The Green Light

The Green Light. Of which this blog is named after. (for those of you who have in indeed read The Great Gatsby). In the case of my blog title, i didn't just pull it out of thin air, although, i wish i had! It comes from Nick Caraway's narration in which he means the Green Light just as simply as, The American Dream. Although, there is still some complexity to it. The Green Light is not just a figurative symbol, but it is also an actual physical light, that Gatsby is very fond of. Even though it is barely visible from Gatsby's West Egg lawn, The Green Light is located at the end of Daisy Buchanan's East Egg dock. The Light also is representing Gatsby's hopes and dreams for the future. Starting in Chapter 1, Gatsby uses it in saying to reach more towards his ultimate goal of actually being reunited with Daisy once more, by reaching out of the darkness and towards the light. It might seem hidden to the casual reader, but since the American Dream is associated, in Gatsby's case, with Daisy, The Green Light is leans more towards that actual idea of Happiness, wealth, and most of all- love.

To me, The American Dream is impossible. (Sorry to put a damper on the somewhat happy subject!) But, getting what you desire is, however, more the possible. I just believe that sometimes people get side-tracked by the media nowadays, and we shouldn't be convinced that what celebrities on TV or what rap or hip-hop artists have as far as houses, cars, women, drugs, and dream-jobs is the American Dream! What do YOU believe the American dream is? Is possible? Or no?

Eww.. Jealousy..

What do you think about Jealousy? Silly question, i know, but sometimes, people get side tracked by jealousy, weather we know it or not! In the Great Gatsby, the entire book seems like it is always centered aroundd jealousy or gossip. (both should seem fitting under this category.) To start out, jealousy is pretty clear just by the way people act in East Egg. When they attend Jay Gatsby's parties, the talk of the town are always rumors, and not very nice ones, i might add. While all are mingling about, getting their fair share of drinks, gossip that suggests that Gatsby had once killed a man, that he was a bootlegger (which turned out to be true) and several others, show a sign of jealousy of Gatsby's wealth and abundance, and the only way for these people to forget about there sorrowful lives is to talk about him. Now- that's only my opinion, but i do believe that some do in fact believe that. I absolutely love this harry potter "jealousy" picture to the right. This shows that such talented writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby) and J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter), create such a personal connection with characters, even if they do differ from us with their immense wealth or their ability to cast spells and fly broomsticks. Characters like Myrtle show us in Chapter 7 that she mistakes Jordan Baker as Tom Buchanan's wife instead of Daisy, therefore conjuring up this jealousy for her. I guess it's true when they say that no one's perfect!

I love that picture of Hermione's jealousies twords Ron's new girlfriend. do you have a favorite scene from a book, or just a book in general, that explains jealousy really well? Tell me!

East Egg Vs. West Egg.. Who will win?

White egg, versus brown egg. Or in the case if The Great Gatsby, East Egg versus West Egg.

Out of the two, East Egg is the "richer" part of New York, while West Egg is the poorer part of town. Let's see who will win!

So, as we may know, The Great Gatsby takes mostly takes place in East Egg, the more wealthy part of New York. With people such as Nick Carraway, Daisy and Tom Buchanan, and of course, the famous Jay Gatsby, East Egg seems pretty flawless! This part of town is easy to recognize against the other, with the voluptuous trees in bloom, the mansions, and you can always tell by the loud orchestra you can hear after sunset, coming from Gatsby's mansion parties. Although some might be corrupted by the fancy living and the roaring twenties facade, some find East egg to be "home-sweet-home!" Next and last is West Egg. In the novel, we hardly find out any information or imagery that helps us picture this part of town. However, we do know that the two towns are separated by a "Valley Of Ashes," which is the term used by Nick to describe the desolate land between the two cities, and that West Egg is quite a bit poorer and more poverty-driven, rather then in the West. Also, there might be a quite of bit of prejudice and hostility amongst the people of East and West.

In my view, I like East Egg the best. Although it goes against what i firmly believe about society, i thing The East is just more fun!! Plus- Jay Gatsby would practically be my neighbor! Who wouldn't want that?! Where would you want to live?

East Egg? Or West Egg?

Guys Of Gatsby!

