have any interaction until the night when one of Gatsby's decisions impacted Wilson's life forever (or at least for a few days until he killed himself). Gatsby let Daisy drive. And then he didn't make her stop when she hit someone with the car.Wilson found out who had killed his wife (or so he thought), and BOOM! External conflict! Wilson v. Gatsby. They both lost. Unfortunately, Wilson decided that the only way to avenge his wife was to kill Gatsby and then end his own life.  It's slightly depressing to think that this whole story passed rather happily with parties and drunken people until the very end when the splat-woosh factor set in. (Those of you who have ever had the privilege of learning from Mrs. Helbing know what this means. Those of you who don't: think of it as the (to use a nicer word) feces hitting the fan. Splat. Woosh.) I liked the action though. It gave the book substance, and I think I understand all of the hype surrounding this critically acclaimed novel. Bravo, Fitzgerald.

Great Gatsby - Antihero

"Then they sauntered over to my house and sat on the steps for half an hour, while at her request I remained watchfully in the garden." (Page 107)

I want to like Gatsby. I really do. But he's not helping himself. Every time I begin to have any sort of sympathy for him, he does something stupid like cheat with another man's wife or cover up a murder. So, I've decided his is the antihero of this story. He certainly lacks courage: it took him 5 years to speak to Daisy because he was worried she wouldn't love him if he wasn't rich. He lacks grace because he stupidly decides to spend time with Daisy and her husband more than once. He's intelligent, but he's not street smart, and he doesn't possess any worthy morals that I can discern. He is having an affair of sorts with a married woman, and then he allows her to kill someone and get away with it. Unfortunately, I sustained a bit of sympathy for him throughout the book simply because I find him kind of pathetic. He doesn't have any real friends, and the woman he loves leaves him. Plus he gets shot.

Great Gatsby - Motif

' "That's a great expression of yours, isn't it?" said Tom sharply.
"What is?"
"All this 'old sport' business. Where'd you pick that up?" ' (Page 127)

I must say, I was a bit relieved when Tom finally called Gatsby out on all of his "old sport"-ing. I was getting frustrated with it, and I wasn't even speaking to him! I noticed that this particular motif of Gatsby's occurs almost every time he speaks. It isn't confined to when he is angry or when he is being pleasant. It's just his thing. I guess I can understand that, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. It almost feels like a defense mechanism, though. It's Gatsby's way of ensuring that the listener won't think he is being rude or mean. It invites camaraderie and confidence. It actually almost makes him sound paternal, like a father patting his son on the back after a baseball game. Classic. Amurrican.

 I can practically hear this guy saying, "Good job, sport."

Great Gatsby - say what?!

"Then I was lying half asleep in the cold lower level of the Pennsylvania Station, staring at the morning Tribune, and waiting for the four o'clock train." (Page 38)

The end of chapter two confused the heck out of me, and to be completely honest, I ended up glossing over some of the drunken banter between Myrtle, Tom, the McKees, and all of the other randoms that decided to walk across the pages of chapter two because I just couldn't see the significance in some of it. Tom has a mistress, she's a little chubby, and she's a bit of a diva. They all like to drink. There. I just summarized it for myself.

I could handle all of the insanity up until the end when Tom randomly punched Myrtle Wilson in the face and broke her nose because she kept repeating Daisy's name and then the above quote happened when I'm assuming he awoke from his blackout. Who knows? I could definitely use some clarification on this particular scene. He mentions standing by somebody's bed, underwear, a great portfolio, and then Pennsylvania Station. All after accepting a lunch invitation from Mr. McKee that has yet to actually happen at the end of chapter five. Hmm.

Great Gatsby: Is Nick secretly Lemony Snicket?

