Monday, February 27, 2012

The Great Gatsby #2

1. What is the purpose of Meyer Wolfsheim as a character?
The purpose of Meyer Wolfsheim's character is to add more mystery to Gatsby's character. After reading about Mr. Wolfsheim, the audience starts to doubt Gatsby's virtues. All up until now, we assume that the rumors about Gatsby killing a man, being involved in crimes, and bootlegging is false, but now that he's associated with and doing business with a famous gambler, Nick (and thus the audience) starts to suspect the rumors to be true.

2. What does the backstory about Jay and Daisy's past do to our impressions of Gatsby?
Learning Gatsby's past with Daisy seems to help us understand Gatsby more. He also seems to be a bit more normal because now we know that there's something he yearns for and we also know the reasons behind his lavish parties. His backstory with Daisy makes us like Gatsby more because he seemed to be a romantic soldier and has waited for his love for 5 years.

3. What does the rest of Gatsby's past do to our impressions of him?
After finding out that he lost all of his family, we find sympathy for him. It helps us, as the audience, to understand a little better that he's strange and mysterious because of all the pain he had to endure. It also makes us feel sorry for him because he describes how he turned to jewels, gold, and rubies to try to forget the pain he was in.

4. How does your overall impression of Gatsby change over these three chapters- do you like him more, less, and why?
In the last three chapters, we find out a lot more about Gatsby. We find out that he's been waiting and longing for Daisy for the past five years and we also find out that he lost all of his family before the war. However, we also find out that he might be associated with shady business. I have grown to like Gatsby more over the past few chapters because he seems to be less of a figure and more an actual person.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Gatsby's Party Music

The music is lively and comfortable. I could imagine it at one of Gatsby's grand parties because it seems like it'd be very easy for people to socialize with this in the background. Also, it seems like fun and happy music that people could dance to. It's not too loud or disruptive and it's very upbeat. I could imagine this music playing at an event where everyone is dressed up and laughing or gossiping. The music would definitely work for one of Gatsby's parties.

Monday, February 20, 2012

The Great Gatsby #1

In the first three chapters of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, we are introduced to several characters whom we can label as hero, antihero, or villain. So far in the book, I would say that Nick Carraway is both the hero and antihero. He shares similar morals and values as people in our society. He describes himself as "one of the few honest people..." and in the beginning he states that he does not judge others. This allows people in our society to generally like him. However, as we keep reading, he seems to shift almost towards being an anti-hero because he keeps saying that Jordan Baker is dishonest and the party Tom takes him to is unmoral however he is captivated by them and unable to pull himself away. I think Tom, so far, is the villain in the story. When we are first introduced to Tom, he seems arrogant and rude. Also, as we keep reading, we find out that Tom has a lover in New York who is also married. These characteristics of Tom cause us to view him in a negative way. I think Gatsby is also a hero in the story. Through the descriptions Nick gives us about Gatsby, he seems to be a remarkable and fascinating character. First off, Nick says (about Gatsby), "there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life". This quote shows that even though Gatsby is a mystery to Nick, there's something "gorgeous" and good about him. Later in the book, we also find that Gatsby served in the war. Because people in our society are naturally inclined to revere people who serve for our country, Gatsby seems even more of a hero.

Bua Paintings

-What is the style?
Bua's painting style is a mix between abstract and realism. He paints realistic settings and environments however he uses bent and unnatural lines to portray his figures. He also likes to elongate his figures making many of the subjects in the paintings seem skinnier than they probably are. He uses muddy colors and organic shapes in all of his paintings which make his paintings seem almost animated.