As you can probably notice by my previous blog posts, i am a big fan of the Ladies of Gatsby. However, without boys such as Nick Carraway, Tom Buchanan, and Jay Gatsby of course, we wouldn't have such a novel. The imagination of F. Scott Fitzgerald alone is breathtaking, but to give such realistic-ness to said nonexistent characters, is mind-blowing. Nick Carraway, the narrator of our story, is one of curiosity and open-mindedness. On page 1 of The Great Gatsby, Nick tells us how he is a very un-judgemental person and would never judge someone else. So, it is very easy to like him, right off the bat. And lets face it, we all hate it when we read a book, and despise the narrator. Nick is, thankfully, the complete opposite! Next is my least favorite man in the novel, Tom Buchanan (the man with the profile view, closest to the left. i couldn't find a very good photo!) Tom is a man of arrogance, prejudice, and ignorance. He is described in the book as tall, muscular, blonde, and very intimidating. he is also cheating on his said "beautiful" wife, Daisy, with my least favorite gal, Myrtle. The beautiful and sexy man to our left is our last Guy Of Gatsby, Jay Gatsby. With a very vague description of looking like James Bond, Jay is very VERY handsome, tall, and personable. Jay is my favorite out of all they men in the novel. Jay holds a series of parties, almost nightly, at his mansion, located to right next to Nick's house. Servants or all kinds, including cooks, maids, and gardeners work all day to make sure that the mansion, compared to The Palace of Versailles, is in ship-shape. Shockingly, Mr. Gatsby is not very fond of having these parties, until he reunites with his long, lost love, Daisy Buchanan. Hmm, what a predicament, huh? Tom is having an affair, yet Gatsby is in love with Daisy? Hmm... :)

Oh goodness.. Jay Gatsby.. What a babe! who is your favorite Guy Of Gatsby? Why? Or do you just agree with me about Mr. Rich-and-Fabulous?

Gals Of Gatsby!

In The Great Gatsby, I believe, that without the women of Gatsby, there would be no Gatsby at all! OF course the main character happens to be Jay Gatsby, of which the book was named after, but gals such as Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker and Myrtle Wilson, is what the novel thrives upon. Their drama and dilemmas, attitudes and attributes are what make the story as interesting as it is. To start off, Daisy Buchanan (left). That's a statement in itself, right? She is described as a very lean, blond, and very ditsy type of girl. Married to Tom Buchanan, she refuses to believe that her marriage is falling apart, in which it is, because not only is Tom cheating on her with Myrtle Wilson, but her and Tom just do not get a long one bit. To add, Tom has never loved her. Daisy, in my opinion, is THE most annoying character in the book! She is very very dramatic! for instance, the first time she meets up with her long lost lover Gatsby, she starts bawling her eyes out because she had never seen such beautiful shirts that Gatz' had possessed! Are you serious?! Anyhow, next is Jordan Baker. She is, without a doubt, my favorite character. She has great style, great hair, what's not to love? Although the picture to the right doesn't serve her justice. She ends up falling in love with Nick Caraway, the narrator of our story. She is a professional golfer, we find out in the second chapter. Although she seems somewhat shy, she is also very curious about everything. she is one who is always open to new ideas and thoughts, and never bias or prejudice, unlike Tom. Last but defiently not least, is Myrtle Wilson. Now this the woman that i dislike the most out the bunch. Myrtle is the mistress of Tom, who is also very ditsy and she has a bit of snobby attitude. She actually is annoying Tom sometimes by saying Daisy's name all the time to Tom. So much, In fact, that Tom punches her in the nose and breaks it!!

Jordan is my favorite Gal Of Gatsby, but frankly i think that the movies don't do her quite any justice. Below is MY version of Ms. Baker. Who is your favorite, and why?

Boo Selfishness!

Selfishness! What a terrible quality, right? Well- some possess this quality, and yet they don't even know it! There is all different types of this, but really- all fall under the category of rudeness.. As you can probably tell- I'm not very fond of people of the selfish type. I admit, just like everyone should, i might sometimes take a little too much just for i, or that sometimes i don't do something that i should, But that is just because everyone is not perfect. But, you

can always strive to be!Anyways, I'm not just here to ridicule, but i do have a "method to my madness," as my Mom likes to say. In The Great Gatsby, several characters show the unfavorable quality of being selfish. For instance, Tom Buchanan doesn't have the guts to tell his wife, Daisy Buchanan, That he doesn't love her, and never have. And instead he is havingg an affair with another woman across town named Myrtle. This might just seem as if he is committing the sin of Adultery, but when you actually think about it, he is being selfish! Selfish in saying that he doesn't have the courage to stand up to his wife, and tell her the truth, just for the benefit of him getting the adrenaline of going behind his wife's back, and for the fact that, if Tom did ever tell his wife about Myrtle, she would be INCREDIBLY hurt! But that is only one little example.