"Reading over what I have written so far, I see I have given the impression that the events of three nights several weeks apart were all that absorbed me. On the contrary, they were merely casual events in a crowded summer, and, until much later, they absorbed me infinitely less than my personal affairs." (Page 56)

A Series of Unfortunate Events: we've all read them. Or at least, we read them until we were too depressed to carry on. (Although I must admit that Lemony Snicket does remind the reader every 4.2 seconds that they could be reading something less real and therefore less morbid. I'm not bitter though.) This popular series by Lemony Snicket is written in such a way that the author occasionally takes a step back from the story and addresses the reader about what is to come or how they should throw the book aside and run away to their grandma's house for cookies or blah blah blah...........zzzzzzzzzzzzz............I fell asleep. He uses his depressed tone of foreboding to entice the reader into carrying on with the innately tragic story of three little orphans. When he pauses to talk to his reader, Lemony Snicket likes to explain why he is telling the story the way he is or how certain events will make sense later.

Nick reminded me of Lemony Snicket on page 58 when he paused from his storytelling for a moment to address the reader about how he is writing the story. He wants to emphasize that the events he had previously described weren't the only things going on in his life. That's when he breaks into his description of work and New York. I don't know about you, but I was relived to learn Nick has an actual life.

Great Gatsby: Sketch Hands (foreshadowing)

"A caddy retracted his statement, and the only other witness admitted that he might have been mistaken." (Page 58)

My friends and I have a little thing we like to do called "sketch hands." I created them when we were walking in a weird alley downtown at night during NCYC on our way to dinner. We were in a big group, so we were perfectly safe, but it still  felt a bit sketchy. They are like awkward hands, except instead of impersonating Ricky Bobby when he doesn't know what to do with his hands, you make one of your hands look like a gun, and then you hold the thumb of your hand that is making the gun as if you don't know what to do with it. Basically, you hold your thumb of your right hand between your pointer finger and your thumb of your left hand. Go on, try it. You know you want to.


What's the point of these ramblings? Well, I threw up my sketch hands when I read the passage about Jordan Baker being clever enough to evade punishment or reproach. To be honest, I just don't like her. I feel like the whole narration about her on pages 58-59 are foreshadowing a time when she is going to cause something bad to happen and get away with it. She makes me nervous, and I just don't trust her. 

Great Gatsby: Juxtaposition

"I began to like New York, the racy, adventurous feel of it at night, and the satisfaction that the constant flicker of men and women and machines gave to the restless eye." (Page 57)

It's no coincidence that good ole F. Scott put Nick's description of New York right after his first encounter with one of Gatsby's parties. He wanted to juxtapose the energy and excitement generally connected with both places. At Gatsby's party, there are ridiculous amounts of people wandering about the house and grounds. Some are famous and all are engrossed in their own little world of entertainment for the evening. The same is true of New York. There are certainly famous people roaming around New York, and all of the citizens are trying to live their lives in their own way while also enjoying themselves. There is quite a hustle and bustle in both situations, and Nick likes to sit back and watch the comings and goings of each is he is not presently engaged in some conversation or activity. Fitzgerald knew what he was doing when he equated Gatsby's home to New York simply by placing them page to page in the book.

Looks a bit like the front cover of the book, doesn't it?

Great Gatsby - indirect characterization

"You look at him sometimes when he thinks nobody's looking at him. I'll bet he killed a man." (Page 44)

All of the opinions floating around about Gatsby are almost comical considering how many friends he has. (Or quasi-friends since no one knows anything concrete about him.) Descriptions abound as to what he does and from where he came, but nothing seems to be absolute. The author did not do this by accident. All of the misconceptions and guesses as to what defines Gatsby's life actually define and characterize him. He is elusive, to say the least. He is also extremely private and prone to leaving things to the imagination. 


This scene reminded me of the song by Adele "Rumour Has It." It's all about exactly what the title states - a rumor. Gatsby's character is preceded by rumors no matter where he goes, and he seems unwilling to quell the confusion with a few simple statements about his life. He definitely keeps his acquaintances guessing. Which, of course, only adds to the mystique swarming his every move. 

The UNimportance of being Ernest.

