Hamlet Act 1 Post

It was a joyous celebration that warm summer’s night. It was not only the annual anniversary of the day King Hamlet defeated King Fortinbras and won a bundle of new land for Denmark, but also young Hamlet’s birthday. The castle was illuminated and filled with life as it became the center of a party so grand that it seemed all of Denmark was in attendance. King Hamlet told his son that there would be many pretty women there and pointed some of them out to him. However when the party began, there was only one woman who caught young Hamlet’s eyes, a girl by the name of Ophelia.

Walking confidently towards her, he began a conversation. He told her how beautiful she was and how she stood apart from all the others at the party. They continued to talk for what seemed like a decade. They decided to go for a walk around the castle. As they were leaving, young Hamlet looked back to see the party still full of life. He also noticed King Hamlet joyously dancing with his mother Gertrude, although her mind seemed in a different place.

They walked around the castle and they were beginning to feel a connection between one another. They had truly fallen in love. They walked out onto the balcony and looked out at the stars with the sounds of the party faintly in the background. They shared a kiss and gazed in awe into the night sky.

Chapter 8 Themes

We see all of our themes in this chapter. The American Dream and the relationships between most of the characters falls apart. "I have an idea that Gatsby himself didn't believe it would come (Daisy's phone call) and perhaps he no longer cared. If that was true he must have felt that he had lost the old warm world, paid a price for living too long with a single dream" (page 169)  "We talked like that for a while and then abruptly we weren't talking any longer. I don't know which of us hung up with a sharp click but I know I didn't care." (page 163) Nick and Jordan, Gatsby and Daisy, and of course George and Myrtle's American Dreams had completely ended.
We also see appearance vs. reality in this chapter. First of all in the begining of the story, Nick tells us " In consequencce I'm inclined to reserve all judgements..." (page 5) However he after telling Gatsby "You're worth the whole damn bunch put together." He says "It was the only compliment I ever gave him, because I dissaproved of him from beginning to end." (page 162) He tells us he never judges people but contradicts himself by saying this. Also it appears to George that whoever drove the yellow car that killed Myrtle was the one who had the affair with her. Because this is how it appears George goes out and shoots Gatsby then himself.  

Chapter 7 Locations

In this chapter, we see all of our major places, West Egg, East Egg, Valley of Ashes, and New York City.

West Egg-

• We learn that Gatsby has stopped throwing parties. He has also fired all of his servants and replaced them with others. Gatsby says this is because "I wanted somebody who wouldn't gossip. Daisy comes over quite often-in the afternoons." (page 119)
• This shows that Gatsby only threw the parties to get daisy's attention and now that she visits he doesn't need them anymore. He also doesn't want the risk of rumors from his servants to ruin his appearance to Daisy.

East Egg-

• We first go to East Egg on page 121 when Nick and Gatsby go to have lunch with Tom, Daisy, and Jordan. Gatsby and Daisy share a kiss while tom is on the phone in another room and Gatsby meets Daisy's daughter, whom he didn't believe existed. When Tom comes back, Daisy mentions going to New York and Gatsby basically flirt in front of him. Getting jealous and Tom interrupts and says "All right, ...I'm perfectly willing to go to town. Come on-we're all going to town." (page 125)
• Tom suggests that Daisy and he take Gatsby's car and Gatsby take his car. However Daisy decides to go with Gatsby and Tom will take Nick and Jordan.
• We return to East Egg at the end of the chapter. Gatsby is hiding in a bush to make sure Tom won't hurt Daisy over what happened in the Valley of Ashes while Nick waits for a taxi. "I want to wait here till Daisy goes to bed. Good night. old sport." (page 153)

Valley of Ashes-

• Tom stops in the Valley of Ashes to get more gas for Gatsby's yellow car. While there he sees George who looks very sickly because he found out his wife has had an affair but doesn't know with whom. From a window Myrtle looks at Tom and looks at Jordan with disgust assuming shes Tom's wife. After getting gas Tom speeds up to catch up to Gatsby and Daisy.
• We return to the Valley of Ashes to learn that Myrtle is dead. She assumed that Tom was still in the yellow car and ran towards it. However they hit her and she dies they then speed away. We later learn from Gatsby that Daisy was driving but that he will take the blame.