If you watch The Great Gatsby, or get a chance to read it, you will find that there are plenty of people who show selfishness. I know the typical answer would be that selfishness is a sin, but Why else Do you think that being selfish is bad?

The Great Gatsby: The Movies!

The Great Gatsby is one of many films, of which I LOVE! There are several different versions of the film, but all of them do justice to the main charecters and the book, wirtten by F. Scott Fitzgerald. These movies were produced in 1926, 1949, 1974, and 2000.To add to those
wonderful versions, there will be another one comming out in 2012! How exiting! Altough the cast has not been revealed, i'm sure these lucky actors will be astoudning! (Johnny Depp please?!) In the 1926 version, very famous actors such as Warner Baxter as Jay Gatsby, Lois Wilson as Daisy Buchanan, (left) and Neil Hamilton as Nick Carraway play the unforgettable cast of The Gatsby Trio. In my opinon, that movie defines the glitz and glamour of the Roaring Twenties. In 1949, The Gatsby Trio developed into Alan Ladd, Betty Field, and Macdonald Carey playing Gatz, Daisy, and Nick. I don't really like this verios as much as i love the Twenties' version, but maybe it's because I'm so in love with the first one, that i am closed off to all other opinions. Under Jack Clayton's interperetation and veiws, Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, Sam Waterson are the ones who earned 2 Oscars, 3 BAFTA Film Awards, A Golden Globe and a Best Cinematography Award in Great Britan. This is the version that most Eleventh-Graders watch in their english classes. The last Gatsby Film that some may or may not have heard of was made in 2000 for a Made-for-t.v-movie only starred the wonderful Paul Rudd (Knocked Up, I Love You, Man) as Nick Carraway, Mia Sorvino (Romy And Michelle's High School Reunion) As Daisy Buchanan. I absoultely love both Mia and Paul, but it is hard for me to picture them in said movie!

What is your favorite Gatsby film? Mine is deifately the black-and-white version on 1920's!

What two actors would you like to see in Gatsby as Daisy and Jay?

Prohib-whaa?

In the 1920's a massive law became known all throughout the U.S. This massive law became known as The Prohibition law, which restricted the sale or use of any alcoholic beverage or liquor. This law was mostly decided, in the midst of the American dream, and in that dream, people did not see alcoholic abuse anywhere close to it. The American Dream simply portrayed the stay-at-home-mother with dinner on the stove when her hard-working spouse stepped through the threshold, the children at play, a nice stable job with a stable salary, all under a roof hidden in the middle of suburbia, behind a white-picket fence.

However, even though the somewhat perfect view on the American Dream seemed so innocent and spectacular, the Roaring Twenties said otherwise. It seemed so harmless to Flappers and people alike that alcohol just made things a little less tense, and a little less stressful. They thought that so much, to the point where people such as Bootleggers began sneaking in alcohol under their garments, and into speakeasies witch served as a popular venues for these creatures of the night. These ladies and gentlemen had also attached flasks to their hip, in case of any quick-swig emergency! The American Dream was for some, yes, but for others such as flappers did not suit well with the fact that yet another law was being passed to prohibit free rights, especially for new and improved, smoking, drinking, parting woman.

To me, the use of alcohol has caused many deaths and celebrations, so, there are both good and bad sides of liquor. What do you think? Was prohibition a win or lose for Americans?

Murder, Mafia, and Mayhem

"Get up! And get dressed!" This was what typical and potential mafia member would hear on the way to his induction "ceremony." He would be seated at a long wooden table next to his boss, and be told to join hands with other members of that mafia, often Italian, and recite oaths of loyalty for a series of promises. The inductee, such as Al Capone (left) would be demanded to hold a burning piece of paper. In some mafia "families" there would be a godfather that would guide the inductee into his life of treachery and murder. Last, the man must draw a single drop of blood from his trigger finger. In this case of 1920s mafia and gangsters, Al Capone would be the Godfather. He was a man who was responsible of tens and maybe hundreds of deaths, all throughout the ttwenties. This picture in particularly to our right, i thought was most shocking. This is a picture of Capone when he was transferred to Alcatraz Prison, on Alcatraz Island located off of the coast of San Fransisco, California. I thought it was quite interesting that someone as brutal as Al, and all the chaos that he had caused, he is still smiling in his mugshot.. Very interesting.... Anyways, to our right is a picture of one of Capone's famous bloodbaths; The St. Valentine's Day Massacre. It was between two gangs of the Prohibition Era: The South Side Italian Gang headed by Al Capone, and the North Side Irish Gang, Headed by Bugs Moran. It all started when two members if the North Side Gang were dressed up as police men, and had killed two members on Capones gang, on Valentines Day of 1929. Only, Capone didn't realize it wasn't who he thought killed his men. Blaming it on Moran's gang, six members of Bugs Moran and The North Side Irish gang were eliminated by Capone and his men. With the death of Capone at 48, I believe his work had sparked many other gang violences that we now very well today. Of course there were many other gangs and mafias to pick on that became very famous in our dear twenties, but i prefer to pick the ones that wont come back to haunt me.. :P

