- Why, ultimately, did Daisy choose Tom instead of Jay?
Daisy chooses social acceptability over what we are supposed to infer is "true love". Gatsby, while wealthy enough, is still from "new money," and because the Buchanans are pretty much universally recognized as coming from "old money" she deliberately picks the latter in order to maintain her affiliated status in the upper-upper class. It is also worth noting that in the 1920's the woman's role was to preserve the marriage--leaving was rarely considered an option, especially when a child was involved.
2. Which aspects of the major characters do you admire? Why? (Say which character, which trait, and why you admire it.)
Gatsby's blind optimism and persistence in pursuing his goals are admirable traits.
3. Which aspects of the major characters do you not admire? Why?
*Daisy's superficiality and her complacency with the way things are.
*Tom's possessive nature and hypocritical feelings of jealousy regarding Daisy's affair with Gatsby.
4. Who is the protagonist of this novel? Who or what is the antagonist? Explain your answers.
The protagonist is Gatsby and the antagonist are his romanticized dreams.
5. Jay Gatsby's life does not follow the arc of a typical tragic hero. But do you as a reader sense some tragedy (of the Shakespearian variety) in his death? In other words, is Jay Gatsby a character capable of eliciting a catharsis (Links to an external site.) in the reader? Explain why or why not.
Gatsby is capable of eliciting catharsis, as in the final scene at Tom and Daisy’s house, the reader learns that Daisy will never leave her financially stable situation to pursue her love with Gatsby. Gatsby waits outside her window to ensure that she is safe, yet his feelings will never be returned and his efforts to impress her have been futile.
6. If this book is an argument, what is its thesis statement? (Try to come up with two or three answers to this question, and don't settle for the simplest statements; honor the complexity of this text by trying to discover its subtleties and nuances.)
The thesis statement of Gatsby revolves around the idea that dreams inevitably give way to disillusionment--this can be related to the American Dream, the dream of idealized love… these themes are presented and subsequently deconstructed in the book.
Another potential thesis statement for Gatsby is that the past is an intrinsic part of your character and you cannot be detached from it.
7. Francis Bacon says we should read to "weigh and consider" the ideas presented to us in novels. In what ways does The Great Gatsby challenge your personal view of the world of 2015, your values, your assumptions? What is your response - for now - to that challenge?
Speaking from a #Seniors2015 perspective, it is obvious that conspicuous consumption is still a social phenomenon as well as the "leisure class" (think about the Occupy movement). The gender roles in this novel also force one to reflect on the institution of marriage and its historically binding aspects (financial dependency as a means of forcing the wife to remain subordinate, the perpetuation of the cycle of abuse).
8. According to Thorstein Veblin, conspicuous consumption is not unique to the "leisure class." He says, "No class of society, not even the most abjectly poor, forgoes all customary conspicuous consumption. The last items of this category of consumption are not given up except under stress of the direst necessity. Very much of squalor and discomfort will be endured before the last trinket of the last pretense of pecuniary decency is put away." Do you think that's true, that conspicuous consumption is inevitable no matter your wealth? Should we try to minimize our own instances of conspicuously consuming? Or are we wrong to assume, with Veblin, that buying things for show is inherently immoral (or at the very least, unseemly)?
Leisure is an inherent part of the American lifestyle and no matter the specific economic circumstance, that sort of "conspicuous consumption" will be present as a means of conforming to presumed standards. It is expected that people buy things for validation from others rather than necessity and this ideal is constantly shoved in our faces via the glorification of expensive commodities, especially in Park City and the popular instagram tag “#richkidsofinstagram” (follow me @adam.sny). Conspicuous consumption is by no means "inherently immoral" as there is nothing technically wrong about it in terms of ethics; rather, it is unnecessary at best and wasteful at worst.
9. In Chapter 4 of Plato's Banana Republic, Socrates argues that both wealth and poverty are antithetical to virtue. He states, "Wealth, I said, and poverty; the one is the parent of luxury and indolence, and the other of meanness and viciousness, and both of discontent." I think Fitzgerald - based on his portrayals of Jay, Tom, Jordan, Daisy and Wilson - would agree with Socrates (though you may read it differently). Now, the lifestyle you currently live (whatever that is) probably has more to do with your parents' choices and circumstances than your own at this point in your life. But as you consider the social and economic lifestyle you hope/expect to have as an adult, how do Socrates' and Fitzgerald's views of wealth (and poverty) inform your aspirations?
Socrates’ and Fitzgerald’s views on wealth would not deter me from attempting to achieve material success; although the characters in Great Gatsby are far from virtuous, I don’t believe that immorality is a direct result of wealth, or lack thereof. Discontent, perhaps, may be most prevalent in the extremes of the spectrum of wealth, but virtue can be seen throughout, and is more so dependent upon one’s personal efforts to adhere to their own morals.
