Finishing ‘The Great Gatsby’

Nothing came as a surprise to me, because this is my second time through this book. There are some questions that I have though that I wouldn’t mind having clarified. Was the owl eyed man that was one of the few to go to Gatz funeral part of Gatz bootlegging business? (Yes, a spoiler but if you’re reading this you should’ve already read it by now.)

Also, how come everybody takes no credibility to Daisy running over Myrtle? Sure, Gatz knows that she did it and takes the blame, leading to Wilson killing him. Yet, it’s kind of discouraging to see that she takes no responsibility for Myrtle’s death, but I’m sure she feels bad for being indirectly responsible for the murder of Gatz.

Going through the story again, I still don’t really see why this is required reading except for people saying that it is one of the ‘Greatest American Stories of All Time.’ I’ve read more interesting, more entertaining stories before that don’t get nearly the credibility this story had. What makes the story canon?

I also believe Nick should’ve been more developed in the story. However, I guess his stance of letting all the action happen while he kind of watches lets us see more through his eyes. All of the other characters were much more described, and had more entertaining stories. Perhaps the reason is because they were the more popular, rich folk that the story seemed to dramatize? Normal Nick was just maybe a bystander. Hrm.

These are some impressions I get from ‘The Great Gatsby.’

What I think about when I hear “American Literature”

When I hear “American Literature”, surprisingly alot of ideas come to mind. Because I live in America, I try to read as much about it as possible- and when you’re in school the ‘canon’ is pushed in your face constantly because it is ‘required reading.’

 Just recently I told a friend about the class, and when he heard the word canon he told me it was the ‘dead white man’s list’. Now, whenever I think about “American Literature” I think about that ‘dead white man’s list’ that seems credible. The class is about busting ‘canon’ and finding out what else should be required American reading.

 Also, the list does feel like dead white men wrote them. While they were dead. Alot of the reading I’ve done has been uninteresting (ie. right now we’re reading The Great Gatsby… i didn’t know I’d have to read that again. Maybe I’ll get to enjoy it more this time now that it’s not AP required reading. Blargh.)

 So, this is my first blog.

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