Old Money vs New Money

In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald there are issues between West Egg and East Egg. West Egg represents represents the newly rich such as Mr. Gatsby. East Egg represents the people who inherited their money from there family.

Fitzgerald represents the newly rich as being vulgar, gaudy, ostentatious, and lacking in social graces and taste. Most of the people who are newly rich get there money because they sell alcohol illegally. Gatsby shows off his new money by throwing lots of parties and inviting a lot of people to them.

He portrays the old money as being graceful, tasteful, subtle, and elegant. They are more reserved then the new money and don't throw giant parties. Some people who are considered old money is Tom and Daisy. Tom likes to control things with his money such as Daisy and Myrtle.

sources- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Dan Cody

Although Dan Cody is only mentioned briefly in chapter six, he has played a large role in Mr. Gatsby's life. He is the reason Gatsby was able to travel after the war and have a decent job. Dan Cody is also who inspired him to become sucessful in life and live a life of luxury not necessity. Cody is very fond of Gatsby upon first meeting and is very generous with him.

Gatsby was working as a janitor for a college to pay for his school tuition, however he hated the embarrassment of this job so he left to work on Lake Superior. His job included fishing for salmon and digging for clams in the area. One day while working, Gatsby saw Dan Cody's yacht out on the water when there was a storm headed for Superior. Gatsby got on a boat and rowed out to Mr. Cody's to warn him about the storm when he invited Gatsby onto the boat. He became his personal assistant and traveled with him wherever he went. He bought Gatsby some new nice clothes and gave him a taste of a life of luxury which Gatsby quickly fell in love with. Gatsby's name prior to meetine Cody was James Gatz which Cody gave him the name of Jay Gatsby. Mr. Cody was a millionaire and when he died he left Gatsby $25,000.

Once Gatsby discovered the lifestyle Dan Cody lives, he is determined to do the same. After losing Daisy to the fact that he was a poor man at the time has a great deal to do with his determination to being rich. He does whatever it takes to become wealthy even if that means doing it illegally. Gatsby comes into money by selling alcohol illegally in 1920s which was the time period of prohibition.

sources: sparknotes.com

The Women of Gatsby

Some of the women in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald are Daisy, Jordan, and Myrtle. Daisy is married to Tom who she married mainly for his money but does actually love him. Daisy is Nick's cousin and seems to mess around with Nick a lot. She likes to joke around and have a good time. When she was younger she fell for Gatsby but as soon as he left she married Tom.

Jordan is one of Daisy and Tom's friends who is always in the middle of their marriage. She tells Nick about the affairs Tom and Daisy have. Jordan is a professional golf player who is very popular and well known by lots of people. Daisy and Tom want Jordan to marry Nick and Jordan eventually starts to like Nick after awhile. Jordan seems to know Gatsby pretty well and introdues Nick to him.

Myrtle is an average women who is having an affair with Tom. She is married to a someone who owns a car garage. Her husband has no clue what is going on between them. Myrtle likes to shop and buy lots of clothes since she's spoiled by Tom. Myrtle thinks that over time Tom will leave Daisy for her but, although Tom has a thing for her he doesnt plan on leaving Daisy for Myrtle.

sources- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Men of Gatsby

There are three main male characters in the story The Great Gatsby. Nick Carraway, Tom Buchanan, and Jay Gatsby. These three characters all have different characteristics and play main roles in the story to make it all of what it is.

Nick Carraway is the narrator and first character introduced in the story. He is a single, intelligent, and well rounded man living in a very small home in the wealthy area known as the West Egg. Nick has come to the east coast to get into the bond business like other men in his family that have made a good living off of it. Nick's cousin Daisy lives close by in a neighborhood opposite of his known as the East Egg. Nick and Daisy become close once Nick starts to pay her and her husband Tom visits, and they become very fond of eachother. Nick is also the neighbor of the very wealthy and well known Jay Gatsby and comes to find out Mr. Gatsby is a very interesting man.