"...he was unable to rise from his bed, and in a few days he died in my arms." (Page 147)

     This reminds me of when I had two guinea pigs. One of them had to be put to sleep because it was too old to function, and the other one died about a week later because it was lonely. (At least, that's what my parents told me. I was about 4, and they might have just been protecting from the truth that they didn't want our guinea pigs anymore.) Either way, the death of Victor's father particularly upset me because I like Victor's father. He was a passionate, loving man who cared for his family above all things. He supported his son and encouraged him to find his way in the world. However, it wasn't the loss of the father that upset me most but the loss of a guardian for Ernest. The poor kid got kicked to the curb in the wake of his father's death and Victor's departure to track down and kill the creature. I almost wish Ernest hadn't even been written into the story so he wouldn't have had to be abandoned and forgotten amid Victor's plans and travels. Or the creature should have just killed him off too to save him a lifetime of sorrow.
       Not that I want Ernest to die, but I know he would have some serious mental and emotional problems from literally watching his entire family die. The kid deserves an Oscar or something for his hardships.

So here you go, Ernest. I'm sorry for your loss...es.

Badong, killing is badong.

"The murderous mark of the fiend's grasp was on her neck, and the breath had ceased to issue from her lips." (Page 145)


     The creature is a killing machine. I was sitting in class today thinking about all of the people he had killed, and I wished I could think of a new, stronger word for killing. I was reminded of a scene from Kungpow when the protagonist makes an entire speech about creating a new word for killing because killing in bad and wrong. He comes up with "badong." I found a clip of him giving the speech on youtube, but it unfortunately had a cuss word in the title of the video, so I couldn't put it on here. So here's the speech he gives:

"Killing is wrong. And bad. There should be a new, stronger word for killing. Like badwrong, or badong. Yes, killing is badong. From this moment, I will stand for the opposite of killing: gnodab."

So it's not exactly a speech, but it is  a few sentences. That counts. The creature was a bit of a jerk to Victor even though Victor rejected him from the moment he was born. They were a destructive relationship from the start. What a shame.

Motif - Is his stature gigantic?Really, I didn't know..

"...stature gigantic..." (Page 91)
"A grin was on the face of the monster; he seemed to jeer, as with his fiendish finger he pointed towards the corpse of my wife." (Page 145)

     If Mary Shelley tells me his stature is gigantic one more time... I get it! He's huge! Let's not dwell on it. Every single time the poor guy enters a scene the whole focus shifts towards how massive he is. Which I guess makes sense. The reader experiences the same internal shock at how huge the monster is...again and again and again. Also, what is with this guy and his creepy grinning. He gets a sick pleasure out of ruining Victor's day, and I'm sick of it. This motif of his "gigantic stature" alludes to any instance when the creature dominates a scene. Whether it be from his murderous ways or how frightened the rest of the characters are of him, the creature's height is emphasized when he is a threat. His stature and physical appearance are not as much of a focus when he is simply speaking to Victor or living in a weird, secluded hovel by a family that somehow doesn't notice their 8-foot neighbor. However, Shelley doesn't miss a chance to mention his height when it fits into the scene. (No pun intended.)

Conflict - where do I begin?

"How I have lived I hardly know; many times have I stretched my failing limbs upon the sandy plain, and prayed for death. But revenge kept me alive; I dared not die, and leave my adversary in being." (Page 149)

       These guys have some serious issues between them. I feel like conflict isn't even the right description for the actions surrounding these two. It's more like a knock-down, drag-out, battle of the wills and senses to the death. With some internal conflicts mixed in. They remind me of a song.....surprise, surprise! It's from Wicked the Musical; what else?

It's a sketchy recording, but they're the absolute best. These two guys legitimately loath each other at times in their lives, but, like Glinda and Elphaba, they like each other sometimes too. Unfortunately, unlike the two leading ladies of Wicked, things do not end in the ultimate song of forgiveness and hope for the future. They just die. Better yet, the creature commits suicide. Not a good day for him.

Hubris - It's unfortunate that he is disgusting...

"Agatha fainted; and Safie, unable to attend to her friend, rushed out of the cottage." (Page 96-97)

     This is a slightly depressing scene to think about. The creature spends about a year spying on the DeLaceys and blows it in about 5 minutes. He gets the old, blind father to be supportive of him for all of about 10 minutes, and then his looks fail him, and he is feared once again. So, I've decided his hubris is how deformed and frightful he looks. The poor guy can't catch a break, and his physical appearance leads to his lack of a woman and self-esteem which leads to his eventual demise. It all connects to his spooky appearance. Oh darn. I searched google images for the scariest and most accurate version of the creature I could find. I like this one best:

Imagine coming home to that!! And sitting next to your kind, old father. Tsk tsk. Like good ole Mrs. Bennett says in Pride and Prejudice, "tis a shame [he's] not more handsome."

