The Great Gatsby Closing Statement :)

I must say...this book has really done a complete 180 since the first chapter! I found it to pick up pase tremendously, and not only that, but the content got far more deep. Without further analysis, many might disagree with that statement--the majority of the book is about big parties, ditsy rich women, and mocho-racist men. However, this book has proven to be so much more than that. At the surface, it is just that-- but I believe that's the point! this book demonstrates exactly how shallow many people could be in the 1920's. The dialogue has so much more meaning that what they are actually saying; the colors (although redundant) represent things such as hope, money, and greed; and the characters have changed a great deal since the first chapter. Although each person has their own personality (Nick-kind, Daisy-shallow, Tom-big-headed, and Gatsby-confident) they have changed. This book has grown on me like no other book I have ever read, and I cannot wait to read the last chapter tonight! :) After the climax (in my opinion) where Gatsby confronts Tom about Daisy and his love, the book has been jaw-dropping and basically...AWESOME! :) Loveeee it :)

Comment Please! Hehe

Chapter One: The Great Gatsby

I can honestly say that I had my doubts as I muddled my way through the first three pages of The Great Gatsby. All I could think was, "Whattttt is he talking about?! Crap this is going to be hard!" However, I managed to stay peristent and continue on with the book, slowly but surely. To my suprize, the book really quicken pace, and by page ten...I was loving it! The way that Fitsgerald brings across his voice is breathtaking. There were similies, metaphors, and phenomenal descriptions that were impeccably genius. My favorite quote was his description of something that none of us think twice about--air. He writes, "...so much fine health to be pulled out of the young breath-giving air." I also found the family dynamic of the family of Daisy, Tom, and their child to be simply odd. The father Tom, rich, pompus, and complely racist said this remark at dinner that I couldn't believe, "It's up to us...the dominatn race, to watch out or these other races will have control over things." How ridiculous is that? I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the whole idea of racism because it's just so ethically obsurd. I can understand it's the 1920's, and back then I'm sure a comment like that would seem like the norm, but I just had a hard time reading that part. The entire family is so caught up in their wealth that they really don't have any genuine qualities to themselves at all. It's like they're constantly putting on a show for others, never showing who the truly are as people. At the conclusion of this first chapter, when Nick returned home, I found his description of his neighbor (Mr. Gatsby) to be very thoughtful and different. Mr. Gatsby was looking up at the stars when Nick came rolling up to his home, and Fitsgerald said this on Gatsby, "...come out to determine what share was his of our local heavens." What an interesting way to describe someone's innocent stargazing. I absolutley LOVE it. :) I cannot wait to read more!

Common Sense--The First Decent Essay So Far!

Not to bash this quarter by any means...but I feel like I'm in history class! I love to read and write, but finding out that this quarter is based entirely off of America's history was a real downer for me. It's a very effective way to get the class to open their eyes to the misconceptions that our founding fathers have left for us about our world and what really happened back then...but the essays we were reading to back this up put me to sleep every time! However, when we read Common Sense, I couldn't put it down! I read it twice because for some odd reason I found what he had to say so inspiring, thoughful, and radical. He had me hooked from the first paragraph when he started comparing society and government, and how government is a "necessary evil". Talk about a paradox! Everything he was saying made so much sense to me, though! He spoke in a voice I could actually comprehend, he laid out his ideas in a clear, coherant manner, and really let his emotions and passion for the topic come out. The other very intruiguing part of this essay was that, back then, he had to write it anonymously so that he wouldn't get into loads of trouble with the government. Can you imagine a world like that today? No free speech...what a concept. Overall, I couldn't get enough of this essay. It was short, precise, thought provoking, and easy to comprehend. Kunkle, if you're reading, more of these would be AWESOME! :)

Obama's Speech

As AP Composition came back in full force, I found it extremely nice and relaxing to be able to spend 45 minutes last week watching Obama's State of the Union address. There's just something about the way he speaks and the way he presents himself that's breathtaking. I am fully aware that Obama probably doesn't write his own speeches (like he would have the time anyways), but the general ideas I know he did come up with. There were plenty of things that I loved about his speech, especially the points he made having to do with different policies. However, some of the things he put in his speech i didn't care for. He seemed to use far too much pathos throughout, to the point where it was just overkill. I also feel that his repetition was a bit annoying, but that may in part have to do with the fact that he was speaking to an audience, which constantly wouldn't let him finish because they were constantly applauding him. Overall, though, I really enjoyed being able to relax and analyse his speech that I found extremely moving.