Oddly enough, Al Capone was also known for his humor and personality, as well for his hospitality and personability. What do you think of Capone and his men? Were they just in what they did? or Just pain stupid?

Long, Long Ago.. Actaully, The 1920's.

My first post should have been all about the 1920s as a whole, however!, i couldn't have helped myself about taking first about the amazing fashion. So, to backtrack, let's "start off" with a little more background about the 1920s in general. Women, politics, radios and gangsters were all in bloom, and some more then others! Entertainment began to emerge as one of the most favorite past times, where such people as bootleggers, flappers, gentlemen and showgirls (right) were seen in such shows that were somewhat risky to the mainstream Americans and women, who had not yet experienced the Roaring Twenties' hype. However, there was another side to the twenties, and that meant work. Careers such as constructing the airplane, the army or navy expressed the intense and hard work that the 1920s had produced over a short amount of time. On the contrary, not all was fun in games. African Americans, in my opinion, were not suffering the most out of any time period, more then the twenties. Groups such as the Ku Klux Klan began in infamy by hanging African Americans, Jews, and several other minorities. The beginning of the suffering and pain they felt, was always there, but I feel it was sparked into action by the bigots who lied inside the tails of the Klan. Also, due to the racism they exulted, More severe gangs and rivals amongst gangs were introduced. Brutal men such as Al Capone made their mark on several murders and homicides, which often had no apparent reason for these actions, and resulted in

the inprisonment in the famous Alcatraz, located on Alcatraz Island, off the cost of San Fransisco, California. But all was well in homelife. Houses became more afordable to the average citizen, and also had the luxury of heating and air conditioning, were more hygenic, were more suited to modern living, and were downright beautiful homes, even if they weren't consitered mansions.

Ovarall, life in the Roaring Twenties was beautiful, luscious, and exhillarating! I would give ANYTHING to go back and learn to live the way they did. What parts of the Roaring Twenties are you intrested in? Gangsters? Fashion? Homelife? Flappers?

Flappers, Flappers, Flappers Galore!

Long, long ago, in a fantasy far, far away, (actaully, in the 1920s) a fantastical group of women emerged. Now, these women were not your normal, everyday women who stayed home all day, cooked for their husbands that came home from a long hardworking day at work, played with the children, an was "Little Suzy Homemaker" that everyone was so fond of in that era. No. These women partied. And they partied hard. These women, smoked, drank, danced and voted as they pleased. They cut her hair, wore makeup, and wore so-called "revealing" clothes. They were giddy and adoreable. They were Flappers.

These women were beautiful, expensive, and about nineteen. The "average" flapper, (and i say average because, well, these beauties were not looked upon as average) was so tired of the way that their husbands, boyfreinds, male-freinds treated them. That all they were good for was baking and breeding. But little did these men know, the Flapper Revolution, I call it, was just around the corner. Although these women embraced their curves and feminimity, some resorted to the shocking look of male fashion. Now this wasn't as bad as it seemed. Inspirations such as Coco Chanel emerged as she tightyly wound fabric around the breast to flatten it, lowering waistlines to the hip, and introducing the Garderbelt on the leg instead of how men tradtionally wore them on the arm. Next was the attitude. Their attitude was charecterized by fast living and sexual behavior. They seemed to grasp tightly on their youth as if it would leave them at any second!! Furthermore, what made flappers flappers, was thier behavior. Most adopted the habit of smoking and/or drinking because their parents thought otherwise. Along the same idea of rebellion, when Prohibition was in effect in the U.S, some girls started the habit early. Some even carried flasks that were strapped to their hip, under thier dress, to always have on hand! Although many of the older generation hated to see tipsy women, this didn't stop them from having the time of their lives. Not one little bit!!!

I absoultely adore flappers, their attuidute and actions.(if you've seen me around school lately, you can obviously tell! xo). What about you?

p.s. below is my little peice of heaven i made. You can dress like a flapper too