Drama queen alert

"By very slow degrees, and with frequent relapses that alarmed and grieved my friend, I recovered." (Page 39)

Victor Frankenstein is no doubt a genius. However, he is a giant drama queen! I understand getting freaked out by an 8 foot monster in the dark, but seriously, he wanted the monster to be alive. What did he expect? Make an 8 foot creature, and then have it instantly become cute and fluffy? No. Not at all. He got what he wanted, and then he went totally insane for a year, and scared his entire family with his silence and absence from their lives! He barely contacted them at all for the 2 years he was working on the creature, and then he avoided them until his brother died. Then he was a total debbie downer until he left again! He had to go on some noble quest to save the world from the problem he started in the first place. I like the guy, but he is a teenage girl sometimes.

The baby is unnaturally green!!!!

"I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not alone, miserably alone? You, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow creatures, who owe me nothing? they spurn and hate me." (Page 69)

Rejection is a disabling thing. The creature was born, and immediately he was rejected and hated by the only thing he knew: Victor. This reminded me of one of the first few scenes in the musical Wicked. Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, was born green, and her family instantly developed feelings of disgust towards her. They couldn't just love her. They had to freak out about their green baby and basically ruin her adolescence even though her mother was to blame for getting drunk and sleeping around.

5:50

The creature suffered from the same instant rejection by his father of sorts. It completely messed with his psyche because he just wanted to be loved. Fortunately, he was able to discover that there is good in the world, and he did not turn out to be evil.

Anecdote - An author's parable.

"I see by your eagerness and the wonder and hope which your eyes express, my friend, that you expect to be informed of the secret with which I am acquainted; that cannot be: listen patiently until the end of my story, and you will easily perceive why I am reserved upon that subject."

I've used that title before for a blog, but it seemed to fit. This is the most extended anecdote I have ever read. Victor is telling his story to Robert in order to inform him of a truth he learned from his life.  He is trying to help Robert, and Victor is using this story to aid him in his mission of informing Robert about the side effects of too much scientific discovery. Not only is this a frame story, but it also a long parable (that just happens to have actually happened in the storyteller's life as opposed to a made-up story) that has a purpose of relaying a message.

Mary Shelley wrote this story to also inform the world not to pry further than is necessary into science. There are negative effects of scientific pursuit, and nothing can ever be unlearned. Once a theory or discovery grips the mind of a person, it is there to stay.

Situational Irony. Well that was unexpected...

"All men hate the wretched; how, then must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things!" (Page 68)

Wait, what?!? The creature can speak? I had this mental image of a groaning thing in my mind that could only make sounds, but this guy has a better vocabulary than I do after only two years of life! He reminds me of the e-trade baby that talks in the commercials. The kid should be goo-goo-ga-ga-ing, and it is sitting at a computer selling a product to a television audience. Kids these days!

When the creature spoke the first time, I did a mental double take. I wasn't quite sure if Victor was still speaking to Robert Walton, and I was just confused or if this menacing creature was actually sophisticated. Either way, I did not expect what Shelley threw at me. Bravo.

Frankenstein Foreshadowing Fun. (I couldn't resist the alliteration)

"Alas! I did not yet entirely know the fatal effects of this miserable deformity." (Page 80)

If that isn't foreshadowing, I don't know what is. The creature is explaining his tale to Victor, and he seems to have an innate sense of his imminent demise or someone else's. Mary Shelley doesn't strike me as the type of author to accidentally use the word 'fatal,' so I'm confident someone's going to die. Someone has to die though. It's Frankenstein! That name just screams terror and death in the world today, and then mentality had to come from somewhere.

Mary Shelley has favored foreshadowing in the first 12 chapters of this book, and it reminded me of the song "The Best is Yet to Come" today while we were discussing this scene in class. However, in this case I was replacing the word 'best' with 'worst.' This story is bound to get juicy, and my guess is it will only be in a positive direction after some serious negative events.