New York City-

• After arriving, they all go to the Plaza Hotel where the conflict between Gatsby and Tom gets worse. After much arguing, Gatsby tells Tom that Daisy never loved him. Then she admits this to Tom. However she does say she once loved him. "'Even alone I can't say I never loved Tom."' (page 140) Tom then tells them he's been doing research on Gatsby and that he is a bootlegger. He then tells Gatsby to bring Daisy home. "'Go on. He won't annoy you. I think he realizes that his presumptuous little flirtation is over.'" (page 142)

And that pretty much sums up the location in chapter 7. Let me know what you think and if I missed anything.

Chapter 5 Colors

In this chapter we see the colors white and yellow describing Gatsby and his possessions. "An hour later the front door opened nervously and Gatsby in a white flannel suit, silver shirt and gold colored tie hurried in." (page 89) "...the pale gold odor of kiss-me-at-the-gate" (page 96) (kiss-me-at-the-gate is a type of flower) "...the dresser was garnished with a toilet set of pure dull gold." (page 97) These colors are used to show his wealth and Gatsby uses them to impress Daisy. I also found out that yellow(gold) can represent relief from nervousness, which would make sense because Gatsby is terrified when Daisy first comes. The famous green light makes another appearance in this chapter."'You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock.'" (page 98) The green light represented his lust and want for Daisy and it was the closest he could get to her. However now thta she was here it had lost its meaning. "Daisy put her arm through his abruptly but he seemed absorbed in what he had just said. Possibly it had occured to him that that the collosal significance of that light had now vanished forever.""Now it was agin a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one." (page 98) That's all the color I found in this chapter, so let me know what you think. Oh and Merry Christmas.

Chapter 3 Symbols

When reading chapter 3, I could not find information for most of our main symbols because they weren't mentioned. However I did notice one symbol.  There are a lot of cars seen in this chapter. Everytime a car is around the people seem irresponsible and carefree. "'You're a rotten driver,' I protested 'Either you ought to be more careful or you oughtn't to drive at all.'"(page 63) This is what Nick says to Daisy when she is driving carelessly. She tells him she doesn't have to worry because there won't be someone as careless as her and that it takes two to make an accident. This is also shown in the accident outside of Gatsby's house. "'Don't ask me,' said Owleyes,washing his hands of the whole matter. 'I know very little about driving-next to nothing. It happened and that's all I know."' "'Well, if you're a bad driver you oughtn't to try driving at night."' (page 59) Because of this the cars represent carelessness and recklessness. I think the people of the Eggs are so corrupt, they think nothing bad can happen to them because they are wealthy. To them, that is all that matters and they see that as a reason to act careless. At least, that's how I see it. What about you guys?

Color in Chapter 1

The use of color is seen throughout chapter 1 of tThe Great Gatsby. The color white is used to describe East Egg and the people who live there. On page 10 it says "Across the courtesy bay the white palaces of fashional East Egg glittered along the water..." On page 12 it says "They were both in white and their dresses rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the horse." The color white represents the wealth and cleanliness they have. The color white is used again on page 24. "Our girlhood was passed together there. Our white-" This represents Daisy's innocence in her childhood. The color green is also used in chapter 1. "Involuntarily I glanced seaward-and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock." (page 26) The green light that Gatsby is staring at and reaching for is in East Egg where Tom, Daisy, and Jordan live. It represents the envy and jealousy that Gatsby has for Tom. Gatsby is jealous because he is "carrying a torch" for Daisy but she is married to Tom. These are all of the places I saw color used in The Great Gatsby.

Great Gatspy Response

From what I have read so far The Great Gatsby is a story about a man named Nick. He now lives in New York among neighbors who are much different then himself. He doesn't judge anyone though because that is how his father taught him. He also sees the mysterious Gatsby, whom he has heard a lot about but doesn't know. He goes out and gets drunk with Tom and Daisy when Tom hits Daisy because of an affair he was having. From what I have read so far The Great Gatsby is about a man who is finding his way among people he doesn't understand.