4th response

Jaehak
English 11-1
November 2, 2008

The Great Gatsby

Response #1, pp. 1-59
Response type #5: Questions
After I read the one third parts of book which is called The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald, suddenly, two of questions are appeared in my brain about this story.

The Great Gatsby is talking about lavish American people based on actual American circumstance in 1920s. Gatsby is a secret and famous person in egg western. Although he creates the luxury parties every weekend in his house to serve the neighbors to join, practically the person himself just looks at the parties from far away. Because of that, the people in the parties were curious about his personal life and wealthy. But, nobody knows about him so that only the rumors go the round such as he killed a person; he is a son of the rich person, and etc. The narrator, Nick Carraway, also begin to be curious about him.

I do not realize that why author used The Great Gatsby as a title of book.

As leaning and reading English or my native language, the title always comes from the main story of book so that people may guess what the context of book is going to be about by reading the title. However, F.Scott Fitzgerald, the author, used one of the characters in the book to represent the book’s title, also there are not enough story about Gatsby in one third part. Who is going to recognize the story of The Great Gatsby by looking at the title? I want to know how Gatsby is connected to lavish American people without reading the context.

Author uses Nick Carraway as a narrator, not directly Gatsby.

“As I waited for my hat in the hall the door of the library opened and Jordan Baker and Gatsby came out together. He was saying some last word to her, but the eagerness in his manner tightened abruptly into formality as several people approached him to say good-by.” (pg 52)

Nick Carraway, a narrator, has first and third perspective in the book. So, the story is telling to the reader what Nick Carraway experiences and observes. Because of indirect tell the story, reader have no way to know what Gatsby, main character, thinks. Moreover, Gatsby is a cause of main secrets. So, as I think, if Gatsby has first and third perspective, he is going to tell the truth of rumor, secret and thought about lavish American people.