Another main character in the story is Mr. Jay Gatsby. Gatsby comes off as a very mysterious man but soon Nick is able to see his true personality. Gatsby was related to wealthy people from the west coast who died so he inherited a fortune. He throws extravagant parties and and is very well known among the area of the West Egg. He soon becomes friends with his neighbor Nick and makes it known that he dated Nick's cousin Daisy Buchanan at a young age when he was in the armed forces. He is still very much in love with Daisy and reconnects with her with the help of Nick.

The final significant male character is Tom Buchanan. Tom is from old money and has more of it than one could ever imagine. He is very proud, selfish, and is not a good husband to his wife Daisy. He has an affair with a woman names Myrtle and does not care that Daisy or her cousin Nick is aware of it. Tom is very pushy and manipulative and puts Nick into awkward situations when he takes him to meet his mistress. He is also what kept and continues to keep Daisy and Gatsby apart but has no idea about their previous romance.

The Green Light

In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Gatsby is in love with Daisy. They met when they were young and he was in the war. However, Gatsby went away for a few years but promised Daisy he would come back for her. When Gatsby returns he finds out that Daisy married Tom instead of waiting for him and he's crushed. He collected anything that had Daisy's name over the time he was away and kept it to remind him of her.

The green light is at the end of Daisy's dock and it symbolizes Gatsby's hope and dreams for the future. In chapter 1 he reaches toward it in the darkness as a guiding light to lead him to his goal. His goal is to get Daisy for himself because he still loves her.

He uses Nick to meet Daisy agian and he gets his hopes and dreams up. What do you think will happen now that Daisy and Gatsby have met again?

sources-http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/themes.html

The Roaring 20s!

The 20s was an era filled with excitement in the US. So many different types of music, style, and cars arose at this time. The story The Great Gatsby reflects so many of the different changes because it in fact takes place in the early 1920s. The different fashions, music, and dancing styles can all be seen at Gatsby's over the top extravagent parties he throws at his home in the wealthy "west egg". Jay Gatsby and other characters in the story drive cars that look much different than the ones we are used to seeing today which was just another signature item of this era.

The 1920s brought out a whole differnt style of music and dancing. Young people danced to fast paced jazz music in short sparkly dresses that were in vogue at this time. One of the new dancing styles was called the charleston which was introduced by a cast from a broadway show called "Running Wild". This dance was so popular that not just people in the US were doing it but people all over the world were learning and doing this hot new dance craze and parties and social events. Most people already know that the very first automobile was mad by Henry Ford and his sucessful motor company but in this era newer, better, and more expensive cars came into the picture. Many major improvement were made to cars at this time such as four wheel drive. Some of the car companies that existed in the 1920s and still exist today are Cadillac, Buick, Ford, Chevy, Dodge, and Lincoln.

There were also many signature styles in the 1920s. The "flapper" which was previously mentioned in our blog was the style for young women who cut their hair into bobs, wore a lot of make up, shortened their dress hemlines, smoked cigarettes, and drank alcohol. They were considered rebellious at this time and many people looked down upon them in society. A popular style amog the men at this time was a style referred to as "sheiks". Sheiks wore ukeleles, racoon jackets, and bell bottom pants. The 1920s is an era home to fashion, flair, and fun times and people will always remember it as it is referred to as The Roaring 20s!

http://www.1920-30.com/

Battle of the Eggs

In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald there are two little islands known as East Egg and West Egg. East Egg is considered to be a wealthy and more fabulous looking island over West Egg. People who live on East Egg have a lot of money and act sophisticated when they're around each other. Tom and Daisy live in a majestic house, mansion in East Egg among other fabulous mansions. The people on East Egg have social connections which separate them from West Egg.

West Egg is more of an island for people who just came into money recently and don't have the social connection nor the refinement to move to East Egg. This island doesn't seem as glamorous as East Egg but it has its fair share of mansions. One example of this case would be Mr. Gatsby who has a cathedral looking mansion on West Egg next to Nick's little house. Mr. Gatsby seems to have connections with other people but many people don't know anything about him. West Egg seems to suit Mr. Gatsby more then East Egg does.

sources-http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/section1.rhtml